crypto_alloc_rng(9)

💖 crypto_alloc_rng(9) 💖

ok so this is a page from the Kernel API Manual — it's crypto_alloc_rng(9), and yes it's exactly as iconic as it sounds: it's the one that gets you an RNG handle. bestie, let's get into it ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

crypto_alloc_rng — allocate RNG handle

like, literally that's the whole job. allocate. RNG. handle. periodt 💅

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

struct crypto_rng * crypto_alloc_rng (const char *alg_name , u32 type ,
u32 mask );

that's the whole signature, no cap. three args, one pointer back at you 🫶

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• alg_name — this is the cra_name / name or the cra_driver_name / driver name of the message digest cipher. yep, you read that right, it says message digest cipher in the source, we don't make the rules we just report them 😭
• type — specifies the type of the cipher. that's it, that's the whole lore.
• mask — specifies the mask for the cipher. it's the vibe check partner of type, fr fr.

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

okay so what actually happens: this call allocates a cipher handle for a random number generator 🔥 the struct crypto_rng it hands back is the cipher handle you need for literally any subsequent API invocation for that random number generator. so like, hold onto it. it's your main character. 👑

here's the tea though: for all random number generators, this call creates a new private copy of the random number generator that does not share a state with other instances. no state sharing. none. everyone gets their own 🧚

the one (1) exception: the "krng" random number generator, which is a kernel crypto API use case for the get_random_bytes function of the /dev/random driver. so that one's special, iykyk 🌈

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⭐ RETURN ⭐

• on success? you get the allocated cipher handle 💖 slay.
• on error? IS_ERR is true, and PTR_ERR returns the error code. so check it, bestie, don't just raw-dog the pointer 🙈

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💜 SEE ALSO 💜

go read these next, they're giving required reading 📚:

• Kernel file ./include/crypto/rng.h struct rng_alg(9)
• crypto_stdrng_get_bytes(9)
• Random number generator API(9)
• crypto_rng_alg(9)
• crypto_free_rng(9)
• crypto_rng_generate(9)
• crypto_rng_get_bytes(9)
• crypto_rng_reset(9)
• crypto_rng_seedsize(9)

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okay that's the whole page, you ate that 🍓 this lil number lives in ./include/crypto and it's dated October 2026 — so yeah, from the future, iconic behavior honestly 💀✨ go forth and allocate responsibly, mwah 🫶💖