fips_config

- NAME
- DESCRIPTION
  - FIPS indicator options
- NOTES
- SEE ALSO
- HISTORY
- COPYRIGHT

# 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.

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.

module-mac

  The calculated MAC of the FIPS provider file.

install-version

  A version number for the fips install process. Should be 1.

install-status

  This field is deprecated and is no longer used.

install-mac

  This field is deprecated and is no longer used.

## FIPS indicator options

The following FIPS configuration options indicate if run-time checks related to enforcement of FIPS 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.

See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) for further information related to these options.

security-checks

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -no_security_checks

tls1-prf-ems-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -ems_check

no-short-mac

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -no_short_mac

drbg-no-trunc-md

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -no_drbg_truncated_digests

signature-digest-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -signature_digest_check

hkdf-digest-check

  This option is deprecated.

tls13-kdf-digest-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -tls13_kdf_digest_check

tls1-prf-digest-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -tls1_prf_digest_check

sshkdf-digest-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -sshkdf_digest_check

sskdf-digest-check

  This option is deprecated.

x963kdf-digest-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -x963kdf_digest_check

dsa-sign-disabled

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -dsa_sign_disabled

tdes-encrypt-disabled

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -tdes_encrypt_disabled

rsa-pkcs15-pad-disabled

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -rsa_pkcs15_pad_disabled

rsa-pss-saltlen-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -rsa_pss_saltlen_check

rsa-sign-x931-pad-disabled

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -rsa_sign_x931_disabled

hkdf-key-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -hkdf_key_check

kbkdf-key-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -kbkdf_key_check

tls13-kdf-key-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -tls13_kdf_key_check

tls1-prf-key-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -tls1_prf_key_check

sshkdf-key-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -sshkdf_key_check

sskdf-key-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -sskdf_key_check

x963kdf-key-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -x963kdf_key_check

x942kdf-key-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -x942kdf_key_check

pbkdf2-lower-bound-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -no_pbkdf2_lower_bound_check

ecdh-cofactor-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -ecdh_cofactor_check

hmac-key-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -hmac_key_check

kmac-key-check

  See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -kmac_key_check

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 2019-2025 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.