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Re: tlsverifyclient security implications



Howard Chu wrote:
> Josh.Mullis@cox.com wrote:
>>
>> ..."If the client does not send a certificate, it can still connect."
>>
>>
>> Does that mean that traffic is still encrypted if a certificate is not
>> used?
> 
> Yes. Certificates are only for authentication, not encrypting the
> traffic.

Howard, I'm sure that you already know this but let's be more precise with the
wording to avoid confusing people:

Strictly speaking the *client cert* is only for authentication of the client.
The public key in the server cert is also used for the secure key exchange for
the symmetric cipher used and thus is indirectly used for encrypting the
traffic (besides authenticating the server).

Ciao, Michael.