SSL_NEW(3SSL)

📦
version 4.0.3 · 14 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 SSL_NEW(3SSL) — the OpenSSL glow-up for making SSL structures 💖

okay bestie, pull up a chair, this is SSL_dup, SSL_new and SSL_up_ref from the OpenSSL manual (the 3SSL one, iykyk) and it's genuinely so important. no cap.

✨ NAME ✨

SSL_dup, SSL_new, SSL_up_ref — create an SSL structure for a connection 🦋

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <openssl/ssl.h>

SSL *SSL_dup(SSL *s);
SSL *SSL_new(SSL_CTX *ctx);
int SSL_up_ref(SSL *s);

👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

SSL_new — the main character ✨

So SSL_new() creates a brand new SSL structure, and you literally need one to hold the data for a TLS/SSL connection. it's giving essential.

The new structure inherits the settings of the underlying context ctx: connection method, options, verification settings, timeout settings. periodt, it just takes after its parent.

An SSL structure is reference counted. creating one for the first time increments the reference count. freeing it (with SSL_free) decrements it. and when the reference count hits zero? any memory or resources allocated to the SSL structure get freed. bye bestie 💅

SSL_up_ref — hype it up 🫶

SSL_up_ref() increments the reference count for an existing SSL structure. that's it. that's the function. iconic behaviour honestly.

SSL_dup — the clone situation 🧬

SSL_dup() creates and returns a new SSL structure from the same SSL_CTX that was used to create s. it additionally duplicates a subset of the settings in s into the new SSL object.

⚠️ For SSL_dup() to work, the connection MUST be in its initial state and MUST NOT have yet started the SSL handshake. no exceptions bestie.

For connections that are not in their initial state, SSL_dup() just increments an internal reference count and returns the same handle. like, it didn't even make a new one 😭

It may be possible to use SSL_clear(3) to recycle an SSL handle that is not in its initial state for reuse, but this is best avoided. instead: save and restore the session if you want, and construct a fresh handle for each connection. that's the move. 💖

🌈 the subset of settings in s that get duplicated 🌈

💀 one more thing: SSL_dup() is not supported on QUIC SSL objects and returns NULL if called on such an object. not even a little bit supported. fr fr.

🎀 RETURN VALUES 🎀

the following return values can occur:

NULL

the creation of a new SSL structure failed 😭 check the error stack to find out the reason.

Pointer to an SSL structure

the return value points to an allocated SSL structure. slay ✨

SSL_up_ref() returns 1 for success and 0 for failure.

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

SSL_free(3), SSL_clear(3), SSL_CTX_set_options(3), SSL_get_SSL_CTX(3), ssl(7)

Copyright 2000-2026 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>.

that's the whole page bestie, go forth and SSL_new responsibly 🌸🦋

version 4.0.3, dated 2026-09-29, manual page SSL_NEW(3SSL) — mwah, take care of her 💅💖

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