PKCS7_SET_CONTENT(3)

📦 version 4.4.0, in alpine 3.24, arch rolling

okay so bestie, welcome to the PKCS7_SET_CONTENT(3) page — yes, it's from the Library Functions Manual, and it's all about setting the nested contentInfo in a PKCS#7 structure. let's get into it 💅✨

🎀 NAME 🎀

PKCS7_set_content, PKCS7_content_new — set the nested contentInfo in a PKCS#7 structure. periodt.

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

library “libcrypto” #include <openssl/pkcs7.h>

int
PKCS7_set_content(PKCS7 *outer, PKCS7 *inner);

int
PKCS7_content_new(PKCS7 *outer, int inner_type);

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so picture this: if the contentType of the outer PKCS7 structure is SignedData or DigestedData, then PKCS7_set_content() sets the contentInfo field of the content field of outer to inner, without copying inner. no cap, it just puts it there. 🫶

if there was a previous contentInfo, it gets freed rather than overwritten. the rest of the internal state of outer and of its content stays unchanged. noted and respected 💅

PKCS7_content_new() is similar, except that it first allocates and initializes a new, empty inner object of the given inner_type using PKCS7_new(3) and PKCS7_set_type(3). the inner_type can be any of the NIDs listed in the PKCS7_set_type(3) manual. iconic delegation, honestly 👑

💖 RETURN VALUES 💖

these functions return 1 on success or 0 on failure. they fail if the contentType of outer is unsupported. PKCS7_content_new() can also fail when memory is exhausted. in case of failure, outer remains unchanged. so if it flops, it flops safely, bestie 💀🫶

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

⭐ STANDARDS ⭐

RFC 2315: PKCS #7: Cryptographic Message Syntax Version 1.5

  • Section 7. General syntax
  • Section 9. Signed-data content type
  • Section 12. Digested-data content type

🧚 HISTORY 🧚

these functions first appeared in SSLeay 0.8.1 and have been available since OpenBSD 2.4. vintage but still serving 💅

⚠️ CAVEATS ⚠️

despite the function names, these functions do not set the content field of outer — they only set the contentInfo field inside it. the rest of the content remains unchanged. read that twice, bestie, because the names are lowkey misleading 🙈

mwah 💋 that's the whole page. this one came from the Debian build and is dated June 8, 2025 — and yes, it's still the PKCS7_SET_CONTENT(3) page. slay and stay cryptographic ✨👑

📦 where this page comes from