LIBRESSL-SSL_CTX_GET0_CERTIFICATE(3)

📦 version 4.4.0, in alpine 3.24, arch rolling

💅 SSL_CTX_get0_certificate(3) — the libssl glow-up you didn't know you needed

okay so bestie, welcome to the <openssl/ssl.h> cinematic universe ✨ this page lives in the libssl / libcrypto section of the manual (yes, the name's folded in right there, you're welcome 🎀) and it's literally about peeking at the certificate your SSL context is currently serving. no cap, it's a short one. let's go 🦋

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <openssl/ssl.h>

X509 *
SSL_CTX_get0_certificate(const SSL_CTX *ctx);

that's it. that's the whole vibe. one function, one X509 *, one const SSL_CTX *. iconic 💅

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

okay so SSL_CTX_get0_certificate() hands you back an internal pointer to the ASN.1 certificate that's currently active in ctx 🔥

and if nothing was ever installed — like, no cert was set up via SSL_CTX_use_certificate(3) or any of its sibling functions — you get NULL. that's the whole mood. 😭

🚨 the rule, and I cannot stress this enough: the returned pointer must not be freed by the caller. it is not yours. it's the context's. do not touch. do not free(). do not pass go. it's giving "borrowed, not gifted" and honestly? respect the boundary. 🙈

the way it just hands you a const-ish internal reference and trusts you to behave… main character energy for real 🫶

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

go read them, iykyk 📚

⭐ HISTORY ⭐

SSL_CTX_get0_certificate() first appeared in OpenSSL 1.0.2, and has been available since OpenBSD 6.3. so it's been around a minute. vintage but still slaying 💜

and that's the whole page, bestie 💖 this lil' beauty comes to you from Debian, dated June 8, 2025, filed under SSL_CTX_GET0_CERTIFICATE(3). go forth, get your certificate pointer, and do not free it. periodt. 🎀✨

📦 where this page comes from