SSL_SESSION_GET0_CIPHER(3)

📦 version 4.4.0, in alpine 3.24, arch rolling

💅 SSL_SESSION_get0_cipher(3) — the manual page, but make it make sense 🎀

okay bestie, so we're in the libssl / libcrypto cinematic universe today, and this one's a lil function that answers one very specific question: what cipher did this session use? iconic behavior honestly ✨

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

Header you're gonna want:

#include <openssl/ssl.h>

And the signature, exactly as it lives:

const SSL_CIPHER *
SSL_SESSION_get0_cipher(const SSL_SESSION *session);

that's it. that's the whole vibe. 🦋

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

SSL_SESSION_get0_cipher() retrieves the cipher that was used by the connection when the session was created. so it's like, the receipts of which cipher this session vibed with back in the day 💅

if it cannot be determined, you get NULL. no cipher, no plot, just NULL. 😭

and now the important part, bestie, pay attention: the value returned is a pointer to an object maintained within session — so do not release it. not your pointer to free, not your moment, hands off 🙈 the session owns that object, you're just borrowing it for the aesthetic.

⭐ RETURN VALUES ⭐

  • SSL_SESSION_get0_cipher() returns the SSL_CIPHER associated with session — the main character 🎀
  • or NULL if it cannot be determined — the flop ending 💀

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

the whole friend group, go say hi:

🦋 HISTORY 🦋

the lore: SSL_SESSION_get0_cipher() first appeared in OpenSSL 1.1.0, and has been available since OpenBSD 7.0. periodt. 🔥

and that's the page, bestie 🫶 this lil drop was brought to you by Debian, dated June 8, 2025 — go forth and check your session ciphers responsibly 💖✨

📦 where this page comes from