OPENSSL-ASN1PARSE(1SSL) OpenSSL OPENSSL-ASN1PARSE(1SSL)
NAME
openssl-asn1parse - ASN.1 parsing command
SYNOPSIS
openssl asn1parse [-help] [-inform DER|PEM|B64] [-in filename] [-out
filename] [-noout] [-offset number] [-length number] [-i] [-oid
filename] [-dump] [-dlimit num] [-strparse offset] [-genstr string]
[-genconf file] [-strictpem] [-item name]
DESCRIPTION
This command is a diagnostic utility that can parse ASN.1 structures.
It can also be used to extract data from ASN.1 formatted data.
OPTIONS
-help
Print out a usage message.
-inform DER|PEM|B64
The input format; the default is PEM. See openssl-format-options(1)
for details.
-in filename
The input file, default is standard input.
-out filename
Output file to place the DER encoded data into. If this option is
not present then no data will be output. This is most useful when
combined with the -strparse option.
-noout
Don't output the parsed version of the input file.
-offset number
Starting offset to begin parsing, default is start of file.
-length number
Number of bytes to parse, default is until end of file.
-i Indents the output according to the "depth" of the structures.
-oid filename
A file containing additional OBJECT IDENTIFIERs (OIDs). The format
of this file is described in the NOTES section below.
-dump
Dump unknown data in hex format.
-dlimit num
Like -dump, but only the first num bytes are output.
-strparse offset
Parse the contents octets of the ASN.1 object starting at offset.
This option can be used multiple times to "drill down" into a nested
structure.
-genstr string, -genconf file
Generate encoded data based on string, file or both using
ASN1_generate_nconf(3) format. If file only is present then the
string is obtained from the default section using the name asn1. The
encoded data is passed through the ASN1 parser and printed out as
though it came from a file, the contents can thus be examined and
written to a file using the -out option.
-strictpem
If this option is used then -inform will be ignored. Without this
option any data in a PEM format input file will be treated as being
base64 encoded and processed whether it has the normal PEM BEGIN and
END markers or not. This option will ignore any data prior to the
start of the BEGIN marker, or after an END marker in a PEM file.
-item name
Attempt to decode and print the data as an ASN1_ITEM name. This can
be used to print out the fields of any supported ASN.1 structure if
the type is known.
Output
The output will typically contain lines like this:
0:d=0 hl=4 l= 681 cons: SEQUENCE
.....
229:d=3 hl=3 l= 141 prim: BIT STRING
373:d=2 hl=3 l= 162 cons: cont [ 3 ]
376:d=3 hl=3 l= 159 cons: SEQUENCE
379:d=4 hl=2 l= 29 cons: SEQUENCE
381:d=5 hl=2 l= 3 prim: OBJECT :X509v3 Subject Key Identifier
386:d=5 hl=2 l= 22 prim: OCTET STRING
410:d=4 hl=2 l= 112 cons: SEQUENCE
412:d=5 hl=2 l= 3 prim: OBJECT :X509v3 Authority Key Identifier
417:d=5 hl=2 l= 105 prim: OCTET STRING
524:d=4 hl=2 l= 12 cons: SEQUENCE
.....
This example is part of a self-signed certificate. Each line starts with
the offset in decimal. "d=XX" specifies the current depth. The depth is
increased within the scope of any SET or SEQUENCE. "hl=XX" gives the
header length (tag and length octets) of the current type. "l=XX" gives
the length of the contents octets.
The -i option can be used to make the output more readable.
Some knowledge of the ASN.1 structure is needed to interpret the output.
In this example the BIT STRING at offset 229 is the certificate public
key. The contents octets of this will contain the public key
information. This can be examined using the option "-strparse 229" to
yield:
0:d=0 hl=3 l= 137 cons: SEQUENCE
3:d=1 hl=3 l= 129 prim: INTEGER :E5D21E1F5C8D208EA7A2166C7FAF9F6BDF2059669C60876DDB70840F1A5AAFA59699FE471F379F1DD6A487E7D5409AB6A88D4A9746E24B91D8CF55DB3521015460C8EDE44EE8A4189F7A7BE77D6CD3A9AF2696F486855CF58BF0EDF2B4068058C7A947F52548DDF7E15E96B385F86422BEA9064A3EE9E1158A56E4A6F47E5897
135:d=1 hl=2 l= 3 prim: INTEGER :010001
NOTES
If an OID is not part of OpenSSL's internal table it will be represented
in numerical form (for example 1.2.3.4). The file passed to the -oid
option allows additional OIDs to be included. Each line consists of
three columns, the first column is the OID in numerical format and
should be followed by white space. The second column is the "short name"
which is a single word followed by whitespace. The final column is the
rest of the line and is the "long name". Example:
"1.2.3.4 shortName A long name"
For any OID with an associated short and long name, this command will
display the long name.
EXAMPLES
Parse a file:
openssl asn1parse -in file.pem
Parse a DER file:
openssl asn1parse -inform DER -in file.der
Generate a simple UTF8String:
openssl asn1parse -genstr 'UTF8:Hello World'
Generate and write out a UTF8String, don't print parsed output:
openssl asn1parse -genstr 'UTF8:Hello World' -noout -out utf8.der
Generate using a config file:
openssl asn1parse -genconf asn1.cnf -noout -out asn1.der
Example config file:
asn1=SEQUENCE:seq_sect
[seq_sect]
field1=BOOL:TRUE
field2=EXP:0, UTF8:some random string
BUGS
There should be options to change the format of output lines. The output
of some ASN.1 types is not well handled (if at all).
SEE ALSO
openssl(1), ASN1_generate_nconf(3)
COPYRIGHT
Copyright 2000-2023 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.
Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License"). You may not use
this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy
in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at
<https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.
3.5.4 2025-09-30 OPENSSL-ASN1PARSE(1SSL)
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