crypt_gensalt - Man Page

Crypt Library (libcrypt, -lcrypt)

#include <crypt.h>

char *
crypt_gensalt(const char *prefix, unsigned long count, const char *rbytes, int nrbytes);

char *
crypt_gensalt_rn(const char * prefix, unsigned long count, const char *rbytes, int nrbytes, char * output, int output_size);

char *
crypt_gensalt_ra(const char *prefix, unsigned long count, const char *rbytes, int nrbytes);

The crypt_gensalt, crypt_gensalt_rn, and crypt_gensalt_ra functions compile a string for use as the setting argument to crypt, crypt_r, crypt_rn, and crypt_ra. prefix selects the hashing method to use. count controls the processing cost of the hash; the valid range and exact meaning of count depend on the hashing method, but larger numbers correspond to more costly hashes in terms of CPU time and possibly memory usage. rbytes should point to nrbytes cryptographically random bytes for use as “salt.”

If prefix is a null pointer, the best available hashing method will be selected. (CAUTION: if prefix is an empty string, the “traditional” DES-based hashing method will be selected; this method is unacceptably weak by modern standards.) If count is 0, a low default cost will be selected. If rbytes is a null pointer, an appropriate number of random bytes will be obtained from the operating system, and nrbytes is ignored.

See crypt(5) for other strings that can be used as prefix, and valid values of count for each.

crypt_gensalt, crypt_gensalt_rn, and crypt_gensalt_ra return a pointer to an encoded setting string. This string will be entirely printable ASCII, and will not contain whitespace or the characters ‘:’, ‘;’, ‘*’, ‘!’, or ‘\’. See crypt(5) for more detail on the format of this string. Upon error, they return a null pointer and set errno to an appropriate error code. When the functions succeed, the value of errno is unspecified and must not be relied upon.

crypt_gensalt places its result in a static storage area, which will be overwritten by subsequent calls to crypt_gensalt. In this version of libcrypt, the static storage area is allocated separately for each thread, but portable code should not call crypt_gensalt from multiple threads simultaneously. However, it is safe to pass the string returned by crypt_gensalt directly to crypt without copying it; each function has its own static storage area.

crypt_gensalt_rn places its result in the supplied output buffer, which has output_size bytes of storage available. output_size should be greater than or equal to CRYPT_GENSALT_OUTPUT_SIZE.

crypt_gensalt_ra allocates memory for its result using malloc(3). It should be freed with free(3) after use.

Upon error, in addition to returning a null pointer, crypt_gensalt and crypt_gensalt_rn will write an invalid setting string to their output buffer, if there is enough space; this string will begin with a ‘*’ and will not be equal to prefix.

EINVAL

prefix is invalid or not supported by this implementation; count is invalid for the requested prefix; the input nrbytes is insufficient for the smallest valid salt with the requested prefix.

ERANGE

crypt_gensalt_rn only: output_size is too small to hold the compiled setting string.

ENOMEM

Failed to allocate internal scratch memory.
crypt_gensalt_ra only: failed to allocate memory for the compiled setting string.

ENOSYS, EACCES, EIO, etc.

Obtaining random bytes from the operating system failed. This can only happen when rbytes is a null pointer.

The following macros are defined by <crypt.h>:

CRYPT_GENSALT_IMPLEMENTS_DEFAULT_PREFIX

A null pointer can be specified as the prefix argument.

CRYPT_GENSALT_IMPLEMENTS_AUTO_ENTROPY

A null pointer can be specified as the rbytes argument.

The functions crypt_gensalt, crypt_gensalt_rn, and crypt_gensalt_ra are not part of any standard. They originate with the Openwall project. A function with the name crypt_gensalt also exists on Solaris 10 and newer, but its prototype and semantics differ.

Some implementations of crypt_gensalt use a single storage area for all callers, even in the presence of threads. This library uses per-thread storage areas, but portable code should avoid calling crypt_gensalt from multiple threads simultaneously.

The default prefix and auto entropy features are available since libxcrypt version 4.0.0. Portable software can use feature test macros to find out whether null pointers can be used for the prefix and rbytes arguments.

The set of supported hashing methods varies considerably from system to system.

For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see attributes(7).

* In this implementation. See Portability Notes.

crypt(3), getpass(3), getpwent(3), shadow(3), login(1), passwd(1), crypt(5), passwd(5), shadow(5), pam(8)

ckpasswd(8), crypt(3), crypt(5), crypt_checksalt(3), crypt_preferred_method(3), mkpasswd(1).

The man pages crypt_gensalt_ra(3) and crypt_gensalt_rn(3) are aliases of crypt_gensalt(3).