Acting as a certificate authority (CA) means dealing with cryptographic
pairs of private keys and public certificates. The very first cryptographic
pair we'll create is the root pair. This consists of the root key
(ca.key.pem) and root certificate (ca.cert.pem). This pair forms
the identity of your CA.
Typically, the root CA does not sign server or client certificates directly. The root CA is only ever used to create one or more intermediate CAs, which are trusted by the root CA to sign certificates on their behalf. This is best practice. It allows the root key to be kept offline and unused as much as possible, as any compromise of the root key is disastrous.
Note
It's best practice to create the root pair in a secure environment. Ideally, this should be on a fully encrypted, air gapped computer that is permanently isolated from the Internet. Remove the wireless card and fill the ethernet port with glue.
Choose a directory (/root/ca) to store all keys and certificates.
# mkdir /root/caCreate the directory structure. The index.txt and serial files act as a
flat file database to keep track of signed certificates.
# cd /root/ca
# mkdir certs crl newcerts private
# chmod 700 private
# touch index.txt
# echo 1000 > serialYou must create a configuration file for OpenSSL to use.
Copy :ref:`root configuration file<Root configuration file>`
to /root/ca/openssl.cnf.
The [ ca ] section is mandatory. Here we tell OpenSSL to use
the options from the [ CA_default ] section.
[ ca ] # `man ca` default_ca = CA_default
The [ CA_default ] section contains a range of defaults.
Make sure you declare the directory you chose earlier (/root/ca).
[ CA_default ] # Directory and file locations. dir = /root/ca certs = $dir/certs crl_dir = $dir/crl new_certs_dir = $dir/newcerts database = $dir/index.txt serial = $dir/serial RANDFILE = $dir/private/.rand # The root key and root certificate. private_key = $dir/private/ca.key.pem certificate = $dir/certs/ca.cert.pem # For certificate revocation lists. crlnumber = $dir/crlnumber crl = $dir/crl/ca.crl.pem crl_extensions = crl_ext default_crl_days = 30 # SHA-1 is deprecated, so use SHA-2 instead. default_md = sha256 name_opt = ca_default cert_opt = ca_default default_days = 375 preserve = no policy = policy_strict
We'll apply policy_strict for all root CA signatures, as the
root CA is only being used to create intermediate CAs.
[ policy_strict ] # The root CA should only sign intermediate certificates that match. # See the POLICY FORMAT section of `man ca`. countryName = match stateOrProvinceName = match organizationName = match organizationalUnitName = optional commonName = supplied emailAddress = optional
We'll apply policy_loose for all intermediate CA signatures,
as the intermediate CA is signing server and client certificates
that may come from a variety of third-parties.
[ policy_loose ] # Allow the intermediate CA to sign a more diverse range of certificates. # See the POLICY FORMAT section of the `ca` man page. countryName = optional stateOrProvinceName = optional localityName = optional organizationName = optional organizationalUnitName = optional commonName = supplied emailAddress = optional
Options from the [ req ] section are applied when creating
certificates or certificate signing requests.
[ req ] # Options for the `req` tool (`man req`). default_bits = 2048 distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name string_mask = utf8only # SHA-1 is deprecated, so use SHA-2 instead. default_md = sha256 # Extension to add when the -x509 option is used. x509_extensions = v3_ca
The [ req_distinguished_name ] section
declares the information normally required
in a certificate signing request. You can
optionally specify some defaults.
[ req_distinguished_name ] # See <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_signing_request>. commonName = Common Name countryName = Country Name (2 letter code) stateOrProvinceName = State or Province Name localityName = Locality Name 0.organizationName = Organization Name organizationalUnitName = Organizational Unit Name emailAddress = Email Address # Optionally, specify some defaults. countryName_default = GB stateOrProvinceName_default = England localityName_default = 0.organizationName_default = Alice Ltd #organizationalUnitName_default = #emailAddress_default =
The next few sections are extensions that can be applied when
signing certificates. For example, passing the -extensions
v3_ca command-line argument will apply the options set in [ v3_ca ].
We'll apply the v3_ca extension when we create the root certificate.
[ v3_ca ] # Extensions for a typical CA (`man x509v3_config`). subjectKeyIdentifier = hash authorityKeyIdentifier = keyid:always,issuer basicConstraints = critical, CA:true keyUsage = critical, digitalSignature, cRLSign, keyCertSign
We'll apply the v3_ca_intermediate extension when we :ref:`create
the intermediate certificate<Create the intermediate certificate>`.
pathlen:0 ensures that there can be no further certificate authorities
below the intermediate CA.
[ v3_intermediate_ca ] # Extensions for a typical intermediate CA (`man x509v3_config`). subjectKeyIdentifier = hash authorityKeyIdentifier = keyid:always,issuer basicConstraints = critical, CA:true, pathlen:0 keyUsage = critical, digitalSignature, cRLSign, keyCertSign
We'll apply the usr_cert extension when signing client
certificates, such as those used for remote user authentication.
[ usr_cert ] # Extensions for client certificates (`man x509v3_config`). basicConstraints = CA:FALSE nsCertType = client, email nsComment = "OpenSSL Generated Client Certificate" subjectKeyIdentifier = hash authorityKeyIdentifier = keyid,issuer keyUsage = critical, nonRepudiation, digitalSignature, keyEncipherment extendedKeyUsage = clientAuth, emailProtection
We'll apply the server_cert extension when signing server
certificates, such as those used for web servers.
[ server_cert ] # Extensions for server certificates (`man x509v3_config`). basicConstraints = CA:FALSE nsCertType = server nsComment = "OpenSSL Generated Server Certificate" subjectKeyIdentifier = hash authorityKeyIdentifier = keyid,issuer:always keyUsage = critical, nonRepudiation, digitalSignature, keyEncipherment extendedKeyUsage = serverAuth
The crl_ext extension is automatically applied when
creating :ref:`certificate revocation lists<Certificate revocation lists>`.
[ crl_ext ] # Extension for CRLs (`man x509v3_config`). authorityKeyIdentifier = keyid:always
We'll apply the ocsp extension when signing the :ref:`Online
Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP)` certificate.
[ ocsp ] # Extension for OCSP signing certificates (`man ocsp`). basicConstraints = CA:FALSE subjectKeyIdentifier = hash authorityKeyIdentifier = keyid,issuer keyUsage = critical, digitalSignature extendedKeyUsage = critical, OCSPSigning
Create the root key (ca.key.pem) and keep it absolutely
secure. Anyone in possession of the root key can issue
trusted certificates. Encrypt the root key with AES 256-bit
encryption and a strong password.
Note
Use 4096 bits for all root and intermediate certificate authority keys. You'll still be able to sign server and client certificates of a shorter length.
# cd /root/ca
# openssl genrsa -aes256 -out private/ca.key.pem 4096Enter pass phrase for ca.key.pem: secretpassword Verifying - Enter pass phrase for ca.key.pem: secretpassword
# chmod 400 private/ca.key.pemUse the root key (ca.key.pem) to create a root
certificate (ca.cert.pem). Give the root certificate
a long expiry date, such as twenty years. Once the root
certificate expires, all certificates signed by the CA become invalid.
Warning
Whenever you use the req tool, you must specify
a configuration file to use with the -config option,
otherwise OpenSSL will default to /etc/pki/tls/openssl.cnf.
# cd /root/ca
# openssl req -config openssl.cnf -key private/ca.key.pem -new -x509 \
-days 7300 -sha256 -extensions v3_ca -out certs/ca.cert.pemEnter pass phrase for ca.key.pem: secretpassword You are about to be asked to enter information that will be incorporated into your certificate request. ----- Common Name []:Alice Ltd Root CA Country Name (2 letter code) [XX]:GB State or Province Name []:England Locality Name []: Organization Name []:Alice Ltd Organizational Unit Name []:Alice Ltd Certificate Authority Email Address []:
# chmod 444 certs/ca.cert.pem# openssl x509 -noout -text -in certs/ca.cert.pemThe output shows:
- the
Signature Algorithmused- the dates of certificate
Validity- the
Public-Keybit length- the
Issuer, which is the entity that signed the certificate- the
Subject, which refers to the certificate itself
The Issuer and Subject are identical
as the certificate is self-signed. Note that
all root certificates are self-signed.
Signature Algorithm: sha256WithRSAEncryption
Issuer: C=GB, ST=England,
O=Alice Ltd, OU=Alice Ltd Certificate Authority,
CN=Alice Ltd Root CA
Validity
Not Before: Apr 11 12:22:58 2015 GMT
Not After : Apr 6 12:22:58 2035 GMT
Subject: C=GB, ST=England,
O=Alice Ltd, OU=Alice Ltd Certificate Authority,
CN=Alice Ltd Root CA
Subject Public Key Info:
Public Key Algorithm: rsaEncryption
Public-Key: (4096 bit)
The output also shows the X509v3 extensions.
We applied the v3_ca extension, so the options
from [ v3_ca ] should be reflected in the
output.
X509v3 extensions:
X509v3 Subject Key Identifier:
38:58:29:2F:6B:57:79:4F:39:FD:32:35:60:74:92:60:6E:E8:2A:31
X509v3 Authority Key Identifier:
keyid:38:58:29:2F:6B:57:79:4F:39:FD:32:35:60:74:92:60:6E:E8:2A:31
X509v3 Basic Constraints: critical
CA:TRUE
X509v3 Key Usage: critical
Digital Signature, Certificate Sign, CRL Sign