EVP_PKEY_SET1_RSA(3) | Library Functions Manual | EVP_PKEY_SET1_RSA(3)

# NAME

`EVP_PKEY_set1_RSA`, `EVP_PKEY_set1_DSA`, `EVP_PKEY_set1_DH`, `EVP_PKEY_set1_EC_KEY`, `EVP_PKEY_get1_RSA`, `EVP_PKEY_get1_DSA`, `EVP_PKEY_get1_DH`, `EVP_PKEY_get1_EC_KEY`, `EVP_PKEY_get0_RSA`, `EVP_PKEY_get0_DSA`, `EVP_PKEY_get0_DH`, `EVP_PKEY_get0_EC_KEY`, `EVP_PKEY_get0_hmac`, `EVP_PKEY_get0`, `EVP_PKEY_assign_RSA`, `EVP_PKEY_assign_DSA`, `EVP_PKEY_assign_DH`, `EVP_PKEY_assign_EC_KEY`, `EVP_PKEY_assign`, `EVP_PKEY_base_id`, `EVP_PKEY_id`, `EVP_PKEY_type`, `EVP_PKEY_set_type`, `EVP_PKEY_set_type_str` — EVP_PKEY assignment functions

# SYNOPSIS

library “libcrypto”
`#include <openssl/evp.h>`

int
`EVP_PKEY_set1_RSA`(EVP_PKEY *pkey, RSA *key);

int
`EVP_PKEY_set1_DSA`(EVP_PKEY *pkey, DSA *key);

int
`EVP_PKEY_set1_DH`(EVP_PKEY *pkey, DH *key);

int
`EVP_PKEY_set1_EC_KEY`(EVP_PKEY *pkey, EC_KEY *key);

RSA *
`EVP_PKEY_get1_RSA`(const EVP_PKEY *pkey);

DSA *
`EVP_PKEY_get1_DSA`(const EVP_PKEY *pkey);

DH *
`EVP_PKEY_get1_DH`(const EVP_PKEY *pkey);

EC_KEY *
`EVP_PKEY_get1_EC_KEY`(const EVP_PKEY *pkey);

RSA *
`EVP_PKEY_get0_RSA`(const EVP_PKEY *pkey);

DSA *
`EVP_PKEY_get0_DSA`(const EVP_PKEY *pkey);

DH *
`EVP_PKEY_get0_DH`(const EVP_PKEY *pkey);

EC_KEY *
`EVP_PKEY_get0_EC_KEY`(const EVP_PKEY *pkey);

const unsigned char *
`EVP_PKEY_get0_hmac`(const EVP_PKEY *pkey, size_t *len);

void *
`EVP_PKEY_get0`(const EVP_PKEY *pkey);

int
`EVP_PKEY_assign_RSA`(EVP_PKEY *pkey, RSA *key);

int
`EVP_PKEY_assign_DSA`(EVP_PKEY *pkey, DSA *key);

int
`EVP_PKEY_assign_DH`(EVP_PKEY *pkey, DH *key);

int
`EVP_PKEY_assign_EC_KEY`(EVP_PKEY *pkey, EC_KEY *key);

int
`EVP_PKEY_assign`(EVP_PKEY *pkey, int type, void *key);

int
`EVP_PKEY_base_id`(const EVP_PKEY *pkey);

int
`EVP_PKEY_id`(const EVP_PKEY *pkey);

int
`EVP_PKEY_type`(int type);

int
`EVP_PKEY_set_type`(EVP_PKEY *pkey, int type);

int
`EVP_PKEY_set_type_str`(EVP_PKEY *pkey, const char *str, int len);

# DESCRIPTION

`EVP_PKEY_set1_RSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_set1_DSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_set1_DH`(), and `EVP_PKEY_set1_EC_KEY`() set the key referenced by pkey to key and increment the reference count of key by 1 in case of success.

`EVP_PKEY_get1_RSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_get1_DSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_get1_DH`(), and `EVP_PKEY_get1_EC_KEY`() return the key referenced in pkey, incrementing its reference count by 1, or `NULL` if the key is not of the correct type.

`EVP_PKEY_get0_RSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_get0_DSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_get0_DH`(), `EVP_PKEY_get0_EC_KEY`(), and `EVP_PKEY_get0`() are identical except that they do not increment the reference count. Consequently, the returned key must not be freed by the caller.

`EVP_PKEY_get0_hmac`() returns an internal pointer to the key referenced in pkey and sets *len to its length in bytes. The returned pointer must not be freed by the caller. If pkey is not of the correct type, `NULL` is returned and the content of *len becomes unspecified.

`EVP_PKEY_assign_RSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_assign_DSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_assign_DH`(), `EVP_PKEY_assign_EC_KEY`(), and `EVP_PKEY_assign`() also set the referenced key to key; however these use the supplied key internally without incrementing its reference count, such that key will be freed when the parent pkey is freed. If the key is of the wrong type, these functions report success even though pkey ends up in a corrupted state. Even the functions explicitly containing the type in their name are not type safe because they are implemented as macros. The following types are supported: `EVP_PKEY_RSA`, `EVP_PKEY_DSA`, `EVP_PKEY_DH`, and `EVP_PKEY_EC`.

`EVP_PKEY_base_id`() returns the type of pkey according to the following table:

return value |  | PEM type string
`EVP_PKEY_CMAC` | = `NID_cmac` | CMAC
`EVP_PKEY_DH` | = `NID_dhKeyAgreement` | DH
`EVP_PKEY_DSA` | = `NID_dsa` | DSA
`EVP_PKEY_EC` | = `NID_X9_62_id_ecPublicKey` | EC
`EVP_PKEY_HMAC` | = `NID_hmac` | HMAC
`EVP_PKEY_RSA` | = `NID_rsaEncryption` | RSA
`EVP_PKEY_RSA_PSS` | = `NID_rsassaPss` | RSA-PSS

`EVP_PKEY_id`() returns the actual OID associated with pkey. Historically keys using the same algorithm could use different OIDs. The following deprecated aliases are still supported:

return value |  | alias for
`EVP_PKEY_DSA1` | = `NID_dsa_2` | DSA
`EVP_PKEY_DSA2` | = `NID_dsaWithSHA` | DSA
`EVP_PKEY_DSA3` | = `NID_dsaWithSHA1` | DSA
`EVP_PKEY_DSA4` | = `NID_dsaWithSHA1_2` | DSA
`EVP_PKEY_RSA2` | = `NID_rsa` | RSA

Most applications wishing to know a key type will simply call `EVP_PKEY_base_id`() and will not care about the actual type, which will be identical in almost all cases.

`EVP_PKEY_type`() returns the underlying type of the NID type. For example, `EVP_PKEY_type`(EVP_PKEY_RSA2) will return `EVP_PKEY_RSA`.

`EVP_PKEY_set_type`() frees the key referenced in pkey, if any, and sets the key type of pkey to type without referencing a new key from pkey yet. For type, any of the possible return values of `EVP_PKEY_base_id`() and `EVP_PKEY_id`() can be passed.

`EVP_PKEY_set_type_str`() frees the key referenced in pkey, if any, and sets the key type of pkey according to the PEM type string given by the first len bytes of str. If len is -1, the strlen(3) of str is used instead. The PEM type strings supported by default are listed in the table above. This function does not reference a new key from pkey.

If pkey is a `NULL` pointer, `EVP_PKEY_set_type`() and `EVP_PKEY_set_type_str`() check that a matching key type exists but do not change any object.

In accordance with the OpenSSL naming convention, the key obtained from or assigned to pkey using the 1 functions must be freed as well as pkey.

# RETURN VALUES

`EVP_PKEY_set1_RSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_set1_DSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_set1_DH`(), `EVP_PKEY_set1_EC_KEY`(), `EVP_PKEY_assign_RSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_assign_DSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_assign_DH`(), `EVP_PKEY_assign_EC_KEY`(), `EVP_PKEY_assign`(), `EVP_PKEY_set_type`(), and `EVP_PKEY_set_type_str`() return 1 for success or 0 for failure.

`EVP_PKEY_get1_RSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_get1_DSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_get1_DH`(), `EVP_PKEY_get1_EC_KEY`(), `EVP_PKEY_get0_RSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_get0_DSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_get0_DH`(), `EVP_PKEY_get0_EC_KEY`(), `EVP_PKEY_get0_hmac`(), and `EVP_PKEY_get0`() return the referenced key or `NULL` if an error occurred. For `EVP_PKEY_get0`(), the return value points to an RSA, DSA, DH, EC_KEY, or ASN1_OCTET_STRING object depending on the type of pkey.

`EVP_PKEY_base_id`(), `EVP_PKEY_id`(), and `EVP_PKEY_type`() return a key type or `NID_undef` (equivalently `EVP_PKEY_NONE`) on error.

# SEE ALSO

DH_new(3), DSA_new(3), EC_KEY_new(3), EVP_PKEY_get0_asn1(3), EVP_PKEY_new(3), RSA_new(3)

# HISTORY

`EVP_PKEY_assign_RSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_assign_DSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_assign_DH`(), `EVP_PKEY_assign`(), and `EVP_PKEY_type`() first appeared in SSLeay 0.8.0 and have been available since OpenBSD 2.4.

`EVP_PKEY_set1_RSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_set1_DSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_set1_DH`(), `EVP_PKEY_get1_RSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_get1_DSA`(), and `EVP_PKEY_get1_DH`() first appeared in OpenSSL 0.9.5 and have been available since OpenBSD 2.7.

`EVP_PKEY_set1_EC_KEY`(), `EVP_PKEY_get1_EC_KEY`(), and `EVP_PKEY_assign_EC_KEY`() first appeared in OpenSSL 0.9.8 and have been available since OpenBSD 4.5.

`EVP_PKEY_get0`(), `EVP_PKEY_base_id`(), `EVP_PKEY_id`(), `EVP_PKEY_set_type`(), and `EVP_PKEY_set_type_str`() first appeared in OpenSSL 1.0.0 and have been available since OpenBSD 4.9.

`EVP_PKEY_get0_RSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_get0_DSA`(), `EVP_PKEY_get0_DH`(), and `EVP_PKEY_get0_EC_KEY`() first appeared in OpenSSL 1.1.0 and have been available since OpenBSD 6.3.

`EVP_PKEY_get0_hmac`() first appeared in OpenSSL 1.1.0 and has been available since OpenBSD 6.5.

July 2, 2025 | Debian