Fill in missing information about the string returned from

SSL_CIPHER_description(), as there is no other API function to find
out details about the cipher used besides the number of bits or protocol used.

1 files changed, 52 insertions, 6 deletions

diff --git a/doc/ssl/SSL_CIPHER_get_name.pod b/doc/ssl/SSL_CIPHER_get_name.pod
index 7fea14ee68..2fd5b6d4a9 100644
--- a/doc/ssl/SSL_CIPHER_get_name.pod
+++ b/doc/ssl/SSL_CIPHER_get_name.pod
@@ -2,8 +2,7 @@
 
 =head1 NAME
 
-SSL_CIPHER_get_name, SSL_CIPHER_get_bits, SSL_CIPHER_get_version,
-SSL_CIPHER_description - get SSL_CIPHER properties
+SSL_CIPHER_get_name, SSL_CIPHER_get_bits, SSL_CIPHER_get_version, SSL_CIPHER_description - get SSL_CIPHER properties
 
 =head1 SYNOPSIS
 
@@ -29,9 +28,10 @@ SSL_CIPHER_get_version() returns the protocol version for B<cipher>, currently
 
 SSL_CIPHER_description() returns a textual description of the cipher used
 into the buffer B<buf> of length B<len> provided. B<len> must be at least
-128 bytes, otherwise the string "Buffer too small" is returned. If B<buf>
-is NULL, a buffer of 128 bytes is allocated using OPENSSL_malloc(). If the
-allocation fails, the string "OPENSSL_malloc Error" is returned.
+128 bytes, otherwise a pointer to the the string "Buffer too small" is
+returned. If B<buf> is NULL, a buffer of 128 bytes is allocated using
+OPENSSL_malloc(). If the allocation fails, a pointer to the string
+"OPENSSL_malloc Error" is returned.
 
 =head1 NOTES
 
@@ -40,11 +40,57 @@ export cipher like e.g. EXP-RC4-MD5 has only 40 secret bits. The algorithm
 does use the full 128 bits (which would be returned for B<alg_bits>), of
 which however 88bits are fixed. The search space is hence only 40 bits.
 
+The string returned by SSL_CIPHER_description() in case of success consists
+of cleartext information seperated by one or more blanks in the following
+sequence:
+
+=over 4
+
+=item <ciphername>
+
+Textual representation of the cipher name.
+
+=item <protocol version>
+
+Protocol version: B<SSLv2>, B<SSLv3>. The TLSv1 ciphers are flagged with SSLv3.
+
+=item Kx=<key exchange>
+
+Key exchange method: B<RSA> (for export ciphers as B<RSA(512)> or
+B<RSA(1024)>), B<DH> (for export ciphers as B<DH(512)> or B<DH(1024)>),
+B<DH/RSA>, B<DH/DSS>, B<Fortezza>.
+
+=item Au=<authentication>
+
+Authentication method: B<RSA>, B<DSS>, B<DH>, B<None>. None is the
+representation of anonymous ciphers.
+
+=item Enc=<symmectric encryption method>
+
+Encryption method with number of secret bits: B<DES(40)>, B<DES(56)>,
+B<3DES(168)>, B<RC4(40)>, B<RC4(56)>, B<RC4(64)>, B<RC4(128)>,
+B<RC2(40)>, B<RC2(56)>, B<RC2(128)>, B<IDEA(128)>, B<Fortezza>, B<None>.
+
+=item Mac=<message authentication code>
+
+Message digest: B<MD5>, B<SHA1>.
+
+=item <export flag>
+
+If the cipher is flagged exportable with respect to old US crypto
+regulations, the word "B<export>" is printed.
+
+=back
+
 =head1 BUGS
 
 If SSL_CIPHER_description() is called with B<cipher> being NULL, the
 library crashes.
 
+If SSL_CIPHER_description() cannot handle a built-in cipher, the according
+description of the cipher property is B<unknown>. This case should not
+occur.
+
 =head1 RETURN VALUES
 
 See DESCRIPTION
@@ -52,6 +98,6 @@ See DESCRIPTION
 =head1 SEE ALSO
 
 L<ssl(3)|ssl(3)>, L<SSL_get_current_cipher(3)|SSL_get_current_cipher(3)>,
-L<SSL_get_ciphers(3)|SSL_get_ciphers(3)>
+L<SSL_get_ciphers(3)|SSL_get_ciphers(3)>, L<ciphers(1)|ciphers(1)>
 
 =cut