SSL(3) SSL(3)
NAME
ssl - secure sockets layer device
SYNOPSIS
bind '#D' /n/ssl
/n/ssl/clone
/n/ssl/n
/n/ssl/n/data
/n/ssl/n/ctl
/n/ssl/n/secretin
/n/ssl/n/secretout
DESCRIPTION
The ssl device provides access to a Secure Socket Layer that
implements the record layer protocol of SSLv2. The device
provides encrypting and digesting for many independent con-
nections. Once associated with a network connection, the
ssl device can be thought of as a filter for the connection.
Ssl can send data in the clear, digested or encrypted. In
all cases, if ssl is associated with both ends of a connec-
tion, all messages are delimited. As long as reads always
specify buffers that are of equal or greater lengths than
the writes at the other end of the connection, one write
will correspond to one read.
The top-level directory contains a clone file and numbered
directories, each representing a connection. Opening the
clone file reserves a connection; the file descriptor
resulting from the sys-open(2) will be open on the control
file, ctl, in the directory that represents the new connec-
tion. Reading the control file will return a text string
giving the connection number (and thus the directory name).
Writing to ctl controls the corresponding connection. The
following control messages are possible:
fd n Associate the network connection on file descriptor n
with the ssl device.
alg clear
Allow data to pass in the clear with only message
delimiters added. The device starts in this mode.
alg sha
Append a SHA digest to each buffer written to data.
The digest covers the outgoing secret (written to
secretout), the message, and a message number which
starts at 0 and increments by one for each message.
Messages read have their appended digests compared to a
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SSL(3) SSL(3)
digest computed using the incoming secret (written to
secretin). If the comparison fails, so will the read.
alg md4
Like sha but using the MD4 message digest algorithm.
alg md5
Like sha but using the MD5 message digest algorithm.
alg rc4
alg rc4_40
alg rc4_128
alg rc4_256
RC4 encrypt each message written to data with the key
written to secretout, using the key length as indicated
(40-bit keys by default).
alg des_56_cbc
Encrypt the stream using DES and Cipher Block Chaining
(CBC)
alg des_56_ecb
Encrypt the stream using DES and Electronic Code Book
(ECB)
alg ideacbc
Encrypt the stream using IDEA and CBC
alg ideaecb
Encrypt the stream using IDEA and ECB
alg digest/crypt
Combine the use of the given digest algorithm and the
stream encryption algorithm crypt
Files secretin and secretout must be written before digest-
ing or encryption is turned on. If only one is written, they
are both assumed to be the same.
The mode may be changed at any time during a connection.
The list of algorithms supported by a given implementation
of ssl may be read from the read-only text files encalgs
(encryption algorithms) and hashalgs (hashing algorithms for
digests). Each contains a space-separated list of algorithm
names.
SEE ALSO
security-ssl(2)
B. Schneier, Applied Cryptography , 1996, J. Wiley & Sons,
Inc.
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