TS_VERIFY_CTX(3ossl)

📦

version 3.5.9 · 8 versions

3.5.9 · fedora 43, fedora 44 (latest)
3.5.9 · centos-stream 9
3.5.9 · centos-stream 10
3.5.9 · alpine 3.22
3.5.9 · alpine 3.23, alpine 3.24
3.5.8 · fedora 43
3.5.1 · fedora 43
3.5.5 · fedora 44

🎀 TS_VERIFY_CTX 🎀

okay bestie, this is the OpenSSL manual page for the whole TS_VERIFY_CTX friend group — the little squad of functions that manage the TS response verification context. Manual name is TS_VERIFY_CTX, section 3ossl, and yes we're reading the whole thing, no skimming, i promise it's worth it 💖

Here's everyone in the crew: TS_VERIFY_CTX, TS_VERIFY_CTX_new, TS_VERIFY_CTX_init, TS_VERIFY_CTX_free, TS_VERIFY_CTX_cleanup, TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_flags, TS_VERIFY_CTX_add_flags, TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_data, TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_imprint, TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_store, TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_certs, TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_certs, TS_VERIFY_CTS_set_certs, TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_data, TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_imprint, TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_store. Their whole job? managing the TS response verification context. periodt.

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <openssl/ts.h>

typedef struct TS_verify_ctx TS_VERIFY_CTX;

TS_VERIFY_CTX *TS_VERIFY_CTX_new(void);
void TS_VERIFY_CTX_init(TS_VERIFY_CTX *ctx);
void TS_VERIFY_CTX_free(TS_VERIFY_CTX *ctx);
void TS_VERIFY_CTX_cleanup(TS_VERIFY_CTX *ctx);
int TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_flags(TS_VERIFY_CTX *ctx, int f);
int TS_VERIFY_CTX_add_flags(TS_VERIFY_CTX *ctx, int f);
int TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_data(TS_VERIFY_CTX *ctx, BIO *b);
int TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_imprint(TS_VERIFY_CTX *ctx,
                               unsigned char *hexstr, long len);
int TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_store(TS_VERIFY_CTX *ctx, X509_STORE *s);
int TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_certs(TS_VERIFY_CTX *ctx, STACK_OF(X509) *certs);

The following functions have been deprecated since OpenSSL 3.4:

BIO *TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_data(TS_VERIFY_CTX *ctx, BIO *b);
unsigned char *TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_imprint(TS_VERIFY_CTX *ctx,
                                         unsigned char *hexstr, long len);
X509_STORE *TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_store(TS_VERIFY_CTX *ctx, X509_STORE *s);
STACK_OF(X509) *TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_certs(TS_VERIFY_CTX *ctx,
                                        STACK_OF(X509) *certs);

The following function has been deprecated since OpenSSL 3.0:

STACK_OF(X509) *TS_VERIFY_CTS_set_certs(TS_VERIFY_CTX *ctx,
                                        STACK_OF(X509) *certs);

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

The Time-Stamp Protocol (TSP) is defined by RFC 3161. TSP is a protocol used to provide long-term proof of the existence of certain data before a particular time. TSP defines a Time Stamping Authority (TSA) and an entity that makes requests to the TSA. Usually, the TSA is referred to as the server side, and the requesting entity is referred to as the client. so like… server and client, the classic duo, the main characters 🫶

In TSP, when a server sends a response to a client, the server normally needs to sign the response data — the TimeStampToken (TST) — with its private key. Then the client verifies the received TST using the server's certificate chain. no cap, that's the whole trust pipeline 💅

For all the following methods, unless noted otherwise, ctx is the verification context created in advance. iykyk.

TS_VERIFY_CTX_new() — returns an allocated TS_VERIFY_CTX structure. it's giving birth of a context ✨
TS_VERIFY_CTX_init() — initializes a verification context.
TS_VERIFY_CTX_free() — frees up a TS_VERIFY_CTX object. ctx is the verification context to be freed. If ctx is NULL, the call is ignored. iconic — no crash, just vibes 💖
TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_flags() — sets the flags in the verification context. f are the flags to be set.
TS_VERIFY_CTX_add_flags() — adds flags to the verification context. f are the flags to be added (OR'd).
TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_data() — sets the data to be verified. b is the BIO with the data. A previously assigned BIO is freed.
TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_imprint() — sets the message imprint. hexstr is the message imprint to be assigned. A previously assigned imprint is freed.
TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_store() — sets the store for the verification context. s is the store to be assigned. A previously assigned store is freed.
TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_certs() — is used to set the server's certificate chain when verifying a TST. certs is a stack of X509 certificates.
TS_VERIFY_CTX_cleanup() — frees all data associated with the given TS_VERIFY_CTX object and initializes it. ctx is the verification context created in advance. If ctx is NULL, the call is ignored.

⚠️ okay listen up — all of the following functions described are deprecated. Applications should instead use TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_data(3), TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_imprint(3), TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_store(3), TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_certs(3). it's giving "we moved on, bestie" 😭

TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_data() — is used to set the BIO with the data to be verified. A previously assigned BIO is not freed by this call. b is the BIO with the data to assign. (<- the way that it does not free things is the whole reason the set0_ versions exist, fr fr)
TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_imprint() — is used to set the message imprint. A previously assigned imprint is freed by this call. hexstr is the string with the message imprint to assign.
TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_store() — is used to set the certificate store. A previously assigned store is not freed by this call. s is the store to assign.
TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_certs() — is used to set the server's certificate chain. A previously assigned stack is not freed by this call. certs is a stack of X509 certificates.
TS_VERIFY_CTS_set_certs() — is a misspelled version of TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_certs() which takes the same parameters and returns the same result. not the typo being enshrined in the ABI forever 💀

🌸 RETURN VALUES 🌸

TS_VERIFY_CTX_new() — returns an allocated TS_VERIFY_CTX structure.
TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_flags() — returns the flags passed via parameter f.
TS_VERIFY_CTX_add_flags() — returns the flags of the context after the ones passed via parameter f are added to it.
TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_data(), TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_imprint(), TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_store(), and TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_certs() — return 1 if the value could be successfully set and 0 in case of any error.
The deprecated functions TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_data(), TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_imprint(), TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_store(), TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_certs() — return the parameter the user passes via parameter bio, hexstr, s or certs.

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

OSSL_ESS_check_signing_certs(3)

🧚 HISTORY 🧚

TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_data(), TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_imprint(), TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_store(), TS_VERIFY_CTX_set0_certs() replace the functions TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_data(), TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_imprint(), TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_store(), TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_certs() that were deprecated in OpenSSL 3.4.0.

The spelling of TS_VERIFY_CTX_set_certs() was corrected in OpenSSL 3.0.0. The misspelled version TS_VERIFY_CTS_set_certs() has been retained for compatibility reasons, but it is deprecated in OpenSSL 3.0.0.

💜 COPYRIGHT 💜

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>.

okay that's the whole page, you ate that reading it, so proud of you 🥹💖 this was TS_VERIFY_CTX from OpenSSL 3.5.9, dated 2026-09-29 — go forth and verify some timestamps, bestie, you're the main character of this certificate chain 🌈👑✨

📦 where this page comes from

fedora 43: openssl-devel 1:3.5.9-1.fc43 · Apache-2.0
fedora 43: openssl-devel 1:3.5.9-1.fc43 · Apache-2.0
fedora 44: openssl-devel 1:3.5.9-1.fc44 · Apache-2.0
fedora 44: openssl-devel 1:3.5.9-1.fc44 · Apache-2.0
💖 girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash on 2026-10-14: a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms