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shankar0123
52248be717
Breaking change release. Plaintext HTTP listener removed. The certctl control plane now terminates TLS 1.3 on :8443 via http.Server.ListenAndServeTLS. No CERTCTL_TLS_ENABLED=false escape hatch. No dual-listener mode. One-step cutover per docs/upgrade-to-tls.md. Server - cmd/server/tls.go: certHolder with SIGHUP hot-reload + atomic cert swap, buildServerTLSConfig (TLS 1.3 min, GetCertificate callback), preflightServerTLS validation - cmd/server/main.go: ListenAndServeTLS in place of ListenAndServe, watchSIGHUP wiring, cert/key path config threading - tls_test.go: 418-line regression coverage of reload, preflight, callback behavior, SAN validation Config - CERTCTL_TLS_CERT_PATH / CERTCTL_TLS_KEY_PATH (required) - Plaintext rejection: agents/CLI/MCP pre-flight-fail on http:// URLs with a pointer to docs/upgrade-to-tls.md Agents, CLI, MCP - All three pre-flight-reject http:// URLs with fail-loud diagnostic - CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH for private-CA trust - CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY for dev-only bypass (loud warning on startup) - install-agent.sh emits both vars as commented template lines docker-compose - certctl-tls-init sidecar generates SAN-valid self-signed cert into deploy/test/certs/ on first boot - All demo-stack curls pin against ca.crt with --cacert Helm chart - Three TLS provisioning modes, exactly one required: - server.tls.existingSecret (operator-supplied) - server.tls.certManager.enabled (cert-manager integration) - server.tls.selfSigned.enabled (eval only — not for production) - server-certificate.yaml template for cert-manager mode - helm install without a TLS source fails at template render with a pointer to docs/tls.md CI - .github/workflows/ci.yml Helm Chart Validation step renders the chart in both existingSecret and cert-manager modes, plus an inverse guard-regression test that asserts helm template MUST refuse to render when no TLS source is configured. Previously the single `helm template` invocation hit the certctl.tls.required fail-loud guard and exit-1'd CI. Four invocations now: lint (existingSecret), template (existingSecret), template (cert-manager), template (no args — must fail). Integration tests - deploy/test/integration_test.go stands up the Compose stack over HTTPS, extracts the CA bundle, and exercises every certctl API over https://localhost:8443 - All 34 integration subtests green (per Phase 8 local CI-parity) Documentation - New: docs/tls.md (provisioning patterns, rotation, SIGHUP reload) - New: docs/upgrade-to-tls.md (one-step cutover, no-downgrade warnings, fleet-roll sequencing) - CHANGELOG.md: v2.2.0 "HTTPS Everywhere — The Irony" entry (file heading unchanged; release tag is v2.0.47) - All curls in docs/, examples/, deploy/helm/ guides use https://localhost:8443 --cacert Verification - grep -rn "ListenAndServe[^T]" cmd/ internal/ → 0 hits - grep -rn "\"http://" cmd/ internal/ → 2 benign hits (Caddy admin API default, SSRF doc comment) — zero certctl endpoints - Tasks #197–#206 (Phases 0–8) all closed in the tracker Files: 65 changed, 3489 insertions, 372 deletions (pre-CI-fix).
146 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
146 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
# certctl for cert-manager Users
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You run cert-manager inside Kubernetes and it works well for in-cluster certificates. But you also have VMs, bare-metal servers, network appliances, and legacy systems outside the cluster. cert-manager can't reach those. This guide shows how certctl complements cert-manager to give you unified certificate visibility and automation across your entire infrastructure.
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## Not a Replacement
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cert-manager is the right tool for in-cluster certs. It's tightly integrated with Kubernetes:
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- Native CRDs (Certificate, ClusterIssuer, Issuer)
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- Automatic cert injection into Ingress and Service objects
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- Controller-driven renewal within the cluster
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**certctl does not replace this.** Instead, it extends your certificate management to everything outside Kubernetes: VMs, bare metal, network appliances, Windows servers, and legacy systems.
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## The Problem
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Your setup:
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- **cert-manager**: handles all certs in Kubernetes (TLS for Ingress, service-to-service, internal services)
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- **Everything else**: NGINX/Apache on VMs, HAProxy load balancers on bare metal, network appliances, Windows servers with IIS — these are managed inconsistently. Maybe Certbot cron jobs, maybe manual renewal, maybe deprecated cert files sitting around.
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Result:
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- No unified visibility — you don't know when non-Kubernetes certs expire
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- Renewal failures go unnoticed until the cert is already expired
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- Audit trail fragmented across multiple tools
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- Scaling to hundreds of machines becomes impossible
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## The Solution
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Deploy certctl control plane once (Docker Compose, Kubernetes Helm chart, or self-hosted). Deploy agents on your VMs, bare metal, and network appliances. One dashboard shows:
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- **All cert-manager certs** via discovery scanning (agents find cert-manager-issued certs copied to target machines, or scan the cluster directly)
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- **All certctl-managed certs** issued by shared issuers (ACME, step-ca, Vault PKI (planned), private CA)
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- **Unified renewal and deployment** across both worlds
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- **Single pane of glass** with expiration timeline, renewal status, deployment verification, audit trail
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## How to Set Up
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### 1. Install certctl Control Plane
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**Option A: Docker Compose** (quickest for evaluation)
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```bash
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cd /opt/certctl
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docker compose up -d
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# Dashboard & API: https://localhost:8443 (self-signed cert — pin with --cacert ./deploy/test/certs/ca.crt)
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```
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**Option B: Kubernetes** (recommended for prod)
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```bash
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helm install certctl deploy/helm/certctl/ \
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--set auth.apiKey=YOUR_SECURE_KEY
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```
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### 2. Deploy Agents to Non-Kubernetes Infrastructure
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On each VM, bare-metal server, or appliance (via proxy agent):
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```bash
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# Linux amd64
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curl -sSL https://github.com/shankar0123/certctl/releases/download/v2.1.0/certctl-agent-linux-amd64 \
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-o /usr/local/bin/certctl-agent
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chmod +x /usr/local/bin/certctl-agent
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# Config
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sudo tee /etc/certctl/agent.env > /dev/null <<EOF
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CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=https://certctl-control-plane:8443
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CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH=/etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt
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CERTCTL_API_KEY=your-api-key
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CERTCTL_DISCOVERY_DIRS=/etc/nginx/certs,/etc/ssl,/etc/letsencrypt/live
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CERTCTL_KEY_DIR=/var/lib/certctl/keys
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EOF
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sudo chmod 600 /etc/certctl/agent.env
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# Start
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sudo systemctl start certctl-agent
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```
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### 3. Enable Discovery Scanning
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Agents scan configured directories and report back all existing certs. In the dashboard:
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- **Discovery** page: all found certs grouped by agent
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- Claim cert-manager certs to link them with Kubernetes metadata
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- Dismiss obsolete certs
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### 4. Configure Shared Issuers
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Set up the same issuer certctl uses for non-Kubernetes certs:
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- **ACME** (Let's Encrypt, for public certs)
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- **step-ca** (Smallstep, for internal certs)
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- **Vault PKI** (HashiCorp Vault, for enterprise PKI)
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- **Private CA** (your own internal root CA)
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No new CA infrastructure needed. If cert-manager already uses your CA, certctl points to the same one.
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### 5. Create Policies for Non-Kubernetes Certs
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Go to **Policies** → **+ New Policy** to create enforcement rules:
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- **Name:** e.g., "VM Certificate Policy"
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- **Type:** `expiration_window` or `key_algorithm` (enforce renewal thresholds or crypto requirements)
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- **Severity:** `high`
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- **Config:** set your enforcement parameters
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Certificates are linked to issuers and profiles when created or claimed from discovery. Policies add guardrails — enforcing key algorithm requirements, expiration windows, and other compliance rules across your fleet.
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### 6. View Unified Inventory
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**Dashboard** shows:
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- Certificate status heatmap (all 1000 certs: cert-manager + certctl)
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- Renewal job trends (both types)
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- Expiration timeline (30/60/90 days)
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- Agent fleet status (all infrastructure)
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**Certificates** page filters by issuer (show me all ACME certs, or all step-ca certs):
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- cert-manager certs discovered from Kubernetes nodes
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- certctl-managed certs on VMs
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- Network appliance certs auto-discovered
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## Shared Infrastructure
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If cert-manager and certctl both use the same CA:
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- **ACME**: cert-manager uses ClusterIssuer + certctl uses ACME connector → same Let's Encrypt account, transparent coexistence
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- **step-ca**: cert-manager uses external issuer CRD + certctl uses step-ca connector → same provisioner, shared certificate inventory
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- **Vault PKI**: cert-manager uses external issuer CRD + certctl uses Vault connector → same mount, same audit trail
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No conflict. They just issue certs through the same CA. certctl's discovery scanning finds cert-manager-issued certs and shows them alongside certctl-managed ones.
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## Key Differences from cert-manager
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| Feature | cert-manager | certctl |
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|---------|--------------|---------|
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| Target | In-cluster (Kubernetes) | Out-of-cluster (VMs, bare metal, appliances) |
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| Configuration | CRDs (Certificate, ClusterIssuer, Issuer) | API + Dashboard (JSON REST) |
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| Deployment | Injected into Secret objects, mounted by pods | Agent pulls work, deploys via target-specific API (file, service restart, proxy agent) |
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| Renewal | Controller watches Certificate CRDs, triggers renewal when needed | Scheduler checks thresholds, agents poll for work |
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| Audit | Kubernetes event log | Immutable append-only audit trail |
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| Visibility | Per-namespace, per-resource | Fleet-wide, unified inventory |
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## Future Integration
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On the roadmap (V4): **cert-manager external issuer** — certctl acts as a ClusterIssuer backend for Kubernetes. This would allow cert-manager to request certificates from certctl, which could issue them via any of its connectors (step-ca, Vault, private CA, etc.). Pure integration play; no breaking changes.
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For now: cert-manager handles Kubernetes, certctl handles everything else. They coexist seamlessly.
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## Next Steps
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1. Run through the [Quick Start](./quickstart.md) for a 5-minute demo
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2. Try the [Multi-Issuer example](../examples/multi-issuer/multi-issuer.md) — manages public and internal certs from one dashboard
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3. Explore [Architecture](./architecture.md#agents) for deployment patterns
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4. Check the [Helm Chart](../deploy/helm/certctl/) for production Kubernetes deployment
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