Fix & update documentation about RAND_priv_bytes()

Reviewed-by: Rich Salz <rsalz@openssl.org>
Reviewed-by: Kurt Roeckx <kurt@roeckx.be>
Reviewed-by: Ben Kaduk <kaduk@mit.edu>
Reviewed-by: Matthias St. Pierre <Matthias.St.Pierre@ncp-e.com>
(Merged from https://github.com/openssl/openssl/pull/6514)

1 files changed, 12 insertions, 9 deletions

diff --git a/doc/man7/RAND.pod b/doc/man7/RAND.pod
index 578018feab..971b3cdb16 100644
--- a/doc/man7/RAND.pod
+++ b/doc/man7/RAND.pod
@@ -24,16 +24,19 @@ to be initialized ('seeded') explicitly.
 It seeds and reseeds itself automatically using trusted random sources
 provided by the operating system.
 
-As a normal application developer, you don't have to worry about any details,
+As a normal application developer, you do not have to worry about any details,
 just use L<RAND_bytes(3)> to obtain random data.
 Having said that, there is one important rule to obey: Always check the error
-return value of L<RAND_bytes(3)> and don't take randomness for granted.
+return value of L<RAND_bytes(3)> and do not take randomness for granted.
 
-For long-term secrets, you can use L<RAND_priv_bytes(3)> instead.
+For values that should remain secret, you can use L<RAND_priv_bytes(3)>
+instead.
 This method does not provide 'better' randomness, it uses the same type of CSPRNG.
-The intention behind using a dedicated CSPRNG exclusively for long-term secrets is
-that none of its output should be visible to an attacker (e.g used as salt value),
-in order to reveal as little information as possible about its internal state.
+The intention behind using a dedicated CSPRNG exclusively for private
+values is that none of its output should be visible to an attacker (e.g.,
+used as salt value), in order to reveal as little information as
+possible about its internal state, and that a compromise of the "public"
+CSPRNG instance will not affect the secrecy of these private values.
 
 In the rare case where the default implementation does not satisfy your special
 requirements, there are two options:
@@ -61,10 +64,10 @@ of cryptographic principles and understand the implications of your changes.
 L<RAND_add(3)>,
 L<RAND_bytes(3)>,
 L<RAND_priv_bytes(3)>,
-L<RAND_get_rand_method(3)>
-L<RAND_set_rand_method(3)>
+L<RAND_get_rand_method(3)>,
+L<RAND_set_rand_method(3)>,
 L<RAND_OpenSSL(3)>,
-L<RAND_DRBG(7)>,
+L<RAND_DRBG(7)>
 
 =head1 COPYRIGHT