Why openssl insist on requiring a passphrase on genrsa command?

Issue command:

openssl genrsa -out rsaprivatekey-nake.pem -des3 1024 

If not providing a passphrase(just press enter when requested), it keeps saying:

Enter pass phrase for rsaprivatekey-nake.pem: 3073726088:error:28069065:lib(40):UI_set_result:result too small:ui_lib.c:869:You must type in 4 to 8191 characters 

Can anybody tell me why?

Env: openSUSE 11.4, openssl 1.0.0c

1 Answer

Because you are asking it to encrypt the private key by giving the -des3 option.

If you don't want your key to be protected by a password, remove the -des3 option from the command line.