man > fips_config(5ssl)

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                                       2026-07-29                            FIPS_CONFIG(5SSL)