xref: /src/crypto/openssl/doc/man3/SSL_get_error.pod (revision f25b8c9fb4f58cf61adb47d7570abe7caa6d385d)
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.  Emptying the
27current thread's error queue is done with L<ERR_clear_error(3)>.
28
29=head1 NOTES
30
31Some TLS implementations do not send a close_notify alert on shutdown.
32
33On an unexpected EOF, versions before OpenSSL 3.0 returned
34B<SSL_ERROR_SYSCALL>, nothing was added to the error stack, and errno was 0.
35Since OpenSSL 3.0 the returned error is B<SSL_ERROR_SSL> with a meaningful
36error on the error stack (SSL_R_UNEXPECTED_EOF_WHILE_READING). This error reason
37code may be used for control flow decisions (see the man page for
38L<ERR_GET_REASON(3)> for further details on this).
39
40=head1 RETURN VALUES
41
42The following return values can currently occur:
43
44=over 4
45
46=item SSL_ERROR_NONE
47
48The TLS/SSL I/O operation completed.  This result code is returned
49if and only if B<ret E<gt> 0>.
50
51=item SSL_ERROR_ZERO_RETURN
52
53The TLS/SSL peer has closed the connection for writing by sending the
54close_notify alert.
55No more data can be read.
56Note that B<SSL_ERROR_ZERO_RETURN> does not necessarily
57indicate that the underlying transport has been closed.
58
59This error can also appear when the option B<SSL_OP_IGNORE_UNEXPECTED_EOF>
60is set. See L<SSL_CTX_set_options(3)> for more details.
61
62=item SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ, SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE
63
64The operation did not complete and can be retried later.
65
66For non-QUIC SSL objects, B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ> is returned when the last
67operation was a read operation from a nonblocking B<BIO>.
68It means that not enough data was available at this time to complete the
69operation.
70If at a later time the underlying B<BIO> has data available for reading the same
71function can be called again.
72
73SSL_read() and SSL_read_ex() can also set B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ> when there is
74still unprocessed data available at either the B<SSL> or the B<BIO> layer, even
75for a blocking B<BIO>.
76See L<SSL_read(3)> for more information.
77
78For non-QUIC SSL objects, B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE> is returned when the last
79operation was a write to a nonblocking B<BIO> and it was unable to send all data
80to the B<BIO>. When the B<BIO> is writable again, the same function can be
81called again.
82
83Note that the retry may again lead to an B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ> or
84B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE> condition.
85There is no fixed upper limit for the number of iterations that
86may be necessary until progress becomes visible at application
87protocol level.
88
89For QUIC SSL objects, the meaning of B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ> and
90B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE> have different but largely compatible semantics. Since
91QUIC implements its own flow control and uses UDP datagrams, backpressure
92conditions in terms of the underlying BIO providing network I/O are not directly
93relevant to the circumstances in which these errors are produced. In particular,
94B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE> indicates that the OpenSSL internal send buffer for a
95given QUIC stream has been filled. Likewise, B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ> indicates
96that the OpenSSL internal receive buffer for a given QUIC stream is empty.
97
98It is safe to call SSL_read() or SSL_read_ex() when more data is available
99even when the call that set this error was an SSL_write() or SSL_write_ex().
100However, if the call was an SSL_write() or SSL_write_ex(), it should be called
101again to continue sending the application data. If you get B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE>
102from SSL_write() or SSL_write_ex() then you should not do any other operation
103that could trigger B<IO> other than to repeat the previous SSL_write() call.
104
105For socket B<BIO>s (e.g. when SSL_set_fd() was used), select() or
106poll() on the underlying socket can be used to find out when the
107TLS/SSL I/O function should be retried.
108
109Caveat: Any TLS/SSL I/O function can lead to either of
110B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ> and B<SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE>.
111In particular,
112SSL_read_ex(), SSL_read(), SSL_peek_ex(), or SSL_peek() may want to write data
113and SSL_write() or SSL_write_ex() may want to read data.
114This is mainly because
115TLS/SSL handshakes may occur at any time during the protocol (initiated by
116either the client or the server); SSL_read_ex(), SSL_read(), SSL_peek_ex(),
117SSL_peek(), SSL_write_ex(), and SSL_write() will handle any pending handshakes.
118
119=item SSL_ERROR_WANT_CONNECT, SSL_ERROR_WANT_ACCEPT
120
121The operation did not complete; the same TLS/SSL I/O function should be
122called again later. The underlying BIO was not connected yet to the peer
123and the call would block in connect()/accept(). The SSL function should be
124called again when the connection is established. These messages can only
125appear with a BIO_s_connect() or BIO_s_accept() BIO, respectively.
126In order to find out, when the connection has been successfully established,
127on many platforms select() or poll() for writing on the socket file descriptor
128can be used.
129
130=item SSL_ERROR_WANT_X509_LOOKUP
131
132The operation did not complete because an application callback set by
133SSL_CTX_set_client_cert_cb() has asked to be called again.
134The TLS/SSL I/O function should be called again later.
135Details depend on the application.
136
137=item SSL_ERROR_WANT_ASYNC
138
139The operation did not complete because an asynchronous engine is still
140processing data. This will only occur if the mode has been set to SSL_MODE_ASYNC
141using L<SSL_CTX_set_mode(3)> or L<SSL_set_mode(3)> and an asynchronous capable
142engine is being used. An application can determine whether the engine has
143completed its processing using select() or poll() on the asynchronous wait file
144descriptor. This file descriptor is available by calling
145L<SSL_get_all_async_fds(3)> or L<SSL_get_changed_async_fds(3)>. The TLS/SSL I/O
146function should be called again later. The function B<must> be called from the
147same thread that the original call was made from.
148
149=item SSL_ERROR_WANT_ASYNC_JOB
150
151The asynchronous job could not be started because there were no async jobs
152available in the pool (see ASYNC_init_thread(3)). This will only occur if the
153mode has been set to SSL_MODE_ASYNC using L<SSL_CTX_set_mode(3)> or
154L<SSL_set_mode(3)> and a maximum limit has been set on the async job pool
155through a call to L<ASYNC_init_thread(3)>. The application should retry the
156operation after a currently executing asynchronous operation for the current
157thread has completed.
158
159=item SSL_ERROR_WANT_CLIENT_HELLO_CB
160
161The operation did not complete because an application callback set by
162SSL_CTX_set_client_hello_cb() has asked to be called again.
163The TLS/SSL I/O function should be called again later.
164Details depend on the application.
165
166=item SSL_ERROR_SYSCALL
167
168Some non-recoverable, fatal I/O error occurred. The OpenSSL error queue may
169contain more information on the error. For socket I/O on Unix systems, consult
170B<errno> for details. If this error occurs then no further I/O operations should
171be performed on the connection and SSL_shutdown() must not be called.
172
173This value can also be returned for other errors, check the error queue for
174details.
175
176=item SSL_ERROR_SSL
177
178A non-recoverable, fatal error in the SSL library occurred, usually a protocol
179error.  The OpenSSL error queue contains more information on the error. If this
180error occurs then no further I/O operations should be performed on the
181connection and SSL_shutdown() must not be called.
182
183=back
184
185The OpenSSL error queue can be inspected with the B<ERR> family of functions,
186such as L<ERR_print_errors(3)> and L<ERR_peek_last_error_all(3)>.
187
188=head1 SEE ALSO
189
190L<ssl(7)>,
191L<ERR_clear_error(3)>, ERR_print_errors(3), ERR_peek_last_error_all(3)
192
193=head1 HISTORY
194
195The SSL_ERROR_WANT_ASYNC error code was added in OpenSSL 1.1.0.
196The SSL_ERROR_WANT_CLIENT_HELLO_CB error code was added in OpenSSL 1.1.1.
197
198=head1 COPYRIGHT
199
200Copyright 2000-2024 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.
201
202Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License").  You may not use
203this file except in compliance with the License.  You can obtain a copy
204in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at
205L<https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.
206
207=cut
208