Linux "sess_id" Command Line Options and Examples

SSL/TLS session handling utility

The sess_id process the encoded version of the SSL session structure and optionally prints out SSL session details (for example the SSL session master key) in human readable format. Since this is a diagnostic tool that needs some knowledge of the SSL protocol to use properly, most users will not need to use it..

Usage:

openssl sess_id [-help] [-inform PEM|DER] [-outform PEM|DER|NSS] [-in filename] [-out filename] [-text] [-noout] [-context ID]

Related Commands

Command Line Options:

-help

Print out a usage message.


                            sess_id -help ...

-inform

This specifies the input format. The DER option uses an ASN1 DER encoded format containing sessiondetails. The precise format can vary from one version to the next. The PEM form is the default format: itconsists of the DER format base64 encoded with additional header and footer lines.


                            sess_id -inform ...

-outform

This specifies the output format. The PEM and DER options have the same meaning as the -inform option. TheNSS option outputs the session id and the master key in NSS keylog format.


                            sess_id -outform ...

-in

This specifies the input filename to read session information from or standard input by default.


                            sess_id -in ...

-out

This specifies the output filename to write session information to or standard output if this option isnot specified.


                            sess_id -out ...

-text

prints out the various public or private key components in plain text in addition to the encoded version.


                            sess_id -text ...

-cert

if a certificate is present in the session it will be output using this option, if the -text option isalso present then it will be printed out in text form.


                            sess_id -cert ...

-noout

this option prevents output of the encoded version of the session.


                            sess_id -noout ...

-context

this option can set the session id so the output session information uses the supplied ID. The ID can beany string of characters. This option won't normally be used.OUTPUTTypical output:SSL-Session:Protocol : TLSv1Cipher : 0016Session-ID: 871E62626C554CE95488823752CBD5F3673A3EF3DCE9C67BD916C809914B40EDSession-ID-ctx: 01000000Master-Key: A7CEFC571974BE02CAC305269DC59F76EA9F0B180CB6642697A68251F2D2BB57E51DBBB4C7885573192AE9AEE220FACDKey-Arg : NoneStart Time: 948459261Timeout : 300 (sec)Verify return code 0 (ok)Theses are described below in more detail.Protocolthis is the protocol in use TLSv1.2, TLSv1.1, TLSv1 or SSLv3.Cipherthe cipher used this is the actual raw SSL or TLS cipher code, see the SSL or TLS specifications for moreinformation.Session-IDthe SSL session ID in hex format.Session-ID-ctxthe session ID context in hex format.Master-Keythis is the SSL session master key.Start Timethis is the session start time represented as an integer in standard Unix format.Timeoutthe timeout in seconds.Verify return codethis is the return code when an SSL client certificate is verified.NOTESThe PEM encoded session format uses the header and footer lines:


                            sess_id -context ...