forked from TrueCloudLab/certificates
Updated README with features & a bunch of cleanup
This commit is contained in:
Michael Malone
GitHub
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1 changed files with 167 additions and 147 deletions
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README.md
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README.md
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@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
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An online certificate authority and related tools for secure automated certificate management, so you can use TLS everywhere.
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This repository is for `step-ca`, a certificate authority that exposes an API for automated certificate management. It also contains a [golang SDK](https://github.com/smallstep/certificates/tree/master/examples#basic-client-usage) for interacting with `step-ca` programatically. However, you'll probably want to use the [`step` command-line tool](https://github.com/smallstep/cli) to operate `step-ca` and get certificates, instead of using this low-level SDK directly.
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**Questions? Find us [on gitter](https://gitter.im/smallstep/community).**
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[Website](https://smallstep.com) |
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[Documentation](#documentation) |
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[Installation Guide](#installation-guide) |
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@ -21,6 +25,38 @@ An online certificate authority and related tools for secure automated certifica
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## Features
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It's super easy to get started and to operate `step-ca` thanks to [streamlined initialization](https://github.com/smallstep/certificates#lets-get-started) and [safe, sane defaults](https://github.com/smallstep/certificates/blob/master/docs/defaults.md). **Get started in 15 minutes.**
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### A private certificate authority you run yourself
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- Issue client and server certificates to VMs, containers, devices, and people using internal hostnames and emails
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- [RFC5280](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5280) and [CA/Browser Forum](https://cabforum.org/baseline-requirements-documents/) compliant certificates that work **for TLS and HTTPS** (SSH coming soon!)
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- Choose key types (RSA, ECDSA, EdDSA) & lifetimes to suit your needs
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- [Short-lived certificates](https://smallstep.com/blog/passive-revocation.html) with **fully automated** enrollment, renewal, and revocation
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- Fast, stable, and capable of high availability deployment using [root federation](https://smallstep.com/blog/step-v0.8.3-federation-root-rotation.html) and/or multiple intermediaries
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- Operate as an online intermediate for an existing root CA
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- [Pluggable database backends](https://github.com/smallstep/certificates/blob/master/docs/database.md) for persistence
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- [Helm charts](https://hub.helm.sh/charts/smallstep/step-certificates), [autocert](https://github.com/smallstep/autocert), and [cert-manager integration](https://github.com/smallstep/step-issuer) for kubernetes
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### Lots of (automatable) ways to get certificates
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- [Single sign-on](https://smallstep.com/blog/easily-curl-services-secured-by-https-tls.html) using Okta, GSuite, Active Directory, or any other OAuth OIDC identity provider
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- Instance identity documents for VMs on AWS, GCP, and Azure
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- [Single-use short-lived tokens](https://smallstep.com/docs/design-doc.html#jwk-provisioner) issued by your CD tool — Puppet, Chef, Ansible, Terraform, etc.
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- Use an existing certificate from another CA (e.g., using a device certificate like [Twilio's Trust OnBoard](https://www.twilio.com/wireless/trust-onboard)) *coming soon*
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- ACMEv2 (RFC8555) support so you can **run your own private ACME server** *[coming soon](https://github.com/smallstep/certificates/tree/acme)*
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### Easy certificate management and automation via [`step` CLI](https://github.com/smallstep/cli) [integration](https://smallstep.com/docs/cli/ca/)
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- Generate key pairs where they're needed so private keys are never transmitted across the network
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- [Authenticate and obtain a certificate](https://smallstep.com/docs/cli/ca/certificate/) using any enrollment mechanism supported by `step-ca`
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- Securely [distribute root certificates](https://smallstep.com/docs/cli/ca/root/) and [bootstrap](https://smallstep.com/docs/cli/ca/bootstrap/) PKI relying parties
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- [Renew](https://smallstep.com/docs/cli/ca/renew/) and [revoke](https://smallstep.com/docs/cli/ca/revoke/) certificates issued by `step-ca`
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- [Install root certificates](https://smallstep.com/docs/cli/certificate/install/) so your CA is trusted by default (issue development certificates **that [work in browsers](https://smallstep.com/blog/step-v0-8-6-valid-HTTPS-certificates-for-dev-pre-prod.html)**)
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- [Inspect](https://smallstep.com/docs/cli/certificate/inspect/) and [lint](https://smallstep.com/docs/cli/certificate/lint/) certificates
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## Motivation
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Managing your own *public key infrastructure* (PKI) can be tedious and error
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@ -49,32 +85,20 @@ need.
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makes it much easier to implement good security practices early, and
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incrementally improve them as your system matures.
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For more information and docs see [the Step
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For more information and [docs](https://smallstep.com/docs) see [the smallstep
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website](https://smallstep.com/certificates) and the [blog
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post](https://smallstep.com/blog/step-certificates.html) announcing Step
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Certificate Authority.
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> ## 🆕 Autocert <a href="https://github.com/smallstep/autocert"><img width="50%" src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/smallstep/autocert/master/autocert-logo.png"></a>
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>
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> If you're using Kubernetes, make sure you [check out
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> autocert](https://github.com/smallstep/autocert): a kubernetes add-on that builds on `step
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> certificates` to automatically inject TLS/HTTPS certificates into your containers.
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post](https://smallstep.com/blog/step-certificates.html) announcing this project.
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## Installation Guide
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These instructions will install an OS specific version of the `step-ca` binary on
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your local machine.
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> NOTE: While `step` is not required to run the Step Certificate Authority (CA)
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> we strongly recommend installing both `step cli` and `step certificates`
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> because the Step CA is much easier to initialize, manage, and debug using
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> the `step cli` toolkit.
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While `step` is not required to run `step-ca`, it will make your life easier so you'll probably want to [install it](https://github.com/smallstep/cli#installation-guide) too.
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### Mac OS
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Install `step` via [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/). The
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[Homebrew Formula](https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-core/blob/master/Formula/step.rb)
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installs both `step cli` and `step certificates`.
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Install `step` and `step-ca` together via [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/):
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<pre><code>
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<b>$ brew install step</b>
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@ -101,10 +125,10 @@ $ brew uninstall step
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#### Debian
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1. [Optional] Install `step cli`.
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1. [Optional] Install `step`.
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Download the latest Debian package from
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[`step cli` releases](https://github.com/smallstep/cli/releases):
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[`step` releases](https://github.com/smallstep/cli/releases):
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```
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$ wget https://github.com/smallstep/cli/releases/download/X.Y.Z/step_X.Y.Z_amd64.deb
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@ -116,10 +140,9 @@ $ brew uninstall step
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$ sudo dpkg -i step_X.Y.Z_amd64.deb
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```
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2. Install `step certificates`.
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2. Install `step-ca`.
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Download the latest Debian package from
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[`step certificates` releases](https://github.com/smallstep/certificates/releases):
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Download the latest Debian package from [releases](https://github.com/smallstep/certificates/releases):
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```
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$ wget https://github.com/smallstep/certificates/releases/download/X.Y.Z/step-certificates_X.Y.Z_amd64.deb
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@ -136,29 +159,43 @@ $ brew uninstall step
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We are using the [Arch User Repository](https://aur.archlinux.org) to distribute
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`step` binaries for Arch Linux.
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* [Optional] The `step-cli` binary tarball can be found [here](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/step-cli-bin/).
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* [Optional] The `step` binary tarball can be found [here](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/step-cli-bin/).
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* The `step-ca` binary tarball can be found [here](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/step-ca-bin/).
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You can use [pacman](https://www.archlinux.org/pacman/) to install the packages.
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### Kubernetes
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We publish [helm charts](https://hub.helm.sh/charts/smallstep/step-certificates) for easy installation on kubernetes:
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```
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helm install step-certificates
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```
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> <a href="https://github.com/smallstep/autocert"><img width="25%" src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/smallstep/autocert/master/autocert-logo.png"></a>
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>
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> If you're using Kubernetes, make sure you [check out
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> autocert](https://github.com/smallstep/autocert): a kubernetes add-on that builds on `step
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> certificates` to automatically inject TLS/HTTPS certificates into your containers.
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### Test
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<pre><code>
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<b>$ step version</b>
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Smallstep CLI/0.8.5 (darwin/amd64)
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Release Date: 2019-02-13 22:17 UTC
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Smallstep CLI/0.10.0 (darwin/amd64)
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Release Date: 2019-04-30 19:01 UTC
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<b>$ step-ca version</b>
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Smallstep CA/0.8.4 (darwin/amd64)
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Release Date: 2019-02-18 18:56 UTC
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Smallstep CA/0.10.0 (darwin/amd64)
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Release Date: 2019-04-30 19:02 UTC
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</code></pre>
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## Quickstart
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In the following guide we'll run a simple `hello` server that requires clients
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to connect over an authorized and encrypted channel (HTTP over TLS). The Step
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Certificate Authority (CA) will issue an identity dial tone to our server
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enabling it to authenticate and encrypt communication. Let's get started!
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to connect over an authorized and encrypted channel using HTTPS. `step-ca`
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will issue certificates to our server, allowing it to authenticate and encrypt
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communication. Let's get started!
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### Prerequisites
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### Let's get started!
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1. Initialize and run the Step CA.
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#### 1. Run `step ca init` to create your CA's keys & certificates and configure `step-ca`:
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`step ca init` initializes the CA and accomplishes two tasks.
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<pre><code>
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<b>$ step ca init</b>
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✔ What would you like to name your new PKI? (e.g. Smallstep): <b>Example Inc.</b>
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✔ What DNS names or IP addresses would you like to add to your new CA? (e.g. ca.smallstep.com[,1.1.1.1,etc.]): <b>localhost</b>
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✔ What address will your new CA listen at? (e.g. :443): <b>127.0.0.1:8080</b>
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✔ What would you like to name the first provisioner for your new CA? (e.g. you@smallstep.com): <b>bob@example.com</b>
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✔ What do you want your password to be? [leave empty and we'll generate one]: <b>abc123</b>
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1. Generate a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) with Root and Intermediate
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X.509 Certificates and private keys.
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Generating root certificate...
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all done!
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The root X.509 Certificate is a fancy public key that will be
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distributed to clients enabling them to authenticate all certificates
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generated by your PKI. The root private key should be kept in a very
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private place - but as this is just a demo we won't worry about that
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right now ([more info on storing sensitive
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data](./docs/GETTING_STARTED.md#passwords)). The intermediate
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private key will be used to sign new certificates ([Why is it more
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secure to use intermediate CA
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certificates?](https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/128779/why-is-it-more-secure-to-use-intermediate-ca-certificates))
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and the intermediate certificate will be distributed along with newly
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minted leaf certificates. In our demo, the server will present the
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intermediate certificate along with it's *server* (leaf) certificate
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allowing our client to validate the full chain using the root.
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Generating intermediate certificate...
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all done!
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2. Generate the configuration file required by the Step CA.
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✔ Root certificate: /Users/bob/src/github.com/smallstep/step/.step/certs/root_ca.crt
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✔ Root private key: /Users/bob/src/github.com/smallstep/step/.step/secrets/root_ca_key
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✔ Root fingerprint: 702a094e239c9eec6f0dcd0a5f65e595bf7ed6614012825c5fe3d1ae1b2fd6ee
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✔ Intermediate certificate: /Users/bob/src/github.com/smallstep/step/.step/certs/intermediate_ca.crt
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✔ Intermediate private key: /Users/bob/src/github.com/smallstep/step/.step/secrets/intermediate_ca_key
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✔ Default configuration: /Users/bob/src/github.com/smallstep/step/.step/config/defaults.json
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✔ Certificate Authority configuration: /Users/bob/src/github.com/smallstep/step/.step/config/ca.json
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See the [Getting Started](./docs/GETTING_STARTED.md) guide for an in depth
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explanation of the Step CA configuration file.
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Your PKI is ready to go. To generate certificates for individual services see 'step help ca'.
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</code></pre>
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<pre><code>
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<b>$ step ca init</b>
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✔ What would you like to name your new PKI? (e.g. Smallstep): <b>Example Inc.</b>
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✔ What DNS names or IP addresses would you like to add to your new CA? (e.g. ca.smallstep.com[,1.1.1.1,etc.]): <b>localhost</b>
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✔ What address will your new CA listen at? (e.g. :443): <b>127.0.0.1:8080</b>
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✔ What would you like to name the first provisioner for your new CA? (e.g. you@smallstep.com): <b>bob@example.com</b>
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✔ What do you want your password to be? [leave empty and we'll generate one]: <b>abc123</b>
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This command will:
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Generating root certificate...
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all done!
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- Generate [password protected](https://github.com/smallstep/certificates/blob/master/docs/GETTING_STARTED.md#passwords) private keys for your CA to sign certificates
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- Generate a root and [intermediate signing certificate](https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/128779/why-is-it-more-secure-to-use-intermediate-ca-certificates) for your CA
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- Create a JSON configuration file for `step-ca` (see [getting started](./docs/GETTING_STARTED.md) for details)
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Generating intermediate certificate...
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all done!
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You can find these artifacts in `$STEPPATH` (or `~/.step` by default).
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✔ Root certificate: /Users/bob/src/github.com/smallstep/step/.step/certs/root_ca.crt
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✔ Root private key: /Users/bob/src/github.com/smallstep/step/.step/secrets/root_ca_key
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✔ Root fingerprint: 702a094e239c9eec6f0dcd0a5f65e595bf7ed6614012825c5fe3d1ae1b2fd6ee
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✔ Intermediate certificate: /Users/bob/src/github.com/smallstep/step/.step/certs/intermediate_ca.crt
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✔ Intermediate private key: /Users/bob/src/github.com/smallstep/step/.step/secrets/intermediate_ca_key
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✔ Default configuration: /Users/bob/src/github.com/smallstep/step/.step/config/defaults.json
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✔ Certificate Authority configuration: /Users/bob/src/github.com/smallstep/step/.step/config/ca.json
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#### 2. Start `step-ca`:
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Your PKI is ready to go. To generate certificates for individual services see 'step help ca'.
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You'll be prompted for your password from the previous step, to decrypt the CA's private signing key:
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<b>$ step-ca $(step path)/config/ca.json</b>
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Please enter the password to decrypt /Users/bob/src/github.com/smallstep/step/.step/secrets/intermediate_ca_key: <b>abc123</b>
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2019/02/18 13:28:58 Serving HTTPS on 127.0.0.1:8080 ...
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</code></pre>
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<pre><code>
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<b>$ step-ca $(step path)/config/ca.json</b>
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Please enter the password to decrypt /Users/bob/src/github.com/smallstep/step/.step/secrets/intermediate_ca_key: <b>abc123</b>
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2019/02/18 13:28:58 Serving HTTPS on 127.0.0.1:8080 ...
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</code></pre>
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Now we've got an 'up and running' online CA!
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#### 3. Copy our `hello world` golang server.
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2. Copy our `hello world` golang server.
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```
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$ cat > srv.go <<EOF
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package main
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```
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$ cat > srv.go <<EOF
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package main
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import (
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import (
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"net/http"
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"log"
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)
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)
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func HiHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request) {
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func HiHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request) {
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w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "text/plain")
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w.Write([]byte("Hello, world!\n"))
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}
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}
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func main() {
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func main() {
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http.HandleFunc("/hi", HiHandler)
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err := http.ListenAndServeTLS(":8443", "srv.crt", "srv.key", nil)
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if err != nil {
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log.Fatal(err)
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}
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}
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EOF
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```
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}
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EOF
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```
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3. Get an identity for your server from the Step CA.
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#### 4. Get an identity for your server from the Step CA.
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<pre><code>
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<b>$ step ca certificate localhost srv.crt srv.key</b>
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✔ Key ID: rQxROEr7Kx9TNjSQBTETtsu3GKmuW9zm02dMXZ8GUEk (bob@example.com)
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✔ Please enter the password to decrypt the provisioner key: abc123
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✔ CA: https://localhost:8080/1.0/sign
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✔ Certificate: srv.crt
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✔ Private Key: srv.key
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<pre><code>
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<b>$ step ca certificate localhost srv.crt srv.key</b>
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✔ Key ID: rQxROEr7Kx9TNjSQBTETtsu3GKmuW9zm02dMXZ8GUEk (bob@example.com)
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✔ Please enter the password to decrypt the provisioner key: abc123
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✔ CA: https://localhost:8080/1.0/sign
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✔ Certificate: srv.crt
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✔ Private Key: srv.key
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<b>$ step certificate inspect --bundle srv.crt</b>
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Certificate:
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<b>$ step certificate inspect --bundle srv.crt</b>
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Certificate:
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Data:
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Version: 3 (0x2)
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Serial Number: 140439335711218707689123407681832384336 (0x69a7a1d7f6f22f68059d2d9088307750)
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@ -271,8 +296,8 @@ X.509 Certificates and private keys.
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Not Before: Feb 18 21:32:35 2019 UTC
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Not After : Feb 19 21:32:35 2019 UTC
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Subject: CN=localhost
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...
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Certificate:
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...
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Certificate:
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Data:
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Version: 3 (0x2)
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Serial Number: 207035091234452090159026162349261226844 (0x9bc18217bd560cf07db23178ed90835c)
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@ -282,37 +307,32 @@ X.509 Certificates and private keys.
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Not Before: Feb 18 21:27:21 2019 UTC
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Not After : Feb 15 21:27:21 2029 UTC
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Subject: CN=Example Inc. Intermediate CA
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...
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</code></pre>
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...
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</code></pre>
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Notice that when you inspect `srv.crt` there are actually two certificates
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present. The first is your **server** (leaf) certificate and the second is
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the intermediate certificate. When an intermediate CA is used to sign
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**leaf** certificates it is not enough for the server to only show it's
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**leaf** certificate because the client (which only has access to the root
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certificate) will not be able to validate the full chain.
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Note that `step` and `step-ca` handle details like [certificate bundling](https://smallstep.com/blog/everything-pki.html#intermediates-chains-and-bundling) for you.
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||||
4. Run the simple server.
|
||||
#### 5. Run the simple server.
|
||||
|
||||
<pre><code>
|
||||
<b>$ go run srv.go &</b>
|
||||
</code></pre>
|
||||
<pre><code>
|
||||
<b>$ go run srv.go &</b>
|
||||
</code></pre>
|
||||
|
||||
5. Get the root certificate from the Step CA.
|
||||
#### 6. Get the root certificate from the Step CA.
|
||||
|
||||
In a new Terminal window:
|
||||
In a new Terminal window:
|
||||
|
||||
<pre><code>
|
||||
<b>$ step ca root root.crt</b>
|
||||
The root certificate has been saved in root.crt.
|
||||
</code></pre>
|
||||
<pre><code>
|
||||
<b>$ step ca root root.crt</b>
|
||||
The root certificate has been saved in root.crt.
|
||||
</code></pre>
|
||||
|
||||
6. Make an authenticated, encrypted curl request to your server using HTTP over TLS.
|
||||
#### 7. Make an authenticated, encrypted curl request to your server using HTTP over TLS.
|
||||
|
||||
<pre><code>
|
||||
<b>$ curl --cacert root.crt https://localhost:8443/hi</b>
|
||||
Hello, world!
|
||||
</code></pre>
|
||||
<pre><code>
|
||||
<b>$ curl --cacert root.crt https://localhost:8443/hi</b>
|
||||
Hello, world!
|
||||
</code></pre>
|
||||
|
||||
*All Done!*
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
Loading…
Reference in a new issue