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.
- Refer to the JS7 - System Architecture article for an overview of components and connections.
- Refer to the JS7 - Controller HTTPS Connections article for information about securing the connections between the JOC Cockpit and Controllers.
- Refer to the JS7 - Agent HTTPS Connections article for information about securing the connections between Controller instances and Agents.
Prerequisites
- 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.
- 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.
Certificate Management
To secure access to JOC Cockpit by clients (user browsers or REST API clients) the following 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 always 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 if a JOC Cockpit cluster with a number of instances is used.
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
This configuration is applied in order to enable clients (user browser, REST API client) to access the JOC Cockpit using HTTPS.
Step 1: Add HTTPS module to Jetty
On the JOC Cockpit server, run the following command and replace the
JETTY_HOME
andJETTY_BASE
placeholders as specified above:Add HTTPS module to Jettyjava -jar "JETTY_HOME/start.jar" -Djetty.home="JETTY_HOME" -Djetty.base="JETTY_BASE" --add-to-start=ssl,https
- Having executed the above command you 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 a number of entries in the
JETTY_BASE/start.ini
configuration file for TLS/SSL settings such as the HTTPS port will be added.
Step 2: Create JOC Cockpit Keystore
- On the JOC Cockpit server create the keystore using the
keytool
from your Java JRE, JDK or other third party utility.- For use with a third 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 certificates
- For use with the
keytool
generate the keystore in PKCS12 or JKS format with the private key and certificate for JOC Cockpit Server Authentication. The examples below describe one possible approach for certificate management, however, there may be other ways to achieve similar results.Example for import of private key and CA-signed certificate to a PKCS12 keystore:
Example how to add a private key and CA-signed certificate to a PKCS12 keystore# If the JOC Cockpit's private key and certificate are provided with a .jks keystore (keypair.jks) then temporarily convert the keystore to pkcs12 (keystore.p12) # for later use with openssl, assuming the alias name of the JOC Cockpit private key being "joc-https" # keytool -importkeystore -srckeystore keypair.jks -srcstoretype JKS -destkeystore keystore.p12 -deststoretype PKCS12 -srcalias joc-https # Assuming your JOC Cockpit private key from a pkcs12 keystore (keystore.p12), store the JOC Cockpit private key to a .key file in PEM format (joc-https.key) openssl pkcs12 -in keystore.p12 -nocerts -out joc-https.key # Concatenate the CA Root certificate and CA Intermediate certificates to a single CA Bundle certificate file (ca-bundle.crt) cat RootCACertificate.crt > ca-bundle.crt cat CACertificate.crt >> ca-bundle.crt # Export the JOC Cockpit private key (joc-https.key), JOC Cockpit certificate (joc-https.crt) and CA Bundle (ca-bundle.crt) in PEM format to a new keystore (https-keystore.p12) # assume the fully qualified hostname (FQDN) of the JOC Cockpit server to be "joc.example.com" openssl pkcs12 -export -in joc-https.crt -inkey joc-https.key -chain -CAfile ca-bundle.crt -name joc.example.com -out "JETTY_BASE/resources/joc/https-keystore.p12" # If you require use of a .jks keystore type then convert the pkcs12 keystore, assuming the alias name of the JOC Cockpit private key to be "joc-https" # keytool -importkeystore -srckeystore https-keystore.p12 -srcstoretype PKCS12 -destkeystore https-keystore.jks -deststoretype JKS -srcalias joc-https
Example for use of private key and self-signed certificate with a PKCS12 keystore:
Example for use of private key and self-signed certificate with a JKS keystore:
Explanation:
- The
-dname
option specifies the certificate issuer, therefore use your own set of CN, OU, DC that specify the issuer's distinguished name. The O setting is required for the issuer. - The
-keypass
option accepts the password that you will need later on to manage your private key. - The
-keystore
option specifies the location of the keystore file. - The
-storepass
option specifies the password for access to the keystore file. - The
-storetype
option is used to specify the PKCS12 or JKS keystore format.
- The
- For use with a third party utility create a keystore, e.g.
- Alternatively apply a private key and certificate that are issued by your certificate authority or a trusted authority.
Step 3: Create JOC Cockpit Truststore
- For the JOC Cockpit Server Authentication a truststore is effectively not needed. However, the Jetty servlet container requires a truststore to be in place. An empty truststore should not be used, instead create the truststore with a certificate.
- On the JOC Cockpit server create the truststore using the
keytool
from your Java JRE or JDK or some third party utility.- For use with a third party utility create a truststore, e.g.
https-truststore.p12,
in PKCS12 format and import:- Root CA certificate
- For use with
keytool
create the truststore in PKCS12 or JKS format with the Root CA certificate. The below examples suggest one 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 CA-signed certificate to a PKCS12 truststore# import Root CA certificate in PEM format to a PKCS12 truststore (https-truststore.p12) keytool -import -alias "root-ca" -file "RootCACertificate.crt" -keystore "JETTY_BASE/resources/joc/https-truststore.p12" -storetype PKCS12
Example for import of a Root CA certificate to a JKS truststore:
- For use with a third party utility create a truststore, e.g.
Step 4: Configure Jetty
See below chapter Mutual Authentication for Clients and JOC Cockpit Step 2: Configure Jetty for configuration of the truststore with JETTY_BASE/start.ini
.
Edit the following entries in the
JETTY_BASE/start.ini
configuration file use of the keystore:Example hot to set the keystore location with the start.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
Explanation:- Specify the location of the keystore with the
keyStorePath
setting. A location relative to theJETTY_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 your private key. The same password as for thekeyStorePassword
setting has to be used for a PKCS12 keystore type.
- Specify the location of the keystore with the
Specify the HTTPS port with the following entry of the
JETTY_BASE/start.ini
configuration file (default HTTPS port is 48446):Example how to set the port for the HTTPS protocol with the start.ini file## Connector port to listen on jetty.ssl.port=48446
Step 4: Deactivate HTTP Access
To deactivate HTTP access add a comment to the following module directive in your JETTY_BASE/start.ini
configuration file like this:
# Module: http # --module=http
Mutual Authentication for Clients and JOC Cockpit
This configuration is applied in order to enable mutual authentication:
- the client verifies the JOC Cockpit certificate for Server Authentication
- the JOC Cockpit verifies the client certificate for Client Authentication
Step 1: Update JOC Cockpit Truststore
- On the JOC Cockpit server update the truststore using the
keytool
from your Java JRE or JDK or some third party utility.- For use with a third party utility update a truststore, e.g.
https-truststore.p12,
in PKCS12 format and import:- Root CA certificate
- For use with
keytool
update the truststore in PKCS12 or JKS format with the Root CA certificate. The below examples suggest one 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 CA-signed certificate to a PKCS12 truststore# import Root CA certificate in PEM format to a PKCS12 truststore (https-truststore.p12) keytool -import -alias "root-ca" -file "RootCACertificate.crt" -keystore "JETTY_BASE/resources/joc/https-truststore.p12" -storetype PKCS12
Example for import of a Root CA certificate to a JKS truststore:
- For use with a third party utility update a truststore, e.g.
Step 2: Configure Jetty
See above chapter Secure Connections from Clients to JOC Cockpit Step 4: Configure Jetty for configuration of the truststore with JETTY_BASE/start.ini
.
Edit the following entries in the
JETTY_BASE/start.ini
configuration file for the truststore location:Example how to configure the truststore location with the start.ini file## Truststore file path (relative to $jetty.base) jetty.sslContext.trustStorePath=resources/joc/https-truststore.p12 ## Truststore password jetty.sslContext.trustStorePassword=jobscheduler
Explanation:- Specify the location of the truststore with the
trustStorePath
setting. A location relative to theJETTY_BASE
directory can be specified. - Specify the password for access to the truststore with the
trustStorePassword
setting.
- Specify the location of the truststore with the
- Option
- Should certificate based authentication be enforced then Jetty can be configured to automatically challenge clients to present a Client Authentication certificate. Be aware that with this option being in place it is no longer possible to login with account/password only as a Client Authentication certificate is required..
Specify the settings to enforce client authentication with the following entries in the
JETTY_BASE/start.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:
- Find explanations from the JS7 - Authentication article.
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 Certificate or Intermediate CA Certificates 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 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.ini
andJETTY_BASE/resources/joc/joc.properties
configuration files .