=pod

=head1 NAME

EVP_PKEY_get_size, EVP_PKEY_get_bits, EVP_PKEY_get_security_bits,
EVP_PKEY_bits, EVP_PKEY_security_bits, EVP_PKEY_get_security_category,
EVP_PKEY_size
- EVP_PKEY information functions

=head1 SYNOPSIS

 #include <openssl/evp.h>

 int EVP_PKEY_get_size(const EVP_PKEY *pkey);
 int EVP_PKEY_get_bits(const EVP_PKEY *pkey);
 int EVP_PKEY_get_security_bits(const EVP_PKEY *pkey);
 int EVP_PKEY_get_security_category(const EVP_PKEY *pkey);

 #define EVP_PKEY_bits EVP_PKEY_get_bits
 #define EVP_PKEY_security_bits EVP_PKEY_get_security_bits
 #define EVP_PKEY_size EVP_PKEY_get_size

=head1 DESCRIPTION

EVP_PKEY_get_size() returns the maximum suitable size for the output
buffers for almost all operations that can be done with I<pkey>.
This corresponds to the provider parameter B<OSSL_PKEY_PARAM_MAX_SIZE>.
The primary documented use is with L<EVP_SignFinal(3)> and
L<EVP_SealInit(3)>, but it isn't limited there.  The returned size is
also large enough for the output buffer of L<EVP_PKEY_sign(3)>,
L<EVP_PKEY_encrypt(3)>, L<EVP_PKEY_decrypt(3)>, L<EVP_PKEY_derive(3)>.

It must be stressed that, unless the documentation for the operation
that's being performed says otherwise, the size returned by
EVP_PKEY_get_size() is only preliminary and not exact, so the final
contents of the target buffer may be smaller.  It is therefore crucial
to take note of the size given back by the function that performs the
operation, such as L<EVP_PKEY_sign(3)> (the I<siglen> argument will
receive that length), to avoid bugs.

EVP_PKEY_get_bits() returns the cryptographic length of the cryptosystem
to which the key in I<pkey> belongs, in bits.  Note that the definition
of cryptographic length is specific to the key cryptosystem.
This length corresponds to the provider parameter B<OSSL_PKEY_PARAM_BITS>.

EVP_PKEY_get_security_bits() returns the number of security bits of the given
I<pkey>, bits of security is defined in NIST SP800-57.
This corresponds to the provider parameter B<OSSL_PKEY_PARAM_SECURITY_BITS>.

EVP_PKEY_get_security_category() returns the
L<post-quantum security category|https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ir/2024/NIST.IR.8547.ipd.pdf>
as defined by NIST.
The post-quantum security category is an integer value from 0 to 5 that
is based on an algorithm's classification on the range of security strengths
offered by the existing standards in symmetric cryptography:

=begin text

 Security       Attack
 Category       Type
 ==============================================================
    0           Weak
    1           Key search on a block cipher with a 128-bit key
    2           Collision search on a 256-bit hash function
    3           Key search on a block cipher with a 192-bit key
    4           Collision search on a 384-bit hash function
    5           Key search on a block cipher with a 256-bit key

=end text

=begin html

<table>
<tr><th>Security Category</th><th>Attack Type</th>></tr>
<tr><td>0</td><td>Weak</td></tr>
<tr><td>1</td><td>Key search on a block cipher with a 128-bit key</td></tr>
<tr><td>2</td><td>Collision search on a 256-bit hash function</td></tr>
<tr><td>3</td><td>Key search on a block cipher with a 192-bit key</td></tr>
<tr><td>4</td><td>Collision search on a 384-bit hash function</td></tr>
<tr><td>5</td><td>Key search on a block cipher with a 256-bit key</td></tr>
</table>

=end html

=head1 RETURN VALUES

EVP_PKEY_get_size(), EVP_PKEY_get_bits() and EVP_PKEY_get_security_bits()
return a positive number, or 0 if this size isn't available.

EVP_PKEY_get_security_category() returns the post-quantum security category
which is an integer in the range zero to five inclusive.  It returns -1 if
the security category information isn't available.
For all classical algorithms, 0 is returned meaning that they are not
considered to be quantum safe.

=head1 NOTES

Most functions that have an output buffer and are mentioned with
EVP_PKEY_get_size() have a functionality where you can pass NULL for the
buffer and still pass a pointer to an integer and get the exact size
that this function call delivers in the context that it's called in.
This allows those functions to be called twice, once to find out the
exact buffer size, then allocate the buffer in between, and call that
function again actually output the data.  For those functions, it
isn't strictly necessary to call EVP_PKEY_get_size() to find out the
buffer size, but may be useful in cases where it's desirable to know
the upper limit in advance.

It should also be especially noted that EVP_PKEY_get_size() shouldn't be
used to get the output size for EVP_DigestSignFinal(), according to
L<EVP_DigestSignFinal(3)/NOTES>.

=head1 SEE ALSO

L<provider-keymgmt(7)>,
L<EVP_SignFinal(3)>,
L<EVP_SealInit(3)>,
L<EVP_PKEY_sign(3)>,
L<EVP_PKEY_encrypt(3)>,
L<EVP_PKEY_decrypt(3)>,
L<EVP_PKEY_derive(3)>

=head1 HISTORY

The EVP_PKEY_bits(), EVP_PKEY_security_bits(), and EVP_PKEY_size() functions
were renamed to include C<get> in their names in OpenSSL 3.0, respectively.
The old names are kept as non-deprecated alias macros.

EVP_PKEY_get_security_category() was added in OpenSSL 3.6.

=head1 COPYRIGHT

Copyright 2020-2025 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License").  You may not use
this file except in compliance with the License.  You can obtain a copy
in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at
L<https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.

=cut
