X509_STORE_CTX_GET_ERROR(3)

NAME
X509_STORE_CTX_get_error, X509_STORE_CTX_set_error, X509_STORE_CTX_get_error_depth, X509_STORE_CTX_get_current_cert, X509_STORE_CTX_get0_current_issuer, X509_STORE_CTX_get0_current_crl, X509_STORE_CTX_get0_parent_ctx, X509_STORE_CTX_get0_chain, X509_STORE_CTX_get_chain, X509_STORE_CTX_get1_chain, X509_STORE_CTX_get0_policy_tree, X509_STORE_CTX_get_explicit_policy, X509_verify_cert_error_string - get or set certificate verification status information

SYNOPSIS
#include <openssl/x509_vfy.h>
int
X509_STORE_CTX_get_error(X509_STORE_CTX *ctx);
void
X509_STORE_CTX_set_error(X509_STORE_CTX *ctx, int s);
int
X509_STORE_CTX_get_error_depth(X509_STORE_CTX *ctx);
X509 *
X509_STORE_CTX_get_current_cert(X509_STORE_CTX *ctx);
X509 *
X509_STORE_CTX_get0_current_issuer(X509_STORE_CTX *ctx);
X509_CRL *
X509_STORE_CTX_get0_current_crl(X509_STORE_CTX *ctx);
X509_STORE_CTX *
X509_STORE_CTX_get0_parent_ctx(X509_STORE_CTX *ctx);
STACK_OF(X509) *
X509_STORE_CTX_get0_chain(X509_STORE_CTX *ctx);
STACK_OF(X509) *
X509_STORE_CTX_get_chain(X509_STORE_CTX *ctx);
STACK_OF(X509) *
X509_STORE_CTX_get1_chain(X509_STORE_CTX *ctx);
X509_POLICY_TREE *
X509_STORE_CTX_get0_policy_tree(X509_STORE_CTX *ctx);
int
X509_STORE_CTX_get_explicit_policy(X509_STORE_CTX *ctx);
#include <openssl/x509.h>
const char *
X509_verify_cert_error_string(long n);

DESCRIPTION
Most of these functions are typically called after X509_verify_cert(3) to inspect status information related to certificate verification. Some may also be called in a verification callback to determine the nature of an error.

X509_STORE_CTX_get_error() returns the error code of ctx. See the ERROR CODES section for a full description of all error codes.

X509_STORE_CTX_set_error() sets the error code of ctx to s. For example it might be used in a verification callback to set an error based on additional checks.

X509_STORE_CTX_get_error_depth() returns the depth of the error. This is a non-negative integer representing where in the certificate chain the error occurred. If it is zero, it occurred in the end entity certificate, one if it is the certificate which signed the end entity certificate, and so on.

X509_STORE_CTX_get_current_cert() returns the certificate in ctx which caused the error or NULL if no certificate is relevant.

X509_STORE_CTX_get0_current_issuer() returns the certificate that caused issuer validation to fail or NULL if no CA certificate is relevant.

X509_STORE_CTX_get0_current_crl() returns the certificate revocation list that caused CRL checking to fail or NULL if no CRL is relevant.

When, during certification path validation, the need arises to check the validity of the certification path of a CRL issuer certificate, the library creates a new, temporary X509_STORE_CTX object. If X509_STORE_CTX_get0_parent_ctx() is called on that temporary object, a pointer to the original certification path validation context is returned. This may be useful in callback functions called from X509_verify_cert(3) or from its subroutines to find out whether the callback is called from the path validation of the target certificate or from the path validation of a related CRL issuer certificate, and if the latter, what the target certificate is.

X509_STORE_CTX_get0_chain() returns an internal pointer to a complete validate chain if a previous call to X509_verify_cert(3) was successful. If the call to X509_verify_cert(3) was not successful, the returned chain may be incomplete or invalid. X509_STORE_CTX_get_chain() is a deprecated alias of X509_STORE_CTX_get0_chain(). X509_STORE_CTX_get1_chain() returns a deep copy of the same chain which persists even after the ctx structure is freed. When it is no longer needed, it should be freed using sk_X509_pop_free(chain, X509_free).

X509_verify_cert_error_string() returns a human readable error string for verification error n.

The above functions should be used instead of directly referencing the fields in the X509_VERIFY_CTX structure.

In versions of OpenSSL before 1.0, the current certificate returned by X509_STORE_CTX_get_current_cert() was never NULL. Applications should check the return value before printing out any debugging information relating to the current certificate.

If an unrecognised error code is passed to X509_verify_cert_error_string(), the numerical value of the unknown code is returned in a static buffer. This is not thread safe but will never happen unless an invalid code is passed.

RETURN VALUES
X509_STORE_CTX_get_error() returns X509_V_OK or an error code.

X509_STORE_CTX_get_error_depth() returns a non-negative error depth.

X509_STORE_CTX_get_current_cert(), X509_STORE_CTX_get0_current_issuer(), and X509_STORE_CTX_get0_current_crl() return the object which caused the error or NULL if no object of the requested kind is relevant to the error.

X509_STORE_CTX_get0_parent_ctx() returns the parent context or NULL if ctx is not a temporary child context used for path validation of a CRL issuer certificate.

X509_STORE_CTX_get0_chain(), X509_STORE_CTX_get_chain(), and X509_STORE_CTX_get1_chain() return a pointer to a stack of certificates or NULL if an error occurs.

X509_STORE_CTX_get0_policy_tree() returns an internal pointer to the valid_policy_tree created by X509_policy_check(3) or NULL if validation failed or the resulting tree was empty.

X509_STORE_CTX_get_explicit_policy() returns the *pexplicit_policy output argument of X509_policy_check(3). If validation succeeded, it is 1 if X509_V_FLAG_EXPLICIT_POLICY was requested or 0 otherwise.

X509_verify_cert_error_string() returns a human readable error string for verification error n.

ERROR CODES
A list of error codes and messages is shown below. Some of the error codes are defined but currently never returned: these are described as "unused".

X509_V_OK: ok
    The operation was successful.

X509_V_ERR_UNABLE_TO_GET_ISSUER_CERT: unable to get issuer certificate
    The issuer certificate of a locally looked up certificate could not be found. This normally means the list of trusted certificates is not complete.

X509_V_ERR_UNABLE_TO_GET_CRL: unable to get certificate CRL
    The CRL of a certificate could not be found.

X509_V_ERR_UNABLE_TO_DECRYPT_CERT_SIGNATURE: unable to decrypt certificate's signature
    The certificate signature could not be decrypted. This means that the actual signature value could not be determined rather than it not matching the expected value. This is only meaningful for RSA keys.

X509_V_ERR_UNABLE_TO_DECRYPT_CRL_SIGNATURE: unable to decrypt CRL's signature
    The CRL signature could not be decrypted: this means that the actual signature value could not be determined rather than it not matching the expected value. Unused.

X509_V_ERR_UNABLE_TO_DECODE_ISSUER_PUBLIC_KEY: unable to decode issuer public key
    The public key in the certificate SubjectPublicKeyInfo could not be read.

X509_V_ERR_CERT_SIGNATURE_FAILURE: certificate signature failure
    The signature of the certificate is invalid.

X509_V_ERR_CRL_SIGNATURE_FAILURE: CRL signature failure
    The signature of the certificate is invalid.

X509_V_ERR_CERT_NOT_YET_VALID: certificate is not yet valid
    The certificate is not yet valid: the notBefore date is after the current time.

X509_V_ERR_CERT_HAS_EXPIRED: certificate has expired
    The certificate has expired: that is the notAfter date is before the current time.

X509_V_ERR_CRL_NOT_YET_VALID: CRL is not yet valid
    The CRL is not yet valid.

X509_V_ERR_CRL_HAS_EXPIRED: CRL has expired
    The CRL has expired.

X509_V_ERR_ERROR_IN_CERT_NOT_BEFORE_FIELD: format error in certificate's notBefore field
    The certificate notBefore field contains an invalid time.

X509_V_ERR_ERROR_IN_CERT_NOT_AFTER_FIELD: format error in certificate's notAfter field
    The certificate notAfter field contains an invalid time.

X509_V_ERR_ERROR_IN_CRL_LAST_UPDATE_FIELD: format error in CRL's lastUpdate field
    The CRL lastUpdate field contains an invalid time.

X509_V_ERR_ERROR_IN_CRL_NEXT_UPDATE_FIELD: format error in CRL's nextUpdate field
    The CRL nextUpdate field contains an invalid time.

X509_V_ERR_OUT_OF_MEM: out of memory
    An error occurred trying to allocate memory. This should never happen.

X509_V_ERR_DEPTH_ZERO_SELF_SIGNED_CERT: self signed certificate
    The passed certificate is self signed and the same certificate cannot be found in the list of trusted certificates.

X509_V_ERR_SELF_SIGNED_CERT_IN_CHAIN: self signed certificate in certificate chain
    The certificate chain could be built up using the untrusted certificates but the root could not be found locally.

X509_V_ERR_UNABLE_TO_GET_ISSUER_CERT_LOCALLY: unable to get local issuer certificate
    The issuer certificate could not be found: this occurs if the issuer certificate of an untrusted certificate cannot be found.

X509_V_ERR_UNABLE_TO_VERIFY_LEAF_SIGNATURE: unable to verify the first certificate
    No signatures could be verified because the chain contains only one certificate and it is not self signed.

X509_V_ERR_CERT_CHAIN_TOO_LONG: certificate chain too long
    The certificate chain length is greater than the supplied maximum depth. Unused.

X509_V_ERR_CERT_REVOKED: certificate revoked
    The certificate has been revoked.

X509_V_ERR_INVALID_CA: invalid CA certificate
    A CA certificate is invalid. Either it is not a CA or its extensions are not consistent with the supplied purpose.

X509_V_ERR_PATH_LENGTH_EXCEEDED: path length constraint exceeded
    The basicConstraints path-length parameter has been exceeded.

X509_V_ERR_INVALID_PURPOSE: unsupported certificate purpose
    The supplied certificate cannot be used for the specified purpose.

X509_V_ERR_CERT_UNTRUSTED: certificate not trusted
    The root CA is not marked as trusted for the specified purpose.

X509_V_ERR_CERT_REJECTED: certificate rejected
    The root CA is marked to reject the specified purpose.

X509_V_ERR_SUBJECT_ISSUER_MISMATCH: subject issuer mismatch
    The current candidate issuer certificate was rejected because its subject name did not match the issuer name of the current certificate. This is only set if issuer check debugging is enabled; it is used for status notification and is not in itself an error.

X509_V_ERR_AKID_SKID_MISMATCH: authority and subject key identifier mismatch
    The current candidate issuer certificate was rejected because its subject key identifier was present and did not match the authority key identifier current certificate. This is only set if issuer check debugging is enabled; it is used for status notification and is not in itself an error.

X509_V_ERR_AKID_ISSUER_SERIAL_MISMATCH: Noauthority and issuer serial number mismatch
    The current candidate issuer certificate was rejected because its issuer name and serial number was present and did not match the authority key identifier of the current certificate. This is only set if issuer check debugging is enabled; it is used for status notification and is not in itself an error.

X509_V_ERR_KEYUSAGE_NO_CERTSIGN: key usage does not include certificate signing
    The current candidate issuer certificate was rejected because its keyUsage extension does not permit certificate signing. This is only set if issuer check debugging is enabled it is used for status notification and is not in itself an error.

X509_V_ERR_INVALID_EXTENSION: invalid or inconsistent certificate extension
    A certificate extension had an invalid value (for example an incorrect encoding) or some value inconsistent with other extensions.

X509_V_ERR_INVALID_POLICY_EXTENSION: invalid or inconsistent certificate policy extension
    A certificate policies extension had an invalid value (for example an incorrect encoding) or some value inconsistent with other extensions. This error only occurs if policy processing is enabled.

X509_V_ERR_NO_EXPLICIT_POLICY: no explicit policy
    The verification flags were set to require an explicit policy but none was present.

X509_V_ERR_DIFFERENT_CRL_SCOPE: different CRL scope
    The only CRLs that could be found did not match the scope of the certificate.

X509_V_ERR_UNSUPPORTED_EXTENSION_FEATURE: unsupported extension feature
    Some feature of a certificate extension is not supported. Unused.

X509_V_ERR_PERMITTED_VIOLATION: permitted subtree violation
    A name constraint violation occurred in the permitted subtrees.

X509_V_ERR_EXCLUDED_VIOLATION: excluded subtree violation
    A name constraint violation occurred in the excluded subtrees.

X509_V_ERR_SUBTREE_MINMAX: name constraints minimum and maximum not supported
    A certificate name constraints extension included a minimum or maximum field: this is not supported.

X509_V_ERR_UNSUPPORTED_CONSTRAINT_TYPE: unsupported name constraint type
    An unsupported name constraint type was encountered. OpenSSL currently only supports directory name, DNS name, email and URI types.

X509_V_ERR_UNSUPPORTED_CONSTRAINT_SYNTAX: unsupported or invalid name constraint syntax
    The format of the name constraint is not recognised: for example an email address format of a form not mentioned in RFC 3280. This could be caused by a garbage extension or some new feature not currently supported.

X509_V_ERR_CRL_PATH_VALIDATION_ERROR: CRL path validation error
    An error occurred when attempting to verify the CRL path. This error can only happen if extended CRL checking is enabled.

X509_V_ERR_APPLICATION_VERIFICATION: application verification failure
    An application specific error. This will never be returned unless explicitly set by an application.

SEE ALSO
X509_policy_check(3), X509_policy_tree_level_count(3), X509_STORE_CTX_new(3), X509_up_ref(3), X509_verify_cert(3)

HISTORY
X509_STORE_CTX_get_error(), X509_STORE_CTX_set_error(), X509_STORE_CTX_get_error_depth(), X509_STORE_CTX_get_current_cert(), X509_STORE_CTX_get_chain(), and X509_verify_cert_error_string() first appeared in SSLeay 0.8.0 and have been available since OpenBSD 2.4.

X509_STORE_CTX_get1_chain() first appeared in OpenSSL 0.9.5 and has been available since OpenBSD 2.7.

X509_STORE_CTX_get0_policy_tree() and X509_STORE_CTX_get_explicit_policy() first appeared in OpenSSL 0.9.8 and have been available since OpenBSD 4.5.

X509_STORE_CTX_get0_current_issuer(), X509_STORE_CTX_get0_current_crl(), and X509_STORE_CTX_get0_parent_ctx() first appeared in OpenSSL 1.0.0 and have been available since OpenBSD 4.9.

X509_STORE_CTX_get0_chain() first appeared in OpenSSL 1.1.0 and has been available since OpenBSD 6.3.