xref: /freebsd/crypto/openssl/doc/man3/SSL_write.pod (revision b633e08c705fe43180567eae26923d6f6f98c8d9)
1=pod
2
3=head1 NAME
4
5SSL_write_ex, SSL_write, SSL_sendfile - write bytes to a TLS/SSL connection
6
7=head1 SYNOPSIS
8
9 #include <openssl/ssl.h>
10
11 ossl_ssize_t SSL_sendfile(SSL *s, int fd, off_t offset, size_t size, int flags);
12 int SSL_write_ex(SSL *s, const void *buf, size_t num, size_t *written);
13 int SSL_write(SSL *ssl, const void *buf, int num);
14
15=head1 DESCRIPTION
16
17SSL_write_ex() and SSL_write() write B<num> bytes from the buffer B<buf> into
18the specified B<ssl> connection. On success SSL_write_ex() will store the number
19of bytes written in B<*written>.
20
21SSL_sendfile() writes B<size> bytes from offset B<offset> in the file
22descriptor B<fd> to the specified SSL connection B<s>. This function provides
23efficient zero-copy semantics. SSL_sendfile() is available only when
24Kernel TLS is enabled, which can be checked by calling BIO_get_ktls_send().
25It is provided here to allow users to maintain the same interface.
26The meaning of B<flags> is platform dependent.
27Currently, under Linux it is ignored.
28
29=head1 NOTES
30
31In the paragraphs below a "write function" is defined as one of either
32SSL_write_ex(), or SSL_write().
33
34If necessary, a write function will negotiate a TLS/SSL session, if not already
35explicitly performed by L<SSL_connect(3)> or L<SSL_accept(3)>. If the peer
36requests a re-negotiation, it will be performed transparently during
37the write function operation. The behaviour of the write functions depends on the
38underlying BIO.
39
40For the transparent negotiation to succeed, the B<ssl> must have been
41initialized to client or server mode. This is being done by calling
42L<SSL_set_connect_state(3)> or SSL_set_accept_state()
43before the first call to a write function.
44
45If the underlying BIO is B<blocking>, the write functions will only return, once
46the write operation has been finished or an error occurred.
47
48If the underlying BIO is B<nonblocking> the write functions will also return
49when the underlying BIO could not satisfy the needs of the function to continue
50the operation. In this case a call to L<SSL_get_error(3)> with the
51return value of the write function will yield B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ>
52or B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE>. As at any time a re-negotiation is possible, a
53call to a write function can also cause read operations! The calling process
54then must repeat the call after taking appropriate action to satisfy the needs
55of the write function. The action depends on the underlying BIO. When using a
56nonblocking socket, nothing is to be done, but select() can be used to check
57for the required condition. When using a buffering BIO, like a BIO pair, data
58must be written into or retrieved out of the BIO before being able to continue.
59
60The write functions will only return with success when the complete contents of
61B<buf> of length B<num> has been written. This default behaviour can be changed
62with the SSL_MODE_ENABLE_PARTIAL_WRITE option of L<SSL_CTX_set_mode(3)>. When
63this flag is set the write functions will also return with success when a
64partial write has been successfully completed. In this case the write function
65operation is considered completed. The bytes are sent and a new write call with
66a new buffer (with the already sent bytes removed) must be started. A partial
67write is performed with the size of a message block, which is 16kB.
68
69=head1 WARNINGS
70
71When a write function call has to be repeated because L<SSL_get_error(3)>
72returned B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ> or B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE>, it must be repeated
73with the same arguments.
74The data that was passed might have been partially processed.
75When B<SSL_MODE_ACCEPT_MOVING_WRITE_BUFFER> was set using L<SSL_CTX_set_mode(3)>
76the pointer can be different, but the data and length should still be the same.
77
78You should not call SSL_write() with num=0, it will return an error.
79SSL_write_ex() can be called with num=0, but will not send application data to
80the peer.
81
82=head1 RETURN VALUES
83
84SSL_write_ex() will return 1 for success or 0 for failure. Success means that
85all requested application data bytes have been written to the SSL connection or,
86if SSL_MODE_ENABLE_PARTIAL_WRITE is in use, at least 1 application data byte has
87been written to the SSL connection. Failure means that not all the requested
88bytes have been written yet (if SSL_MODE_ENABLE_PARTIAL_WRITE is not in use) or
89no bytes could be written to the SSL connection (if
90SSL_MODE_ENABLE_PARTIAL_WRITE is in use). Failures can be retryable (e.g. the
91network write buffer has temporarily filled up) or non-retryable (e.g. a fatal
92network error). In the event of a failure call L<SSL_get_error(3)> to find out
93the reason which indicates whether the call is retryable or not.
94
95For SSL_write() the following return values can occur:
96
97=over 4
98
99=item E<gt> 0
100
101The write operation was successful, the return value is the number of
102bytes actually written to the TLS/SSL connection.
103
104=item Z<><= 0
105
106The write operation was not successful, because either the connection was
107closed, an error occurred or action must be taken by the calling process.
108Call SSL_get_error() with the return value B<ret> to find out the reason.
109
110Old documentation indicated a difference between 0 and -1, and that -1 was
111retryable.
112You should instead call SSL_get_error() to find out if it's retryable.
113
114=back
115
116For SSL_sendfile(), the following return values can occur:
117
118=over 4
119
120=item Z<>>= 0
121
122The write operation was successful, the return value is the number
123of bytes of the file written to the TLS/SSL connection. The return
124value can be less than B<size> for a partial write.
125
126=item E<lt> 0
127
128The write operation was not successful, because either the connection was
129closed, an error occured or action must be taken by the calling process.
130Call SSL_get_error() with the return value to find out the reason.
131
132=back
133
134=head1 SEE ALSO
135
136L<SSL_get_error(3)>, L<SSL_read_ex(3)>, L<SSL_read(3)>
137L<SSL_CTX_set_mode(3)>, L<SSL_CTX_new(3)>,
138L<SSL_connect(3)>, L<SSL_accept(3)>
139L<SSL_set_connect_state(3)>, L<BIO_ctrl(3)>,
140L<ssl(7)>, L<bio(7)>
141
142=head1 HISTORY
143
144The SSL_write_ex() function was added in OpenSSL 1.1.1.
145The SSL_sendfile() function was added in OpenSSL 3.0.0.
146
147=head1 COPYRIGHT
148
149Copyright 2000-2020 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.
150
151Licensed under the OpenSSL license (the "License").  You may not use
152this file except in compliance with the License.  You can obtain a copy
153in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at
154L<https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.
155
156=cut
157