NE_SSL_CLIENT_CERT(3)

NAME
ne_ssl_clicert_read, ne_ssl_clicert_import, ne_ssl_clicert_fromuri, ne_ssl_clicert_name, ne_ssl_clicert_encrypted, ne_ssl_clicert_decrypt, ne_ssl_clicert_owner, ne_ssl_clicert_free - SSL client certificate handling

SYNOPSIS

#include <ne_ssl.h>

ne_ssl_client_cert *ne_ssl_clicert_read(const char *filename);

ne_ssl_client_cert *ne_ssl_clicert_import(const unsigned char *filename, size_t buflen);

ne_ssl_client_cert *ne_ssl_clicert_fromuri(const char *uri, unsigned flags);

const char *ne_ssl_clicert_name(const ne_ssl_client_cert *ccert);

int ne_ssl_clicert_encrypted(const ne_ssl_client_cert *ccert);

int ne_ssl_clicert_decrypt(ne_ssl_client_cert *ccert, const char *password);

const ne_ssl_certificate *ne_ssl_clicert_owner(const ne_ssl_client_cert *ccert);

void ne_ssl_clicert_free(ne_ssl_client_cert *ccert);

DESCRIPTION

The ne_ssl_clicert_read function reads a client certificate from a PKCS#12-formatted file, and returns an ne_ssl_client_cert object. The ne_ssl_clicert_import function reads a client certificate from a memory buffer using the PKCS#12 format. The ne_ssl_clicert_fromuri function loads a client certificate from a URI. URI schemes supported are defined by the SSL/TLS toolkit, and may include PKCS#11 URIs[1].

A ne_ssl_client_cert object represents both a client certificate and the associated private key; the term "client certificate" is used here to refer to this pair. A client certificate object loaded by any of the above functions can be in one of two states: encrypted or decrypted. The ne_ssl_clicert_encrypted function will return non-zero if the client certificate is in the encrypted state.

A client certificate must be in the decrypted state before it is associated with a session. ne_ssl_clicert_decrypt can be used to decrypt a client certificate using the appropriate password. This function must only be called if the object is in the encrypted state; if decryption fails, the certificate state does not change, so decryption can be attempted more than once using different passwords.

A client certificate can be given a "friendly name" when it is created; ne_ssl_clicert_name will return this name (or NULL if no friendly name was specified). ne_ssl_clicert_name can be used when the client certificate is in either the encrypted or decrypted state, and will return the same string for the lifetime of the object.

The function ne_ssl_clicert_owner returns the certificate part of the client certificate; it must only be called if the client certificate is in the decrypted state.

When the client certificate object is no longer needed, the ne_ssl_clicert_free function should be used to destroy the object.

RETURN VALUE

ne_ssl_clicert_read, ne_ssl_clicert_import and ne_ssl_clicert_fromuri all return a client certificate object, or NULL if the certificate could not be read/imported. ne_ssl_clicert_encrypted returns zero if the object is in the decrypted state, or non-zero if it is in the encrypted state. ne_ssl_clicert_name returns a NUL-terminated friendly name string, or NULL. ne_ssl_clicert_owner returns a certificate object.

EXAMPLES

The following code reads a client certificate and decrypts it if necessary, then loads it into an HTTP session.

    ne_ssl_client_cert *ccert;

    ccert = ne_ssl_clicert_read("/path/to/client.p12");

    if (ccert == NULL) {
       /* handle error... */
    } else if (ne_ssl_clicert_encrypted(ccert)) {
       char *password = prompt_for_password();

       if (ne_ssl_clicert_decrypt(ccert, password)) {
          /* could not decrypt! handle error... */
       }
    }

    ne_ssl_set_clicert(sess, ccert);

HISTORY

ne_ssl_clicert_import was added in neon 0.30.0. ne_ssl_clicert_fromuri was added in neon 0.35.0.

SEE ALSO

ne_ssl_cert_read(3)

COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2001-2026 Joe Orton

REFERENCES

1.  PKCS#11 URIs
    https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7512.html