Opening a CRL File

The CRL file type is primarily associated with OpenSSL.

CRL	File extension: CRL
	File type:	certificate revocation list

What is a CRL file?

CRL files mostly belong to OpenSSL by OpenSSL. A CRL file is a certificate revocation list used by various cryptography and communication tools. It contains a list of public key certificates which have been revoked by the Certificate Authority before their expiry date. A Certificate Authority may revoke a certificate if its private key has been compromised, superseded, transferred between unauthorized parties etc. Tools such as IIS and OpenSSL use information saved in a CRL file to identify and block a resource from an untrusted entity.

How can I open a CRL file?

You need a suitable software like OpenSSL to open a CRL file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your CRL file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a CRL file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online CRL Text Viewer

Choose your .crl file to analyze

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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CRL file format:

Every file has a defined file format, i.e. how the data is arranged in the file. The initial characters of a file are called signature, sometimes also referred to as "magic bytes". The signature can be used to infer the file format. However, different programs can use the same file extension. Furthermore, a file extension can be renamed incorrectly and double-clicking on it will then display an error when it is opened. Knowledge is power - this also applies when dealing with unknown or faulty files. Our analysis of the CRL files produces the following result:

The CRL extension is quite commonly used. The file itself is primarily used by a single program. However, the following two file formats are common:

• 90% of all CRL files internally utilize the certificate file format. A digital certificate is a unique, digitally signed document which authoritatively identifies the identity of an individual or organization. Using public key cryptography, its authenticity can be verified to ensure that the software or website you are using is legitimate. They consist of illegible, cryptic characters. The file size is in the range of 490 bytes to 11 KB. The file type was created recently. These files can be linked to root, rootca, cert, digi, authority, global, gdig, aaacertificate, services and trust.
• 4% of all CRL files start with the bytes -----BEGIN crucial for this file format. These files are plain text, which means they can be viewed with any text editor such as Windows Editor, Nano for Linux, and TextEdit for macOS. CRL files are between 760 bytes and 33 KB in size. Certain words are almost always found in the files, such as ----BEGIN X509 CRL----.

All the rest of the CRL files (6%) have different formats. Often described as microsoft, issuing, latestcrl, download, sign, certificate, userfirst or cacrl. Just click the "Choose your .crl file to analyze" button on this page to find out what your CRL file is.