Managing certificates manually

Manual certificate management is useful when certificates are not stored in the vault. This is useful for development or testing environments where complex certificate management is not required. This approach works well in smaller internal or development setups where certificates are not required to be updated regularly.

In the following scenario, manual certificates can be managed. Various options are available for managing the certificates. For a development or test environment setup, the easiest approach is to use "Self-Signed Certificates in Docker Containers".
  • Self-signed certificates are quick to generate or rely on external CAs
  • Easily managed in the development environment
  • IIS (Internet Information Service)
To manage certificates manually:
  • Define internal and external certificates, which can be stored in JSON files or created as self-signed certificates for internal use.
  • Load the certificates into containers by integrating them into the Docker build process or mounting volumes during runtime.
  • Configure container communication for custom hostnames, ensuring the network is correctly set up to recognize and use the certificates securely.
  • Encrypt the certificates and restrict access to them.

Implementing Self-Signed Certificates in Development

Follow the steps given below to generate self-signed certificates:
  • Create a JSON file to store the certificates and keys.
  • Place the JSON file in the /SETUP/certs/custom directory within the docker container. This can be done as a part of the container build process or manually after container startup. 
    "docker cp certificate.json :/SETUP/certs/custom/"
  • Update the application running containers to load the self-signed certificates. Point to the certificates stored in the /SETUP/certs/custom location.

Internal certificates

For the internal certification between the Commerce+ Docker containers, you must ensure that the Common Name (CN) in your certificate and "SubjectAlternativeName" can match the host name that the Docker containers will use. Also, when other source containers connect to a target container, the source container must use the target container's host name. There is strict verification logic to check whether the host name used in a request is the same as the SubjectAlternativeName in the certificate on the target container. If the host names do not match, then the connection fails.

Here are the SubjectAlternativeNames in the default internal certification that is included in the Commerce+ Docker containers:
SubjectAlternativeName [
  DNSName: *
  DNSName: app
  DNSName: web
  DNSName: search
  DNSName: store
  DNSName: tooling-web
  DNSName: store-web
  DNSName: query
  DNSName: data-query
  DNSName: ingest
  DNSName: nifi
  DNSName: registry
  DNSName: elasticsearch
  DNSName: zookeeper
  DNSName: localhost
  DNSName: search_master
  DNSName: search_repeater
  DNSName: search_slave
]
If you do not use the default host names then you must reconfigure the connections between containers. The following list highlights some options for reconfiguring the container connections.
  • Create new certificates and specify the appropriate Common Name (CN) and SubjectAlternativeName in the certificates.
  • If you are using docker run to deploy containers, use the --add-host variable to map the IP address to the default host name. For more information, see Docker run documentation.
  • If you use docker-compose to deploy containers, leverage the extra_hosts variable to map the IP address to the default host name. For more information, see Docker extra_hosts documentation. For example, the default host name for the database is db. If you are not using a database Docker container, you need to use the extra_hosts variable to map the database IP address to the host name db. For example,
    extra_hosts:
    - "db:DatabaseServerIP"
    Here are two sample YAML files that you can use as a reference for how to use the extra_hosts variable.
  • Add a proxy container to map the default host name and target server.
Note: If you want to replace the default internal certificates, you must name the JSON file as default.json. Otherwise, the certificates are imported by using the name of JSON file as an alias in the keystore list.

External certificates

  • For secure external communication between Commerce+ and third-party software, ensure that you are importing the proper one-way or two-way certification information. This includes exporting your certificate public keys and importing them into your third-party application Trust Store.
  • Ensure the customization code you create to connect to third-party software uses the correct certification name.

Defining certificate information in a JSON file

Note: When you copy the certificates to the JSON file, you must replace the line break with \n to ensure that the entire certificate string is on one line.
  • For one-way SSL certificate validation, where one application needs a certificate to communicate with another application with SSL enabled you only need to define the issuing_ca in the JSON file. For example,
    {
 "issuing_ca": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nluvq3QIacuHULtox36A7HFmlYDQ1ozh+tLI=\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----"
}
  • For two-way SSL certificate validation, where SSL is enabled on both applications, you need to define more information. For example,
    {
 "certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----",
 "private_key": "-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----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\n0JBxt4cHMYy6jW2Q8/ZTVuttPd+UVIDehTFN6oyWF6FBgKxLO5bSjzc=\n-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----",
 "issuing_ca": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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\nluvq3QIacuHULtox36A7HFmlYDQ1ozh+tLI=\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----",
 "destination_host": "desthost"  //only required for the Transaction server. 
}
    issuing_ca
    This key contains the entire certificate authority (CA) certificate chain.
    For example, if the certificate is signed by an intermediate certificate, and the intermediate certificate is signed by a root CA certificate, then both the intermediate certificate and root CA certificate should be included within issuing_ca.
    The order of these certificates is from intermediate certificate to root certificate.
    For example, if there are two intermediate certificates (I1 and I2), and I1 is directly signed by the root certificate (R), then the order of these signatures within issuing_ca is: I2, I1, R.
    Each certificate should be wrapped within "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----" and " -----END CERTIFICATE-----"
    destination_host
    This parameter is only required in the JSON file for the Transaction server Docker container. The Transaction server uses the destination_host name to generate dynamic SSL in the Open Liberty Server that is running in the container.

Generating self-signed certificates

The following is a generalized example of how to generate a self-signed certificate. You can also use your own method of generating certificates.

  1. Create a configuration file to include the certificate information. The following is a template for a myconfiguration.conf file.
    [req]
default_bits = 2048
prompt = no
default_md = sha256
req_extensions = req_ext
distinguished_name = dn

[ dn ]
C=CA
ST=Ontario
L=Toronto
O=HCL
OU=Commerce
emailAddress=emailAddress
CN = current_domain_name

[ req_ext ]
basicConstraints = CA:TRUE
keyUsage = nonRepudiation, digitalSignature, keyEncipherment
subjectAltName = @alt_names

[ alt_names ]
DNS.0 = current_domain_name
DNS.1 = ...
  2. Create a private key. Use the key in the server.key.secure file as the private_key name/value pair of the JSON file.
    openssl genrsa -out server.key.secure 2048
  3. Create a request certificate with parameters from the configuration file. 
    openssl req -new -key server.key.secure -out server.csr -config myconfiguration.conf
  4. Create a certificate with parameters from the configuration file. Use the certificate in server.crt file as the value of the certificate name/value pair in the JSON file. For self-signed certificates, this value is also the issuing_ca.
    openssl x509 -req -days 365 -in server.csr -signkey server.key.secure -out server.crt -extensions req_ext -extfile myconfiguration.conf
    If you are using a certificate authority (CA), the issuing_ca is provided by the CA.
  5. Check the request file and certificate to ensure that SubjectAltName exists.
    openssl req -text -noout -in server.csr
openssl x509 -in server.crt -text -noout

Loading the JSON files to the /SETUP/certs/custom directory of a Docker container

The following are three methods of copying the JSON files to your Docker image.

  • You can use the following two docker commands to copy the JSON files into the containers manually, and create the custom directory if it does not already exist.
    docker exec -u 0 container mkdir -p /SETUP/certs/custom/
docker cp default.json container:/SETUP/certs/custom/
  • You can use the COPY instruction in a Dockerfile to copy the JSON files to the /SETUP/certs/custom directory and create a new Docker image. For example, the following Dockerfile copies a default.json file to the /SETUP/certs/custom directory.
    FROM Docker_registry/commerce/crs-app:source_image_tag
COPY default.json /SETUP/certs/custom/
  • You can customize the WCB utility to package your JSON files into the output customization package. Then, when you build a new Docker image with your customization package, the /SETUP/bin/applyCustomization.sh script automatically puts your JSON files into the /SETUP/certs/custom directory.

Importing the local certificates from the JSON file into your running Docker container are handled by the /SETUP/bin/updateLocaCerts.sh script that is included in all the HCL provided Docker containers. The updateLocalCerts.sh script looks in the /SETUP/certs/custom directory and loads all JSON files.