What is a challenge password?

Question

I'm setting up SSL on an Ubuntu server. One of fields it asks for as part of setting up the CSR is a "challenge password". What is that? The default is blank. Do I need to enter one?

Answer 1

The "challenge password" requested as part of the CSR generation, is different from the passphrase used to encrypt the secret key (requested at key generation time, or when a plaintext key is later encrypted - and then requested again each time the SSL-enabled service that uses it starts up).

Here's a key being generated, and the beginning of the generated key:

$ openssl genpkey -algorithm rsa -out foo.key
............++++++
...++++++

$ head -3 foo.key
-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
MIICdgIBADANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAASCAmAwggJcAgEAAoGBAJ9jNAG4Noy//r/S
eeK/gEgGOV0BZm0CYmgSQGj4P6N3cJsPlGsG80qKTxTFwoEiXnM3BVeBpDdXhGKt

This key has no passphrase. I wasn't prompted for one at creation, and haven't entered one. Now, let's generate an encrypted key:

$ openssl genpkey -algorithm rsa -des3 -out bar.key
...........................................++++++
.....................................++++++
Enter PEM pass phrase:
Verifying - Enter PEM pass phrase:

$ head -3 bar.key
-----BEGIN ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY-----
MIICxjBABgkqhkiG9w0BBQ0wMzAbBgkqhkiG9w0BBQwwDgQInfwj1iv3icMCAggA
MBQGCCqGSIb3DQMHBAizMHBklBexiwSCAoDtRKf1WtMiVMH7HraGTIG0rlQS6Xuj

So it should be clear what an encrypted private key (which apache, or any other SSL-enabled server, will need unlocking for it when it starts) and a plaintext private key (which doesn't require unlocking at service start time) look like. Now I'll generate a CSR with a challenge password from the unencrypted key:

$ openssl req -new -key foo.key
You are about to be asked to enter information that will be incorporated
into your certificate request.
What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name or a DN.
There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
For some fields there will be a default value,
If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
-----
Country Name (2 letter code) [XX]:
State or Province Name (full name) []:
Locality Name (eg, city) [Default City]:
Organization Name (eg, company) [Default Company Ltd]:
Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:
Common Name (eg, your name or your server's hostname) []:
Email Address []:

Please enter the following 'extra' attributes
to be sent with your certificate request
A challenge password []:asdfasdf
An optional company name []:
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----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-----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----

And just to show that the key hasn't magically become encrypted:

$ head -3 foo.key
-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
MIICdgIBADANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAASCAmAwggJcAgEAAoGBAJ9jNAG4Noy//r/S
eeK/gEgGOV0BZm0CYmgSQGj4P6N3cJsPlGsG80qKTxTFwoEiXnM3BVeBpDdXhGKt

So I say again: the "challenge password" requested as part of the CSR generation is not the same thing as a passphrase used to encrypt the secret key. The "challenge password" is basically a shared-secret nonce between you and the SSL certificate-issuer (aka Certification Authority, or CA), embedded in the CSR, which the issuer may use to authenticate you should that ever be needed. Some SSL certificate-issuers make that clearer than others; look down at the bottom of this page to see where they say the challenge password is needed - it's not when you restart apache:

Should you choose to enter and use a challenge password, you will need to make sure that you save that password in a secure place. If you ever need to reinstall your certificate for any reason, you will be required to enter that password.