JS7 JobScheduler

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Introduction

  • Connections from user browsers to the JOC Cockpit can be secured by HTTPS with TLS/SSL certificates.
  • Connections from clients using the JS7 - REST Web Service API (that ships with the JOC Cockpit) can be secured by HTTPS with TLS/SSL certificates.
  • This article describes the steps required to set up secure HTTPS communication with the JOC Cockpit. This includes to set up a standalone JOC Cockpit instance or a JOC Cockpit cluster with a number of instances.

Prerequisites

  • The following explanations assume Private CA-signed Certificates or Public CA-signed Certificates to be used.
    • Private CA-signed Certificates are created by users who operate their own CA, see the JS7 - How to create X.509 SSL TLS Certificates.
    • Public CA-signed Certificates are provided from known and trusted Certificate Authorities (CA) that validate the domain owner.
    • Use of Intermediate CA Certificates is optional.
    • There is no difference in using a Private CA or Public CA concerning functionality of X.509 certificates, usage for Server Authentication / Client Authentication, or security of connections. The only difference is that users trust the Private CA that they set up on their own.
  • Certificate stores can be managed from the command line and by use of tools that provide a GUI for this purpose:
    • the Java Keytool is available from the Java JRE or JDK,
    • the Keystore Explorer is an open source utility to graphically manage certificate stores.
  • Starting from Java 9 the PKCS12 keystore type is default and is not required to be specified with keytool.
  • The following sections assume a PKCS12 keystore/truststore format. For Unix OS the .p12 file extension frequently is used, for Windows OS the .pfx extension is preferably used. Both file extensions indicate the same PKCS12 format and can be used interchangeably.
  • The following explanations assume JOC Cockpit starting from release 2.5 to be used. This release introduces Jetty 11. Earlier releases of JOC Cockpit ship with Jetty 9 and make use of a single configuration file JETTY_BASE/start.ini instead of separate configuration files JETTY_BASE/start.d/http.ini, JETTY_BASE/start.d/https.ini, JETTY_BASE/start.d/ssl.ini.

Certificate Management

To secure access to JOC Cockpit by clients (user browsers or REST API clients) the following Private Keys and Certificates should be in place:



Explanation:

  • Keystores and truststores shown in orange are required for any connections of clients to JOC Cockpit.
  • Keystores and truststores shown in green are required if mutual authentication is in place, e.g. to allow certificate based authentication.
  • A JOC Cockpit truststore is required. Should secure connections be used to access a Controller or an LDAP server for authentication/authorization then the truststore will hold the necessary certificates.
  • Consider that similar distribution of Private Keys and Certificates applies to each JOC Cockpit instance in a cluster.

Secure Connection Setup

In the following, JOC_HOME, JETTY_HOME and JETTY_BASE placeholders are used which locate three directories. If you install Jetty with the JOC Cockpit installer then:

  • JOC_HOME is the installation path that is specified during JOC Cockpit installation:
    • /opt/sos-berlin.com/js7/joc (default on Unix)
    • C:\Program Files\sos-berlin.com\js7\joc (default on Windows)
  • JETTY_HOME = JOC_HOME/jetty
  • JETTY_BASE is Jetty's base directory that is specified during JOC Cockpit installation:
    • /home/<setup-user>/sos-berlin.com/js7/joc(default on Unix)
    • C:\ProgramData\sos-berlin.com\js7\joc (default on Windows)

Secure Connections from Clients to JOC Cockpit

The following steps are applied to enable clients (user browser, REST API client) to access the JOC Cockpit using HTTPS.

Step 1: Adding the HTTPS and SSL modules to Jetty

  • On the JOC Cockpit server, run the following command and replace the JETTY_HOME and JETTY_BASE placeholders as specified above:

    Add HTTPS module to Jetty
    java -jar "JETTY_HOME/start.jar" -Djetty.home="JETTY_HOME" -Djetty.base="JETTY_BASE" --add-module=ssl,https
  • Having executed the above command users should find a new folder JETTY_BASE/etc

    • By default Jetty expects a keystore with the name keystore in this folder that has been created from the above command.

    • Jetty doesn't start if it doesn't find a keystore that corresponds to its settings.

  • In addition the JETTY_BASE/start.d/https.ini and JETTY_BASE/start.d/ssl.ini configuration files will be created and will be populated with a number of entries for TLS/SSL settings.

Step 2: Creating the JOC Cockpit Keystore

  • On the JOC Cockpit server create the keystore using openssl and the keytool from your Java JRE, JDK or other 3rd-party utility.
    • For use with a 3rd-party utility create a keystore, e.g. https-keystore.p12, in PKCS12 format and import:
      • the JOC Cockpit Private Key and Certificate for Server Authentication
      • the Root CA Certificate
      • Intermediate CA Certificate(s)
    • The examples below describe a possible approach for certificate management, however, there are other ways to achieve similar results.

      • Example for importing an existing Private Key and CA-signed Certificate to a keystore:

        Example how to add a Private Key and CA-signed Certificate to a PKCS12 keystore
        # Assume the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the JOC Cockpit server to be "joc.example.com"

# If the JOC Cockpit CA-signed Certificate is provided from a pkcs12 keystore (certificate.p12), extract the JOC Cockpit Certificate to a .crt file in PEM format (joc.example.com.crt)
# openssl pkcs12 -in certificate.p12 -nokeys -out joc.example.com.crt

# Import the JOC Cockpit Private Key (joc.example.com.key) and JOC Cockpit Certificate (joc.example.com.crt) from PEM format to a new keystore (joc.example.com.p12)
openssl pkcs12 -export -in joc.example.com.crt -inkey joc.example.com.key -name joc.example.com -out "JETTY_BASE/resources/joc/https-keystore.p12"



      • Example for creating a Private Key and CA-signed Certificate and importing to a keystore

        • Refer to examples available from JS7 - How to create X.509 SSL TLS Certificates, chapter Creating SSL/TLS Server Certificates.

          Example how to create a Private Key and CA-signed Certificate
          # Creating the Private Key and CA-signed Certificate for the given validity period
./create_server_certificate.sh --dns=joc.example.com --days=365

        • Refer to examples available from JS7 - How to add SSL TLS Certificates to Keystore and Truststore.

          Example how to add a Private Key and Certificate to a PKCS12 keystore
          # Adding the Private Key and Certificate to a keystore
./js7_create_certificate_store.sh \
    --keystore=JETTY_BASE/resources/joc/https-keystore.p12 \
    --key=joc.example.com.key \
    --cert=joc.example.com.crt \
    --alias=joc.example.com \
    --password="jobscheduler"


          When using additional arguments for creation of a truststore then users can skip the later step 3:

          Example how to add a Private Key and Certificate to a PKCS12 keystore and the Root CA Certificate to a truststore
          # Adding the Private Key and Certificate to a keystore and Root CA Certificate to a truststore
./js7_create_certificate_store.sh \
    --keystore=JETTY_BASE/resources/joc/https-keystore.p12 \
    --truststore=JETTY_BASE/resources/joc/https-keystore.p12 \ 
    --key=joc.example.com.key \
    --cert=joc.example.com.crt \
    --alias=joc.example.com \
    --password="jobscheduler" \
    --ca-root=root-ca.crt
          Example how to generate a Private Key and CA-signed Certificate for import into a PKCS12 keystore 
          # Generate the JOC Cockpit's Private Key with the "joc.example.com" alias name and Certificate in a keystore (https-keystore.p12)
#   use the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) assumed to be "joc.example.com" and name of your organization for the distinguished name
#   Note that PKCS12 keystores require to use the same key password and store password
keytool -genkey -alias "joc.example.com" -dname "CN=joc.example.com,O=organization" -validity 1461 -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -keypass jobscheduler -keystore "JETTY_BASE/resources/joc/https-keystore.p12" -storepass jobscheduler -storetype PKCS12

Step 3: Creating the JOC Cockpit Truststore

  • For JOC Cockpit Server Authentication a truststore technically is not needed. However, the Jetty servlet container requires a truststore to be in place. An empty truststore should not be used, instead create a truststore with the Root CA Certificate.
  • Users who create the truststore with above step 2 can skip this step.
  • On the JOC Cockpit server create the truststore using the keytool from your Java JRE, JDK or some 3rd-party utility.
    • For use with a 3rd-party utility create a truststore, e.g. https-truststore.p12, in PKCS12 format and import:
      • Root CA Certificate
    • The below examples suggest a possible approach for certificate management - however, there may be other ways how to achieve similar results.

      • Example for import of a Root CA Certificate to a PKCS12 truststore:

        Example how to import a Root CA Certificate to a PKCS12 truststore
        # import Root CA Certificate in PEM format to a PKCS12 truststore (https-truststore.p12)
keytool -importcert -alias "root-ca" -file "root-ca.crt" -keystore "JETTY_BASE/resources/joc/https-truststore.p12" -storetype PKCS12

      • Example for import of a Root CA Certificate to a JKS truststore:

        Example how to import a Root CA Certificate to a JKS truststore 
        # import Root CA Certificate in PEM format to a JKS truststore (https-truststore.jks)
keytool -importcert -alias "root-ca" -file "root-ca.crt" -keystore "JETTY_BASE/resources/joc/https-truststore.jks" -storetype JKS

Step 4: Configuring Jetty for use of Keystore and Truststore

  • Edit the following entries in the JETTY_BASE/start.d./ssl.ini configuration file for use of the keystore and truststore:

    Example how to use the keystore/truststore settings with the start.d/ssl.ini file
    ## Keystore file path (relative to $jetty.base)
jetty.sslContext.keyStorePath=resources/joc/https-keystore.p12

## Keystore password
jetty.sslContext.keyStorePassword=jobscheduler

## KeyManager password (same as keystore password for pkcs12 keystore type)
jetty.sslContext.keyManagerPassword=jobscheduler

## The Keystore type.
jetty.sslContext.keyStoreType=PKCS12

## Truststore file path (relative to $jetty.base)
jetty.sslContext.trustStorePath=resources/joc/https-truststore.p12

## Truststore password
jetty.sslContext.trustStorePassword=jobscheduler

## TrustStore type.
jetty.sslContext.trustStoreType=PKCS12


    Explanation:

    • Specify the location of the keystore with the keyStorePath setting. A location relative to the JETTY_BASE directory can be specified.
    • Specify the password for your keystore with the keyStorePassword setting.
    • The password specified with the keyManagerPassword setting is used for access to the Private Key. The same password as for the keyStorePassword setting has to be used for a PKCS12 keystore type.
    • Optionally specify the keystore type with the keyStoreType setting. If this setting is missing then the JVM's default keystore type will be used.
    • Specify the location of the truststore with the trustStorePath setting. A location relative to the JETTY_BASE directory can be specified.
    • Specify the password for access to the truststore with the trustStorePassword setting.
    • Specify the truststore type to be one of PKCS12 or JKS.

  • Specify the HTTPS port with the following entries of the JETTY_BASE/start.d/ssl.ini configuration file (default HTTPS port is 48446):

    Example how to set the port for the HTTPS protocol with the start.d/ssl.ini file
    ## The host/address to bind the connector to.
jetty.ssl.host=joc.example.com

## Connector port to listen on
jetty.ssl.port=48446


    Explanation    :

    • The jetty.ssl.host setting optionally can be used to limit port access to the specified host/network interface.
    • The jetty.ssl.port setting specifies the port for Jetty. Consider to allow incoming connections to this port from your firewall.

Step 5: Deactivating HTTP Access

Users who intend to enforce HTTPS should deactivate HTTP access by adding a comment to the following module directive in the JETTY_BASE/start.d/http.ini configuration file like this:

Example how to deactivate the HTTP protocol with the start.d/http.ini file
# Module: http
# --module=http


It is recommended to deactivate HTTP access to JOC Cockpit if HTTPS is enabled. Typically HTTPS is not an invite to users to fall back to a less secure HTTP protocol. Should both protocols be used then consider that separate ports or separate network interfaces using the same port are required.

The following example suggests that the host/network interfaces centostest-primary should be used for HTTP and the host/network interface centostest-secondary should be used for HTTPS: A single port 4446 is used.

Example how to specify the network interface with the start.d/http.ini file
# Module: http
--module=http

## The host/address to bind the connector to.
jetty.http.host=centostest-primary

## The port the connector listens on.
jetty.http.port=4446
Example how to specify the network interface with the start.d/ssl.ini file
### TLS (SSL) Connector Configuration
--module=ssl

## The host/address to bind the connector to.
jetty.ssl.host=centostest-secondary

## The port the connector listens on.
jetty.ssl.port=4446

Mutual Authentication for Clients and JOC Cockpit

This configuration is applied in order to enable mutual authentication:

  • the client verifies the JOC Cockpit Server Authentication certificate,
  • the JOC Cockpit verifies the client's Client Authentication certificate.

Configuring Jetty

See above chapter Secure Connections from Clients to JOC Cockpit for configuration of the keystore/truststore with JETTY_BASE/start.d/ssl.ini.

  • Edit the following entries in the JETTY_BASE/start.d/ssl.ini configuration file for the truststore location:

    • To enable certificates as a single or as a second factor for authentication Jetty can be configured to automatically challenge clients to present a Client Authentication certificate.

    • Specify the settings to allow client authentication with the following entries in the JETTY_BASE/start.d/ssl.ini configuration file: 

      Example how to enforce client authentication with the start.ini file
      ## enable use of client authentication certificates
jetty.sslContext.needClientAuth=false
jetty.sslContext.wantClientAuth=true
jetty.sslContext.endpointIdentificationAlgorithm=

      Explanation:

Risk Mitigation

The above explanations indicate use of a Root CA Certificate for verification of Client Authentication certificates when it comes to mutual authentication.

  • In fact use of a Root CA Certificate allows any clients that dispose of a Client Authentication certificate signed by the same Root CA or Intermediate CA to be authenticated. This implication might allow an unwanted number of clients to access JOC Cockpit.
  • Coping strategies include
    • to use a separate Certificate Authority to sign Client Authentication certificates for access to JOC Cockpit.
    • to import individual Client Authentication certificates to the JOC Cockpit's truststore instead of using a Root CA Certificate.

Notes

  • A restart of JOC Cockpit is required to apply modifications to the JOC Cockpit JETTY_BASE/start.d/*.ini configuration file  and JETTY_BASE/resources/joc/joc.properties configuration files configuration file.

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