xref: /onnv-gate/usr/src/common/openssl/doc/crypto/rc4.pod (revision 2175:b0b2f052a486)
1*2175Sjp161948=pod
2*2175Sjp161948
3*2175Sjp161948=head1 NAME
4*2175Sjp161948
5*2175Sjp161948RC4_set_key, RC4 - RC4 encryption
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7*2175Sjp161948=head1 SYNOPSIS
8*2175Sjp161948
9*2175Sjp161948 #include <openssl/rc4.h>
10*2175Sjp161948
11*2175Sjp161948 void RC4_set_key(RC4_KEY *key, int len, const unsigned char *data);
12*2175Sjp161948
13*2175Sjp161948 void RC4(RC4_KEY *key, unsigned long len, const unsigned char *indata,
14*2175Sjp161948          unsigned char *outdata);
15*2175Sjp161948
16*2175Sjp161948=head1 DESCRIPTION
17*2175Sjp161948
18*2175Sjp161948This library implements the Alleged RC4 cipher, which is described for
19*2175Sjp161948example in I<Applied Cryptography>.  It is believed to be compatible
20*2175Sjp161948with RC4[TM], a proprietary cipher of RSA Security Inc.
21*2175Sjp161948
22*2175Sjp161948RC4 is a stream cipher with variable key length.  Typically, 128 bit
23*2175Sjp161948(16 byte) keys are used for strong encryption, but shorter insecure
24*2175Sjp161948key sizes have been widely used due to export restrictions.
25*2175Sjp161948
26*2175Sjp161948RC4 consists of a key setup phase and the actual encryption or
27*2175Sjp161948decryption phase.
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29*2175Sjp161948RC4_set_key() sets up the B<RC4_KEY> B<key> using the B<len> bytes long
30*2175Sjp161948key at B<data>.
31*2175Sjp161948
32*2175Sjp161948RC4() encrypts or decrypts the B<len> bytes of data at B<indata> using
33*2175Sjp161948B<key> and places the result at B<outdata>.  Repeated RC4() calls with
34*2175Sjp161948the same B<key> yield a continuous key stream.
35*2175Sjp161948
36*2175Sjp161948Since RC4 is a stream cipher (the input is XORed with a pseudo-random
37*2175Sjp161948key stream to produce the output), decryption uses the same function
38*2175Sjp161948calls as encryption.
39*2175Sjp161948
40*2175Sjp161948Applications should use the higher level functions
41*2175Sjp161948L<EVP_EncryptInit(3)|EVP_EncryptInit(3)>
42*2175Sjp161948etc. instead of calling the RC4 functions directly.
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44*2175Sjp161948=head1 RETURN VALUES
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46*2175Sjp161948RC4_set_key() and RC4() do not return values.
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48*2175Sjp161948=head1 NOTE
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50*2175Sjp161948Certain conditions have to be observed to securely use stream ciphers.
51*2175Sjp161948It is not permissible to perform multiple encryptions using the same
52*2175Sjp161948key stream.
53*2175Sjp161948
54*2175Sjp161948=head1 SEE ALSO
55*2175Sjp161948
56*2175Sjp161948L<blowfish(3)|blowfish(3)>, L<des(3)|des(3)>, L<rc2(3)|rc2(3)>
57*2175Sjp161948
58*2175Sjp161948=head1 HISTORY
59*2175Sjp161948
60*2175Sjp161948RC4_set_key() and RC4() are available in all versions of SSLeay and OpenSSL.
61*2175Sjp161948
62*2175Sjp161948=cut
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