OpenSSL in bash script

Question

Hi!

I'm trying to make a bash script in linux where some encrypted data is embedded and then retrieved and decrypted with openssl, like this:

cat | openssl des3 -d -a -salt -pass pass:asdf > output.txt <<EOF
U2FsdGVkX1/zN55FdyL5j1nbDVt5vK4V3WLQrnHPoycCJPwWO0ei3PCrrMqPaxUH.....blablablah data
EOF

The only problem with this, that would otherwise work, is that I have to hit enter when the script reaches this position. I have tried changing the way \n are placed, but no luck.

I can't afford to press manually enter for all the files that are going to be embedded like this one!!

Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

A couple of things wrong here:

1. You shouldn't use both cat | ... and also a here document (<<EOF). Use one or the other.

2. Your example isn't testable because the example text is not the DES3 encryption of any input.

This example works as expected:

cat ~/.profile | openssl des3 -e -a -salt -pass pass:asdf -out /tmp/output.txt

That is, it writes an encrypted version of ~/.profile, base64 encoded, to file /tmp/output.txt.

Here's a working decryption example with a here document:

openssl des3 -d -a -salt -pass pass:asdf <<EOF                                              
U2FsdGVkX1/03DBd+MpEKId2hUY82cLWpYltYy2zSsg=
EOF

Try this in the safety and comfort of your own home...