BF_ENCRYPT(3ossl)

📦 version 3.5.0, in opensuse-leap 16.0

💖 BF_ENCRYPT(3ossl) — Blowfish encryption, but make it a group chat 💖

okay so this is the OpenSSL manual page for all the Blowfish stuff (BF_*), bestie. It lives in the OpenSSL manual section 3ossl, and the whole page is basically "here's how Blowfish works, and also please stop using it directly." Both things are true at once. Slay.

✨ NAME ✨

BF_set_key, BF_encrypt, BF_decrypt, BF_ecb_encrypt, BF_cbc_encrypt, BF_cfb64_encrypt, BF_ofb64_encrypt, BF_options — Blowfish encryption. That's the whole cast. The main characters, if you will. 👑

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

First things first, you gotta pull in the header:

#include <openssl/blowfish.h>
🫶 Heads up, bestie: the following functions have been deprecated since OpenSSL 3.0, and can be hidden entirely by defining OPENSSL_API_COMPAT with a suitable version value — see openssl_user_macros(7). So like… they're still here, but they're giving "left on read." 💀

Here's the full lineup, verbatim:

void BF_set_key(BF_KEY *key, int len, const unsigned char *data);

void BF_ecb_encrypt(const unsigned char *in, unsigned char *out,
                    BF_KEY *key, int enc);
void BF_cbc_encrypt(const unsigned char *in, unsigned char *out,
                    long length, BF_KEY *schedule,
                    unsigned char *ivec, int enc);
void BF_cfb64_encrypt(const unsigned char *in, unsigned char *out,
                      long length, BF_KEY *schedule,
                      unsigned char *ivec, int *num, int enc);
void BF_ofb64_encrypt(const unsigned char *in, unsigned char *out,
                      long length, BF_KEY *schedule,
                      unsigned char *ivec, int *num);
const char *BF_options(void);

void BF_encrypt(BF_LONG *data, const BF_KEY *key);
void BF_decrypt(BF_LONG *data, const BF_KEY *key);

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

First, the big vibe check: all of the functions described on this page are deprecated. Every single one. 😭 Applications should instead use EVP_EncryptInit_ex(3), EVP_EncryptUpdate(3) and EVP_EncryptFinal_ex(3) — or the equivalently named decrypt functions. That's the glow-up. Use those instead, fr fr.

Okay but for the lore: this library implements the Blowfish cipher, which was invented and described by Counterpane (see http://www.counterpane.com/blowfish.html). Historical icon behavior. 🌈

Blowfish is a block cipher that operates on 64 bit (8 byte) blocks of data. It uses a variable size key, but typically, 128 bit (16 byte) keys are considered good for strong encryption. Blowfish can be used in the same modes as DES (see des_modes(7)). Blowfish is currently one of the faster block ciphers — it's quite a bit faster than DES, and much faster than IDEA or RC2. Speed demon energy. ⚡

Blowfish consists of a key setup phase and the actual encryption or decryption phase. Two steps, no notes.

💅 The key setup

BF_set_key() sets up the BF_KEY key using the len bytes long key at data. That's it, that's the setup. 🎀

🌸 ECB — the basic one

BF_ecb_encrypt() is the basic Blowfish encryption and decryption function. It encrypts or decrypts the first 64 bits of in using the key key, putting the result in out. enc decides if encryption (BF_ENCRYPT) or decryption (BF_DECRYPT) shall be performed. The vector pointed at by in and out must be 64 bits in length, no less. If they are larger, everything after the first 64 bits is ignored. So like… don't overthink it, but also don't overflow it. 🙈

🧚 The mode functions — the variable-length girlies

The mode functions BF_cbc_encrypt(), BF_cfb64_encrypt() and BF_ofb64_encrypt() all operate on variable length data. They all take an initialization vector ivec which needs to be passed along into the next call of the same function for the same message. ivec may be initialized with anything, but the recipient needs to know what it was initialized with, or it won't be able to decrypt. Some programs and protocols simplify this, like SSH, where ivec is simply initialized to zero.

BF_cbc_encrypt() operates on data that is a multiple of 8 bytes long, while BF_cfb64_encrypt() and BF_ofb64_encrypt() are used to encrypt a variable number of bytes (the amount does not have to be an exact multiple of 8).

The purpose of the latter two is to simulate stream ciphers, and therefore, they need the parameter num, which is a pointer to an integer where the current offset in ivec is stored between calls. This integer must be initialized to zero when ivec is initialized. Not optional, bestie. Zero it. 🔥

😭 CBC

BF_cbc_encrypt() is the Cipher Block Chaining function for Blowfish. It encrypts or decrypts the 64 bits chunks of in using the key schedule, putting the result in out. enc decides if encryption (BF_ENCRYPT) or decryption (BF_DECRYPT) shall be performed. ivec must point at an 8 byte long initialization vector.

💜 CFB

BF_cfb64_encrypt() is the CFB mode for Blowfish with 64 bit feedback. It encrypts or decrypts the bytes in in using the key schedule, putting the result in out. enc decides if encryption (BF_ENCRYPT) or decryption (BF_DECRYPT) shall be performed. ivec must point at an 8 byte long initialization vector. num must point at an integer which must be initially zero.

🎀 OFB

BF_ofb64_encrypt() is the OFB mode for Blowfish with 64 bit feedback. It uses the same parameters as BF_cfb64_encrypt(), which must be initialized the same way. Twin behavior, literally.

⭐ The low-level ones

BF_encrypt() and BF_decrypt() are the lowest level functions for Blowfish encryption. They encrypt/decrypt the first 64 bits of the vector pointed by data, using the key key.

⚠️ These functions should not be used unless you implement 'modes' of Blowfish. The alternative is to use BF_ecb_encrypt(). If you still want to use these functions, you should be aware that they take each 32-bit chunk in host-byte order, which is little-endian on little-endian platforms and big-endian on big-endian ones. Endianness jumpscare, no cap. 💀

🥺 RETURN VALUES 🥺

None of the functions presented here return any value. Not a single one. They simply do the thing and leave. Main character energy, honestly. 👑

🫶 NOTE 🫶

Applications should use the higher level functions EVP_EncryptInit(3) etc. instead of calling these functions directly. Consider this your friendly reminder with a little sparkle. ✨

🔍 SEE ALSO 🔍

🕰️ HISTORY 🕰️

All of these functions were deprecated in OpenSSL 3.0. That's the whole history section. It's giving "we moved on." 🌸

Copyright 2000-2020 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.

🎀 ok that's the page!! this one's from OpenSSL 3.5.0, dated 2026-09-25, and it's filed under BF_ENCRYPT(3ossl) in case you need to find it again. mwah, go encrypt something (with EVP, please) 💅✨
📦 where this page comes from