]> &date; NSS Security Tools nss-tools &version; SIGNVER 1 signver Verify a detached PKCS#7 signature for a file. signtool -A -V -d directory -a -i input_file -o output_file -s signature_file -v STATUS This documentation is still work in progress. Please contribute to the initial review in Mozilla NSS bug 836477 Description The Signature Verification Tool, signver, is a simple command-line utility that unpacks a base-64-encoded PKCS#7 signed object and verifies the digital signature using standard cryptographic techniques. The Signature Verification Tool can also display the contents of the signed object. Options -A Displays all of the information in the PKCS#7 signature. -V Verifies the digital signature. -d [sql:]directory Specify the database directory which contains the certificates and keys. signver supports two types of databases: the legacy security databases (cert8.db, key3.db, and secmod.db) and new SQLite databases (cert9.db, key4.db, and pkcs11.txt). If the prefix sql: is not used, then the tool assumes that the given databases are in the old format. -a Sets that the given signature file is in ASCII format. -i input_file Gives the input file for the object with signed data. -o output_file Gives the output file to which to write the results. -s signature_file Gives the input file for the digital signature. -v Enables verbose output. Extended Examples Verifying a Signature The option verifies that the signature in a given signature file is valid when used to sign the given object (from the input file). signver -V -s signature_file -i signed_file -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb signatureValid=yes Printing Signature Data The option prints all of the information contained in a signature file. Using the option prints the signature file information to the given output file rather than stdout. signver -A -s signature_file -o output_file NSS Database Types NSS originally used BerkeleyDB databases to store security information. The last versions of these legacy databases are: cert8.db for certificates key3.db for keys secmod.db for PKCS #11 module information BerkeleyDB has performance limitations, though, which prevent it from being easily used by multiple applications simultaneously. NSS has some flexibility that allows applications to use their own, independent database engine while keeping a shared database and working around the access issues. Still, NSS requires more flexibility to provide a truly shared security database. In 2009, NSS introduced a new set of databases that are SQLite databases rather than BerkleyDB. These new databases provide more accessibility and performance: cert9.db for certificates key4.db for keys pkcs11.txt, which is listing of all of the PKCS #11 modules contained in a new subdirectory in the security databases directory Because the SQLite databases are designed to be shared, these are the shared database type. The shared database type is preferred; the legacy format is included for backward compatibility. By default, the tools (certutil, pk12util, modutil) assume that the given security databases follow the more common legacy type. Using the SQLite databases must be manually specified by using the sql: prefix with the given security directory. For example: # signver -A -s signature -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb To set the shared database type as the default type for the tools, set the NSS_DEFAULT_DB_TYPE environment variable to sql: export NSS_DEFAULT_DB_TYPE="sql" This line can be set added to the ~/.bashrc file to make the change permanent. Most applications do not use the shared database by default, but they can be configured to use them. For example, this how-to article covers how to configure Firefox and Thunderbird to use the new shared NSS databases: https://wiki.mozilla.org/NSS_Shared_DB_Howto For an engineering draft on the changes in the shared NSS databases, see the NSS project wiki: https://wiki.mozilla.org/NSS_Shared_DB See Also signtool (1) The NSS wiki has information on the new database design and how to configure applications to use it. Setting up the shared NSS database https://wiki.mozilla.org/NSS_Shared_DB_Howto Engineering and technical information about the shared NSS database https://wiki.mozilla.org/NSS_Shared_DB Additional Resources For information about NSS and other tools related to NSS (like JSS), check out the NSS project wiki at http://www.mozilla.org/projects/security/pki/nss/. The NSS site relates directly to NSS code changes and releases. Mailing lists: https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-tech-crypto IRC: Freenode at #dogtag-pki Authors The NSS tools were written and maintained by developers with Netscape, Red Hat, Sun, Oracle, Mozilla, and Google. Authors: Elio Maldonado <emaldona@redhat.com>, Deon Lackey <dlackey@redhat.com>. LICENSE Licensed under the Mozilla Public License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/.