---
name: "openvas-manage-certs"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "openvas-manager-common"
version: "7.0.3-1"
release: "Debian 10 (Buster)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/openvas-manage-certs"
---

# openvas-manage-certs(1)

manage certificate infrastructure for an OpenVAS installation

## NAME

openvas-manage-certs - manage certificate infrastructure for an OpenVAS installation

## SYNOPSIS

**openvas-manage-certs** \[*OPTION*\]...

## DESCRIPTION

**openvas-manage-certs** manages the certificate infrastructure for an OpenVAS installation. The certificate infrastructure enables OpenVAS daemons to communicate in a secure manner and is used for authentication and authorization before establishing TLS connections between the daemons.

The OpenVAS certificate infrastructure consists of a certificate authority (CA) which is trusted by all OpenVAS daemons. This CA is then used to sign certificates used by the various daemons. The certificates can be divided into two use cases:

- •

  Server certificates, primarily used for authentication

- •

  Client certificates, primarily used for authorization

**openvas-manage-certs** can perform an automatic creation of a default certificate infrastructure for a standard OpenVAS installation. It can also verify an existing infrastructure and perform various certificate related tasks to support the setup of a more complex infrastructure.

## OPTIONS

### Certificate infrastructure management

- **-a**

  Automatically set up default infrastructure for OpenVAS

- **-V**

  Verify existing OpenVAS certificate infrastructure

- **-C**

  Create a certificate authority (CA)

- **-R**

  Create a certificate request for a CA

- **-r**

  Create a certificate request for a CA and sign it

- **-C**

  Create a certificate authority (CA)

- **-I**

  Install a CA certificate

- **-c**

  Create a certificate request and sign it

- **-i**

  Install a certificate

- **-S**

  Sign a certificate request

- **-f**

  Force overwriting of existing files

### Certificate options

- **-E**

  Create a server certificate. This sets the appropriate key usage constraints for a server certificate.

- **-L**

  Create a client certificate. This sets the appropriate key usage constraints for a client certificate.

- **-A**

  Skip CA generation in automatic mode. This automatically (re-)generates server and client certificates, but keeps the CA certificate.

### Configuration

**-e** *file* Read configuration from *file* (see below for configuration details)

### Output control

- **-d**

  Print debug output

- **-v**

  Print verbose messages

- **-q**

  Be quiet, only print error messages

### Other options

- **-h**

  Print help

## EXIT STATUS

- **0**

  The requested operation was successfully performed.

- **1**

  An error occurred, the requested operation could not be performed.

## ENVIRONMENT

All certificate generation options can be set either through the configuration file or through environment variables like the following:

- OPENVAS\_CERTIFICATE\_LIFETIME

  Days until the certificate will expire

- OPENVAS\_CERTIFICATE\_HOSTNAME

  Name to use for the certificate

- OPENVAS\_CERTIFICATE\_SIGNALG

  Hash algorithm to use for signing

- OPENVAS\_CERTIFICATE\_KEYSIZE

  Size in bits of the generated key

- OPENVAS\_CERTIFICATE\_SECPARAM

  GnuTLS security level \[low\|medium\|high\|ultra\]

- OPENVAS\_CERT\_DIR

  Directory where keys and certificates are stored before installation

- OPENVAS\_CERT\_PREFIX

  Prefix for certificate filename (e.g. "server")

For a complete list of options, please refer to the example configuration file included in the documentation.

## SEE ALSO

[**openvassd**(8)](/openvassd/8.md), [**openvasmd**(8)](/openvasmd/8.md), [**gsad**(8)](/gsad/8.md)