David Jacobson wrote:
Tim Hudson wrote:
The Doctor wrote:
That being said, how do you get openssl to compile with FIPS
and be backwards compatable at the same time?
That is what the FIPS mode is for - the library built supports all
algorithms and when in FIPS mode it disables the use of non-approved
algorithms.
A single application can work in both FIPS and non-FIPS mode. You can
add in code to choose which mode to be in on a per-connection basis if
that is what your application requires.
See the usage of FIPS_mode_set()
Note also that due to an implementation quirk you need to clear the
currently set RNG when switching back into FIPS mode.
It is not an implementation quirk, it is a requirement of FIPS 140. FIPS
140 requires that when switching modes all keys and "critical security
parameters" must be cleared. The random number generator state is a
critical security parameter. (I'm doing this from memory, but I'm quite
sure I've got it right.)
It is an implementation quirk (or to be honest, an outright goof). By
the time we caught this problem it was too late to fix it (with the FIPS
140 validation process you freeze your code first, *then* test -- ready,
fire, aim!).
Since there is little practical reason to disable FIPS mode once enabled
(reference earlier discussion) we elected to just leave that bug as-is
rather than abort and restart the validation process.
-Steve M.
--
Steve Marquess
Open Source Software Institute
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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