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Node.js v5.3.0 Documentation
Table of Contents
- Crypto
- Class: Certificate
- Class: Cipher
- Class: Decipher
- Class: DiffieHellman
- diffieHellman.computeSecret(other_public_key[, input_encoding][, output_encoding])
- diffieHellman.generateKeys([encoding])
- diffieHellman.getGenerator([encoding])
- diffieHellman.getPrime([encoding])
- diffieHellman.getPrivateKey([encoding])
- diffieHellman.getPublicKey([encoding])
- diffieHellman.setPrivateKey(private_key[, encoding])
- diffieHellman.setPublicKey(public_key[, encoding])
- diffieHellman.verifyError
- Class: ECDH
- Class: Hash
- Class: Hmac
- Class: Sign
- Class: Verify
- crypto.DEFAULT_ENCODING
- crypto.createCipher(algorithm, password)
- crypto.createCipheriv(algorithm, key, iv)
- crypto.createCredentials(details)
- crypto.createDecipher(algorithm, password)
- crypto.createDecipheriv(algorithm, key, iv)
- crypto.createDiffieHellman(prime[, prime_encoding][, generator][, generator_encoding])
- crypto.createDiffieHellman(prime_length[, generator])
- crypto.createECDH(curve_name)
- crypto.createHash(algorithm)
- crypto.createHmac(algorithm, key)
- crypto.createSign(algorithm)
- crypto.createVerify(algorithm)
- crypto.getCiphers()
- crypto.getCurves()
- crypto.getDiffieHellman(group_name)
- crypto.getHashes()
- crypto.pbkdf2(password, salt, iterations, keylen[, digest], callback)
- crypto.pbkdf2Sync(password, salt, iterations, keylen[, digest])
- crypto.privateDecrypt(private_key, buffer)
- crypto.privateEncrypt(private_key, buffer)
- crypto.publicDecrypt(public_key, buffer)
- crypto.publicEncrypt(public_key, buffer)
- crypto.randomBytes(size[, callback])
- crypto.setEngine(engine[, flags])
- Recent API Changes
- Caveats
Crypto#
Stability: 2 - Stable
Use require('crypto')
to access this module.
The crypto module offers a way of encapsulating secure credentials to be used as part of a secure HTTPS net or http connection.
It also offers a set of wrappers for OpenSSL's hash, hmac, cipher, decipher, sign and verify methods.
Class: Certificate#
The class used for working with signed public key & challenges. The most
common usage for this series of functions is when dealing with the <keygen>
element. https://www.openssl.org/docs/apps/spkac.html
Returned by crypto.Certificate
.
Certificate.exportChallenge(spkac)#
Exports the encoded challenge associated with the SPKAC.
Certificate.exportPublicKey(spkac)#
Exports the encoded public key from the supplied SPKAC.
Certificate.verifySpkac(spkac)#
Returns true of false based on the validity of the SPKAC.
Class: Cipher#
Class for encrypting data.
Returned by crypto.createCipher
and crypto.createCipheriv
.
Cipher objects are streams that are both readable and writable.
The written plain text data is used to produce the encrypted data on
the readable side. The legacy update
and final
methods are also
supported.
cipher.final([output_encoding])#
Returns any remaining enciphered contents, with output_encoding
being one of: 'binary'
, 'base64'
or 'hex'
. If no encoding is
provided, then a buffer is returned.
Note: cipher
object can not be used after final()
method has been
called.
cipher.getAuthTag()#
For authenticated encryption modes (currently supported: GCM), this
method returns a Buffer
that represents the authentication tag that
has been computed from the given data. Should be called after
encryption has been completed using the final
method!
cipher.setAAD(buffer)#
For authenticated encryption modes (currently supported: GCM), this method sets the value used for the additional authenticated data (AAD) input parameter.
cipher.setAutoPadding(auto_padding=true)#
You can disable automatic padding of the input data to block size. If
auto_padding
is false, the length of the entire input data must be a
multiple of the cipher's block size or final
will fail. Useful for
non-standard padding, e.g. using 0x0
instead of PKCS padding. You
must call this before cipher.final
.
cipher.update(data[, input_encoding][, output_encoding])#
Updates the cipher with data
, the encoding of which is given in
input_encoding
and can be 'utf8'
, 'ascii'
or 'binary'
. If no
encoding is provided, then a buffer is expected.
If data
is a Buffer
then input_encoding
is ignored.
The output_encoding
specifies the output format of the enciphered
data, and can be 'binary'
, 'base64'
or 'hex'
. If no encoding is
provided, then a buffer is returned.
Returns the enciphered contents, and can be called many times with new data as it is streamed.
Class: Decipher#
Class for decrypting data.
Returned by crypto.createDecipher
and crypto.createDecipheriv
.
Decipher objects are streams that are both readable and writable.
The written enciphered data is used to produce the plain-text data on
the the readable side. The legacy update
and final
methods are also
supported.
decipher.final([output_encoding])#
Returns any remaining plaintext which is deciphered, with
output_encoding
being one of: 'binary'
, 'ascii'
or 'utf8'
. If
no encoding is provided, then a buffer is returned.
Note: decipher
object can not be used after final()
method has been
called.
decipher.setAAD(buffer)#
For authenticated encryption modes (currently supported: GCM), this method sets the value used for the additional authenticated data (AAD) input parameter.
decipher.setAuthTag(buffer)#
For authenticated encryption modes (currently supported: GCM), this
method must be used to pass in the received authentication tag.
If no tag is provided or if the ciphertext has been tampered with,
final
will throw, thus indicating that the ciphertext should
be discarded due to failed authentication.
decipher.setAutoPadding(auto_padding=true)#
You can disable auto padding if the data has been encrypted without
standard block padding to prevent decipher.final
from checking and
removing it. This will only work if the input data's length is a multiple of
the ciphers block size. You must call this before streaming data to
decipher.update
.
decipher.update(data[, input_encoding][, output_encoding])#
Updates the decipher with data
, which is encoded in 'binary'
,
'base64'
or 'hex'
. If no encoding is provided, then a buffer is
expected.
If data
is a Buffer
then input_encoding
is ignored.
The output_decoding
specifies in what format to return the
deciphered plaintext: 'binary'
, 'ascii'
or 'utf8'
. If no
encoding is provided, then a buffer is returned.
Class: DiffieHellman#
The class for creating Diffie-Hellman key exchanges.
Returned by crypto.createDiffieHellman
.
diffieHellman.computeSecret(other_public_key[, input_encoding][, output_encoding])#
Computes the shared secret using other_public_key
as the other
party's public key and returns the computed shared secret. Supplied
key is interpreted using specified input_encoding
, and secret is
encoded using specified output_encoding
. Encodings can be
'binary'
, 'hex'
, or 'base64'
. If the input encoding is not
provided, then a buffer is expected.
If no output encoding is given, then a buffer is returned.
diffieHellman.generateKeys([encoding])#
Generates private and public Diffie-Hellman key values, and returns
the public key in the specified encoding. This key should be
transferred to the other party. Encoding can be 'binary'
, 'hex'
,
or 'base64'
. If no encoding is provided, then a buffer is returned.
diffieHellman.getGenerator([encoding])#
Returns the Diffie-Hellman generator in the specified encoding, which can
be 'binary'
, 'hex'
, or 'base64'
. If no encoding is provided,
then a buffer is returned.
diffieHellman.getPrime([encoding])#
Returns the Diffie-Hellman prime in the specified encoding, which can
be 'binary'
, 'hex'
, or 'base64'
. If no encoding is provided,
then a buffer is returned.
diffieHellman.getPrivateKey([encoding])#
Returns the Diffie-Hellman private key in the specified encoding,
which can be 'binary'
, 'hex'
, or 'base64'
. If no encoding is
provided, then a buffer is returned.
diffieHellman.getPublicKey([encoding])#
Returns the Diffie-Hellman public key in the specified encoding, which
can be 'binary'
, 'hex'
, or 'base64'
. If no encoding is provided,
then a buffer is returned.
diffieHellman.setPrivateKey(private_key[, encoding])#
Sets the Diffie-Hellman private key. Key encoding can be 'binary'
,
'hex'
or 'base64'
. If no encoding is provided, then a buffer is
expected.
diffieHellman.setPublicKey(public_key[, encoding])#
Sets the Diffie-Hellman public key. Key encoding can be 'binary'
,
'hex'
or 'base64'
. If no encoding is provided, then a buffer is
expected.
diffieHellman.verifyError#
A bit field containing any warnings and/or errors as a result of a check performed
during initialization. The following values are valid for this property
(defined in constants
module):
DH_CHECK_P_NOT_SAFE_PRIME
DH_CHECK_P_NOT_PRIME
DH_UNABLE_TO_CHECK_GENERATOR
DH_NOT_SUITABLE_GENERATOR
Class: ECDH#
The class for creating EC Diffie-Hellman key exchanges.
Returned by crypto.createECDH
.
ECDH.computeSecret(other_public_key[, input_encoding][, output_encoding])#
Computes the shared secret using other_public_key
as the other
party's public key and returns the computed shared secret. Supplied
key is interpreted using specified input_encoding
, and secret is
encoded using specified output_encoding
. Encodings can be
'binary'
, 'hex'
, or 'base64'
. If the input encoding is not
provided, then a buffer is expected.
If no output encoding is given, then a buffer is returned.
ECDH.generateKeys([encoding[, format]])#
Generates private and public EC Diffie-Hellman key values, and returns the public key in the specified format and encoding. This key should be transferred to the other party.
Format specifies point encoding and can be 'compressed'
, 'uncompressed'
, or
'hybrid'
. If no format is provided - the point will be returned in
'uncompressed'
format.
Encoding can be 'binary'
, 'hex'
, or 'base64'
. If no encoding is provided,
then a buffer is returned.
ECDH.getPrivateKey([encoding])#
Returns the EC Diffie-Hellman private key in the specified encoding,
which can be 'binary'
, 'hex'
, or 'base64'
. If no encoding is
provided, then a buffer is returned.
ECDH.getPublicKey([encoding[, format]])#
Returns the EC Diffie-Hellman public key in the specified encoding and format.
Format specifies point encoding and can be 'compressed'
, 'uncompressed'
, or
'hybrid'
. If no format is provided - the point will be returned in
'uncompressed'
format.
Encoding can be 'binary'
, 'hex'
, or 'base64'
. If no encoding is provided,
then a buffer is returned.
ECDH.setPrivateKey(private_key[, encoding])#
Sets the EC Diffie-Hellman private key. Key encoding can be 'binary'
,
'hex'
or 'base64'
. If no encoding is provided, then a buffer is
expected. If private_key
is not valid for the curve specified when
the ECDH object was created, then an error is thrown. Upon setting
the private key, the associated public point (key) is also generated
and set in the ECDH object.
ECDH.setPublicKey(public_key[, encoding])#
Stability: 0 - Deprecated
Sets the EC Diffie-Hellman public key. Key encoding can be 'binary'
,
'hex'
or 'base64'
. If no encoding is provided, then a buffer is
expected. Note that there is not normally a reason to call this
method. This is because ECDH only needs your private key and the
other party's public key to compute the shared secret. Thus, usually
either generateKeys
or setPrivateKey
will be called.
Note that setPrivateKey
attempts to generate the public point/key
associated with the private key being set.
Example (obtaining a shared secret):
var crypto = require('crypto');
var alice = crypto.createECDH('secp256k1');
var bob = crypto.createECDH('secp256k1');
// Note: This is a shortcut way to specify one of Alice's previous private
// keys. It would be unwise to use such a predictable private key in a real
// application.
alice.setPrivateKey(
crypto.createHash('sha256').update('alice', 'utf8').digest()
);
// Bob uses a newly generated cryptographically strong pseudorandom key pair
bob.generateKeys();
var alice_secret = alice.computeSecret(bob.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');
var bob_secret = bob.computeSecret(alice.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');
// alice_secret and bob_secret should be the same shared secret value
console.log(alice_secret === bob_secret);
Class: Hash#
The class for creating hash digests of data.
It is a stream that is both readable and writable. The written data
is used to compute the hash. Once the writable side of the stream is ended,
use the read()
method to get the computed hash digest. The legacy update
and digest
methods are also supported.
Returned by crypto.createHash
.
hash.digest([encoding])#
Calculates the digest of all of the passed data to be hashed. The
encoding
can be 'hex'
, 'binary'
or 'base64'
. If no encoding
is provided, then a buffer is returned.
Note: hash
object can not be used after digest()
method has been
called.
hash.update(data[, input_encoding])#
Updates the hash content with the given data
, the encoding of which
is given in input_encoding
and can be 'utf8'
, 'ascii'
or
'binary'
. If no encoding is provided, and the input is a string, an
encoding of 'binary'
is enforced. If data
is a Buffer
then
input_encoding
is ignored.
This can be called many times with new data as it is streamed.
Class: Hmac#
Class for creating cryptographic hmac content.
Returned by crypto.createHmac
.
hmac.digest([encoding])#
Calculates the digest of all of the passed data to the hmac. The
encoding
can be 'hex'
, 'binary'
or 'base64'
. If no encoding
is provided, then a buffer is returned.
Note: hmac
object can not be used after digest()
method has been
called.
hmac.update(data)#
Update the hmac content with the given data
. This can be called
many times with new data as it is streamed.
Class: Sign#
Class for generating signatures.
Returned by crypto.createSign
.
Sign objects are writable streams. The written data is used to
generate the signature. Once all of the data has been written, the
sign
method will return the signature. The legacy update
method
is also supported.
sign.sign(private_key[, output_format])#
Calculates the signature on all the updated data passed through the sign.
private_key
can be an object or a string. If private_key
is a string, it is
treated as the key with no passphrase.
private_key
:
key
: A string holding the PEM encoded private keypassphrase
: A string of passphrase for the private key
Returns the signature in output_format
which can be 'binary'
,
'hex'
or 'base64'
. If no encoding is provided, then a buffer is
returned.
Note: sign
object can not be used after sign()
method has been
called.
sign.update(data)#
Updates the sign object with data. This can be called many times with new data as it is streamed.
Class: Verify#
Class for verifying signatures.
Returned by crypto.createVerify
.
Verify objects are writable streams. The written data is used to
validate against the supplied signature. Once all of the data has been
written, the verify
method will return true if the supplied signature
is valid. The legacy update
method is also supported.
verifier.update(data)#
Updates the verifier object with data. This can be called many times with new data as it is streamed.
verifier.verify(object, signature[, signature_format])#
Verifies the signed data by using the object
and signature
.
object
is a string containing a PEM encoded object, which can be
one of RSA public key, DSA public key, or X.509 certificate.
signature
is the previously calculated signature for the data, in
the signature_format
which can be 'binary'
, 'hex'
or 'base64'
.
If no encoding is specified, then a buffer is expected.
Returns true or false depending on the validity of the signature for the data and public key.
Note: verifier
object can not be used after verify()
method has been
called.
crypto.DEFAULT_ENCODING#
The default encoding to use for functions that can take either strings
or buffers. The default value is 'buffer'
, which makes it default
to using Buffer objects. This is here to make the crypto module more
easily compatible with legacy programs that expected 'binary'
to be
the default encoding.
Note that new programs will probably expect buffers, so only use this as a temporary measure.
crypto.createCipher(algorithm, password)#
Creates and returns a cipher object, with the given algorithm and password.
algorithm
is dependent on OpenSSL, examples are 'aes192'
, etc. On
recent releases, openssl list-cipher-algorithms
will display the
available cipher algorithms. password
is used to derive key and IV,
which must be a 'binary'
encoded string or a buffer.
It is a stream that is both readable and writable. The written data
is used to compute the hash. Once the writable side of the stream is ended,
use the read()
method to get the enciphered contents. The legacy update
and final
methods are also supported.
Note: createCipher
derives keys with the OpenSSL function EVP_BytesToKey
with the digest algorithm set to MD5, one iteration, and no salt. The lack of
salt allows dictionary attacks as the same password always creates the same key.
The low iteration count and non-cryptographically secure hash algorithm allow
passwords to be tested very rapidly.
In line with OpenSSL's recommendation to use pbkdf2 instead of EVP_BytesToKey
it
is recommended you derive a key and iv yourself with crypto.pbkdf2
and to
then use createCipheriv()
to create the cipher stream.
crypto.createCipheriv(algorithm, key, iv)#
Creates and returns a cipher object, with the given algorithm, key and iv.
algorithm
is the same as the argument to createCipher()
. key
is
the raw key used by the algorithm. iv
is an initialization vector.
key
and iv
must be 'binary'
encoded strings or buffers.
crypto.createCredentials(details)#
Stability: 0 - Deprecated: Use tls.createSecureContext
instead.
Creates a credentials object, with the optional details being a dictionary with keys:
pfx
: A string or buffer holding the PFX or PKCS12 encoded private key, certificate and CA certificateskey
: A string holding the PEM encoded private keypassphrase
: A string of passphrase for the private key or pfxcert
: A string holding the PEM encoded certificateca
: Either a string or list of strings of PEM encoded CA certificates to trust.crl
: Either a string or list of strings of PEM encoded CRLs (Certificate Revocation List)ciphers
: A string describing the ciphers to use or exclude. Consult https://www.openssl.org/docs/apps/ciphers.html#CIPHER_LIST_FORMAT for details on the format.
If no 'ca' details are given, then Node.js will use the default publicly trusted list of CAs as given in
http://mxr.mozilla.org/mozilla/source/security/nss/lib/ckfw/builtins/certdata.txt.
crypto.createDecipher(algorithm, password)#
Creates and returns a decipher object, with the given algorithm and
key. This is the mirror of the createCipher()
above.
crypto.createDecipheriv(algorithm, key, iv)#
Creates and returns a decipher object, with the given algorithm, key
and iv. This is the mirror of the createCipheriv()
above.
crypto.createDiffieHellman(prime[, prime_encoding][, generator][, generator_encoding])#
Creates a Diffie-Hellman key exchange object using the supplied prime
and an
optional specific generator
.
generator
can be a number, string, or Buffer.
If no generator
is specified, then 2
is used.
prime_encoding
and generator_encoding
can be 'binary'
, 'hex'
, or 'base64'
.
If no prime_encoding
is specified, then a Buffer is expected for prime
.
If no generator_encoding
is specified, then a Buffer is expected for generator
.
crypto.createDiffieHellman(prime_length[, generator])#
Creates a Diffie-Hellman key exchange object and generates a prime of
prime_length
bits and using an optional specific numeric generator
.
If no generator
is specified, then 2
is used.
crypto.createECDH(curve_name)#
Creates an Elliptic Curve (EC) Diffie-Hellman key exchange object using a
predefined curve specified by the curve_name
string. Use getCurves()
to
obtain a list of available curve names. On recent releases,
openssl ecparam -list_curves
will also display the name and description of
each available elliptic curve.
crypto.createHash(algorithm)#
Creates and returns a hash object, a cryptographic hash with the given algorithm which can be used to generate hash digests.
algorithm
is dependent on the available algorithms supported by the
version of OpenSSL on the platform. Examples are 'sha256'
,
'sha512'
, etc. On recent releases, openssl
list-message-digest-algorithms
will display the available digest
algorithms.
Example: this program that takes the sha256 sum of a file
var filename = process.argv[2];
var crypto = require('crypto');
var fs = require('fs');
var shasum = crypto.createHash('sha256');
var s = fs.ReadStream(filename);
s.on('data', function(d) {
shasum.update(d);
});
s.on('end', function() {
var d = shasum.digest('hex');
console.log(d + ' ' + filename);
});
crypto.createHmac(algorithm, key)#
Creates and returns a hmac object, a cryptographic hmac with the given algorithm and key.
It is a stream that is both readable and writable. The written
data is used to compute the hmac. Once the writable side of the
stream is ended, use the read()
method to get the computed digest.
The legacy update
and digest
methods are also supported.
algorithm
is dependent on the available algorithms supported by
OpenSSL - see createHash above. key
is the hmac key to be used.
crypto.createSign(algorithm)#
Creates and returns a signing object, with the given algorithm. On
recent OpenSSL releases, openssl list-public-key-algorithms
will
display the available signing algorithms. Examples are 'RSA-SHA256'
.
crypto.createVerify(algorithm)#
Creates and returns a verification object, with the given algorithm. This is the mirror of the signing object above.
crypto.getCiphers()#
Returns an array with the names of the supported ciphers.
Example:
var ciphers = crypto.getCiphers();
console.log(ciphers); // ['aes-128-cbc', 'aes-128-ccm', ...]
crypto.getCurves()#
Returns an array with the names of the supported elliptic curves.
Example:
var curves = crypto.getCurves();
console.log(curves); // ['secp256k1', 'secp384r1', ...]
crypto.getDiffieHellman(group_name)#
Creates a predefined Diffie-Hellman key exchange object. The
supported groups are: 'modp1'
, 'modp2'
, 'modp5'
(defined in
RFC 2412, but see Caveats) and 'modp14'
, 'modp15'
,
'modp16'
, 'modp17'
, 'modp18'
(defined in RFC 3526). The
returned object mimics the interface of objects created by
crypto.createDiffieHellman()
above, but will not allow changing
the keys (with diffieHellman.setPublicKey()
for example). The
advantage of using this routine is that the parties do not have to
generate nor exchange group modulus beforehand, saving both processor
and communication time.
Example (obtaining a shared secret):
var crypto = require('crypto');
var alice = crypto.getDiffieHellman('modp14');
var bob = crypto.getDiffieHellman('modp14');
alice.generateKeys();
bob.generateKeys();
var alice_secret = alice.computeSecret(bob.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');
var bob_secret = bob.computeSecret(alice.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');
/* alice_secret and bob_secret should be the same */
console.log(alice_secret == bob_secret);
crypto.getHashes()#
Returns an array with the names of the supported hash algorithms.
Example:
var hashes = crypto.getHashes();
console.log(hashes); // ['sha', 'sha1', 'sha1WithRSAEncryption', ...]
crypto.pbkdf2(password, salt, iterations, keylen[, digest], callback)#
Asynchronous PBKDF2 function. Applies the selected HMAC digest function
(default: SHA1) to derive a key of the requested byte length from the password,
salt and number of iterations. The callback gets two arguments:
(err, derivedKey)
.
The number of iterations passed to pbkdf2 should be as high as possible, the higher the number, the more secure it will be, but will take a longer amount of time to complete.
Chosen salts should also be unique. It is recommended that the salts are random and their length is greater than 16 bytes. See NIST SP 800-132 for details.
Example:
crypto.pbkdf2('secret', 'salt', 100000, 512, 'sha512', function(err, key) {
if (err)
throw err;
console.log(key.toString('hex')); // 'c5e478d...1469e50'
});
You can get a list of supported digest functions with crypto.getHashes()
.
crypto.pbkdf2Sync(password, salt, iterations, keylen[, digest])#
Synchronous PBKDF2 function. Returns derivedKey or throws error.
crypto.privateDecrypt(private_key, buffer)#
Decrypts buffer
with private_key
.
private_key
can be an object or a string. If private_key
is a string, it is
treated as the key with no passphrase and will use RSA_PKCS1_OAEP_PADDING
.
private_key
:
key
: A string holding the PEM encoded private keypassphrase
: An optional string of passphrase for the private keypadding
: An optional padding value, one of the following:constants.RSA_NO_PADDING
constants.RSA_PKCS1_PADDING
constants.RSA_PKCS1_OAEP_PADDING
NOTE: All paddings are defined in constants
module.
crypto.privateEncrypt(private_key, buffer)#
See above for details. Has the same API as crypto.privateDecrypt
.
Default padding is RSA_PKCS1_PADDING
.
crypto.publicDecrypt(public_key, buffer)#
See above for details. Has the same API as crypto.publicEncrypt
. Default
padding is RSA_PKCS1_PADDING
.
crypto.publicEncrypt(public_key, buffer)#
Encrypts buffer
with public_key
. Only RSA is currently supported.
public_key
can be an object or a string. If public_key
is a string, it is
treated as the key with no passphrase and will use RSA_PKCS1_OAEP_PADDING
.
Since RSA public keys may be derived from private keys you may pass a private
key to this method.
public_key
:
key
: A string holding the PEM encoded private keypassphrase
: An optional string of passphrase for the private keypadding
: An optional padding value, one of the following:constants.RSA_NO_PADDING
constants.RSA_PKCS1_PADDING
constants.RSA_PKCS1_OAEP_PADDING
NOTE: All paddings are defined in constants
module.
crypto.randomBytes(size[, callback])#
Generates cryptographically strong pseudo-random data. Usage:
// async
crypto.randomBytes(256, function(ex, buf) {
if (ex) throw ex;
console.log('Have %d bytes of random data: %s', buf.length, buf);
});
// sync
const buf = crypto.randomBytes(256);
console.log('Have %d bytes of random data: %s', buf.length, buf);
NOTE: This will block if there is insufficient entropy, although it should normally never take longer than a few milliseconds. The only time when this may conceivably block is right after boot, when the whole system is still low on entropy.
crypto.setEngine(engine[, flags])#
Load and set engine for some/all OpenSSL functions (selected by flags).
engine
could be either an id or a path to the engine's shared library.
flags
is optional and has ENGINE_METHOD_ALL
value by default. It could take
one of or mix of following flags (defined in constants
module):
ENGINE_METHOD_RSA
ENGINE_METHOD_DSA
ENGINE_METHOD_DH
ENGINE_METHOD_RAND
ENGINE_METHOD_ECDH
ENGINE_METHOD_ECDSA
ENGINE_METHOD_CIPHERS
ENGINE_METHOD_DIGESTS
ENGINE_METHOD_STORE
ENGINE_METHOD_PKEY_METH
ENGINE_METHOD_PKEY_ASN1_METH
ENGINE_METHOD_ALL
ENGINE_METHOD_NONE
Recent API Changes#
The Crypto module was added to Node.js before there was the concept of a unified Stream API, and before there were Buffer objects for handling binary data.
As such, the streaming classes don't have the typical methods found on other Node.js classes, and many methods accepted and returned Binary-encoded strings by default rather than Buffers. This was changed to use Buffers by default instead.
This is a breaking change for some use cases, but not all.
For example, if you currently use the default arguments to the Sign class, and then pass the results to the Verify class, without ever inspecting the data, then it will continue to work as before. Where you once got a binary string and then presented the binary string to the Verify object, you'll now get a Buffer, and present the Buffer to the Verify object.
However, if you were doing things with the string data that will not
work properly on Buffers (such as, concatenating them, storing in
databases, etc.), or you are passing binary strings to the crypto
functions without an encoding argument, then you will need to start
providing encoding arguments to specify which encoding you'd like to
use. To switch to the previous style of using binary strings by
default, set the crypto.DEFAULT_ENCODING
field to 'binary'. Note
that new programs will probably expect buffers, so only use this as a
temporary measure.
Usage of ECDH
with non-dynamically generated key pairs has been simplified.
Now, setPrivateKey
can be called with a preselected private key and the
associated public point (key) will be computed and stored in the object.
This allows you to only store and provide the private part of the EC key pair.
setPrivateKey
now also validates that the private key is valid for the curve.
ECDH.setPublicKey
is now deprecated as its inclusion in the API is not
useful. Either a previously stored private key should be set, which
automatically generates the associated public key, or generateKeys
should be
called. The main drawback of ECDH.setPublicKey
is that it can be used to put
the ECDH key pair into an inconsistent state.
Caveats#
The crypto module still supports some algorithms which are already compromised. And the API also allows the use of ciphers and hashes with a small key size that are considered to be too weak for safe use.
Users should take full responsibility for selecting the crypto algorithm and key size according to their security requirements.
Based on the recommendations of NIST SP 800-131A:
- MD5 and SHA-1 are no longer acceptable where collision resistance is required such as digital signatures.
- The key used with RSA, DSA and DH algorithms is recommended to have at least 2048 bits and that of the curve of ECDSA and ECDH at least 224 bits, to be safe to use for several years.
- The DH groups of
modp1
,modp2
andmodp5
have a key size smaller than 2048 bits and are not recommended.
See the reference for other recommendations and details.