URSA - RSA public/private key OpenSSL bindings for Node.js
====
[](https://travis-ci.org/JoshKaufman/ursa)
> NOTE: This package was transfered from [Medium](https://github.com/Medium) and [NodePrime](https://github.com/NodePrime) to [quartzjer](https://github.com/quartzjer) to [JoshKaufman](https://github.com/joshkaufman) on 8-2017. Pull requests are welcomed to help maintain it.
--
This Node module provides a fairly complete set of wrappers for the
RSA public/private key crypto functionality of OpenSSL.
It is being actively developed for node.js 0.8.* through 0.12.* and io.js. If you find it doesn't work for you, please file a bug (see below).
It has been tested on Windows by [SLaks](https://github.com/SLaks). (see [additional installation requirements](#windows-install))
Table of Contents
-----------------
- [Simple Encrypt / Decrypt Example](#simple-encrypt--decrypt-example)
- [Building and Installing](#building-and-installing)
- [Usage](#usage)
- [Top-level Exports](#top-level-exports)
- [Public Key Methods](#public-key-methods)
- [Private Key Methods](#private-key-methods)
- [Signer Methods](#signer-methods)
- [Verifier Methods](#verifier-methods)
- [Constants](#constants)
- [Contributing](#contributing)
- [Authors](#authors)
- [License](#license)
- [Related Repos](#other-repos-that-may-be-of-interest)
Simple Encrypt / Decrypt Example
--------------------------------
```javascript
// openssl genrsa -out certs/server/my-server.key.pem 2048
// openssl rsa -in certs/server/my-server.key.pem -pubout -out certs/client/my-server.pub
'use strict';
var fs = require('fs')
, ursa = require('ursa')
, crt
, key
, msg
;
key = ursa.createPrivateKey(fs.readFileSync('./certs/server/my-server.key.pem'));
crt = ursa.createPublicKey(fs.readFileSync('./certs/client/my-server.pub'));
console.log('Encrypt with Public');
msg = crt.encrypt("Everything is going to be 200 OK", 'utf8', 'base64');
console.log('encrypted', msg, '\n');
console.log('Decrypt with Private');
msg = key.decrypt(msg, 'base64', 'utf8');
console.log('decrypted', msg, '\n');
console.log('############################################');
console.log('Reverse Public -> Private, Private -> Public');
console.log('############################################\n');
console.log('Encrypt with Private (called public)');
msg = key.privateEncrypt("Everything is going to be 200 OK", 'utf8', 'base64');
console.log('encrypted', msg, '\n');
console.log('Decrypt with Public (called private)');
msg = crt.publicDecrypt(msg, 'base64', 'utf8');
console.log('decrypted', msg, '\n');
```
Building and Installing
-----------------------
```shell
npm install ursa
```
Or grab the source and
```shell
npm install
```
Testing
-------
```shell
npm test
```
Or
```shell
node ./test/test.js
```
On Windows, you'll need to install some dependencies first:
- [OpenSSL](http://slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html) (normal, not light)
in the same bitness as your Node.js installation.
- OpenSSL must be installed in the a specific install directory (`C:\OpenSSL-Win32` or `C:\OpenSSL-Win64`)
- If you get `Error: The specified module could not be found.`, copy `libeay32.dll` from the OpenSSL bin directory to this module's bin directory, or to Windows\System32. If you don't have `libeay32.dll`, you may have to install OpenSSL v1.0.2, not v1.1.x.
- [node-gyp](https://github.com/nodejs/node-gyp) (`npm install -g node-gyp`)
- You will need [python 2.7](http://www.python.org/download/releases/2.7.3#download) and a compatible version
Visual Studio installed first. Even with that, `node-gyp` installation or use can have
issues on Windows. The `node-gyp` [README file](https://github.com/nodejs/node-gyp) has detailed instructions
if you have difficulties. [This post](https://www.robertkehoe.com/2015/03/fix-node-gyp-rebuild-error-on-windows/)
is also a good reference.
Usage
-----
This library aims to be convenient to use, allowing one to pass in and
get back regular string objects. However, it is also meant to be reasonably
easy to use efficiently, allowing one to pass in and get back Buffer
objects. Using Buffers is always the more efficient option.
All methods that can deal with strings take one or more arguments indicating
the encoding to use when interpreting an argument or generating a result.
These are limited to the usual encoding names that are valid for use with
Buffers: `base64` `binary` `hex` and `utf8`. If an encoding is left undefined
and the argument is a string, then the encoding is *always* assumed to be
`utf8`. If an argument is a Buffer, then the encoding (if defined at all)
is ignored. An undefined output encoding is *always* interpreted as a request
for a Buffer result.
The library knows how to read and output PEM format files for both
public and private keys, and it can generate new private keys (aka
keypairs).
The usual public-encryption / private-decryption operations by default
use padding mode `RSA_PKCS1_OAEP_PADDING`, which is the recommended
mode for all new applications (as of this writing). Note that this mode
builds-in a random element into every encryption operation, making it
unnecessary to waste time or effort adding randomness in at a higher layer.
This default may be overridden to use the older mode `RSA_PKCS1_PADDING`
if needed.
The less well-understood private-encryption / public-decryption operations
(used for building signature mechanisms) by default use padding
mode `RSA_PKCS1_PADDING`. This doesn't build in any randomness (but that's
not usually a problem for applications that use these operations). This
default may be overridden to use `RSA_NO_PADDING` if needed.
See the doc comments and tests for the excruciating details, but here's
a quick rundown of the available top-level exports and instance methods:
Top-Level Exports
-----------------
### ursa.createPrivateKey(pem, password, encoding)
Create and return a private key (aka a keypair) read in from the given
PEM-format file. If defined, the given password is used to decrypt
the PEM file.
The encoding, if specified, applies to both other arguments.
See "Public Key Methods" below for more details.
### ursa.createPrivateKeyFromComponents(modulus, exponent, p, q, dp, dq, inverseQ, d)
Create and return a private key from the given components.
### ursa.createPublicKeyFromComponents(modulus, exponent)
Create and return a public key from the given components.
### ursa.assertKey(obj)
Convenient shorthand for `assert(ursa.isKey(obj))`.
### ursa.assertPrivateKey(obj)
Convenient shorthand for `assert(ursa.isPrivateKey(obj))`.
### ursa.assertPublicKey(obj)
Convenient shorthand for `assert(ursa.isPublicKey(obj))`.
### ursa.coerceKey(orig)
Coerce the given key value into a key object (either public or
private), returning it. If given a private key object, this just
returns it as-is. If given a string or Buffer, it tries to parse it as
PEM. Anything else will result in an error.
### ursa.coercePrivateKey(orig)
Coerce the given key value into a private key object, returning it. If
given a private key object, this just returns it as-is. If given a
string or Buffer, it tries to parse it as PEM. Anything else will
result in an error.
### ursa.coercePublicKey(orig)
Coerce the given key value into a public key object, returning it. If
given a private key object, this just returns it as-is. If given a
string or Buffer, it tries to parse it as PEM. Anything else will
result in an error.
### ursa.createPublicKey(pem, encoding)
Create and return a public key read in from the given PEM-format file.
See "Public Key Methods" below for more details.
### ursa.createSigner(algorithm)
Create and return a signer which can sign a hash generated with the named
algorithm (such as `"sha256"` or `"md5"`). See "Signer Methods" below
for more details.
This function is similar to `crypto.createSign()`, except this function
takes a hash algorithm name (e.g., `"sha256"`) and not a crypto+hash name
combination (e.g., `"RSA-SHA256"`).
### ursa.createVerifier(algorithm)
Create and return a verifier which can verify a hash generated with the
named algorithm (such as `"sha256"` or `"md5"`). See "Verifier Methods" below
for more details.
This function is similar to `crypto.createVerify()`, except this function
takes a hash algorithm name (e.g., `"sha256"`) and not a crypto+hash name
combination (e.g., `"RSA-SHA256"`).
### ursa.equalKeys(key1, key2)
This returns `true` if and only if both arguments are key objects of
the same type (public or private) and their contents match.
### ursa.generatePrivateKey(modulusBits, exponent)
Create and return a freshly-generated private key (aka a keypair).
The first argument indicates the number of bits in the modulus (1024
or more is generally considered secure). The second argument indicates
the exponent value, which must be odd (65537 is the typical value; 3
and 17 are also common). Both arguments are optional and default to
2048 and 65537 (respectively).
This method will throw if `modulusBits` is less than `512` (because
it's pretty crazy to want a key with that few bits) or if `exponent`
is even (because RSA only works for odd exponents).
Using the command-line `openssl` tool, this operation is
equivalent to:
```shell
openssl genrsa -out key-name.pem
```
for exponent 65537, or for exponent 3 with the additional option
`-3`. (That tool doesn't support other exponents.)
### ursa.isKey(obj)
Return `true` if the given object is a key object (public or private) that
was created by this module. Return `false` if not.
### ursa.isPrivateKey(obj)
Return `true` if the given object is a private key object that
was created by this module. Return `false` if not.
### ursa.isPublicKey(obj)
Return `true` if the given object is a public key object that
was created by this module. Return `false` if not.
Note that, even though all the public key operations work on private
keys, this function only returns true if the given object is a
public key, per se.
### ursa.matchingPublicKeys(key1, key2)
This returns `true` if and only if both arguments are key objects of
some sort (either can be public or private, and they don't have to
be the same) and their public aspects match each other.
### ursa.openSshPublicKey(key, encoding)
This returns `publicKey` from ssh-rsa public key-string. First argument
must be a string like `ssh-rsa AAAAB3Nz.... user@localhost` or Buffer of pubKey bits.
### ursa.sshFingerprint(sshKey, sshEncoding, outEncoding)
Return the SSH-style public key fingerprint of the given SSH-format
public key (which was, perhaps, the result of a call to
`toPublicSsh()` on a key object).
This is no more and no less than an MD5 hash of the given SSH-format
public key. This function doesn't actually check to see if the given
key is valid (garbage in, garbage out).
Using the command-line `ssh-keygen` tool, this operation is
equivalent to:
```shell
ssh-keygen -l -f key-name.sshpub
```
This operation is also equivalent to this:
```shell
cat key-name.sshpub | awk '{print $2}' | base64 --decode | md5
```
Public Key Methods
------------------
These are all the methods available on public keys. These methods are
*also* available on private keys (since private keys have all the
underlying data necessary to perform the public-side operations).
### encrypt(buf, bufEncoding, outEncoding, padding)
This performs the "public encrypt" operation on the given buffer. The
result is always a byte sequence that is the same size as the key
associated with the instance. (For example, if the key is 2048 bits,
then the result of this operation will be 2048 bits, aka 256 bytes.)
The input buffer is limited to be no larger than the key size
minus 41 bytes.
If no padding mode is specified, the default, and recommended, mode
is `ursa.RSA_PKCS1_OAEP_PADDING`. The mode
`ursa.RSA_PKCS1_PADDING` is also supported.
### getExponent(encoding)
Get the public exponent as an unsigned big-endian byte sequence.
### getModulus(encoding)
Get the public modulus as an unsigned big-endian byte sequence.
### hashAndVerify(algorithm, buf, sig, encoding, use\_pss\_padding, salt\_len)
This is a friendly wrapper for verifying signatures. The given buffer
is hashed using the named algorithm, and the result is verified
against the given signature. This returns `true` if the hash and
signature match and the signature was produced by the appropriate
private key. This returns `false` if the signature is a valid signature
(structurally) but doesn't match. This throws an exception in other
cases.
The encoding, if specified, applies to both buffer-like arguments. The
algorithm must always be a string.
If `use_pss_padding` is truthy then [RSASSA-PSS](http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3447#section-8.1)
padding is used when verifying the signature. `salt_len`, if specified, is
the length of the PSS salt (in bytes) or one of the following:
- `RSA_PKCS1_SALT_LEN_HLEN` (the same as the hash length, default).
- `RSA_PKCS1_SALT_LEN_MAX` (maximum permissable value).
### publicDecrypt(buf, bufEncoding, outEncoding)
This performs the "public decrypt" operation on the given buffer. The
result is always a byte sequence that is no more than the size of the
key associated with the instance. (For example, if the key is 2048
bits, then the result of this operation will be no more than 2048
bits, aka 256 bytes.)
If no padding mode is specified, the default, and recommended, mode
is `ursa.RSA_PKCS1_PADDING`. The mode `ursa.RSA_NO_PADDING` is also supported.
### toPublicPem(encoding)
This converts the public key data into a PEM-format file.
### toPublicSsh(encoding)
This converts the public key data into an SSH-format file. This is the
file format one finds in SSH's `authorized_keys` and `known_hosts` files.
When used in such files, the contents are base64-encoded and prefixed with
the label `ssh-rsa`. Depending on context, the line a key appears on may
also have a host name prefix (in `known_hosts`) or comment suffix
(in `authorized_keys`).
Using the command-line `ssh-keygen` tool, this operation is equivalent to:
```shell
ssh-keygen -y -f key-name.pem > key-name.sshpub
```
### toPublicSshFingerprint(encoding)
Return the SSH-style public key fingerprint of this key. See
`ursa.sshFingerprint()`, above, for more details.
### verify(algorithm, hash, sig, encoding)
This performs an RSA public-verify on the given hash buffer, which
should be the result of performing the hash operation named by
the algorithm (such as `"sha256"` or `"md5"`) on some data. The
signature buffer is checked to see if it contains a private-signed
statement of the algorithm and hash. The method returns `true` if
the signature and hash match, or `false` if the signature and hash
don't match but the signature is at least a valid signature of
some sort. In any other situation, this throws an exception.
The encoding, if specified, applies to both buffer-like arguments. The
algorithm must always be a string.
This method is the underlying one used as part of the implementation
of the higher-level and much friendlier `ursa.createVerifier()` and
`hashAndVerify()`.
### ununseal(ununsealer)
This is an internal method that is used in the implementation of
`ursa.isKey()` `ursa.isPrivateKey()` `ursa.isPublicKey()` and
associated assertion functions. When called externally, it will
always return `undefined`.
Private Key Methods
-------------------
These are the methods available on private keys, above and beyond
what is available for public keys.
### decrypt(buf, bufEncoding, outEncoding, padding)
This performs the "private decrypt" operation on the given buffer. The
result is always a byte sequence that is no more than the size of the
key associated with the instance. (For example, if the key is 2048
bits, then the result of this operation will be no more than 2048
bits, aka 256 bytes.)
If no padding mode is specified, the default, and recommended, mode
is `ursa.RSA_PKCS1_OAEP_PADDING`. The mode
`ursa.RSA_PKCS1_PADDING` is also supported.
### getPrivateExponent(encoding)
Get the private exponent as an unsigned big-endian byte sequence. The returned
exponent is not encrypted in any way, so this method should be used with caution.
### hashAndSign(algorithm, buf, bufEncoding, outEncoding, use\_pss\_padding, salt\_len)
This is a friendly wrapper for producing signatures. The given buffer
is hashed using the named algorithm, and the result is signed using
the private key held by this instance. The return value of this method
is the signature.
If `use_pss_padding` is truthy then [RSASSA-PSS](http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3447#section-8.1)
padding is used when generating the signature. The `salt_len`, if specified, is
the length of the PSS salt (in bytes) or one of the following:
- `RSA_PKCS1_SALT_LEN_HLEN` (the same as the hash length, default).
- `RSA_PKCS1_SALT_LEN_RECOVER` (assume `RSA_PKCS1_SALT_LEN_MAX` was used when the padding was added).
### privateEncrypt(buf, bufEncoding, outEncoding)
This performs the "private encrypt" operation on the given buffer. The
result is always a byte sequence that is the same size as the key
associated with the instance. (For example, if the key is 2048 bits,
then the result of this operation will be 2048 bits, aka 256 bytes.)
The input buffer is limited to be no larger than the key size
minus 12 bytes.
If no padding mode is specified, the default, and recommended, mode
is `ursa.RSA_PKCS1_PADDING`. The mode `ursa.RSA_NO_PADDING` is also supported.
### sign(algorithm, hash, hashEncoding, outEncoding)
This performs an RSA private-sign on the given hash buffer, which
should be the result of performing the hash operation named by
the algorithm (such as `"sha256"` or `"md5"`) on some data. The
result of this operation may later be passed to `verify()` on the
corresponding public key.
This method is the underlying one used as part of the implementation
of the higher-level and much friendlier `ursa.createSigner()` and
`hashAndSign()`.
### toPrivatePem(encoding)
This converts the private key data into a PEM-format file. The result
is not encrypted, so it behooves the user of this method to take care
with the result if the key is sensitive from a security standpoint,
which is often the case with such things. (YMMV of course.)
Signer Methods
--------------
These are the methods available on signer objects, which are returned
by `ursa.createSigner()`. These are similar to the objects returned
from `crypto.createSign()`.
### update(buf, bufEncoding)
Update the hash in-progress with the given data.
### sign(privateKey, outEncoding)
Get the final hash of the data, and sign it using the private key. The
return value is the signature, suitable for later verification.
Verifier Methods
----------------
These are the methods available on verifier objects, which are returned
by `ursa.createVerifier()`. These are similar to the objects returned
from `crypto.createVerify()`.
### update(buf, bufEncoding)
Update the hash in-progress with the given data.
### verify(publicKey, sig, sigEncoding)
Get the final hash of the data, and verify that the given signature
both matches it and was produced by the private key corresponding to
the given public key.
This returns `true` if the signature and hash match appropriately,
or `false` if the signature appears to be generally valid (e.g.
structurally) yet doesn't match. This throws an exception in all
other cases.
Constants
---------
Allowed padding modes for public/private encryption/decryption:
* `ursa.RSA_PKCS1_PADDING`
* `ursa.RSA_NO_PADDING`
* `ursa.RSA_PKCS1_OAEP_PADDING`
Contributing
------------
Questions, comments, bug reports, and pull requests are all welcome.
Submit them at [the project on GitHub](https://github.com/quartzjer/ursa/).
Bug reports that include steps-to-reproduce (including code) are the
best. Even better, make them in the form of pull requests that update
the test suite. Thanks!
Authors
-------
Current (2015+) maintenance by [Jeremie Miller](https://github.com/quartzjer).
Previous (2014) maintenance sponsored by [NodePrime](http://nodeprime.com).
Original Author (2012): [Dan Bornstein](https://github.com/danfuzz)
([personal website](http://www.milk.com/)), supported by
[The Obvious Corporation](http://obvious.com/) (now [Medium](https://medium.com/)).
With contribution from:
* [C J Silverio](https://github.com/ceejbot)
* [Tyler Neylon](https://github.com/tylerneylon)
With thanks to:
* [node-rsa](https://github.com/chrisa/node-rsa) by Chris Andrews,
for inspiration
License
-------
Updates Copyright 2014 [NodePrime, Inc.](http://nodeprime.com/).
Original Copyright 2012 [The Obvious Corporation](http://obvious.com/).
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.
See the top-level file `[LICENSE.txt](LICENSE.txt)` and
(http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0).
Other Repos that may be of Interest:
-----------------------
* https://github.com/mal/forsake
* https://github.com/rzcoder/node-rsa
* https://github.com/roblabla/ursa-purejs
* https://github.com/coolaj86/nodejs-self-signed-certificate-example
* https://github.com/coolaj86/node-ssl-root-cas/wiki/Painless-Self-Signed-Certificates-in-node.js
* https://github.com/coolaj86/node-ssl-root-cas
* https://github.com/coolaj86/nodejs-ssl-trusted-peer-example
* https://github.com/coolaj86/bitcrypt