Build your own certificate authority (CA)

58min
|
Vault
Video
Interactive

Deployment

Vault's PKI secrets engine can dynamically generate X.509 certificates on demand. Services can request certificates without going through a manual process of generating a private key and Certificate Signing Request (CSR), submitting to a Certificate Authority (CA), and then waiting for the verification and signing process to complete.

Personas

The steps described in this tutorial are typically performed by a security engineer.

Challenge

Organizations should protect their website, but the traditional PKI process workflow takes a long time, which motivates organizations to create certificates which do not expire for a year or more.

Solution

Use Vault to create X.509 certificates for usage in Mutual Transport Layer Security (MTLS) or other arbitrary PKI encryption. You can use this solution to create web server certificates, but if users do not import the CA chains, browsers do complain about the self-signed certificates.

Creating PKI certificates is generally a cumbersome process using traditional tools like openssl or even more advanced frameworks like Cloudflare's PKI and TLS toolkit (CFSSL). These tools also require human effort to verify certificate distribution meets organizational security policies.

Vault's PKI secrets engine makes this a lot simpler. The PKI secrets engine can be an intermediate-only certificate authority, which potentially allows for higher levels of security.

Store CA outside of Vault (air-gapped).
Create CSRs for the intermediate CA.
Sign CSR outside Vault and import intermediate CA.
Issue leaf certificates from the Intermediate CA.

Refer to Build Certificate Authority (CA) in Vault with an offline Root for an example of using a root CA external to Vault.

Prerequisites

To perform the tasks described in this tutorial, you need:

A Vault environment. Refer to the Getting Started tutorial to install Vault.
The API and CLI versions of the example scenario use the jq tool to parse JSON output. Install jq in your Vault environment to follow the examples which use this tool.
The web UI OpenSSL tool is used for some parts of the Web UI version of this tutorial.

Launch Terminal

This tutorial includes a free interactive command-line lab that lets you follow along on actual cloud infrastructure.

Policy requirements

Note

For the purposes of this tutorial, you can use a root token to work with Vault. However, it is recommended that root tokens are used just for initial setup or in emergencies. As a best practice, use tokens with appropriate set of policies based on your role in the organization.

To perform all tasks demonstrated in this tutorial, your policy must include the following capabilities:

# Enable secrets enginepath "sys/mounts/*" {  capabilities = [ "create", "read", "update", "delete", "list" ]}# List enabled secrets enginepath "sys/mounts" {  capabilities = [ "read", "list" ]}# Work with pki secrets enginepath "pki*" {  capabilities = [ "create", "read", "update", "delete", "list", "sudo", "patch" ]}

If you are not familiar with policies, complete the policies tutorial.

Scenario introduction

In this tutorial, you are going to first generate a self-signed root certificate.

Then you are going to generate an intermediate certificate that is signed by the root. You can then create a role and generate a certificate for the test.example.com domain.

You can choose to complete this tutorial at this point or you can continue with the advanced section on multiple issuer functionality beginning with step 7.

There, you'll learn how enable a second root CA in the same secrets engine mount. You also learn how to rotate the older root CA, and begin issuing certificates from the existing role with the new root CA. Finally, you learn how to sunset the older CA.

In this tutorial, you perform the following operations:

Generate Root CA
Generate Intermediate CA
Create a Role
Request Certificates
Revoke Certificates
Remove Expired Certificates
Enable new Root CA (optional)
Create a Root Bridge CA (optional)
Create a cross-signed intermediate (optional)
Set default issuer and issue certificate (optional)
Sunset older Root CA (optional)

Notice about multi-issuer functionality

Vault version 1.11.0 and greater allows a single PKI mount to have many Certificate Authority (CA) certificates ("issuers") in a single mount. All issuers within a single mount get treated as a single Authority, meaning that:

Certificate Revocation List (CRL) configuration is common to all issuers/
All authority access URLs are common to all issuers.
Issued certificates' serial numbers are unique across all issuers.

However, since each issuer may have a distinct subject and keys, different issuers may have different CRLs.

It is strongly encouraged to limit the scope of CAs within a mount and not to mix different types of CAs (roots and intermediates).

Note

Some functionality does not work if a default issuer is not configured. Vault automatically selects the default issuer from the current issuing certificate on migration from an older Vault version (Vault < 1.11.0).

Lab setup

In another terminal, start a Vault dev server with root as the root token.
```
$ vault server -dev -dev-root-token-id root
```
The Vault dev server defaults to running at 127.0.0.1:8200. The server is also initialized and unsealed.
Insecure operation
Do not run a Vault dev server in production. This approach is used here to simplify the unsealing process just for this demonstration.
Export an environment variable for the vault CLI to address the Vault server.
```
$ export VAULT_ADDR=http://127.0.0.1:8200
```
Export an environment variable for the vault CLI to authenticate with the Vault server.
```
$ export VAULT_TOKEN=root
```

The Vault server is ready.

Step 1: generate root CA

In this step, you are going to generate a self-signed root certificate using PKI secrets engine.

Enable the pki secrets engine at the pki path.

$ vault secrets enable pki

Example output:

Success! Enabled the pki secrets engine at: pki/

Tune the pki secrets engine to issue certificates with a maximum time-to-live (TTL) of 87600 hours.
```
$ vault secrets tune -max-lease-ttl=87600h pki
```
Example output:
```
Success! Tuned the secrets engine at: pki/
```
Generate the example.com root CA, give it an issuer name, and save its certificate in the file root_2023_ca.crt.
```
$ vault write -field=certificate pki/root/generate/internal \     common_name="example.com" \     issuer_name="root-2023" \     ttl=87600h > root_2023_ca.crt
```
This command is not expected to produce any output.
This generates a new self-signed CA certificate and private key. Vault automatically revokes the generated root at the end of its lease period (TTL). The CA certificate signs its own Certificate Revocation List (CRL).
List the issuer information for the root CA.
```
$ vault list pki/issuers/Keys----09c2c9a0-a874-36d2-de85-d79a7a51e373
```
Copy this key, you'll use this key in the next step.

You can read the issuer with its ID to get the certificates and other metadata about the issuer. Let's skip the certificate output, but list the issuer metadata and usage information.

$ vault read pki/issuer/$(vault list -format=json pki/issuers/ | jq -r '.[]') \ | tail -n 6

Example output:

leaf_not_after_behavior           errmanual_chain                      <nil>ocsp_servers                      []revocation_signature_algorithm    SHA256WithRSArevoked                           falseusage                             crl-signing,issuing-certificates,ocsp-signing,read-only

Create a role for the root CA. Creating this role allows for specifying an issuer when necessary for the purposes of this scenario. This also provides a simple way to transition from one issuer to another by referring to it by name.

$ vault write pki/roles/2023-servers allow_any_name=trueSuccess! Data written to: pki/roles/2023-servers

Example output:

Key                                   Value---                                   -----allow_any_name                        trueallow_bare_domains                    falseallow_glob_domains                    falseallow_ip_sans                         trueallow_localhost                       trueallow_subdomains                      falseallow_token_displayname               falseallow_wildcard_certificates           trueallowed_domains                       []allowed_domains_template              falseallowed_other_sans                    []allowed_serial_numbers                []allowed_uri_sans                      []allowed_uri_sans_template             falseallowed_user_ids                      []basic_constraints_valid_for_non_ca    falseclient_flag                           truecn_validations                        [email hostname]code_signing_flag                     falsecountry                               []email_protection_flag                 falseenforce_hostnames                     trueext_key_usage                         []ext_key_usage_oids                    []generate_lease                        falseissuer_ref                            defaultkey_bits                              2048key_type                              rsakey_usage                             [DigitalSignature KeyAgreement KeyEncipherment]locality                              []max_ttl                               0sno_store                              falsenot_after                             n/anot_before_duration                   30sorganization                          []ou                                    []policy_identifiers                    []postal_code                           []province                              []require_cn                            trueserver_flag                           truesignature_bits                        256street_address                        []ttl                                   0suse_csr_common_name                   trueuse_csr_sans                          trueuse_pss                               false

Note

This role is overly permissive in the names that it allows just for the purposes of simplification in this tutorial.

Configure the CA and CRL URLs.

$ vault write pki/config/urls \     issuing_certificates="$VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki/ca" \     crl_distribution_points="$VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki/crl"

Example output:

Key                        Value---                        -----crl_distribution_points    [http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/crl]enable_templating          falseissuing_certificates       [http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/ca]ocsp_servers               []

Note

When using multiple issuers in the same mount, it is suggested to use the per-issuer AIA fields rather than the global (/config/urls) variant. This is for correctness: these fields are used for chain building and automatic CRL detection in certain applications. If they point to the wrong issuer's information, these applications may break.

Enable the pki secrets engine at pki path using /sys/mounts endpoint.

$ curl --header "X-Vault-Token: $VAULT_TOKEN" \   --request POST \   --data '{"type":"pki"}' \   $VAULT_ADDR/v1/sys/mounts/pki

See the documentation for all available parameters to enable secrets engines.

Tune the pki secrets engine to issue certificates with a maximum time-to-live (TTL) of 87600 hours.

$ curl --header "X-Vault-Token: $VAULT_TOKEN" \   --request POST \   --data '{"max_lease_ttl":"87600h"}' \   $VAULT_ADDR/v1/sys/mounts/pki/tune

Create an API request payload containing the common name to set.

$ tee payload.json <<EOF{  "common_name": "example.com",  "issuer_name": "root-2023",  "ttl": "87600h"}EOF

Generate the root certificate and extract the CA certificate and save it as root_2023_ca.crt.
```
$ curl --header "X-Vault-Token: $VAULT_TOKEN" \   --request POST \   --data @payload.json \   $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki/root/generate/internal \   | jq -r ".data.certificate" > root_2023_ca.crt
```
This generates a new self-signed CA certificate and private key. Vault automatically revokes the generated root at the end of its lease period (TTL). The CA certificate signs its own Certificate Revocation List (CRL).

List the issuers.

$ curl \    --silent \    --header "X-Vault-Request: true" \    --header "X-Vault-Token: $(vault print token)" \    "$VAULT_ADDR"/v1/pki/issuers\?list=true \    | jq

Example output:

{"request_id": "65f2151a-7b22-b00e-8ae5-b0d5c23e7644","lease_id": "","renewable": false,"lease_duration": 0,"data": {"key_info": {  "09c2c9a0-a874-36d2-de85-d79a7a51e373": {    "is_default": true,    "issuer_name": "root-2023"  }},"keys": [  "09c2c9a0-a874-36d2-de85-d79a7a51e373"] }, "wrap_info": null, "warnings": null, "auth": null}

Read the issuer with its ID to get the certificates and other metadata about the issuer. Let's skip the certificate output, but list the issuer metadata and usage information.

$ curl \    --silent \    --header "X-Vault-Token: $(vault print token)" \    --header "X-Vault-Request: true" \    $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki/issuer/09c2c9a0-a874-36d2-de85-d79a7a51e373 \    | jq

Example output:

{  "request_id": "dff49c60-125e-79f2-5ca0-c1165a196ed9",  "lease_id": "",  "renewable": false,  "lease_duration": 0,  "data": {    "ca_chain": [      "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nbs7CfJ5Phq5t\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"    ],    "certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDNTCCAh2gAwIBAgIUa1fnttKmxiB1kV8EaWHAVqe1mrEwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\nBQAwFjEUMBIGA1UEAxMLZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wHhcNMjIwNjIwMTgyMDIzWhcNMzIw\nNjE3MTgyMDUyWjAWMRQwEgYDVQQDEwtleGFtcGxlLmNvbTCCASIwDQYJKoZIhvcN\nAQEBBQADggEPADCCAQoCggEBALhtn4dJrslD2s00tt9yilRCmtS3/kJWHu/wjkBF\nkCUQ4eba/PhXKHbSntD+XVV+FYZsLLOpvSxJ3htR1ebaXKFbS6VWZRmEtbfmnYoh\nyZZFC0eK+82xa/DDuJsdGa6pMaeFA7RV50LuICZoHDBzlj416HUih8v3wEqdcD16\nb7Pu1Oro3qcj/xBQ9HOQ8qTT/FyWrUgWnk/N6y7BX2fpWYH91aiNjov2QzuFTOer\n8NBJTjqbfIJK5xb9lmuKJZ2P0715UJYhAtdgJaEcOd5pzQw6Wutnh/0Z93ryQozJ\n9Q67+XgRNCDsG6CpfVIc40x7nvC0s0EUCM/hwlgf1tdEBWcCAwEAAaN7MHkwDgYD\nVR0PAQH/BAQDAgEGMA8GA1UdEwEB/wQFMAMBAf8wHQYDVR0OBBYEFGsBBdaz20yO\nL3NvzkcI5UU0eHWrMB8GA1UdIwQYMBaAFGsBBdaz20yOL3NvzkcI5UU0eHWrMBYG\nA1UdEQQPMA2CC2V4YW1wbGUuY29tMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAA4IBAQCztaw07tp3\nN7oRV2eiHYnvS0r3667IWqYz0T7+epnN5YuOXSNzjgB8Zbytk2mMKDCLg5mczITi\n/naybO9dczbx2SD9FhQwR3vjy+ykcI5NLjgjQ7EZZO6tyS8ZOjK9igrcp+5XG9fw\nkmp9q64em5ZKYwhR6OP2VgUrgn6MR40BFvhRA5oXH6M+UmYebWNqBB8R2z0BTf+U\nOeO9jpsLDVuhQlis91TKJXTZS6MuZwJB5e8H5/foQXKrrprmKZf2nn95qUApwn7H\nd6y6jaa9zBu8w+HZsamZM9Qi93Vg/5XoGcuTm4XE9zcM2DKPtn79TlrElpdXEH+/\nbs7CfJ5Phq5t\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",    "issuer_id": "09c2c9a0-a874-36d2-de85-d79a7a51e373",    "issuer_name": "root-2023",    "key_id": "4616f6dc-17a4-a137-79b3-82f6b04f38d7",    "leaf_not_after_behavior": "err",    "manual_chain": null,    "usage": "issuing-certificates,crl-signing,read-only"  },  "wrap_info": null,  "warnings": null,  "auth": null}

Create a role for the root CA; creating this role allows for specifying an issuer when necessary for the purposes of this scenario. This also provides a simple way to transition from one issuer to another by referring to it by name.
```
$ curl \    --silent \    --request PUT \    --header "X-Vault-Token: $(vault print token)" \    --header "X-Vault-Request: true" \    --data '{"allow_any_name":"true", "issuer_ref": "root-2023"}' \    "$VAULT_ADDR"/v1/pki/roles/2023-servers
```
This command is not expected to produce any output.
Note
This role is overly permissive in the names that it allows just for the purposes of simplification in this tutorial.

Create an API request payload containing the URLs to set.

$ tee payload-url.json <<EOF{  "issuing_certificates": "$VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki/ca",  "crl_distribution_points": "$VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki/crl"}EOF

Configure the CA and CRL URLs.

$ curl --header "X-Vault-Token: $VAULT_TOKEN" \   --request POST \   --data @payload-url.json \   $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki/config/urls

Note

Open a web browser and launch the Vault UI.
Login by entering the root (for Vault in dev mode) or the admin token (for Vault Dedicated) in the Token field.
Select Enable new engine.
Select PKI Certificates from the list, and then click Next.
Expand Method Options.
Enable Max Lease TTL and set the value to 87600 hours.
Click Enable Engine to complete. This sets the path to be pki.
Select the Overview tab and then Configure PKI.
Click Generate root.
Under Type, select internal.
Enter example.com in the Common name field.
Enter root-2023 in the Issuer name field.
Under Not valid after, set the value of TTL to 87600 hours.
Scroll down to Issuer URLs.
Enter http://localhost:8200/v1/pki/ca in the Issuing certificates field.
Enter http://localhost:8200/v1/pki/crl in the CRL Distribution Points field.
Enter http://localhost:8200/v1/ocsp in the OCSP Servers field.
Click Done.
Click the clipboard icon to copy the root CA certificate, and save in a file named root_2023_ca.crt.
Add a role to the root CA for convenience in this scenario when rotating the root CA.
Click pki.
Click Roles.
Click Create role.
Enter 2023-servers into the Role name field.
Click Create

OpenSSL enables you to view all the metadata of the generated certificate.

Print the certificate in text form.

$ openssl x509 -in root_2023_ca.crt -text

To understand this section, you run the terraform configuration to create the appropriate resources, and examine the relevant blocks of HCL code to discuss what they do.

Clone the repository learn-vault-pki-engine.

$ git clone https://github.com/hashicorp-education/learn-vault-pki-engine.git

Move into the working directory.
```
$ cd learn-vault-pki-engine/terraform
```
Now initialize the directory.
```
$ terraform init...Terraform has been successfully initialized!...
```
After initialization, apply the plan and confirm by inputting yes when prompted.

View the terraform plan.

$ terraform plan...Plan: 23 to add, 0 to change, 0 to destroy.

Now run the apply.

$ terraform apply -auto-approve...Apply complete! Resources: 23 added, 0 changed, 0 destroyed....

Examine the main.tf and locate the vault_mount pki block. This creates and tunes the new secrets engine.
```
resource "vault_mount" "pki" {   path        = "pki"   type        = "pki"   description = "This is an example PKI mount"   default_lease_ttl_seconds = 86400   max_lease_ttl_seconds     = 315360000}
```
Note
The CLI allows you to specify the TTL in hours, minutes, and seconds, but the Terraform provider only allows you to specify the TTL in seconds. For a CLI command flag -max-lease-ttl=87600h specifying the TTL in hours, you use 87600 hours x 60 minutes x 60 seconds or 315360000 seconds for the value.
The vault_pki_secret_backend_root_cert creates the example.com root certificate.
```
resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_root_cert" "root_2023" {   backend     = vault_mount.pki.path   type        = "internal"   common_name = "example.com"   ttl         = 315360000   issuer_name = "root-2023"}
```
This generates a new self-signed CA certificate and private key. Vault automatically revokes the generated root at the end of its lease period (TTL). The CA certificate signs its own Certificate Revocation List (CRL).

The resource vault_pki_secret_backend_issuer manages an existing issuer. Notice how this resource block refers to the issuer created in vault_pki_secret_backend_root_cert.root_2023.

resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_issuer" "root_2023" {   backend                        = vault_mount.pki.path   issuer_ref                     = vault_pki_secret_backend_root_cert.root_2023.issuer_id   issuer_name                    = vault_pki_secret_backend_root_cert.root_2023.issuer_name   revocation_signature_algorithm = "SHA256WithRSA"}

Using the vault_pki_secret_backend_role resource creates a role for the root CA; creating this role allows for specifying an issuer when necessary for the purposes of this scenario. This also provides a simple way to transition from one issuer to another by referring to it by name.

resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_role" "role" {   backend          = vault_mount.pki.path   name             = "2023-servers"   ttl              = 86400   allow_ip_sans    = true   key_type         = "rsa"   key_bits         = 4096   allowed_domains  = ["example.com", "my.domain"]   allow_subdomains = true   allow_any_name   = true}

The vault_pki_secret_backend_config_urls configures CA and CRL URLs.

resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_config_urls" "config-urls" {   backend = vault_mount.pki.path   issuing_certificates    = ["http://localhost:8200/v1/pki/ca"]   crl_distribution_points = ["http://localhost:8200/v1/pki/crl"]}

Step 2: generate intermediate CA

Now, you are going to create an intermediate CA using the root CA you regenerated in the first step.

Tip

If you have Vault version 1.13.0 or later, you can use the new CLI helper pki issue to generate your intermediate CA. Follow the steps in the pki issue command tab to use the helper instead of the standard CLI workflow.

First, enable the pki secrets engine at the pki_int path.

$ vault secrets enable -path=pki_int pki

Successful output example:

Success! Enabled the pki secrets engine at: pki_int/

Tune the pki_int secrets engine to issue certificates with a maximum time-to-live (TTL) of 43800 hours.
```
$ vault secrets tune -max-lease-ttl=43800h pki_int
```
Successful output example:
```
Success! Tuned the secrets engine at: pki_int/
```

Execute the following command to generate an intermediate and save the CSR as pki_intermediate.csr.

$ vault write -format=json pki_int/intermediate/generate/internal \     common_name="example.com Intermediate Authority" \     issuer_name="example-dot-com-intermediate" \     | jq -r '.data.csr' > pki_intermediate.csr

This command is expected to produce no output.

Sign the intermediate certificate with the root CA private key, and save the generated certificate as intermediate.cert.pem.

$ vault write -format=json pki/root/sign-intermediate \     issuer_ref="root-2023" \     csr=@pki_intermediate.csr \     format=pem_bundle ttl="43800h" \     | jq -r '.data.certificate' > intermediate.cert.pem

This command is expected to produce no output.

Once the CSR is signed and the root CA returns a certificate, it can be imported back into Vault.

$ vault write pki_int/intermediate/set-signed certificate=@intermediate.cert.pem

Successful output example:

Key                 Value---                 -----imported_issuers    [ffefa5b2-ae7c-b765-1672-c275fec29dc7 276a666f-c8da-20c5-c5a4-e01dff8ff2ea]imported_keys       <nil>mapping             map[276a666f-c8da-20c5-c5a4-e01dff8ff2ea: ffefa5b2-ae7c-b765-1672-c275fec29dc7:0f021093-a446-5b8e-70e8-a6bbda6f1a99]

Enable the pki secrets engine at the pki_int path.

$ vault secrets enable -path=pki_int pki

Successful output example:

Success! Enabled the pki secrets engine at: pki_int/

Tune the pki_int secrets engine to issue certificates with a maximum time-to-live (TTL) of 43800 hours.
```
$ vault secrets tune -max-lease-ttl=43800h pki_int
```
Successful output example:
```
Success! Tuned the secrets engine at: pki_int/
```

Use the pki issue command to handle the intermediate CA generation process for you. The example parameters match this PKI secrets engine instance in this tutorial.

$ vault pki issue \      --issuer_name=example-dot-com-intermediate \      /pki/issuer/a13b7db8-58f2-d926-64fc-bd39c9e6950c \      /pki_int/ \      common_name="example.com Intermediate Authority" \      o="example" \      ou="education" \      key_type="rsa" \      key_bits="4096" \      max_depth_len=1 \      permitted_dns_domains="test.example.com" \      ttl="43800h"

Abbreviated output example:

Key                               Value---                               -----ca_chain                          [-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----MIIE3jCCA8agAwIBAgIUWR5g4+h92GL/7DndQfaecf3DoZIwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL...snip...crl_distribution_points           []issuer_id                         e48e21f4-7690-9c3c-acb8-2d60450f4150issuer_name                       example-dot-com-intermediateissuing_certificates              []key_id                            d50faa6c-1f3c-e197-a205-16e6903c64f7leaf_not_after_behavior           errmanual_chain                      <nil>ocsp_servers                      []revocation_signature_algorithm    n/arevoked                           falseusage                             crl-signing,issuing-certificates,ocsp-signing,read-only...snip...

Enable the pki secrets engine at pki_int path.

$ curl --header "X-Vault-Token: $VAULT_TOKEN" \   --request POST \   --data '{"type":"pki"}' \   $VAULT_ADDR/v1/sys/mounts/pki_int

Tune the pki_int secrets engine to issue certificates with a maximum time-to-live (TTL) of 43800 hours.

$ curl --header "X-Vault-Token: $VAULT_TOKEN" \   --request POST \   --data '{"max_lease_ttl":"43800h"}' \   $VAULT_ADDR/v1/sys/mounts/pki_int/tune

Create an API request payload containing the common name to set.

$ tee payload-int.json <<EOF{  "common_name": "example.com Intermediate Authority",  "issuer_name": "example-dot-com-intermediate"}EOF

Generate an intermediate using the /pki_int/intermediate/generate/internal endpoint and save it as pki_intermediate.csr.

$ curl \    --silent \    --header "X-Vault-Token: $VAULT_TOKEN" \    --request POST \    --data @payload-int.json \    $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki_int/intermediate/generate/internal \    | jq -c '.data | .csr' >> pki_intermediate.csr

Create an API request payload to sign the CSR.

$ tee payload-int-cert.json <<EOF{  "csr": $(cat pki_intermediate.csr),  "format": "pem_bundle",  "ttl": "43800h"}EOF

Sign the intermediate certificate with the root CA private key, and save the certificate as intermediate.cert.pem.

$ curl \    --silent \    --header "X-Vault-Token: $VAULT_TOKEN" \    --request POST \    --data @payload-int-cert.json \    $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki/root/sign-intermediate \    | jq '.data | .certificate' >> intermediate.cert.pem

Note

The format in the payload specifies the format of the returned data. When pem_bundle, the certificate field holds the certificate.

Once the CSR is signed and the root CA returns a certificate, it can be imported back into Vault using the /pki_int/intermediate/set-signed endpoint.
Create an API request payload containing the certificate you obtained.
```
$ tee payload-signed.json <<EOF{  "certificate": $(cat intermediate.cert.pem)}EOF
```

Submit the signed certificate.

$ curl \    --silent \    --header "X-Vault-Token: $VAULT_TOKEN" \    --request POST \    --data @payload-signed.json \    $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki_int/intermediate/set-signed \    | jq

Example output:

{  "request_id": "bf5baa70-29c1-8914-8b0d-77dac716e0c4",  "lease_id": "",  "renewable": false,  "lease_duration": 0,  "data": {    "imported_issuers": null,    "imported_keys": null,    "mapping": {      "29ec3886-e47f-6ceb-7086-a14f9cf54167": "",      "59dea688-a8f5-1893-9c46-0013914ce7e4": "43b44883-5423-5908-8e56-b690e543568a"    }  },  "wrap_info": null,  "warnings": null,  "auth": null}

From Secrets, select Enable new engine.
Select the PKI Certificates radio button, and click Next.
Enter pki_int in the Path field.
Set the Max lease TTL to 43800 hours.
Click Enable Engine.
Click Configure PKI.
Select Generate intermediate CSR.
Select internal as the Type.
Enter example.com Intermediate Authority in the Common name field.
Click Generate.
Click the clipboard icon to save the CSR in a file named pki_intermediate.csr.
Click secrets.
Click pki.
Click Issuers.
Click root-123.
Click Sign intermediate.
Paste in the CSR you just copied into the Certificate Signing Request (CSR) field.
Enter example.com in the Common name.
Select pem_bundle from the Format drop-down list, and then click Sign.
Click Download save the generated certificate in a file, intermediate.cert.pem.
Click secrets.
Select pki_int from the Secrets tab to return to the intermediate CA.
Select the Overview tab and then Configure PKI.
Click Import a CA.
Select the file intermediate.cert.pem in the PEM Bundle field, and then click Import issuer.

Examine the main.tf and locate resource "vault_mount" "pki_int". This enables a second pki engine to act an intermediate authority with the pki_int path. It is set with an (TTL) of 43800 hours or 157680000 seconds.

resource "vault_mount" "pki_int" {   path        = "pki_int"   type        = "pki"   description = "This is an example intermediate PKI mount"   default_lease_ttl_seconds = 86400   max_lease_ttl_seconds     = 157680000}

This vault_pki_secret_backend_intermediate_cert_request block generates an intermediate and then uses the local_file block to save the CSR as pki_intermediate.csr.

resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_intermediate_cert_request" "csr-request" {   backend     = vault_mount.pki_int.path   type        = "internal"   common_name = "example.com Intermediate Authority"}

The intermediate certificate is signed with the root CA private key, and the save the generated certificate as intermediate.cert.pem.

resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_root_sign_intermediate" "intermediate" {   backend     = vault_mount.pki.path   common_name = "new_intermediate"   csr         = vault_pki_secret_backend_intermediate_cert_request.csr-request.csr   format      = "pem_bundle"   ttl         = 15480000   issuer_ref  = vault_pki_secret_backend_root_cert.root_2023.issuer_id}

Import the certificate back into Vault.

resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_intermediate_set_signed" "intermediate" {   backend     = vault_mount.pki_int.path   certificate = vault_pki_secret_backend_root_sign_intermediate.intermediate.certificate}

Step 3: create a role

A role is a logical name that maps to a policy used to generate those credentials. It allows configuration parameters to control certificate common names, alternate names, the key uses that they are valid for, and more.

Here are a few noteworthy parameters:

Param	Description
`allowed_domains`	Specifies the domains of the role (used with `allow_bare_domains` and `allow-subdomains` options)
`allow_bare_domains`	Specifies if clients can request certificates matching the value of the actual domains themselves
`allow_subdomains`	Specifies if clients can request certificates with CNs that are subdomains of the CNs allowed by the other role options (NOTE: This includes wildcard subdomains.)
`allow_glob_domains`	Allows names specified in allowed_domains to contain glob patterns (e.g. ftp*.example.com)

In this step, you are going to create a role named example-dot-com.

Create a role named example-dot-com which allows subdomains, and specify the default issuer ref ID as the value of issuer_ref.

$ vault write pki_int/roles/example-dot-com \     issuer_ref="$(vault read -field=default pki_int/config/issuers)" \     allowed_domains="example.com" \     allow_subdomains=true \     max_ttl="720h"

Example output:

Key                                   Value---                                   -----allow_any_name                        falseallow_bare_domains                    falseallow_glob_domains                    falseallow_ip_sans                         trueallow_localhost                       trueallow_subdomains                      trueallow_token_displayname               falseallow_wildcard_certificates           trueallowed_domains                       [example.com]allowed_domains_template              falseallowed_other_sans                    []allowed_serial_numbers                []allowed_uri_sans                      []allowed_uri_sans_template             falseallowed_user_ids                      []basic_constraints_valid_for_non_ca    falseclient_flag                           truecn_validations                        [email hostname]code_signing_flag                     falsecountry                               []email_protection_flag                 falseenforce_hostnames                     trueext_key_usage                         []ext_key_usage_oids                    []generate_lease                        falseissuer_ref                            b96a564f-6031-83e2-4d43-fd2b4bede424key_bits                              2048key_type                              rsakey_usage                             [DigitalSignature KeyAgreement KeyEncipherment]locality                              []max_ttl                               720hno_store                              falsenot_after                             n/anot_before_duration                   30sorganization                          []ou                                    []policy_identifiers                    []postal_code                           []province                              []require_cn                            trueserver_flag                           truesignature_bits                        256street_address                        []ttl                                   0suse_csr_common_name                   trueuse_csr_sans                          trueuse_pss                               false

Create an API request payload containing domain information to set.

$ tee payload-role.json <<EOF{  "allowed_domains": "example.com",  "allow_subdomains": true,  "issuer_ref": "$(vault read -field=default pki_int/config/issuers)",  "max_ttl": "720h"}EOF

Create a role named example-dot-com which allows subdomains.

$ curl --header "X-Vault-Token: $VAULT_TOKEN" \   --request POST \   --data @payload-role.json \   $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki_int/roles/example-dot-com

Create a role named example-dot-com which allows subdomains.

Click the terminal icon.
In terminal, use the following command to list issuers:
```
$ read -field=default pki_int/config/issuers
```
Copy the value from the preceding command.
Click secrets.
Click pki_int and then select Roles.
Click Create role.
Enter example-dot-com in the Role name field.
Toggle Use default issuer.
Select the issuer from the drop down. It has a unique ID, not the literal value root-2023.
Under Not valid after, set the TTL to 43800 hours (5 years).
Expand Domain Handling and then select the Allow subdomains check-box. Enter example.com in the Allowed domains field.
Click Create.

Create a role named example-dot-com using the vault_pki_secret_backend_role resource block which allows subdomains, and specify the default issuer ref ID as the value of issuer_ref.

resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_role" "intermediate_role" {   backend          = vault_mount.pki_int.path   issuer_ref       = vault_pki_secret_backend_issuer.intermediate.issuer_ref   name             = "example-dot-com"   ttl              = 86400   max_ttl          = 2592000   allow_ip_sans    = true   key_type         = "rsa"   key_bits         = 4096   allowed_domains  = ["example.com"]   allow_subdomains = true}

Examine the role example-dot-com.

$ vault read pki_int/roles/example-dot-comKey                                   Value---                                   -----allow_any_name                        falseallow_bare_domains                    falseallow_glob_domains                    falseallow_ip_sans                         trueallow_localhost                       trueallow_subdomains                      trueallow_token_displayname               falseallow_wildcard_certificates           trueallowed_domains                       [example.com]allowed_domains_template              falseallowed_other_sans                    []allowed_serial_numbers                []allowed_uri_sans                      []allowed_uri_sans_template             falseallowed_user_ids                      []basic_constraints_valid_for_non_ca    falseclient_flag                           truecn_validations                        [email hostname]code_signing_flag                     falsecountry                               []email_protection_flag                 falseenforce_hostnames                     trueext_key_usage                         []ext_key_usage_oids                    []generate_lease                        falseissuer_ref                            40ba9192-d609-235f-4454-ea3ec33aeb4ekey_bits                              4096key_type                              rsakey_usage                             [DigitalSignature KeyAgreement KeyEncipherment]locality                              []max_ttl                               720hno_store                              falsenot_after                             n/anot_before_duration                   30sorganization                          []ou                                    []policy_identifiers                    []postal_code                           []province                              []require_cn                            trueserver_flag                           truesignature_bits                        256street_address                        []ttl                                   24huse_csr_common_name                   trueuse_csr_sans                          trueuse_pss                               false

Step 4: request certificates

Keep certificate lifetimes short to align with Vault's philosophy of short-lived secrets.

Execute the following command to request a new certificate for the test.example.com domain based on the example-dot-com role.

$ vault write pki_int/issue/example-dot-com common_name="test.example.com" ttl="24h"

Example output:

Key                 Value---                 -----certificate         -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----MIIDwzCCAqugAwIBAgIUTQABMCAsXjG6ExFTX8201xKVH4IwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQELBQAwGjEYMBYGA1UEAxMPd3d3LmV4YW1wbGUuY29tMB4XDTE4MDcyNDIxMTMxOVoX             ...-----END CERTIFICATE-----issuing_ca          -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----MIIDQTCCAimgAwIBAgIUbMYp39mdj7dKX033ZjK18rx05x8wDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL             ...-----END CERTIFICATE-----private_key         -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----MIIEowIBAAKCAQEAte1fqy2Ekj+EFqKV6N5QJlBgMo/U4IIxwLZI6a87yAC/rDhmW58liadXrwjzRgWeqVOoCRr/B5JnRLbyIKBVp6MMFwZVkynEPzDmy0ynuomSfJkM             ...-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----private_key_type    rsaserial_number       4d:00:01:30:20:2c:5e:31:ba:13:11:53:5f:cd:b4:d7:12:95:1f:82

The response has the PEM-encoded private key, key type and certificate serial number.

Invoke the /pki_int/issue/<role_name> endpoint to request a new certificate.

Request a certificate for the test.example.com domain based on the example-dot-com role.

$ curl --header "X-Vault-Token: $VAULT_TOKEN" \    --request POST \    --data '{"common_name": "test.example.com", "ttl": "24h"}' \    $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki_int/issue/example-dot-com | jq

Here is a complete example output.

Example output

{  "request_id": "7544fb94-49aa-8a11-1396-67938b69c3f2",  "lease_id": "",  "renewable": false,  "lease_duration": 0,  "data": {    "ca_chain": [      "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\n1CyvvvJeega8q9Evg1v68MajkFFT37YI5XESCw==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----"    ],    "certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDZjCCAk6gAwIBAgIUPwOpEOAo39zYqPlQe83UjAH1R14wDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\nBQAwLTErMCkGA1UEAxMiZXhhbXBsZS5jb20gSW50ZXJtZWRpYXRlIEF1dGhvcml0\neTAeFw0yMTA0MTkxNjM5MjVaFw0yMTA0MjAxNjM5NTVaMBsxGTAXBgNVBAMTEHRl\nc3QuZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wggEiMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBAQUAA4IBDwAwggEKAoIBAQDP\nfe4nVV+AFnRUgW33qXyCOC4y7ruzSm9P6SiEirTFT+MmNtHEGPBGImGFBLYrSqMo\nePiO3GolpHWezY73cvRzFWM/ZLTmfjqsFNsQmP4tS1bbKa7Bn2ZcypbJNENr+/d1\nBkv9mIJuJwI1sQLI2yQe8KZT3HLrtr4tbEGXnY/tZD3rm+kgZNvCq0GpTARATCkZ\n3qUgOT10O5dMYe8Y2GGCZisiviKeGP1S42EL15QsoLhvIui2sZws7sa6LLeWMNYM\nIsWRAYsTkDffFRWEx/yK1axr0Heo9TrRVBuNfRkU8X/p1Ls3kXUB/HMF9RsW53uZ\nDPJbXOHDSJVhkubPoDxXAgMBAAGjgY8wgYwwDgYDVR0PAQH/BAQDAgOoMB0GA1Ud\nJQQWMBQGCCsGAQUFBwMBBggrBgEFBQcDAjAdBgNVHQ4EFgQU0UKGmwpRpQsi+wTo\nviMS6w6iEkowHwYDVR0jBBgwFoAUKEJ6o8YyfBMVN0gx0RvTOuyjZSwwGwYDVR0R\nBBQwEoIQdGVzdC5leGFtcGxlLmNvbTANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQsFAAOCAQEAhRcjJf6T\nve9hrVsYSVZLGEOmfYoVJ9J2u7fxOfIMnBYJ0EEm047my6Qj5wmu00HSefhheBK1\n46XK5iBlpdSVrV28IjE8PDnWotWVyYhy9vq+LdVbrhHV3JWbRtM21AXkL/73dB3h\nBC3o+lRjmw+ySSEFlfugP+a9ULqwWtuQH+uFWq86F2Ar4y5Sl4TnIiZ9i22Yx+i4\nKcwPRPFsEyCvwRh1Ih/r/UTsrF0lqE7iQ77Yo9I9MuNKMc6y3+fI3vZWTED0QIfz\nVlb+A5Q9AfGhfaygc2fzJ9w/gnZ+D6wp/mQWQz2xNxs3iaDQf8xHpXywYNGbkVXX\ny/cTj/D8a8iAJA==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----",    "expiration": 1618936795,    "issuing_ca": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\n1CyvvvJeega8q9Evg1v68MajkFFT37YI5XESCw==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----",    "private_key": "-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----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\nTFPCpLJjz3T4Nn18nzGmrQiQT6ymgt4KDx6cW+xbOLTuNsNg+0ib\n-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----",    "private_key_type": "rsa",    "serial_number": "3f:03:a9:10:e0:28:df:dc:d8:a8:f9:50:7b:cd:d4:8c:01:f5:47:5e"  },  "wrap_info": null,  "warnings": null,  "auth": null}

The response holds the PEM-encoded private key, key type and certificate serial number.

Select secrets.
Select pki_int from the Secrets Engines list.
Select example-dot-com under Roles.
Click Generate certificate.
Enter test.example.com in the Common name field.
Under Not valid after, set the TTL to 24 hours.
Click Generate. The response contains the PEM-encoded private key, key type and certificate serial number. You can click on the sensitive information toggle to show or hide the generated values.
Click Download and save it to a file.

The vault_pki_secret_backend_cert resource creates a new certificate for the test.example.com domain based on example-dot-com role.

resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_cert" "example-dot-com" {  issuer_ref  = vault_pki_secret_backend_issuer.intermediate.issuer_ref  backend     = vault_pki_secret_backend_role.intermediate_role.backend  name        = vault_pki_secret_backend_role.intermediate_role.name  common_name = "test.example.com"  ttl         = 3600  revoke     = true}

Tip

A certificate can be renewed at any time by issuing a new certificate with the same CN. The prior certificate remains valid through its time-to-live value unless explicitly revoked.

Step 5: revoke certificates

If a certificate must be revoked, you can perform the revocation action that causes the CRL to be regenerated. When you regenerate the CRL, Vault removes any expired certificates from it.

Note

As of Vault version 1.12.0, the PKI Secret Engine's Bring-Your-Own-Cert (BYOC) capability allows revocation of certificates not stored before (e.g., issued via a role with no_store=true). This means that setting no_store=true is now safe to be used globally, regardless of importance of issued certificates, and their likelihood for revocation.

In certain circumstances, you may wish to revoke an issued certificate.

To revoke a certificate, execute the following command, replacing the <serial_number> placeholder with the actual serial number of the certificate you want to revoke.

$ vault write pki_int/revoke serial_number=<serial_number>

Example:

$ vault write pki_int/revoke \    serial_number="3f:03:a9:10:e0:28:df:dc:d8:a8:f9:50:7b:cd:d4:8c:01:f5:47:5e"Key                        Value---                        -----revocation_time            1692733613revocation_time_rfc3339    2023-08-22T19:46:53.117254Zstate                      revoked

Invoke the /pki_int/revoke endpoint to invoke a certificate using its serial number.

$ curl --header "X-Vault-Token: $VAULT_TOKEN" \    --request POST \    --data '{"serial_number": "<serial_number>"}' \    $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki_int/revoke | jq

To revoke a certificate in Terraform, the revoke argument in vault_pki_secret_backend_cert should to set to true.

resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_cert" "example-dot-com" {   issuer_ref  = vault_pki_secret_backend_issuer.intermediate.issuer_ref   backend     = vault_pki_secret_backend_role.intermediate_role.backend   name        = vault_pki_secret_backend_role.intermediate_role.name   common_name = "test.example.com"   ttl         = 3600   revoke     = true}

Look at the output of the terraform apply ran at the beginning of the tutorial. There is a field named vault_pki_secret_backend_cert_example-dot-com_serial_number. In your terminal copy the value displayed.
```
Outputs:...vault_pki_secret_backend_cert_example-dot-com_serial_number = "5f:83:38:d0:f6:25:6a:a6:85:9a:76:5d:50:8c:ee:5f:3d:f4:8c:26"...
```

Use the Vault CLI to look at the expiration of the certificate. The revocation_time is zero, and therefore not set.

$ vault read pki_int/cert/<YOUR_SERIAL_NUMBER_HERE>Key                        Value---                        -----certificate                -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----MIIEVDCCAzygAwIBAgIUX4M40PYlaqaFmnZdUIzuXz30jCYwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL...-----END CERTIFICATE-----revocation_time            0revocation_time_rfc3339    n/a

To revoke the certificated generated by the vault_pki_secret_backend_cert.example-dot-com block, use the -target flag with -destroy.

$ terraform apply -destroy --target vault_pki_secret_backend_cert.example-dot-com --auto-approve...Apply complete! Resources: 0 added, 0 changed, 1 destroyed.

Using the Vault CLI check the expiration of the certificate. The revocation_time is now set.

$ vault read pki_int/cert/<YOUR_SERIAL_NUMBER_HERE>Key                        Value---                        -----certificate                -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----MIIEVDCCAzygAwIBAgIUX4M40PYlaqaFmnZdUIzuXz30jCYwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL...-----END CERTIFICATE-----issuer_id                  16943d6c-0745-8d7a-fdb9-8c723a67aeeerevocation_time            1692979749revocation_time_rfc3339    2023-08-25T16:09:09.327564Z

Step 6: remove expired certificates

Keep the storage backend and CRL by periodically removing certificates that have expired and are past a certain buffer period beyond their expiration time.

To remove revoked certificate and clean the CRL.

$ vault write pki_int/tidy tidy_cert_store=true tidy_revoked_certs=trueWARNING! The following warnings were returned from Vault:  * Tidy operation successfully started. Any information from the operation  will be printed to Vault's server logs.

Note

You can expect the warning message on every invocation of the tidy command. It serves to alert the operator that they can observe progress from the tidy operation in the Vault operational log.

Invoke the /pki_int/tidy endpoint to remove revoked certificate and clean the CRL.

$ curl --header "X-Vault-Token: $VAULT_TOKEN" \    --request POST \    --data '{"tidy_cert_store": true, "tidy_revoked_certs": true}' \    $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki_int/tidy | jq

You are now finished with the steps in the main scenario, and can move to the Cleanup section from here.

The following steps 7-10 are optional and for learning about Root CA rotation. These steps also require that you are using Vault version 1.11.0 or greater.

Step 7: rotate root CA

Before version 1.11.0, you could not enable more than one root CA in the same PKI secrets engine mount. This makes rotating the root CA challenging when coordinating a number of PKI secrets engine mounts, and manually managing two root CAs while simultaneously deploying the new root CA to clients.

Vault version 1.11.0 introduces a set of new features in the PKI secrets engine, including multi-issuer capabilities, which include more than one root CA in the same secrets engine mount. This enables less burdensome root CA rotation. You can also use CA migration helpers to ease the operational burden of migrating a root CA controlled by Vault.

To begin learning about this capability, enable another root CA in the existing PKI secrets engine mount using the new rotate feature.

$ vault write pki/root/rotate/internal \    common_name="example.com" \    issuer_name="root-2024"

Example output

Key              Value---              -----certificate      -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----expiration       1658500294issuer_id        f4baa074-10d7-7fc3-1623-f6f906ceed98issuer_name      root-2024issuing_ca       -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----MIIDpzCCAo+gAwIBAgIUT2afmPzCe/DQFO4c/Re0H7nC0jMwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQELBQAwFjEUMBIGA1UEAxMLZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wHhcNMjIwNjIwMTQzMTA0WhcNMjIwNzIyMTQzMTM0WjAWMRQwEgYDVQQDEwtleGFtcGxlLmNvbTCCASIwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEBBQADggEPADCCAQoCggEBAMAT2ZvEAP0hzJlkVY7ZNY2sbiGpor9CAzL2Uaqd9PtmL761XzboQHFziwDnffWdUKttZ5Gdc6KLFSPG8Bpl50PgKxwsUqr/2skLm1O/nVPVlodr3AUkbQZ4Qc6/Fs/lhGbPglFFMXl7NVdkeOnyFUZtouXLq11A38rc6280FzxMw16FEmwsLU/tWOwgAad7Q/Xp9l5HrlKN//+LUnaDcFmYXmNIK2CVTloUOqL39WPMR+CeXqGR1RkxTuJ0oy0GdLo2JMh9ndz7JQkMcU8VigJ7oqhvhxczoM/Lx0hB8Y+wUMynn/VvbUO0uBRE1RpOpk5Zfxbb8TiYysN9PpzhVYMCAwEAAaOB7DCB6TAOBgNVHQ8BAf8EBAMCAQYwDwYDVR0TAQH/BAUwAwEB/zAdBgNVHQ4EFgQUoWSv9g7doyvm9Xqspi9jH6kfhq8wHwYDVR0jBBgwFoAUoWSv9g7doyvm9Xqspi9jH6kfhq8wOwYIKwYBBQUHAQEELzAtMCsGCCsGAQUFBzAChh9odHRwOi8vMTI3LjAuMC4xOjgyMDAvdjEvcGtpL2NhMBYGA1UdEQQPMA2CC2V4YW1wbGUuY29tMDEGA1UdHwQqMCgwJqAkoCKGIGh0dHA6Ly8xMjcuMC4wLjE6ODIwMC92MS9wa2kvY3JsMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAA4IBAQByO9DyRVJYjK9xrnfNnD1pbG0WXWRmsk7dxtXY336ollMl0eqOuEEHNGy0a4c1UKOjFg0LSg3c/DzUoPluUB4Kk9gs4ifn+1cm2k6G9gjT/6Wi0xIW0t7+a7XX8ttPO7T4ZFDJT2KDINz42Oeht5u82TuKgBfdQsXm9XnJLqckQbaCZLPsuvyAT8MrgBABOvCVF1yurHNrmu+js6fZxu4wAO7ANMBDzNPYYx0IphYRGCnBte1Nj4vSiTtlFOdf8+gdM8lSlv4XV56e10MepNSvvFDd1De6l+ErLciZJQydDklX2e3R1GlQmm3d5Sxn5Wob3FA4nkyqLq21RlH2RRgo-----END CERTIFICATE-----key_id           775fb40a-4568-f613-2c6d-0f6802e859e1key_name         n/aserial_number    4f:66:9f:98:fc:c2:7b:f0:d0:14:ee:1c:fd:17:b4:1f:b9:c2:d2:33

Note that the certificate information has multi-issuer information, such as the issuer_ref and issuer_name values.

You can also list the issuers to confirm the addition of the new Root CA.
```
$ vault list pki/issuersKeys----09c2c9a0-a874-36d2-de85-d79a7a51e373f4baa074-10d7-7fc3-1623-f6f906ceed98
```
Both root CA issuers are now enabled in the same PKI secrets engine mount. While the new root CA is enabled, it's not yet actively used, and all later issuance from the mount uses the original root CA issuer, root-2023.
Tip
At this point, the new root CA certificate can be deployed to all devices which require it as part of rotating out the old root CA.

Create a role for the new example.com root CA; creating this role allows for specifying an issuer when necessary. This also provides a simple way to transition from one issuer to another by referring to it by name.

$ vault write pki/roles/2024-servers allow_any_name=trueSuccess! Data written to: pki/roles/2024-servers

Example output

Key                                   Value---                                   -----allow_any_name                        trueallow_bare_domains                    falseallow_glob_domains                    falseallow_ip_sans                         trueallow_localhost                       trueallow_subdomains                      falseallow_token_displayname               falseallow_wildcard_certificates           trueallowed_domains                       []allowed_domains_template              falseallowed_other_sans                    []allowed_serial_numbers                []allowed_uri_sans                      []allowed_uri_sans_template             falseallowed_user_ids                      []basic_constraints_valid_for_non_ca    falseclient_flag                           truecn_validations                        [email hostname]code_signing_flag                     falsecountry                               []email_protection_flag                 falseenforce_hostnames                     trueext_key_usage                         []ext_key_usage_oids                    []generate_lease                        falseissuer_ref                            defaultkey_bits                              2048key_type                              rsakey_usage                             [DigitalSignature KeyAgreement KeyEncipherment]locality                              []max_ttl                               0sno_store                              falsenot_after                             n/anot_before_duration                   30sorganization                          []ou                                    []policy_identifiers                    []postal_code                           []province                              []require_cn                            trueserver_flag                           truesignature_bits                        256street_address                        []ttl                                   0suse_csr_common_name                   trueuse_csr_sans                          trueuse_pss                               false

Note

This role is overly permissive in the names that it allows just for the purposes of simplification in this tutorial.

To begin learning about the multi-issuer capabilities, enable another root CA in the existing PKI secrets engine mount using the new rotate feature.

Generate the new Root CA using the /pki/root/rotate/internal endpoint.

$ curl \    --silent \    --request PUT \    --header "X-Vault-Request: true" \    --header "X-Vault-Token: $(vault print token)" \    --data '{"common_name":"example.com","issuer_name":"root-2024"}' \    $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki/root/rotate/internal \    | jq

Example output

{  "request_id": "ddab7cc7-fc1e-9d61-853f-fbf18f064f83",  "lease_id": "",  "renewable": false,  "lease_duration": 0,  "data": {    "certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nXnUSjLh1FBUyuSyHTmkVTeOuxVCNPzr2BXEA\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----",    "expiration": 1658516507,    "issuer_id": "8247c31f-ad1e-001c-6ad9-0aacc0aebea2",    "issuer_name": "root-2024",    "issuing_ca": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nXnUSjLh1FBUyuSyHTmkVTeOuxVCNPzr2BXEA\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----",    "key_id": "3e46e483-a692-3a8d-6f33-2f9173c2f110",    "key_name": "",    "serial_number": "56:85:7f:c2:e6:4c:bf:4e:4c:69:c4:b6:3e:bc:b7:56:b2:e0:1a:14"  },  "wrap_info": null,  "warnings": null,  "auth": null}

The Vault provider does not include a way to rotate certificates, but the Generic Endpoint resource could be used to rotate the certificates, but this is not recommended due to security concerns.

The /root/rotate/ call in the API is convention to make it easier for users, so simply generating a new root is sufficient. Refer to the Generate root API documentation for more details.

Enable a new root CA named root_2024.

resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_root_cert" "root_2024" {   backend     = vault_mount.pki.path   type        = "internal"   common_name = "example.com"   ttl         = "315360000"   issuer_name = "root-2024"   key_name    = "root_2024"}

A role is created for the root_2024 certificate. Creating this role allows for specifying an issuer when necessary. This provides a simple way to transition from one issuer to another by referring to it by name.
```
resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_role" "role_2024" {   backend        = vault_mount.pki.path   name           = "2024-servers"   allow_any_name = true}
```
Note
This role is overly permissive in the names that it allows just for the purposes of simplification in this tutorial.

Step 8: create a root bridge CA

A significant step in rotating an older root CA involves handling devices which might be offline for long periods of time, but which need to eventually come online and fetch the new root certificate.

If you want to effectively handle this situation, you can do so with the use of a root bridge CA between the older root to the new root. This helps clients of the older root trust certificates which the new root signs, and provides a predictable way to rotate the root with a clear time-frame (the pki/intermediate TTL).

The new cross-sign command provides this capability to the Vault operator in a familiar way, resembling the command syntax for creating a new intermediate CA with an existing key.

Two approaches to root CA rotation

You should choose to either create a root bridge CA as described in this section or create a cross-signed intermediate as described in the following section for your migration strategy, but do not perform the tasks for both steps.

Create the cross-signed Intermediate CSR.

$ vault write -format=json pki/intermediate/cross-sign \      common_name="example.com" \      key_ref="$(vault read pki/issuer/root-2024 \      | grep -i key_id | awk '{print $2}')" \      | jq -r '.data.csr' \      | tee cross-signed-intermediate.csr

Example output:

Sign the resulting CSR with the older root CA.

$ vault write -format=json pki/issuer/root-2023/sign-intermediate \      common_name="example.com" \      csr=@cross-signed-intermediate.csr \      | jq -r '.data.certificate' | tee cross-signed-intermediate.crt

Example output:

The result is a cross-signed certificate, but no issuer gets created yet. Import the signed certificate to create the new issuer.

Import the cross-signed certificate.

$ vault write pki/intermediate/set-signed \      certificate=@cross-signed-intermediate.crt

Example output:

Key                 Value---                 -----imported_issuers    [3f5a71f1-6558-0c82-2f8c-c3feb27eee8a]imported_keys       <nil>mapping             map[3f5a71f1-6558-0c82-2f8c-c3feb27eee8a:775fb40a-4568-f613-2c6d-0f6802e859e1]

You now have 2 root CAs with a cross-signed intermediate CA providing a trust chain between them. You are ready to handle migration of devices which were not initially possible to migrate to the new root CA.

Read the issuer for the new root CA. You'll notice that there are now more certificates in the ca_chain field.

$ vault read pki/issuer/root-2024

Example output

Key                        Value---                        -----ca_chain                   [-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE----- -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE----- -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----]certificate                -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----issuer_id                  f4baa074-10d7-7fc3-1623-f6f906ceed98issuer_name                root-2024key_id                     775fb40a-4568-f613-2c6d-0f6802e859e1leaf_not_after_behavior    errmanual_chain               <nil>usage                      read-only,issuing-certificates,crl-signing

Create the cross-signed Intermediate CSR.

$ curl \    --silent \    --request PUT \    --header "X-Vault-Request: true" \    --header "X-Vault-Token: $(vault print token)" \    --data '{"common_name":"example.com","key_ref":"'$(vault read pki/issuer/root-2024 | grep -i key_id | awk '{print $2}')'"}' \    "$VAULT_ADDR"/v1/pki/intermediate/cross-sign \    | jq '.data.csr' \    | tee cross-signed-intermediate.csr

Example output:

"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----\nMIIChDCCAWwCAQAwFjEUMBIGA1UEAxMLZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wggEiMA0GCSqGSIb3\nDQEBAQUAA4IBDwAwggEKAoIBAQDZ1V3OvmLb6L95OvL6NxxMziico3T4bxh7bJNU\nYbCHzqDI2LQk7cTpqLj9kllRPNfckD+zHo3zsV40ToX1/4FLzJP/xE6l+kavgymI\n6atp3wB1dykCv4UNVVicd+7sGs8BqUn3e7KPE758apYymZ8u8wv2SmkS27fDqqDH\n5+sTh/CBD8NO/fMJoOf1Ewcha3/7szdXeLV/dAWrZ6dHw4XsSvQe2A6uQi9zWsUJ\nyIMXfa8ttetJ4NAucPRX6mwVUgYWxj278HhCAb2j9PEuEiKAJhuoFtoBa1PwOMwH\nYJ1lNaifnkvA9MxWTS2wo4h8qsoN0NJR9u+L/1bx1u5iwb0bAgMBAAGgKTAnBgkq\nhkiG9w0BCQ4xGjAYMBYGA1UdEQQPMA2CC2V4YW1wbGUuY29tMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEB\nCwUAA4IBAQAbWckGlLZGCYOWbbXNESvRGSbFc5+Tk6dcoOcb33r04GsfQsWTSvNh\nMmqm8ovBB2fSYxRZvZ8ciQ232XqnrKfySZ5NdTxitc52U2gWqsT64I1rwmSfvKFT\nxU23ILsAf0YSPnB1+jZ6u1Oqzj5jVsXJPB4Goyu2vCyxmwNKd8Op7FGosFoA5vl6\nji4S70L0ClR8B8Pf4i0iNbtCqPX+diMEezfgOiPv9EfCkqM+Sbh09sWHe7VTucWO\nCWiYnKYs2OKWM9S3B2shlH1rluNQe2R6UaovxAt6jlDwQYbqPmqJb3buicSdCoKI\nOZZ0VTha98YlwHrdEQwPH2brOL0ZAMi9\n-----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----"

Create a payload file for the intermediate information.

$ tee > payload-intermediate-csr.json << EOF{  "common_name": "example.com",  "csr": $(cat cross-signed-intermediate.csr)}EOF

Sign the resulting CSR with the older root CA.

$ curl \    --silent \    --request PUT \    --header "X-Vault-Request: true" \    --header "X-Vault-Token: $(vault print token)" \    --data @payload-intermediate-csr.json \    "$VAULT_ADDR"/v1/pki/issuer/root-2023/sign-intermediate \    | jq '.data.certificate' | tee cross-signed-intermediate.crt

Example output:

"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDpzCCAo+gAwIBAgIUG4zofnl6wpYyuzikKXh11Oe6JHgwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\nBQAwFjEUMBIGA1UEAxMLZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wHhcNMjIwNjIwMTk0MTMzWhcNMjIw\nNzIyMTk0MjAzWjAWMRQwEgYDVQQDEwtleGFtcGxlLmNvbTCCASIwDQYJKoZIhvcN\nAQEBBQADggEPADCCAQoCggEBANnVXc6+Ytvov3k68vo3HEzOKJyjdPhvGHtsk1Rh\nsIfOoMjYtCTtxOmouP2SWVE819yQP7MejfOxXjROhfX/gUvMk//ETqX6Rq+DKYjp\nq2nfAHV3KQK/hQ1VWJx37uwazwGpSfd7so8TvnxqljKZny7zC/ZKaRLbt8OqoMfn\n6xOH8IEPw0798wmg5/UTByFrf/uzN1d4tX90Batnp0fDhexK9B7YDq5CL3NaxQnI\ngxd9ry2160ng0C5w9FfqbBVSBhbGPbvweEIBvaP08S4SIoAmG6gW2gFrU/A4zAdg\nnWU1qJ+eS8D0zFZNLbCjiHyqyg3Q0lH274v/VvHW7mLBvRsCAwEAAaOB7DCB6TAO\nBgNVHQ8BAf8EBAMCAQYwDwYDVR0TAQH/BAUwAwEB/zAdBgNVHQ4EFgQUOO/cNV1d\nogLUPuiXvryXlohDm4owHwYDVR0jBBgwFoAUawEF1rPbTI4vc2/ORwjlRTR4dasw\nOwYIKwYBBQUHAQEELzAtMCsGCCsGAQUFBzAChh9odHRwOi8vMTI3LjAuMC4xOjgy\nMDAvdjEvcGtpL2NhMBYGA1UdEQQPMA2CC2V4YW1wbGUuY29tMDEGA1UdHwQqMCgw\nJqAkoCKGIGh0dHA6Ly8xMjcuMC4wLjE6ODIwMC92MS9wa2kvY3JsMA0GCSqGSIb3\nDQEBCwUAA4IBAQC1peeI9oQGJUOrdknIiqg/uhQqe7yeuKwZS/Xg/ffN0Hn9Qc70\n5tgg6p3WXuGntG1EyE2l8uQ82kqzG4M9QqBMaNV3naXINdzp8ipFQfDnR0C6ekBn\nduxNgUkrVMqbUrsp7lpB1Ot+MbWXKbAY5fUVjEuXyKWBgPTEmAE/I13eZfPMLZNl\nyTjEyO3RdLZDN2SXGfvKykfN/DIazSMfV6/OhlLeiTh9mZB0ANbpmmmDu/tHVKGo\nRtjZ5J6nXxg8OJt2F0agCjz299GYWJ0Ng6sfcIqYtAmVegZc2ueVop2Sx6rIkAAa\nAmF4jUyMCxex6lnpTjIldU73BnVRVnOl2KGE\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----"

The result is a cross-signed certificate, but no issuer gets created yet. Import the signed certificate to create the new issuer.

Create a payload file.

$ cat > payload-cross-signed-cert.json << EOF{   "certificate": $(cat cross-signed-intermediate.crt)}EOF

Import the cross-signed certificate.

$ curl \    --silent \    --request PUT \    --header "X-Vault-Request: true" \    --header "X-Vault-Token: $(vault print token)" \    --data @payload-cross-signed-cert.json \    "$VAULT_ADDR"/v1/pki/intermediate/set-signed \    | jq

Example output:

{  "request_id": "ef40177c-21d0-07aa-324e-6aef145f2185",  "lease_id": "",  "renewable": false,  "lease_duration": 0,  "data": {    "imported_issuers": null,    "imported_keys": null,    "mapping": {      "e81a37b1-dfb7-33a3-294b-6079ea4f9b2e": "3e46e483-a692-3a8d-6f33-2f9173c2f110"    }  },  "wrap_info": null,  "warnings": null,  "auth": null}

Read the issuer for the new root CA, and you'll notice that there are now more certificates in the ca_chain field.

$ curl \    --silent \    --header "X-Vault-Request: true" \    --header "X-Vault-Token: $(vault print token)" \    "$VAULT_ADDR"/v1/pki/issuer/root-2024 \    | jq

Example output

{  "request_id": "1101f28b-4562-6f17-5117-e7030522e2de",  "lease_id": "",  "renewable": false,  "lease_duration": 0,  "data": {    "ca_chain": [      "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nXnUSjLh1FBUyuSyHTmkVTeOuxVCNPzr2BXEA\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",      "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nAmF4jUyMCxex6lnpTjIldU73BnVRVnOl2KGE\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",      "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nbs7CfJ5Phq5t\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"    ],    "certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nXnUSjLh1FBUyuSyHTmkVTeOuxVCNPzr2BXEA\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",    "issuer_id": "8247c31f-ad1e-001c-6ad9-0aacc0aebea2",    "issuer_name": "root-2024",    "key_id": "3e46e483-a692-3a8d-6f33-2f9173c2f110",    "leaf_not_after_behavior": "err",    "manual_chain": null,    "usage": "read-only,issuing-certificates,crl-signing"  },  "wrap_info": null,  "warnings": null,  "auth": null}

Specifically, you'll notice 3 certificates in ca_chain, as follows:

The new root CA certificate (root-2024).
The new cross-signed intermediate CA certificate.
The older root CA certificate (root-2023).

If you do not want the chain composed in this way, you can specify a custom chain with the manual_chain parameter when creating the intermediate CA. More information is available in the API documentation.

Step 9: create a cross-signed intermediate

The previous section describes creating a root bridge certificate that is useful for bridging between two separate roots of trust. In other words, if you have devices with root-2023 hard-coded and not replaceable, the root bridge CA allows you to validate against it.

You can also create a cross-signed intermediate CA to achieve this in an alternative way.

Two approaches to root CA rotation

You should choose to either create a cross-signed intermediate as described in this section, or create a root bridge CA as described in the previous section for your migration strategy, but do not perform the tasks for both steps.

Follow these steps to create the cross-signed intermediate CA.

Get a CSR to cross-sign the intermediate.

$ vault write -format=json pki_int/intermediate/cross-sign \   common_name="example.com Intermediate Authority" \   key_ref="$(vault read pki_int/issuer/$(vault read -field=default pki_int/config/issuers) \   | grep -i key_id | awk '{print $2}')" \   | jq -r '.data.csr' \   | tee cross-signed-intermediate.csr

Example output:

Sign the CSR under the new root.

$ vault write -format=json pki/issuer/root-2024/sign-intermediate \   common_name="example.com Intermediate Authority" \   csr=@cross-signed-intermediate.csr \   | jq -r '.data.certificate' | tee cross-signed-intermediate.crt

Example output:

Import the cross-signed certificate into the new mount.

$ vault write pki_int/intermediate/set-signed \   certificate=@cross-signed-intermediate.crt

Example abbreviated output:

...snip...Key                 Value---                 -----existing_issuers    <nil>existing_keys       <nil>imported_issuers    [58dabd1a-73ee-c483-5371-add26cb1c48b]imported_keys       <nil>mapping             map[58dabd1a-73ee-c483-5371-add26cb1c48b:80375808-3015-91fc-ab36-b88e5b91d645]...snip...

Set the issuer name.

$ vault write pki_int/issuer/58dabd1a-73ee-c483-5371-add26cb1c48b \    issuer_name=xc-example-dot-com-intermediate

Be sure to use the correct imported_issuers UUID for the value of issuer instead of the example value.

Example output

Key                               Value---                               -----ca_chain                          [-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----]certificate                       -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----crl_distribution_points           []issuer_id                         58dabd1a-73ee-c483-5371-add26cb1c48bissuer_name                       xc-example-dot-com-intermediateissuing_certificates              []key_id                            80375808-3015-91fc-ab36-b88e5b91d645leaf_not_after_behavior           errmanual_chain                      <nil>ocsp_servers                      []revocation_signature_algorithm    n/arevoked                           falseusage                             crl-signing,issuing-certificates,ocsp-signing,read-only

When reading issuers, the CA chain does not change. Try reading the intermediate CA:

$ vault read -field=ca_chain pki_int/issuer/"$(vault read -field=default pki_int/config/issuers)"

Example output:

[-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE----- -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----]

Read the cross-signed intermediate CA.

$ vault read -field=ca_chain pki_int/issuer/xc-example-dot-com-intermediate

Example output:

[-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----]

(optional) If you prefer to update them to refer to each other on sign requests, you can use manual_chain since they are sibling CAs, not in a hierarchy, and automated chain building does not detect them.

Set a manual_chain value on the intermediate CA.

$ vault patch pki_int/issuer/"$(vault read -field=default pki_int/config/issuers)" \    manual_chain=self,xc-example-dot-com-intermediate

Example output

Key                               Value---                               -----ca_chain                          [-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE----- -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----]certificate                       -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----crl_distribution_points           []issuer_id                         4e2e04ff-de9b-10ff-59e1-ccaa8247e1aeissuer_name                       n/aissuing_certificates              []key_id                            80375808-3015-91fc-ab36-b88e5b91d645leaf_not_after_behavior           errmanual_chain                      [4e2e04ff-de9b-10ff-59e1-ccaa8247e1ae 58dabd1a-73ee-c483-5371-add26cb1c48b]ocsp_servers                      []revocation_signature_algorithm    n/arevoked                           falseusage                             crl-signing,issuing-certificates,ocsp-signing,read-only

Set a manual_chain value on the cross-signed intermediate CA.

$ vault patch pki_int/issuer/xc-example-dot-com-intermediate \    manual_chain=self,"$(vault read -field=default pki_int/config/issuers)"

Example output

---                               -----ca_chain                          [-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE----- -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----]certificate                       -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----crl_distribution_points           []issuer_id                         58dabd1a-73ee-c483-5371-add26cb1c48bissuer_name                       xc-example-dot-com-intermediateissuing_certificates              []key_id                            80375808-3015-91fc-ab36-b88e5b91d645leaf_not_after_behavior           errmanual_chain                      [58dabd1a-73ee-c483-5371-add26cb1c48b 4e2e04ff-de9b-10ff-59e1-ccaa8247e1ae]ocsp_servers                      []revocation_signature_algorithm    n/arevoked                           falseusage                             crl-signing,issuing-certificates,ocsp-signing,read-only

Create a CSR payload.

$ cat > payload-cross-sign-csr.json << EOF{    "common_name": "example.com Intermediate Authority",    "key_ref": "$(curl --request GET --silent "$VAULT_ADDR"/v1/pki_int/issuer/example-dot-com-intermediate/json | jq -r '.data.issuer_id')"}EOF

This command is expected to produce no output.

Get a CSR to cross-sign the intermediate.

$ curl \ --header "X-Vault-Token: root" \ --silent \ --request POST \ --data @payload-cross-sign-csr.json \ $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki/intermediate/generate/exported \ | jq '.data.csr' \ | tee cross-signed-intermediate.csr

Example output:

"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----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\nvDs8e989\n-----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----"

Create a payload for signing the CSR under the new root CA.

$ cat > payload-new-root-sign.json << EOF{    "csr": $(cat cross-signed-intermediate.csr),    "common_name": "example.com"}EOF

Sign the CSR under the new root.

$ curl \ --header "X-Vault-Token: root" \ --silent \ --request POST \ --data @payload-new-root-sign.json \ $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki/issuer/root-2024/sign-intermediate \ | jq '.data.certificate' | tee cross-signed-intermediate.crt

Example output:

"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nVkELDn4az1YP9VpjY9ryMyIzIJPymkHJLFQV\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----"

Create a payload for importing the cross-signed certificate.

$ cat > payload-certificate-import.json << EOF{    "certificate": $(cat cross-signed-intermediate.crt)}EOF

Import the cross-signed certificate into the new mount.

$ curl \    --header "X-Vault-Token: root" \    --request POST \    --data @payload-certificate-import.json \    $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki_int/intermediate/set-signed \    | jq

Example abbreviated output:

{  "request_id": "094be7a6-71c5-be41-1442-a2048e83c9ac",  "lease_id": "",  "renewable": false,  "lease_duration": 0,  "data": {    "existing_issuers": null,    "existing_keys": null,    "imported_issuers": ["c260c1d7-efde-3212-14cc-3f3778c09e1a"],    "imported_keys": null,    "mapping": {      "c260c1d7-efde-3212-14cc-3f3778c09e1a": ""    }  },  "wrap_info": null,  "warnings": [    "This mount hasn't configured any authority information access (AIA) fields; this may make it harder    for systems to find missing certificates in the chain or to validate revocation status of    certificates. Consider updating /config/urls or the newly generated issuer with this information."  ],  "auth": null}

Note the value of the imported_issuers field as you'll need it in the next step.

Set the issuer name.

$ curl \ --header "X-Vault-Token: root" \ --silent \ --request POST \ --data '{"issuer_name": "xc-example-dot-com-intermediate"}' \ $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki_int/issuer/c260c1d7-efde-3212-14cc-3f3778c09e1a

Be sure to use the correct imported_issuers UUID for the value of issuer instead of the example value.

Example output

{  "request_id": "ac7db3a8-875a-5543-c856-0c602b5f8770",  "lease_id": "",  "renewable": false,  "lease_duration": 0,  "data": {    "ca_chain": [      "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDpzCCAo   +gAwIBAgIUe0CLNyVIn6vjoMZF3gyBf8iqOKowDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\nBQAwFjEUMBIGA1UEAxMLZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wHhcNMj   MwOTE4MjAxMDE1WhcNMjMx\nMDIwMjAxMDQ1WjAWMRQwEgYDVQQDEwtleGFtcGxlLmNvbTCCASIwDQYJKoZIhvcN\nAQEBBQAD   ggEPADCCAQoCggEBAMoQyla1wVGlVQOg108m0WbyC6mhJUVlgj0lpi0k\nxcnLHAe1r7Y22CCPIhMHAJcW   +0YCFLQHE2quVBUb7KjoqPWDTgGHDqLgnbHg5rF0\nDcjkglImYErM/yvJ53KTwe/a4Ejva/w5qTnswLqi3oLXH6OQ52   +yOoQrgAK1Uny8\n/oVm7V6d8QzMHnvEdZkil4AsPayojDdsTpxpwBWTeATku2mz9tC4m1kS3laMsJCj\n3JH8H1/   fNHPgnXJL6b44pFAGv/02qGbgGVefrcfjm42CaW6lTQERLJ+G2Q35ajut\nRvXSZcVlM6o1wQ3Qk4dhu/kud+C/   9EVLLOxAA2XMz0Y4kuUCAwEAAaOB7DCB6TAO\nBgNVHQ8BAf8EBAMCAQYwDwYDVR0TAQH/BAUwAwEB/   zAdBgNVHQ4EFgQUpUGAwNEo\nWg7ELmvnURmzI1McQawwHwYDVR0jBBgwFoAUjx9eosrP4fqvkbtzzTdM7G52Tqgw\nOwYIKwY   BBQUHAQEELzAtMCsGCCsGAQUFBzAChh9odHRwOi8vMTI3LjAuMC4xOjgy\nMDAvdjEvcGtpL2NhMBYGA1UdEQQPMA2CC2V4YW1   wbGUuY29tMDEGA1UdHwQqMCgw\nJqAkoCKGIGh0dHA6Ly8xMjcuMC4wLjE6ODIwMC92MS9wa2kvY3JsMA0GCSqGSIb3\nDQEBC   wUAA4IBAQC63ia6lyuoSmAZiFsf55+oEUtz6nAmjmPhmUsfw0PkEc5KeLJO\nX1kkaCkoYXNoRoDB   +QAIMbpOaGVaaFA9lr8S6mG9Yn0s5gHdI7ILkM1XSs3V8eUQ\n0MwcZemQJvR3Uvwv6E9043HMisLK5xVQR3CUqwCVEvZtru   +AFExlf+YzqDXKFIM1\n4JhlyxEygZO1nVGr2qNFGItxFDNbERzf/Al3vKTYwugIknaU5ZatZ16QEJWp/   s7l\nqA89CQO6t59yDas8ygkdR8Uyzqi3NrkQpeq   +qlXXIR6h8juEnLNlFX4CLc60csvS\nVkELDn4az1YP9VpjY9ryMyIzIJPymkHJLFQV\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"    ],    "certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDpzCCAo   +gAwIBAgIUe0CLNyVIn6vjoMZF3gyBf8iqOKowDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\nBQAwFjEUMBIGA1UEAxMLZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wHhcNMjMwOT   E4MjAxMDE1WhcNMjMx\nMDIwMjAxMDQ1WjAWMRQwEgYDVQQDEwtleGFtcGxlLmNvbTCCASIwDQYJKoZIhvcN\nAQEBBQADggEPADCC   AQoCggEBAMoQyla1wVGlVQOg108m0WbyC6mhJUVlgj0lpi0k\nxcnLHAe1r7Y22CCPIhMHAJcW   +0YCFLQHE2quVBUb7KjoqPWDTgGHDqLgnbHg5rF0\nDcjkglImYErM/yvJ53KTwe/a4Ejva/w5qTnswLqi3oLXH6OQ52   +yOoQrgAK1Uny8\n/oVm7V6d8QzMHnvEdZkil4AsPayojDdsTpxpwBWTeATku2mz9tC4m1kS3laMsJCj\n3JH8H1/   fNHPgnXJL6b44pFAGv/02qGbgGVefrcfjm42CaW6lTQERLJ+G2Q35ajut\nRvXSZcVlM6o1wQ3Qk4dhu/kud+C/   9EVLLOxAA2XMz0Y4kuUCAwEAAaOB7DCB6TAO\nBgNVHQ8BAf8EBAMCAQYwDwYDVR0TAQH/BAUwAwEB/   zAdBgNVHQ4EFgQUpUGAwNEo\nWg7ELmvnURmzI1McQawwHwYDVR0jBBgwFoAUjx9eosrP4fqvkbtzzTdM7G52Tqgw\nOwYIKwYBBQU   HAQEELzAtMCsGCCsGAQUFBzAChh9odHRwOi8vMTI3LjAuMC4xOjgy\nMDAvdjEvcGtpL2NhMBYGA1UdEQQPMA2CC2V4YW1wbGUuY29   tMDEGA1UdHwQqMCgw\nJqAkoCKGIGh0dHA6Ly8xMjcuMC4wLjE6ODIwMC92MS9wa2kvY3JsMA0GCSqGSIb3\nDQEBCwUAA4IBAQC63   ia6lyuoSmAZiFsf55+oEUtz6nAmjmPhmUsfw0PkEc5KeLJO\nX1kkaCkoYXNoRoDB   +QAIMbpOaGVaaFA9lr8S6mG9Yn0s5gHdI7ILkM1XSs3V8eUQ\n0MwcZemQJvR3Uvwv6E9043HMisLK5xVQR3CUqwCVEvZtru   +AFExlf+YzqDXKFIM1\n4JhlyxEygZO1nVGr2qNFGItxFDNbERzf/Al3vKTYwugIknaU5ZatZ16QEJWp/   s7l\nqA89CQO6t59yDas8ygkdR8Uyzqi3NrkQpeq   +qlXXIR6h8juEnLNlFX4CLc60csvS\nVkELDn4az1YP9VpjY9ryMyIzIJPymkHJLFQV\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",    "crl_distribution_points": [],    "issuer_id": "c260c1d7-efde-3212-14cc-3f3778c09e1a",    "issuer_name": "xc-example-dot-com-intermediate",    "issuing_certificates": [],    "key_id": "",    "leaf_not_after_behavior": "err",    "manual_chain": null,    "ocsp_servers": [],    "revocation_signature_algorithm": "",    "revoked": false,    "usage": "crl-signing,issuing-certificates,ocsp-signing,read-only"  },  "wrap_info": null,  "warnings": null,  "auth": null}

When reading issuers, the CA chain does not change. Try reading the intermediate CA:

$ curl --request GET \    --silent \    "$VAULT_ADDR"/v1/pki_int/issuer/example-dot-com-intermediate/json \    | jq

Example output

{  "request_id": "ffdf044f-1f1c-37f2-5252-a24380fd498f",  "lease_id": "",  "renewable": false,  "lease_duration": 0,  "data": {    "ca_chain": [      "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nI+Q=\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",      "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDNTCCAh2gAwIBAgIUX6IHrgzCIayMMteuHmF6S9FzVVswDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\nBQAwFjEUMBIGA1UEAxMLZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wHhcNMjMwOTE4MTYwMDE4WhcNMzMw\nOTE1MTYwMDQ4WjAWMRQwEgYDVQQDEwtleGFtcGxlLmNvbTCCASIwDQYJKoZIhvcN\nAQEBBQADggEPADCCAQoCggEBAOafEccpjynGTDVSnf9rX/VsEEP72gRFnfhEvWjC\nkQxAgPKWT9fb76CgKMtz3NxmuNjXg5a+4Q5sFAda8YXmgjtno0Q8+HbYTYRM41Tn\napM906BlkAOcVj+19CfYrPNJuldEu1K6QA8d5qhGNKX4e5oYxLK/2MNpRnlT5FNY\nLMfdK054m33ekagcimkPXquIT49Lcn6pBUatjsmiTnOZKZzzPtuOpmDuYPydjmpE\ngQKyOnN8M72ffiMEaCYlXaET1ma2zpJybvmTP5OE7GQLRmqHfYpGfOh87VLgUgzi\n5Z9OKGPlAiRwUIv4adVB3uiKNog5ujC7FMV4KBUUqXPNYUUCAwEAAaN7MHkwDgYD\nVR0PAQH/BAQDAgEGMA8GA1UdEwEB/wQFMAMBAf8wHQYDVR0OBBYEFDnfqYX3ebVQ\nr9a1/XOTQUBFyhrPMB8GA1UdIwQYMBaAFDnfqYX3ebVQr9a1/XOTQUBFyhrPMBYG\nA1UdEQQPMA2CC2V4YW1wbGUuY29tMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAA4IBAQDFYjWatJWj\n+OLiqETfnufMuQOjNWAIKYdagc7Z3C9qZ2uWOZxXO2MYx8MpriIcBXDUmJtGhJKv\nNhksvh4iGcKuX/XDd++XhsO7Wj6Who79N2wKmDG4B6yV/AAHWWLHRJgdMvhWXV5j\nMm7N1phxuoQT+SVrccFxIdqbEWPCOg+cPeLZAjIkUaXuxe1R8xjO6WloKjxbTarI\nfrbCzyYkIk8LQhBz8TTtCRZGdd0FA5aE7KbgY6kQoq29oCywJQZseDCB5/u4rnZn\nhvGRtvgxcTfEJRkim8hm6xJBoEm8Zd2YYHJ4kAKP2ciBoeJUpwXhAq6ORGq6Mfgm\nFWN7AydWWpq7\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"    ],    "certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nI+Q=\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",    "issuer_id": "4a08c03b-acc9-5242-4c01-fd48c1616cc1",    "issuer_name": "example-dot-com-intermediate"  },  "wrap_info": null,  "warnings": null,  "auth": null}

Read the cross-signed intermediate CA.

$ curl --request GET \    --silent \    "$VAULT_ADDR"/v1/pki_int/issuer/xc-example-dot-com-intermediate/json \    | jq

Example output:

{  "request_id": "06aa1228-c5e0-f3fd-156e-683726ce493d",  "lease_id": "",  "renewable": false,  "lease_duration": 0,  "data": {    "ca_chain": [      "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nVkELDn4az1YP9VpjY9ryMyIzIJPymkHJLFQV\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"    ],    "certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nVkELDn4az1YP9VpjY9ryMyIzIJPymkHJLFQV\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",    "issuer_id": "c260c1d7-efde-3212-14cc-3f3778c09e1a",    "issuer_name": "xc-example-dot-com-intermediate"  },  "wrap_info": null,  "warnings": null,  "auth": null}

In this section, you create a new CSR and cross sign it with the original root to create a cross signed CSR.

The vault_pki_secret_backend_intermediate_cert_request resource creates a new cross-signed Intermediate CSR from the new root_2024.

resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_intermediate_cert_request" "new_csr" {   backend     = vault_mount.pki.path   type        = "existing"   common_name = "example.com"   key_ref     = vault_pki_secret_backend_root_cert.root_2024.key_name}

The vault_pki_secret_backend_root_sign_intermediate resource signs the CSR with older root_2023 CA.

resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_root_sign_intermediate" "root_2024" {   backend     = vault_mount.pki.path   csr         = vault_pki_secret_backend_intermediate_cert_request.new_csr.csr   common_name = "example.com"   ttl         = 43800   issuer_ref  = vault_pki_secret_backend_root_cert.root_2023.issuer_id}

To import the cross signed certificate, use the vault_pki_secret_backend_intermediate_set_signed resource block.

resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_intermediate_set_signed" "root_2024" {      backend     = vault_mount.pki.path      certificate = vault_pki_secret_backend_root_sign_intermediate.root_2024.certificate}

Take a look at the new root CA named root-2024.

$ vault read pki/issuer/root-2024

Example output

Key                               Value---                               -----ca_chain                          [-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----MIIDNTCCAh2gAwIBAgIUGVy5lNcQ9TbydQEUWKXXJg1nDLwwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL   ...-----END CERTIFICATE----------BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----MIIDpzCCAo+gAwIBAgIUHZOy6VSoKuLzdwBKjS6Oxr/emm8wDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL   ...-----END CERTIFICATE----------BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----MIIDpzCCAo+gAwIBAgIUSouOAPGZ+ctkjMJsFYQ6ivEAPPUwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL   ...-----END CERTIFICATE-----]certificate                       -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----MIIDNTCCAh2gAwIBAgIUGVy5lNcQ9TbydQEUWKXXJg1nDLwwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL   ...-----END CERTIFICATE-----crl_distribution_points           []issuer_id                         9e3ae643-f435-8e68-4e44-a531b33f871cissuer_name                       root-2024issuing_certificates              []key_id                            00a7e2d4-18cc-dae6-0075-95424530474bleaf_not_after_behavior           errmanual_chain                      <nil>ocsp_servers                      []revocation_signature_algorithm    SHA256WithRSArevoked                           falseusage                             crl-signing,issuing-certificates,ocsp-signing,read-only

Step 10: set default issuer

After your defined cutoff point for the older root CA, and after you have distributed the new root CA to all devices, you can switch the default issuer to the new root CA.

Use the root replace command to do this, and specify the issuer name of the new root CA as the value to the default parameter.

$ vault write pki/root/replace default=root-2024Key        Value---        -----default    f4baa074-10d7-7fc3-1623-f6f906ceed98

Use the root replace command to do this, and specify the issuer name of the new root CA as the value to the default parameter.

$ curl \    --silent \    --request PUT \    --header "X-Vault-Token: $(vault print token)" \    --header "X-Vault-Request: true" \    --data '{"default":"root-2024"}' \    "$VAULT_ADDR"/v1/pki/root/replace \    | jq

Example output:

{  "request_id": "dc7459a4-7cf3-bd0d-d632-08d1554cf555",  "lease_id": "",  "renewable": false,  "lease_duration": 0,  "data": {    "default": "8247c31f-ad1e-001c-6ad9-0aacc0aebea2"  },  "wrap_info": null,  "warnings": null,  "auth": null}

Check the current default issuer for the PKI secrets engine.

$ vault read pki/issuer/default...-----END CERTIFICATE-----crl_distribution_points           []issuer_id                         71f06cbe-04ce-afc4-9941-98f189e04189issuer_name                       root-2024issuing_certificates              []...

Find the vault_pki_secret_backend_config_issuers block and remove the comments for the "vault_pki_secret_backend_config_issuers" "config" block.

Apply the configuration.

$ terraform apply -auto-approveTerraform will perform the following actions:   # vault_pki_secret_backend_config_issuers.config will be created   + resource "vault_pki_secret_backend_config_issuers" "config" {      + backend                       = "pki"      + default                       = "71f06cbe-04ce-afc4-9941-98f189e04189"      + default_follows_latest_issuer = true      + id                            = (known after apply)   }Plan: 1 to add, 0 to change, 0 to destroy.Plan: 1 to add, 0 to change, 0 to destroy.vault_pki_secret_backend_config_issuers.config: Creating...vault_pki_secret_backend_config_issuers.config: Creation complete after 0s [id=pki/config/issuers]Apply complete! Resources: 1 added, 0 changed, 0 destroyed.

Check the change in default issuer.

$ vault read pki/issuer/default...crl_distribution_points           []issuer_id                         71f06cbe-04ce-afc4-9941-98f189e04189issuer_name                       root-2024issuing_certificates              []...

From this point forward, Vault issues new certificates based on the new root CA (root-2024).

Step 11: sunset defunct root CA

The last step is to sunset the older root CA.

You can effectively sunset the older root CA by removing its ability to issue certificates, while preserving the ability to sign CRLs and revoke certificates.

Remove issuing-certificates from the Root CA capabilities.

$ vault write pki/issuer/root-2023 \      issuer_name="root-2023" \      usage=read-only,crl-signing | tail -n 5

Example output:

issuer_name                root-2023key_id                     b785654a-6ab6-0904-be34-3f5b1c1e8d53leaf_not_after_behavior    errmanual_chain               <nil>usage                      crl-signing,read-only

You'll notice "issuing-certificates" removed from usage, and now just "crl-signing", and "read-only" are available on the older root CA. This means it can't issue any further certificates going forward.

You can confirm this by attempting to issue a certificate directly from the older root CA.

$ vault write pki/issuer/root-2023/issue/2023-servers \    common_name="super.secret.internal.dev" \    ttl=10m

The request fails.

Error writing data to pki/issuer/root-2023/issue/2023-servers: Error making API request.URL: PUT http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/issuer/root-2023/issue/2023-serversCode: 500. Errors:* 1 error occurred:   * error fetching CA certificate: error while attempting to use issuer 09c2c9a0-a874-36d2-de85-d79a7a51e373: requested usage issuing-certificates for issuer [id:09c2c9a0-a874-36d2-de85-d79a7a51e373 / name:root-2023] but only had usage read-only,crl-signing

Remove issuing-certificates from the Root CA capabilities.

$ curl \    --silent \    --request PUT \    --header "X-Vault-Request: true" \    --header "X-Vault-Token: $(vault print token)" \    --data '{"issuer_name":"root-2023","usage":"read-only,crl-signing"}' \    "$VAULT_ADDR"/v1/pki/issuer/root-2023 \    | jq

Example output:

{  "request_id": "3533ed1a-b59c-6c3d-7e53-1a2a35e213c2",  "lease_id": "",  "renewable": false,  "lease_duration": 0,  "data": {    "ca_chain": [      "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nbs7CfJ5Phq5t\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"    ],    "certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nbs7CfJ5Phq5t\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",    "issuer_id": "09c2c9a0-a874-36d2-de85-d79a7a51e373",    "issuer_name": "root-2023",    "key_id": "4616f6dc-17a4-a137-79b3-82f6b04f38d7",    "leaf_not_after_behavior": "err",    "manual_chain": null,    "usage": "crl-signing,read-only"  },  "wrap_info": null,  "warnings": null,  "auth": null}

You can confirm this by attempting to issue a certificate directly from the older root CA.

$ curl \    --silent \    --request PUT \    --header "X-Vault-Request: true" \    --header "X-Vault-Token: $(vault print token)" \    --data '{"common_name":"super.secret.internal.dev","ttl":"10m"}' \    "$VAULT_ADDR"/v1/pki/issuer/root-2023/issue/2023-servers \    | jq

The request fails.

{  "errors": [    "1 error occurred:\n\t* error fetching CA certificate: error while attempting to use issuer 09c2c9a0-a874-36d2-de85-d79a7a51e373: requested usage issuing-certificates for issuer [id:09c2c9a0-a874-36d2-de85-d79a7a51e373 / name:root-2023] but only had usage crl-signing,read-only\n\n"  ]}

CRLs and OCSP

Both Certificate revocation lists (CRL) and online certificate status protocol (OCSP) allow interrogating revocation status of certificates.

These methods include internal security and authenticity (both CRLs and OCSP responses get signed by the issuing CA within Vault). This means both are fine to distribute over non-secure and non-authenticated channels, such as HTTP.

Vault version 1.12.0 and greater supports automated CRL rebuilding (including optional Delta CRLs which it can rebuild more often than complete CRLs) via the /config/crl API endpoint.

You can also configure automatic tidying of revoked and expired certificates with the /config/auto-tidy endpoint.

Tip

It is suggested that these features be enabled when possible to ensure compatibility with the wider PKIX ecosystem, and to enhance performance of the cluster.

Cleanup

You can unset the two environment variables, VAULT_ADDR and VAULT_TOKEN, that you set in the beginning of this tutorial and remove the files you created to clean up.

Unset the environment variables.

$ unset VAULT_ADDR VAULT_TOKEN

Remove the files.

$ rm -f \    root_2023_ca.crt \    intermediate.cert.pem \    pki_intermediate.csr \    payload.json \    payload-url.json \    payload-int.json \    payload-int-cert.json \    payload-signed.json \    payload-role.json

If you also followed the advanced steps, you'll need to remove some additional files.

$ rm -f \    root_2023_ca.crt \    cross-signed-intermediate.csr \    cross-signed-intermediate.crt

If you were doing the terraform version of this tutorial, go back to where the learn-vault-pki-engine repository was cloned.

$ cd ../..

Delete the learn-vault-pki-engine directory.

$ rm -rf learn-vault-pki-engine

Stop the Vault server process.

$ pgrep -f vault | xargs kill

Next steps

Check out the Streamline Certificate Management with HashiCorp Vault webinar recording.

Also, refer to the Vault PKI Secrets Engine Integration tutorial for an example of Nomad using the PKI secrets engine to generate and renew the X.509 certificates it uses. To automate the process, this tutorial leverages the Consul Template tool.

Help and reference

Azure secrets engine

Vault Certificate Authority and offline root

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Integrations - Vault
Integrate with Vault to enforce security best practices.
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