SSL_CTX_SESS_SET_GET_CB(3SSL)

📦
version 4.0.3 · 14 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 SSL_CTX_SESS_SET_GET_CB 💖

okay so this one lives in the OpenSSL manual, section 3SSL, and it's literally the group chat between your server and its external session cache 🫶 the callback plug-ins that let you stash sessions wherever you want, bestie.

✨ NAME ✨

The six icons in question 👑:

  • SSL_CTX_sess_set_new_cb
  • SSL_CTX_sess_set_remove_cb
  • SSL_CTX_sess_set_get_cb
  • SSL_CTX_sess_get_new_cb
  • SSL_CTX_sess_get_remove_cb
  • SSL_CTX_sess_get_get_cb

…and what they do is provide callback functions for server side external session caching. that's the whole vibe 💅

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

no cap, copy this exactly, don't freestyle:

#include <openssl/ssl.h>

void SSL_CTX_sess_set_new_cb(SSL_CTX *ctx,
                             int (*new_session_cb)(SSL *, SSL_SESSION *));
void SSL_CTX_sess_set_remove_cb(SSL_CTX *ctx,
                                void (*remove_session_cb)(SSL_CTX *ctx,
                                                          SSL_SESSION *));
void SSL_CTX_sess_set_get_cb(SSL_CTX *ctx,
                             SSL_SESSION (*get_session_cb)(SSL *,
                                                           const unsigned char *,
                                                           int, int *));

int (*SSL_CTX_sess_get_new_cb(SSL_CTX *ctx))(struct ssl_st *ssl,
                                             SSL_SESSION *sess);
void (*SSL_CTX_sess_get_remove_cb(SSL_CTX *ctx))(struct ssl_ctx_st *ctx,
                                                 SSL_SESSION *sess);
SSL_SESSION *(*SSL_CTX_sess_get_get_cb(SSL_CTX *ctx))(struct ssl_st *ssl,
                                                      const unsigned char *data,
                                                      int len, int *copy);

like why are the getters shaped like that 😭 because they return a function pointer, that's the whole bit. function-pointer-returning functions are giving main character energy fr fr.

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

  • SSL_CTX_sess_set_new_cb() — sets the callback function that gets called whenever a new session was negotiated. new session dropped? call the girlies 📞
  • SSL_CTX_sess_set_remove_cb() — sets the callback function that's called whenever a session is removed by the SSL engine. for example, this can occur because a session is considered faulty, or has become obsolete because of exceeding the timeout value. she's expired, she's gone, grieving permitted 💀
  • SSL_CTX_sess_set_get_cb() — sets the callback function that's called whenever a TLS client proposed to resume a session but the session could not be found in the internal session cache (see SSL_CTX_set_session_cache_mode(3)). (TLS server only.) so… server-side only, don't try it elsewhere bestie 🙈
  • SSL_CTX_sess_get_new_cb(), SSL_CTX_sess_get_remove_cb(), and SSL_CTX_sess_get_get_cb() — retrieve the function pointers set by the corresponding set callback functions. if a callback function has not been set, the NULL pointer is returned. no callback? NULL. that's it, that's the tea ☕

🦋 NOTES 🦋

In order to allow external session caching, synchronization with the internal session cache is realized via callback functions. inside these callback functions, session can be saved to disk or put into a database using the d2i_SSL_SESSION(3) interface. so go off, persist her wherever you want 💾✨

the new_session_cb() lore

The new_session_cb() is called whenever a new session has been negotiated and session caching is enabled (see SSL_CTX_set_session_cache_mode(3)). The new_session_cb() is passed the ssl connection and the nascent ssl session sess. since sessions are reference-counted objects, the reference count on the session is incremented before the callback, on behalf of the application. and then it's decision time:

  • if the callback returns 0, the session will be immediately removed from the internal cache and the reference count released.
  • if the callback returns 1, the application retains the reference (for an entry in the application-maintained "external session cache"), and is responsible for calling SSL_SESSION_free() when the session reference is no longer in use.
⚠️ bestie you own that reference if you return 1. don't forget SSL_SESSION_free(). memory leaks are NOT cute 😭

TLSv1.3 said "handshake first, details later"

Note that in TLSv1.3, sessions are established after the main handshake has completed. the server decides when to send the client the session information and this may occur some time after the end of the handshake (or not at all). this means that applications should expect the new_session_cb() function to be invoked during the handshake (for <= TLSv1.2) or after the handshake (for TLSv1.3). it is also possible in TLSv1.3 for multiple sessions to be established with a single connection. in these case the new_session_cb() function will be invoked multiple times. not once. MULTIPLE. she's an overachiever 💅

In TLSv1.3 it is recommended that each SSL_SESSION object is only used for resumption once. one way of enforcing that is for applications to call SSL_CTX_remove_session(3) after a session has been used. one-time-use girlies only 🎀

the remove_session_cb() lore

The remove_session_cb() is called whenever the SSL engine removes a session from the internal cache. this can happen when the session is removed because it is expired or when a connection was not shutdown cleanly. it also happens for all sessions in the internal session cache when SSL_CTX_free(3) is called. the remove_session_cb() is passed the ctx and the ssl session sess. it does not provide any feedback. she just says it happened and moves on, no notes, no refunds 🫶

the get_session_cb() lore

The get_session_cb() is only called on SSL/TLS servers, and is given the session id proposed by the client. the get_session_cb() is always called, even when session caching was disabled. (iconic behaviour honestly ✨)

the get_session_cb() is passed the ssl connection and the session id of length length at the memory location data. by setting the parameter copy to 1, the callback can require the SSL engine to increment the reference count of the SSL_SESSION object; setting copy to 0 causes the reference count to remain unchanged.

🚨 If the get_session_cb() does not write to copy, the reference count is incremented and the session must be explicitly freed with SSL_SESSION_free(3). silence is not neutral here bestie, it's a refcount bump 😱

⭐ RETURN VALUES ⭐

SSL_CTX_sess_get_new_cb(), SSL_CTX_sess_get_remove_cb() and SSL_CTX_sess_get_get_cb() return different callback function pointers respectively. yes, different, respectively, exactly as written, no merging them into one vibe 💜

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

go read those too, iykyk 📚

Copyright 2001-2020 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>.

okay that's the whole page, you ate it, no crumbs 🍓

this cutie was served to you straight from OpenSSL 4.0.3, dated 2026-09-29 — SSL_CTX_SESS_SET_GET_CB(3SSL), periodt 💅💖

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