Bash script with openssl req -new -key rootCA.key -out rootCA.csr -config rootCA_openssl.cnf --passin pass:password

Question

I am generating a root certificate with a bash script.

I have a rootCA_openssl.cnf file with the configuration data:

rootCA_openssl.cnf

[ req ]
distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
req_extensions = v3_req

[ req_distinguished_name ]
countryName = NO
countryName_default = NO
stateOrProvinceName = Stavanger
stateOrProvinceName_default = Stavanger
organizationName = Stavanger Info
organizationName_default = Stavanger Info
commonName = 88.5.44.3
commonName_default = 88.5.44.3

[ v3_req ]
basicConstraints = CA:true
keyUsage = critical, keyCertSign

Generate RSA

openssl genrsa -aes256 -out rootCA.key --passout pass:password 2048

Create a CSR (Certificate Signing Request) file for root CA certificate

When I try to generate a CSR file Ubuntu promps me with the configuration.

openssl req -new -key rootCA.key -out rootCA.csr -config rootCA_openssl.cnf --passin pass:password

This is what Ubuntu asks me for:

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.
-----
NO [NO]:

I am going to run the command in a bash script, so I cannot press enter on the keyboard for the questions.

How can I run openssl req without beeing asked for this?

Answer 1

You need to add prompt = no to your [ req ] section.

From the man page:

prompt
If set to the value no this disables prompting of certificate fields and just takes values from the config file directly.