OSSL_PROVIDER-FIPS(7ossl) OpenSSL OSSL_PROVIDER-FIPS(7ossl)
NAME
OSSL_PROVIDER-FIPS - OpenSSL FIPS provider
DESCRIPTION
The OpenSSL FIPS provider is a special provider that conforms to the
Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) specified in FIPS
140-3. This 'module' contains an approved set of cryptographic
algorithms that is validated by an accredited testing laboratory.
Properties
The implementations in this provider specifically have these properties
defined for approved algorithms:
"provider=fips"
"fips=yes"
It may be used in a property query string with fetching functions such
as EVP_MD_fetch(3) or EVP_CIPHER_fetch(3), as well as with other
functions that take a property query string, such as
EVP_PKEY_CTX_new_from_name(3).
To be FIPS compliant, it is mandatory to include "fips=yes" as part of
all property queries. This ensures that only FIPS approved
implementations are used for cryptographic operations. The "fips=yes"
query may also include other non-crypto support operations that are not
in the FIPS provider, such as asymmetric key encoders, see "Asymmetric
Key Management" in OSSL_PROVIDER-default(7).
It is not mandatory to include "provider=fips" as part of your property
query. Including "provider=fips" in your property query guarantees
that the OpenSSL FIPS provider is used for cryptographic operations
rather than other FIPS capable providers.
Approved algorithms
Algorithms that are fetched using "fips=yes" may still be unapproved if
certain conditions are not met. See "FIPS indicators" in fips_module(7)
for additional information.
Provider parameters
See "Provider parameters" in provider-base(7) for a list of base
parameters. The OpenSSL FIPS provider also handles FIPS indicator
related parameters as specified by "FIPS indicator options" in
fips_config(5).
OPERATIONS AND ALGORITHMS
The OpenSSL FIPS provider supports these operations and algorithms:
Hashing Algorithms / Message Digests
SHA1, see EVP_MD-SHA1(7)
SHA2, see EVP_MD-SHA2(7)
SHA3, see EVP_MD-SHA3(7)
KECCAK-KMAC, see EVP_MD-KECCAK-KMAC(7)
SHAKE, see EVP_MD-SHAKE(7)
Symmetric Ciphers
AES, see EVP_CIPHER-AES(7)
3DES, see EVP_CIPHER-DES(7)
Message Authentication Code (MAC)
CMAC, see EVP_MAC-CMAC(7)
GMAC, see EVP_MAC-GMAC(7)
HMAC, see EVP_MAC-HMAC(7)
KMAC, see EVP_MAC-KMAC(7)
Key Derivation Function (KDF)
HKDF, see EVP_KDF-HKDF(7)
TLS13-KDF, see EVP_KDF-TLS13_KDF(7)
SSKDF, see EVP_KDF-SS(7)
PBKDF2, see EVP_KDF-PBKDF2(7)
SSHKDF, see EVP_KDF-SSHKDF(7)
TLS1-PRF, see EVP_KDF-TLS1_PRF(7)
KBKDF, see EVP_KDF-KB(7)
X942KDF-ASN1, see EVP_KDF-X942-ASN1(7)
X942KDF-CONCAT, see EVP_KDF-X942-CONCAT(7)
X963KDF, see EVP_KDF-X963(7)
Key Exchange
DH, see EVP_KEYEXCH-DH(7)
ECDH, see EVP_KEYEXCH-ECDH(7)
X25519, see EVP_KEYEXCH-X25519(7)
X448, see EVP_KEYEXCH-X448(7)
ML-KEM, see EVP_KEM-ML-KEM(7)
TLS1-PRF
HKDF
Asymmetric Signature
RSA, see EVP_SIGNATURE-RSA(7)
The X931 padding mode "OSSL_PKEY_RSA_PAD_MODE_X931" is no longer
supported for signature generation, but may be used for
verification for legacy use cases. (This is a FIPS 140-3
requirement)
DSA, see EVP_SIGNATURE-DSA(7)
ED25519, see EVP_SIGNATURE-ED25519(7)
ED448, see EVP_SIGNATURE-ED448(7)
ECDSA, see EVP_SIGNATURE-ECDSA(7)
ML-DSA-44, see EVP_SIGNATURE-ML-DSA(7)
ML-DSA-65, see EVP_SIGNATURE-ML-DSA(7)
ML-DSA-87, see EVP_SIGNATURE-ML-DSA(7)
SLH-DSA, see EVP_SIGNATURE-SLH-DSA(7)
HMAC, see EVP_SIGNATURE-HMAC(7)
CMAC, see EVP_SIGNATURE-CMAC(7)
Asymmetric Cipher
RSA, see EVP_ASYM_CIPHER-RSA(7)
Asymmetric Key Encapsulation
RSA, see EVP_KEM-RSA(7)
Asymmetric Key Management
DH, see EVP_KEYMGMT-DH(7)
DHX, see EVP_KEYMGMT-DHX(7)
DSA, see EVP_KEYMGMT-DSA(7)
RSA, see EVP_KEYMGMT-RSA(7)
RSA-PSS
EC, see EVP_KEYMGMT-EC(7)
ED25519, see EVP_KEYMGMT-ED25519(7)
ED448, see EVP_KEYMGMT-ED448(7)
X25519, see EVP_KEYMGMT-X25519(7)
This is an unapproved algorithm. The FIPS 140-3 IG states that
"Curves that are included in SP 800-186 but not included in SP
800-56Arev3 are not approved for key agreement".
X448, see EVP_KEYMGMT-X448(7)
This is an unapproved algorithm. The FIPS 140-3 IG states that
"Curves that are included in SP 800-186 but not" included in SP
800-56Arev3 are not approved for key agreement".
TLS1-PRF
HKDF
HMAC, see EVP_KEYMGMT-HMAC(7)
CMAC, see EVP_KEYMGMT-CMAC(7)
ML-DSA-44, see EVP_KEYMGMT-ML-DSA(7)
ML-DSA-65, see EVP_KEYMGMT-ML-DSA(7)
ML-DSA-87, see EVP_KEYMGMT-ML-DSA(7)
SLH-DSA-SHA2-128s, see EVP_KEYMGMT-SLH-DSA(7)
SLH-DSA-SHA2-128f, see EVP_KEYMGMT-SLH-DSA(7)
SLH-DSA-SHA2-192s, see EVP_KEYMGMT-SLH-DSA(7)
SLH-DSA-SHA2-192f, see EVP_KEYMGMT-SLH-DSA(7)
SLH-DSA-SHA2-256s, see EVP_KEYMGMT-SLH-DSA(7)
SLH-DSA-SHA2-256f, see EVP_KEYMGMT-SLH-DSA(7)
SLH-DSA-SHAKE-128s, see EVP_KEYMGMT-SLH-DSA(7)
SLH-DSA-SHAKE-128f, see EVP_KEYMGMT-SLH-DSA(7)
SLH-DSA-SHAKE-192s, see EVP_KEYMGMT-SLH-DSA(7)
SLH-DSA-SHAKE-192f, see EVP_KEYMGMT-SLH-DSA(7)
SLH-DSA-SHAKE-256s, see EVP_KEYMGMT-SLH-DSA(7)
SLH-DSA-SHAKE-256f, see EVP_KEYMGMT-SLH-DSA(7)
Random Number Generation
CRNG-TEST, see EVP_RAND-CRNG-TEST(7)
CTR-DRBG, see EVP_RAND-CTR-DRBG(7)
HASH-DRBG, see EVP_RAND-HASH-DRBG(7)
HMAC-DRBG, see EVP_RAND-HMAC-DRBG(7)
TEST-RAND, see EVP_RAND-TEST-RAND(7)
TEST-RAND is an unapproved algorithm.
SELF TESTING
A requirement of FIPS modules is to run cryptographic algorithm self
tests. FIPS 140-3 requires known answer tests to be run on startup as
well as conditional tests that run during cryptographic operations.
An optional callback mechanism is available to return information to
the user using OSSL_SELF_TEST_set_callback(3).
The parameters passed to the callback are described in
OSSL_SELF_TEST_new(3)
The OpenSSL FIPS module uses the following mechanism to provide
information about the self tests as they run. This is useful for
debugging if a self test is failing. The callback also allows forcing
any self test to fail, in order to check that it operates correctly on
failure. Note that all self tests run even if a self test failure
occurs.
The FIPS module passes the following type(s) to
OSSL_SELF_TEST_onbegin().
"Module_Integrity" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_MODULE_INTEGRITY)
Uses HMAC SHA256 on the module file to validate that the module has
not been modified. The integrity value is compared to a value
written to a configuration file during installation.
"KAT_Integrity" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_KAT_INTEGRITY)
Used during the Module Integrity test to perform a known answer
test on HMAC SHA256 prior to using it.
"KAT_Cipher" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_KAT_CIPHER)
Known answer test for a symmetric cipher.
"KAT_AsymmetricCipher" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_KAT_ASYM_CIPHER)
Known answer test for a asymmetric cipher.
"KAT_Digest" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_KAT_DIGEST)
Known answer test for a digest.
"KAT_AsymmetricKeyGeneration" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_KAT_ASYM_KEYGEN)
Known answer test for asymmetric key generation.
"KAT_Signature" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_KAT_SIGNATURE)
Known answer test for a signature.
"PCT_Signature" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_PCT_SIGNATURE)
Pairwise Consistency check for a signature.
"KAT_KDF" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_KAT_KDF)
Known answer test for a key derivation function.
"KAT_KA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_KAT_KA)
Known answer test for key agreement.
"KAT_KEM" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_KAT_KEM)
Known answer test for key encapsulation.
"DRBG" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_DRBG)
Known answer test for a Deterministic Random Bit Generator.
"Conditional_PCT" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_PCT)
Conditional test that is run during the generation or importing of
key pairs.
"Conditional_KAT" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_PCT_KAT)
Conditional test run during generation that derive the public key
from the private key and checks that the public key matches. This
is a SP 800-56A requirement.
"Continuous_RNG_Test" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_CRNG)
Continuous random number generator test.
"Install_Integrity" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_TYPE_INSTALL_INTEGRITY)
This is deprecated. The option is no longer used since FIPS 140-3
requires self tests to always run on startup. Previous FIPS 140-2
validations allowed the self tests to be run just once.
The FIPS module passes the following descriptions(s) to
OSSL_SELF_TEST_onbegin().
"HMAC" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_INTEGRITY_HMAC)
"Module_Integrity" uses this.
"RSA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_PCT_RSA_PKCS1)
"RSA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_PCT_RSA)
"ECDSA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_PCT_ECDSA)
"EDDSA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_PCT_EDDSA)
"DSA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_PCT_DSA)
"ML-DSA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_PCT_ML_DSA)
"ML-KEM" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_PCT_ML_KEM)
"SLH-DSA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_PCT_SLH_DSA)
Key generation tests used with the "Pairwise_Consistency_Test"
type.
"RSA_Encrypt" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_ASYM_RSA_ENC)
"RSA_Decrypt" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_ASYM_RSA_DEC)
"KAT_AsymmetricCipher" uses this to indicate an encrypt or decrypt
KAT.
"ML-DSA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_KEYGEN_ML_DSA)
"ML-KEM" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_KEYGEN_ML_KEM)
"SLH-DSA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_KEYGEN_SLH_DSA)
"KAT_AsymmetricKeyGeneration" uses this to indicate a key
generation KAT.
"AES_GCM" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_CIPHER_AES_GCM)
"AES_ECB_Decrypt" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_CIPHER_AES_ECB)
"TDES" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_CIPHER_TDES)
Symmetric cipher tests used with the "KAT_Cipher" type.
"SHA1" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_MD_SHA1)
"SHA2" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_MD_SHA2)
"SHA3" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_MD_SHA3)
Digest tests used with the "KAT_Digest" type.
"DSA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_SIGN_DSA)
"RSA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_SIGN_RSA)
"ECDSA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_SIGN_ECDSA)
"EDDSA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_SIGN_EDDSA)
"ML-DSA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_SIGN_ML_DSA)
"SLH-DSA" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_SIGN_SLH_DSA)
Signature tests used with the "KAT_Signature" type.
"ECDH" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_KA_ECDH)
"DH" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_KA_DH)
Key agreement tests used with the "KAT_KA" type.
"HKDF" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_KDF_HKDF)
"TLS13_KDF_EXTRACT" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_KDF_TLS13_EXTRACT)
"TLS13_KDF_EXPAND" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_KDF_TLS13_EXPAND)
"SSKDF" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_KDF_SSKDF)
"X963KDF" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_KDF_X963KDF)
"X942KDF" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_KDF_X942KDF)
"PBKDF2" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_KDF_PBKDF2)
"SSHKDF" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_KDF_SSHKDF)
"TLS12_PRF" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_KDF_TLS12_PRF)
"KBKDF" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_KDF_KBKDF)
Key Encapsulation Function tests used with the "KAT_KEM" type.
"KEM_Encap" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_ENCAP_KEM)
"KEM_Decap" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_DECAP_KEM)
"KEM_Decap_Reject" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_DECAP_REJ_KEM)
Key Derivation Function tests used with the "KAT_KDF" type.
"CTR" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_DRBG_CTR)
"HASH" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_DRBG_HASH)
"HMAC" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_DRBG_HMAC)
DRBG tests used with the "DRBG" type.
"RNG" (OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_RNG)
"Continuous_RNG_Test" uses this.
EXAMPLES
A simple self test callback is shown below for illustrative purposes.
#include <openssl/self_test.h>
static OSSL_CALLBACK self_test_cb;
static int self_test_cb(const OSSL_PARAM params[], void *arg)
{
int ret = 0;
const OSSL_PARAM *p = NULL;
const char *phase = NULL, *type = NULL, *desc = NULL;
p = OSSL_PARAM_locate_const(params, OSSL_PROV_PARAM_SELF_TEST_PHASE);
if (p == NULL || p->data_type != OSSL_PARAM_UTF8_STRING)
goto err;
phase = (const char *)p->data;
p = OSSL_PARAM_locate_const(params, OSSL_PROV_PARAM_SELF_TEST_DESC);
if (p == NULL || p->data_type != OSSL_PARAM_UTF8_STRING)
goto err;
desc = (const char *)p->data;
p = OSSL_PARAM_locate_const(params, OSSL_PROV_PARAM_SELF_TEST_TYPE);
if (p == NULL || p->data_type != OSSL_PARAM_UTF8_STRING)
goto err;
type = (const char *)p->data;
/* Do some logging */
if (strcmp(phase, OSSL_SELF_TEST_PHASE_START) == 0)
BIO_printf(bio_out, "%s : (%s) : ", desc, type);
if (strcmp(phase, OSSL_SELF_TEST_PHASE_PASS) == 0
|| strcmp(phase, OSSL_SELF_TEST_PHASE_FAIL) == 0)
BIO_printf(bio_out, "%s\n", phase);
/* Corrupt the SHA1 self test during the 'corrupt' phase by returning 0 */
if (strcmp(phase, OSSL_SELF_TEST_PHASE_CORRUPT) == 0
&& strcmp(desc, OSSL_SELF_TEST_DESC_MD_SHA1) == 0) {
BIO_printf(bio_out, "%s %s", phase, desc);
return 0;
}
ret = 1;
err:
return ret;
}
NOTES
Some released versions of OpenSSL do not include a validated FIPS
provider. To determine which versions have undergone the validation
process, please refer to the OpenSSL Downloads page
<https://www.openssl.org/source/>. If you require FIPS-approved
functionality, it is essential to build your FIPS provider using one of
the validated versions listed there. Normally, it is possible to
utilize a FIPS provider constructed from one of the validated versions
alongside libcrypto and libssl compiled from any release within the
same major release series. This flexibility enables you to address bug
fixes and CVEs that fall outside the FIPS boundary.
You can load the FIPS provider into multiple library contexts as any
other provider. However the following restriction applies. The FIPS
provider cannot be used by multiple copies of OpenSSL libcrypto in a
single process.
As the provider saves core callbacks to the libcrypto obtained in the
OSSL_provider_init() call to global data it will fail if subsequent
invocations of its OSSL_provider_init() function yield different
addresses of these callbacks than in the initial call. This happens
when different copies of libcrypto are present in the memory of the
process and both try to load the same FIPS provider. A workaround is to
have a different copy of the FIPS provider loaded for each of the
libcrypto instances in the process.
SEE ALSO
openssl-fipsinstall(1), fips_config(5), OSSL_SELF_TEST_set_callback(3),
OSSL_SELF_TEST_new(3), OSSL_PARAM(3), openssl-core.h(7),
openssl-core_dispatch.h(7), provider(7),
<https://www.openssl.org/source/>
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>.
3.5.2 2025-08-07 OSSL_PROVIDER-FIPS(7ossl)
openssl 3.5.2 - Generated Fri Aug 8 07:09:41 CDT 2025