BUF_MEM_NEW(3ossl)

📦 version 3.5.0, in opensuse-leap 16.0

💅 BUF_MEM_NEW — simple character array structure

Okay so bestie, welcome to the 3ossl page for OpenSSL's buffer crew 🎀 This is the whole simple character array structure situation, and honestly it's giving "small but mighty" — let's get into it ✨

🌸 SYNOPSIS

#include <openssl/buffer.h>

BUF_MEM *BUF_MEM_new(void);

BUF_MEM *BUF_MEM_new_ex(unsigned long flags);

void BUF_MEM_free(BUF_MEM *a);

int BUF_MEM_grow(BUF_MEM *str, int len);
size_t BUF_MEM_grow_clean(BUF_MEM *str, size_t len);

void BUF_reverse(unsigned char *out, const unsigned char *in, size_t size);

Copy that exactly, bestie — no ✨creative✨ typos, iykyk 😭

🦋 DESCRIPTION

The buffer library handles simple character arrays. Buffers are used for various purposes in the library, most notably memory BIOs. Basically they're the little containers doing a lot of the behind-the-scenes work 👑

  • BUF_MEM_new() — allocates a new buffer of zero size. Fresh out the box, no bytes, no drama 💅
  • BUF_MEM_new_ex() — allocates a buffer with the specified flags. The flag BUF_MEM_FLAG_SECURE specifies that the data pointer should be allocated on the secure heap; go peek at CRYPTO_secure_malloc(3) for the deets 🔐
  • BUF_MEM_free() — frees up an already existing buffer. The data is zeroed before freeing up in case the buffer contains sensitive data, so it's not out here leaking your secrets 🙈 And if the argument is NULL, nothing is done — it just politely minds its business 🫶
  • BUF_MEM_grow() — changes the size of an already existing buffer to len. Any data already in the buffer is preserved if it increases in size. Growth without the loss, we love to see it 🌱
  • BUF_MEM_grow_clean() — similar to BUF_MEM_grow() but it sets any free'd or additionally-allocated memory to zero. Clean girl aesthetic, literally 🧼✨
  • BUF_reverse() — reverses size bytes at in into out. If in is NULL, the array is reversed in-place. Flip it and reverse it 🔄

🎀 RETURN VALUES

  • BUF_MEM_new() returns the buffer or NULL on error 😭
  • BUF_MEM_free() has no return value. It's a void icon, it gives nothing back and that's fine 💅
  • BUF_MEM_grow() and BUF_MEM_grow_clean() return zero on error or the new size (i.e., len). So 0 = bad vibes, len = slay ✅

🔥 SEE ALSO

Go read those next, bestie, it's giving required reading 📚💜

👑 HISTORY

The BUF_MEM_new_ex() function was added in OpenSSL 1.1.0. So it's been around a minute — vintage, but make it secure 🕰️✨

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>.

fr fr read the license, bestie — technically binding and everything 🫶

And that's the whole page, no cap 💖 Signing off from manual 3ossl, version 3.5.0, dated 2026-09-25 — BUF_MEM_NEW out, mwah 💋🌸

📦 where this page comes from