SoftHSM v2

SoftHSM Documentation v2

(SoftHSM)[http://www.opendnssec.org/softhsm/] is an implementation of a cryptographic store accessible through a PKCS#11 interface. It is being developed as a part of the OpenDNSSEC project.

The second version of SoftHSM focuses on a higher level of security by encrypting sensitive information and using unswappable memory. There is also a more generalized crypto backend, where you can use Botan or OpenSSL.

Download

Releases can be downloaded from:

https://www.opendnssec.org/download/

Git repository:

https://www.opendnssec.org/download/

Dependencies

SoftHSM depends on a cryptographic library, Botan or OpenSSL. Minimum required versions:

Botan 1.10.0
OpenSSL 1.0.0

If you are using Botan, make sure that it has support for GNU MP (--with-gnump). This will improve the performance when doing public key operations.

There is a migration tool for converting token databases from SoftHSMv1 into the new type of tokens. If this tool is built, then SQLite3 is required (>= 3.4.2).

Building from the repository

If the code is downloaded directly from the code repository, you have to prepare the configuration scripts.

You need to install automake, autoconf, libtool, etc.
Run the command 'sh autogen.sh'
Continue with the instructions below.

Installing

Configure the installation/compilation scripts.

tar -xzf softhsm-.tar.gz
cd softhsm-
./configure

Options:

--disable-non-paged-memory
Disable non-paged memory for secure storage
(default enabled)
--disable-ecc Disable support for ECC (default enabled)
--disable-gost Disable support for GOST (default enabled)
--enable-visibility Enable -fvisibility=hidden GCC flags so
only the PKCS#11 C_* entry points are kept
--with-crypto-backend Select crypto backend (openssl|botan)
--with-openssl=PATH Specify prefix of path of OpenSSL
--with-botan=PATH Specify prefix of path of Botan
--with-loglevel=INT The log level. 0=No log 1=Error 2=Warning 3=Info
4=Debug (default INT=3)
--with-migrate Build the migration tool. Used when migrating
a SoftHSM v1 token database. Requires SQLite3.
--with-objectstore-backend-db
Build with database object store (SQLite3)
--with-sqlite3=PATH Specify prefix of path of SQLite3

Compile the source code using the following command:

make

Install the library using the follow command:

sudo make install

Location of the configuration file.

The default location of the config file is /etc/softhsm2.conf. This location can be change by setting the environment variable.

export SOFTHSM2_CONF=/home/user/config.file

Details on the configuration can be found in "man softhsm2.conf".

Initialize your tokens.

Use either softhsm-util or the PKCS#11 interface. The SO PIN can e.g. be used to re-initialize the token and the user PIN is handed out to the application so it can interact with the token.