FIPS_CONFIG(5SSL) OpenSSL FIPS_CONFIG(5SSL)
NAME
fips_config - OpenSSL FIPS configuration
DESCRIPTION
A separate configuration file, using the OpenSSL config(5) syntax, is
used to hold information about the FIPS module. This includes a digest
of the shared library file, and status about the self-testing. This
data is used automatically by the module itself for two purposes:
- Run the startup FIPS self-test known answer tests (KATS).
This is normally done once, at installation time, but may also be
set up to run each time the module is used.
- Verify the module's checksum.
This is done each time the module is used.
This file is generated by the openssl-fipsinstall(1) program, and used
internally by the FIPS module during its initialization.
The following options are supported. They should all appear in a
section whose name is identified by the fips option in the providers
section, as described in "Provider Configuration Module" in config(5).
activate
If present, the module is activated. The value assigned to this
name is not significant.
install-version
A version number for the fips install process. Should be 1.
conditional-errors
The FIPS module normally enters an internal error mode if any self
test fails. Once this error mode is active, no services or
cryptographic algorithms are accessible from this point on.
Continuous tests are a subset of the self tests (e.g., a key pair
test during key generation, or the CRNG output test). Setting this
value to 0 allows the error mode to not be triggered if any
continuous test fails. The default value of 1 will trigger the
error mode. Regardless of the value, the operation (e.g., key
generation) that called the continuous test will return an error
code if its continuous test fails. The operation may then be
retried if the error mode has not been triggered.
security-checks
This indicates if run-time checks related to enforcement of
security parameters such as minimum security strength of keys and
approved curve names are used. A value of '1' will perform the
checks, otherwise if the value is '0' the checks are not performed
and FIPS compliance must be done by procedures documented in the
relevant Security Policy.
module-mac
The calculated MAC of the FIPS provider file.
install-status
An indicator that the self-tests were successfully run. This
should only be written after the module has successfully passed its
self tests during installation. If this field is not present, then
the self tests will run when the module loads.
install-mac
A MAC of the value of the install-status option, to prevent
accidental changes to that value. It is written-to at the same
time as install-status is updated.
For example:
[fips_sect]
activate = 1
install-version = 1
conditional-errors = 1
security-checks = 1
module-mac = 41:D0:FA:C2:5D:41:75:CD:7D:C3:90:55:6F:A4:DC
install-mac = FE:10:13:5A:D3:B4:C7:82:1B:1E:17:4C:AC:84:0C
install-status = INSTALL_SELF_TEST_KATS_RUN
NOTES
When using the FIPS provider, it is recommended that the
config_diagnostics option is enabled to prevent accidental use of non-
FIPS validated algorithms via broken or mistaken configuration. See
config(5).
SEE ALSO
config(5) openssl-fipsinstall(1)
HISTORY
This functionality was added in OpenSSL 3.0.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright 2019-2021 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>.
3.0.13 2025-09-18 FIPS_CONFIG(5SSL)
Generated by dwww version 1.16 on Tue Dec 16 14:46:43 CET 2025.