SSL_LOAD_CLIENT_CA_FILE(3ossl)

📦
version 15.1 · 3 versions
, in freebsd 15.1

okay so bestie, welcome to the SSL_LOAD_CLIENT_CA_FILE(3ossl) page from OpenSSL — yes, that's the manual name, and we're folding it right in up top because we're cute like that 💅

✨ NAME ✨

okay so this page is all about the squad: SSL_load_client_CA_file_ex, SSL_load_client_CA_file, SSL_add_file_cert_subjects_to_stack, SSL_add_dir_cert_subjects_to_stack, and SSL_add_store_cert_subjects_to_stack — together they're giving load certificate names energy 💖

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

the whole cast, in code form:

#include <openssl/ssl.h>

STACK_OF(X509_NAME) *SSL_load_client_CA_file_ex(const char *file,
                                                OSSL_LIB_CTX *libctx,
                                                const char *propq);
STACK_OF(X509_NAME) *SSL_load_client_CA_file(const char *file);

int SSL_add_file_cert_subjects_to_stack(STACK_OF(X509_NAME) *stack,
                                        const char *file);
int SSL_add_dir_cert_subjects_to_stack(STACK_OF(X509_NAME) *stack,
                                       const char *dir);
int SSL_add_store_cert_subjects_to_stack(STACK_OF(X509_NAME) *stack,
                                         const char *store);

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

SSL_load_client_CA_file_ex() reads certificates from file and returns a STACK_OF(X509_NAME) with the subject names found. The library context libctx and property query propq are used when fetching algorithms from providers. slay, algorithms, slay ✨

SSL_load_client_CA_file() is similar to SSL_load_client_CA_file_ex() but uses NULL for the library context libctx and property query propq. lowkey the simpler twin 💫

SSL_add_file_cert_subjects_to_stack() reads certificates from file, and adds their subject name to the already existing stack. stack stays stacked, no cap 🫶

SSL_add_dir_cert_subjects_to_stack() reads certificates from every file in the directory dir, and adds their subject name to the already existing stack. walking the directory like it's a group chat, collecting names 📁

SSL_add_store_cert_subjects_to_stack() loads certificates from the store URI, and adds their subject name to the already existing stack. store URI, but make it subject-name business 🛍️

🌸 NOTES 🌸

SSL_load_client_CA_file() reads a file of PEM formatted certificates and extracts the X509_NAMES of the certificates found. While the name suggests the specific usage as support function for SSL_CTX_set_client_CA_list(3), it is not limited to CA certificates — plot twist, bestie 🔥

💜 RETURN VALUES 💜

The following return values can occur for SSL_load_client_CA_file_ex(), and SSL_load_client_CA_file():

  • NULL — the operation failed, check out the error stack for the reason 😭
  • Pointer to STACK_OF(X509_NAME) — pointer to the subject names of the successfully read certificates 👑

The following return values can occur for SSL_add_file_cert_subjects_to_stack(), SSL_add_dir_cert_subjects_to_stack(), and SSL_add_store_cert_subjects_to_stack():

  • 0 (Failure) — the operation failed 💀
  • 1 (Success) — the operation succeeded 🎉

🍓 EXAMPLES 🍓

Load names of CAs from file and use it as a client CA list:

SSL_CTX *ctx;
STACK_OF(X509_NAME) *cert_names;

...
cert_names = SSL_load_client_CA_file("/path/to/CAfile.pem");
if (cert_names != NULL)
    SSL_CTX_set_client_CA_list(ctx, cert_names);
else
    /* error */
...

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

👑 HISTORY 👑

SSL_load_client_CA_file_ex() and SSL_add_store_cert_subjects_to_stack() were added in OpenSSL 3.0. character development, honestly ✨

Copyright 2000-2024 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License"). You may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at <https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.

💖 cute lil sign-off: this page is from OpenSSL version 3.5.6, dated 2026-04-07, and it's the SSL_LOAD_CLIENT_CA_FILE(3ossl) manual. mwah, bestie 💋🫶

📦 where this page comes from