X509_NAME_ENTRY_GET_OBJECT(3ossl)

💖 X509_NAME_ENTRY_GET_OBJECT 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the 3ossl girlies' corner of the OpenSSL docs ✨ this whole page is about the X509_NAME_ENTRY utility functions, and honestly? it's giving "small but mighty". let's get into it 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

X509_NAME_ENTRY_get_object, X509_NAME_ENTRY_get_data, X509_NAME_ENTRY_set_object, X509_NAME_ENTRY_set_data, X509_NAME_ENTRY_create_by_txt, X509_NAME_ENTRY_create_by_NID, X509_NAME_ENTRY_create_by_OBJ — the X509_NAME_ENTRY utility functions, aka the little helpers that peek at and poke around inside name entries 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <openssl/x509.h>

ASN1_OBJECT *X509_NAME_ENTRY_get_object(const X509_NAME_ENTRY *ne);
ASN1_STRING *X509_NAME_ENTRY_get_data(const X509_NAME_ENTRY *ne);

int X509_NAME_ENTRY_set_object(X509_NAME_ENTRY *ne, const ASN1_OBJECT *obj);
int X509_NAME_ENTRY_set_data(X509_NAME_ENTRY *ne, int type,
                             const unsigned char *bytes, int len);

X509_NAME_ENTRY *X509_NAME_ENTRY_create_by_txt(X509_NAME_ENTRY **ne, const char *field,
                                               int type, const unsigned char *bytes,
                                               int len);
X509_NAME_ENTRY *X509_NAME_ENTRY_create_by_NID(X509_NAME_ENTRY **ne, int nid,
                                               int type, const unsigned char *bytes,
                                               int len);
X509_NAME_ENTRY *X509_NAME_ENTRY_create_by_OBJ(X509_NAME_ENTRY **ne,
                                               const ASN1_OBJECT *obj, int type,
                                               const unsigned char *bytes, int len);

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so here's the whole vibe check on these:

• X509_NAME_ENTRY_get_object() — grabs the field name of ne, and hands it to you wrapped up in an ASN1_OBJECT structure. it's the "who is this" of the entry 🫶
• X509_NAME_ENTRY_get_data() — grabs the field value of ne, and gives it to you as an ASN1_STRING structure. the "what does it say" 💖
• X509_NAME_ENTRY_set_object() — sets the field name of ne to obj. like, renaming the entry's identity. iconic of it ✨
• X509_NAME_ENTRY_set_data() — sets the field value of ne to string type type, with the value determined by bytes and len. the glow-up 💅
• X509_NAME_ENTRY_create_by_txt(), X509_NAME_ENTRY_create_by_NID() and X509_NAME_ENTRY_create_by_OBJ() — these three create and return an X509_NAME_ENTRY structure. brand new entry, freshly built, no cap 🔥

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👑 NOTES 👑

• X509_NAME_ENTRY_get_object() and X509_NAME_ENTRY_get_data() are your go-to when you wanna examine an X509_NAME_ENTRY, like one that came back from X509_NAME_get_entry() for example. peek and vibe 😌
• X509_NAME_ENTRY_create_by_txt(), X509_NAME_ENTRY_create_by_OBJ(), X509_NAME_ENTRY_create_by_NID() and X509_NAME_ENTRY_set_data() are seldom used in practice, fr fr — because X509_NAME_ENTRY structures are almost always part of X509_NAME structures, and the matching X509_NAME functions are typically used to create and add new entries in a single operation. so like, most people skip the middle step 💀
• the arguments of these functions support options similar to the similarly named ones of the corresponding X509_NAME functions, such as X509_NAME_add_entry_by_txt(). so for example, type can be set to MBSTRING_ASC, but — and this is the plot twist — in the case of X509_set_data() the field name must be set first so the relevant field information can be looked up internally. order matters, bestie 🙈

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🌈 RETURN VALUES 🌈

• X509_NAME_ENTRY_get_object() returns an internal pointer to a valid ASN1_OBJECT structure if it is set, or NULL if an error occurred.
• X509_NAME_ENTRY_get_data() returns an internal pointer to a valid ASN1_STRING structure if it is set, or NULL if an error occurred.
• X509_NAME_ENTRY_set_object() and X509_NAME_ENTRY_set_data() return 1 on success or 0 on error.
• X509_NAME_ENTRY_create_by_txt(), X509_NAME_ENTRY_create_by_NID() and X509_NAME_ENTRY_create_by_OBJ() return a valid X509_NAME_ENTRY on success or NULL if an error occurred.

lowkey important: those getters hand you an internal pointer, not a copy. so don't be out here freeing it or nothing, okay? 🫶

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🍓 SEE ALSO 🍓

• ERR_get_error(3)
• d2i_X509_NAME(3)
• OBJ_nid2obj(3)

go read those too, iykyk 📚✨

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💜 COPYRIGHT 💜

Copyright 2002-2026 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>.

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and that's the whole page, bestie 🎀 this was OpenSSL 3.5.9, dated 2026-09-29, for X509_NAME_ENTRY_GET_OBJECT(3ossl) — slay, go forth and name your entries 💅✨