SoftHSM version 2
SoftHSM is part of the OpenDNSSEC project. Read more at www.opendnssec.org.
Introduction
OpenDNSSEC handles and stores its cryptographic keys via the PKCS#11 interface.
This interface specifies how to communicate with cryptographic devices such as
HSM:s (Hardware Security Modules) and smart cards. The purpose of these devices
is, among others, to generate cryptographic keys and sign information without
revealing private-key material to the outside world. They are often designed to
perform well on these specific tasks compared to ordinary processes in a normal
computer.
A potential problem with the use of the PKCS#11 interface is that it might
limit the wide spread use of OpenDNSSEC, since a potential user might not be
willing to invest in a new hardware device. To counter this effect, OpenDNSSEC
is providing a software implementation of a generic cryptographic device with a
PKCS#11 interface, the SoftHSM. SoftHSM is designed to meet the requirements of
OpenDNSSEC, but can also work together with other cryptographic products
because of the PKCS#11 interface.
Developers
- Rickard Bellgrim (Knowit Secure AB, www.knowitgroup.com)
- Francis Dupont (ISC, www.isc.org)
- René Post (XPT Software and Consulting, www.xpt.nl)
- Roland van Rijswijk (SURFnet bv, www.surfnet.nl)
Dependencies
SoftHSM depends on a cryptographic library, Botan or OpenSSL.
Minimum required versions:
- Botan 2.0.0
- OpenSSL 1.0.0
If you are using Botan, use at least version 2.6.0. This will improve
the performance when doing public key operations.
The GNU Autotools (Autoconf, Automake, Libtool) are also required for building
the software. It is also recommended to install pkg-config so that the
configure script can find the installed software.
There is a migration tool for converting token databases from SoftHSMv1 into
the new type of tokens. If this tool is built (--with-migrate), then SQLite3
is required (>= 3.4.2).
SQLite3 is also required if building with the database object store
(--with-objectstore-backend-db).
To install SoftHSM as a PKCS#11 module on the system, please install
libp11-kit-dev.
The unit tests requires CppUnit.
Installation
Building from the repository
If the code is downloaded directly from the code repository, you have to
prepare the configuration scripts before continuing.
- You need to install automake, autoconf, libtool, libtool-ltdl-devel (RHEL/CentOS), pkg-config.
- Run the command 'sh autogen.sh'
Configure
Configure the installation/compilation scripts:
./configure
Options:
--disable-non-paged-memory
Disable non-paged memory for secure storage
(default enabled)
--enable-ecc Enable support for ECC (default detect)
--enable-gost Enable support for GOST (default detect)
--enable-eddsa Enable support for EDDSA (default detect)
--disable-visibility Disable hidden visibilty link mode [enabled]
--with-crypto-backend Select crypto backend (openssl|botan)
--with-openssl=PATH Specify prefix of path of OpenSSL
--with-botan=PATH Specify prefix of path of Botan
--with-migrate Build the migration tool. Used when migrating
a SoftHSM v1 token database. Requires SQLite3
--with-objectstore-backend-db
Build with database object store (SQLite3)
--with-sqlite3=PATH Specify prefix of path of SQLite3
--disable-p11-kit Disable p11-kit integration (default enabled)
--with-p11-kit=PATH Specify install path of the p11-kit module, will
override path given by pkg-config
For more options:
./configure --help
Compile
Compile the source code using the following command:
make
Unit tests
Running the unit tests requires CppUnit.
make check
Install Library
Install the library using the follow command:
sudo make install
Configure
The default location of the config file is /etc/softhsm2.conf. This location
can be change by setting the environment variable.
export SOFTHSM2_CONF=/home/user/config.file
Details on the configuration can be found in "man softhsm2.conf".
Create the token directory you defined in your config file:
mkdir <token_dir>
Initialize Tokens
Use either softhsm2-util or the PKCS#11 interface. The SO PIN can e.g. be used
to re-initialize the token and the user PIN is handed out to the application so
it can interact with the token.
softhsm2-util --init-token --slot 0 --label "My token 1"
Type in SO PIN and user PIN. Once a token has been initialized, more slots will
be added automatically with a new uninitialized token.
Initialized tokens will be reassigned to another slot (based on the token
serial number). It is recommended to find and interact with the token by
searching for the token label or serial number in the slot list / token info.
Link
Link to this library and use the PKCS#11 interface.
Backup
All of the tokens and their objects are stored in the location given by
softhsm2.conf. Backup can thus be done as a regular file copy.
Log information
Log information is sent to syslog or the Windows event log and the log
level is set in the configuration file. Each log event is prepended with
the source file name and line number.