FIPS_CONFIG(5)

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.

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.

defer-tests
    If set to 1, the module will not run the self tests during initialization. Instead, the self tests will be run on demand when a particular algorithm is used. The default value of 0 runs the self tests during initialization.

module-mac
    The calculated MAC of the FIPS provider file.

install-version
    A version number for the fips install process. Should be 1.

install-status
    This field is deprecated and is no longer used.

install-mac
    This field is deprecated and is no longer used.

  FIPS indicator options
The following FIPS configuration options indicate if run-time checks related to enforcement of FIPS 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.

See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) for further information related to these options.

security-checks
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -no_security_checks

tls1-prf-ems-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -ems_check

no-short-mac
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -no_short_mac

drbg-no-trunc-md
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -no_drbg_truncated_digests

signature-digest-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -signature_digest_check

hkdf-digest-check
    This option is deprecated.

tls13-kdf-digest-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -tls13_kdf_digest_check

tls1-prf-digest-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -tls1_prf_digest_check

sshkdf-digest-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -sshkdf_digest_check

sskdf-digest-check
    This option is deprecated.

x963kdf-digest-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -x963kdf_digest_check

dsa-sign-disabled
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -dsa_sign_disabled

tdes-encrypt-disabled
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -tdes_encrypt_disabled

rsa-pkcs15-pad-disabled
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -rsa_pkcs15_pad_disabled

rsa-pss-saltlen-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -rsa_pss_saltlen_check

rsa-sign-x931-pad-disabled
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -rsa_sign_x931_disabled

hkdf-key-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -hkdf_key_check

kbkdf-key-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -kbkdf_key_check

tls13-kdf-key-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -tls13_kdf_key_check

tls1-prf-key-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -tls1_prf_key_check

sshkdf-key-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -sshkdf_key_check

sskdf-key-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -sskdf_key_check

x963kdf-key-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -x963kdf_key_check

x942kdf-key-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -x942kdf_key_check

pbkdf2-lower-bound-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -no_pbkdf2_lower_bound_check

ecdh-cofactor-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -ecdh_cofactor_check

hmac-key-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -hmac_key_check

kmac-key-check
    See "OPTIONS" in openssl-fipsinstall(1) -kmac_key_check

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 2019-2026 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>.