xref: /freebsd/crypto/openssl/doc/man3/SSL_get_error.pod (revision 3f0efe05432b1633991114ca4ca330102a561959)
1=pod
2
3=head1 NAME
4
5SSL_get_error - obtain result code for TLS/SSL I/O operation
6
7=head1 SYNOPSIS
8
9 #include <openssl/ssl.h>
10
11 int SSL_get_error(const SSL *ssl, int ret);
12
13=head1 DESCRIPTION
14
15SSL_get_error() returns a result code (suitable for the C "switch"
16statement) for a preceding call to SSL_connect(), SSL_accept(), SSL_do_handshake(),
17SSL_read_ex(), SSL_read(), SSL_peek_ex(), SSL_peek(), SSL_shutdown(),
18SSL_write_ex() or SSL_write() on B<ssl>.  The value returned by that TLS/SSL I/O
19function must be passed to SSL_get_error() in parameter B<ret>.
20
21In addition to B<ssl> and B<ret>, SSL_get_error() inspects the
22current thread's OpenSSL error queue.  Thus, SSL_get_error() must be
23used in the same thread that performed the TLS/SSL I/O operation, and no
24other OpenSSL function calls should appear in between.  The current
25thread's error queue must be empty before the TLS/SSL I/O operation is
26attempted, or SSL_get_error() will not work reliably.
27
28=head1 NOTES
29
30Some TLS implementations do not send a close_notify alert on shutdown.
31
32On an unexpected EOF, versions before OpenSSL 3.0 returned
33B<SSL_ERROR_SYSCALL>, nothing was added to the error stack, and errno was 0.
34Since OpenSSL 3.0 the returned error is B<SSL_ERROR_SSL> with a meaningful
35error on the error stack (SSL_R_UNEXPECTED_EOF_WHILE_READING). This error reason
36code may be used for control flow decisions (see the man page for
37L<ERR_GET_REASON(3)> for further details on this).
38
39=head1 RETURN VALUES
40
41The following return values can currently occur:
42
43=over 4
44
45=item SSL_ERROR_NONE
46
47The TLS/SSL I/O operation completed.  This result code is returned
48if and only if B<ret E<gt> 0>.
49
50=item SSL_ERROR_ZERO_RETURN
51
52The TLS/SSL peer has closed the connection for writing by sending the
53close_notify alert.
54No more data can be read.
55Note that B<SSL_ERROR_ZERO_RETURN> does not necessarily
56indicate that the underlying transport has been closed.
57
58This error can also appear when the option B<SSL_OP_IGNORE_UNEXPECTED_EOF>
59is set. See L<SSL_CTX_set_options(3)> for more details.
60
61=item SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ, SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE
62
63The operation did not complete and can be retried later.
64
65B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ> is returned when the last operation was a read
66operation from a nonblocking B<BIO>.
67It means that not enough data was available at this time to complete the
68operation.
69If at a later time the underlying B<BIO> has data available for reading the same
70function can be called again.
71
72SSL_read() and SSL_read_ex() can also set B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ> when there is
73still unprocessed data available at either the B<SSL> or the B<BIO> layer, even
74for a blocking B<BIO>.
75See L<SSL_read(3)> for more information.
76
77B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE> is returned when the last operation was a write
78to a nonblocking B<BIO> and it was unable to sent all data to the B<BIO>.
79When the B<BIO> is writable again, the same function can be called again.
80
81Note that the retry may again lead to an B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ> or
82B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE> condition.
83There is no fixed upper limit for the number of iterations that
84may be necessary until progress becomes visible at application
85protocol level.
86
87It is safe to call SSL_read() or SSL_read_ex() when more data is available
88even when the call that set this error was an SSL_write() or SSL_write_ex().
89However, if the call was an SSL_write() or SSL_write_ex(), it should be called
90again to continue sending the application data. If you get B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE>
91from SSL_write() or SSL_write_ex() then you should not do any other operation
92that could trigger B<IO> other than to repeat the previous SSL_write() call.
93
94For socket B<BIO>s (e.g. when SSL_set_fd() was used), select() or
95poll() on the underlying socket can be used to find out when the
96TLS/SSL I/O function should be retried.
97
98Caveat: Any TLS/SSL I/O function can lead to either of
99B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ> and B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE>.
100In particular,
101SSL_read_ex(), SSL_read(), SSL_peek_ex(), or SSL_peek() may want to write data
102and SSL_write() or SSL_write_ex() may want to read data.
103This is mainly because
104TLS/SSL handshakes may occur at any time during the protocol (initiated by
105either the client or the server); SSL_read_ex(), SSL_read(), SSL_peek_ex(),
106SSL_peek(), SSL_write_ex(), and SSL_write() will handle any pending handshakes.
107
108=item SSL_ERROR_WANT_CONNECT, SSL_ERROR_WANT_ACCEPT
109
110The operation did not complete; the same TLS/SSL I/O function should be
111called again later. The underlying BIO was not connected yet to the peer
112and the call would block in connect()/accept(). The SSL function should be
113called again when the connection is established. These messages can only
114appear with a BIO_s_connect() or BIO_s_accept() BIO, respectively.
115In order to find out, when the connection has been successfully established,
116on many platforms select() or poll() for writing on the socket file descriptor
117can be used.
118
119=item SSL_ERROR_WANT_X509_LOOKUP
120
121The operation did not complete because an application callback set by
122SSL_CTX_set_client_cert_cb() has asked to be called again.
123The TLS/SSL I/O function should be called again later.
124Details depend on the application.
125
126=item SSL_ERROR_WANT_ASYNC
127
128The operation did not complete because an asynchronous engine is still
129processing data. This will only occur if the mode has been set to SSL_MODE_ASYNC
130using L<SSL_CTX_set_mode(3)> or L<SSL_set_mode(3)> and an asynchronous capable
131engine is being used. An application can determine whether the engine has
132completed its processing using select() or poll() on the asynchronous wait file
133descriptor. This file descriptor is available by calling
134L<SSL_get_all_async_fds(3)> or L<SSL_get_changed_async_fds(3)>. The TLS/SSL I/O
135function should be called again later. The function B<must> be called from the
136same thread that the original call was made from.
137
138=item SSL_ERROR_WANT_ASYNC_JOB
139
140The asynchronous job could not be started because there were no async jobs
141available in the pool (see ASYNC_init_thread(3)). This will only occur if the
142mode has been set to SSL_MODE_ASYNC using L<SSL_CTX_set_mode(3)> or
143L<SSL_set_mode(3)> and a maximum limit has been set on the async job pool
144through a call to L<ASYNC_init_thread(3)>. The application should retry the
145operation after a currently executing asynchronous operation for the current
146thread has completed.
147
148=item SSL_ERROR_WANT_CLIENT_HELLO_CB
149
150The operation did not complete because an application callback set by
151SSL_CTX_set_client_hello_cb() has asked to be called again.
152The TLS/SSL I/O function should be called again later.
153Details depend on the application.
154
155=item SSL_ERROR_SYSCALL
156
157Some non-recoverable, fatal I/O error occurred. The OpenSSL error queue may
158contain more information on the error. For socket I/O on Unix systems, consult
159B<errno> for details. If this error occurs then no further I/O operations should
160be performed on the connection and SSL_shutdown() must not be called.
161
162This value can also be returned for other errors, check the error queue for
163details.
164
165=item SSL_ERROR_SSL
166
167A non-recoverable, fatal error in the SSL library occurred, usually a protocol
168error.  The OpenSSL error queue contains more information on the error. If this
169error occurs then no further I/O operations should be performed on the
170connection and SSL_shutdown() must not be called.
171
172=back
173
174=head1 SEE ALSO
175
176L<ssl(7)>
177
178=head1 HISTORY
179
180The SSL_ERROR_WANT_ASYNC error code was added in OpenSSL 1.1.0.
181The SSL_ERROR_WANT_CLIENT_HELLO_CB error code was added in OpenSSL 1.1.1.
182
183=head1 COPYRIGHT
184
185Copyright 2000-2024 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.
186
187Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License").  You may not use
188this file except in compliance with the License.  You can obtain a copy
189in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at
190L<https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.
191
192=cut
193