The OpenSSL Library no longer registers an atexit function

Blog on OpenSSL Library <[email protected]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 01:00:23 -0000
Newsgroups gmane.comp.encryption.openssl.user
Message-ID <ac75a272-16f3-457c-ad83-3799605c6d8f@localhost>
Previous posts about features removed from OpenSSL 4.0:

  1. [ENGINE code](https://openssl-library.org/post/2025-12-18-remove-engines)
  2. [deprecated functions for creating or modifying custom METHODS](https://openssl-library.org/post/2026-02-03-remove-methods/)

## Summary

The `OPENSSL_cleanup()` function is no longer registered to be called upon the
termination of the process. This means the OpenSSL Library does not
automatically free resources so the operating system reclaims them when an
application exits.

For most users, this will have no impact since the memory is freed one way or
the other.



URL: https://openssl-library.org/post/2026-03-10-remove-atexit/

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