Very brief introduction to create a CA and a CERT

Author: Gregory Neil Shapiro

To make certificate authority:

mkdir CA
cd CA
mkdir certs crl newcerts private
echo "01" > serial
cp /dev/null index.txt
cp /usr/local/openssl/openssl.cnf.sample openssl.cnf
vi openssl.cnf   (set values)
openssl req -new -x509 -keyout private/cakey.pem -out cacert.pem -days 365 -config openssl.cnf
To make a new certificate:
cd CA        (same directory created above)
openssl req -nodes -new -x509 -keyout newreq.pem -out newreq.pem -days 365 -config openssl.cnf
(certificate and private key in file newreq.pem) To sign new certificate with certificate authority:
cd CA        (same directory created above)
openssl x509 -x509toreq -in newreq.pem -signkey newreq.pem -out tmp.pem
openssl ca -config openssl.cnf -policy policy_anything -out newcert.pem -infiles tmp.pem
rm -f tmp.pem
(newcert.pem contains signed certificate, newreq.pem still contains unsigned certificate and private key)