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shankar0123
69a2b5c55a
Eleven findings from the architecture diligence audit's Phase 2 bundle
closed in one PR. All touch the same backend config + Helm chart +
operator docs surface, so reviewing in one diff is the natural fit.
config.go: three new fail-closed Validate() branches behind sentinels
=====================================================================
Three new error sentinels exported from internal/config/config.go for
tests to pin via errors.Is + message-text:
- ErrAgentBootstrapTokenRequired (SEC-H1)
- ErrACMEInsecureWithoutAck (SEC-M4)
- ErrDemoModeAckExpired (SEC-H3)
SEC-H1 (staged): introduces CERTCTL_AGENT_BOOTSTRAP_TOKEN_DENY_EMPTY
as an opt-in feature flag. When true AND the bootstrap token is empty,
Validate() returns ErrAgentBootstrapTokenRequired and the server
refuses to start. Default in THIS release: false (warn-mode
pass-through preserved). WORKSPACE-ROADMAP.md schedules the default
flip to true for v2.2.0 — operators get one upgrade window.
SEC-M4: upgrades the existing boot-time WARN log for
CERTCTL_ACME_INSECURE=true into a hard refuse-to-start gate behind
CERTCTL_ACME_INSECURE_ACK=true. The ACK env var must be paired with
the existing INSECURE flag; either alone fails closed. The boot-time
WARN log at cmd/server/main.go:611 continues to fire for the ACK'd
case so every restart logs the reminder.
SEC-H3: tightens the sticky DemoModeAck bit so it expires after 24h.
When DemoModeAck=true, Validate() now requires CERTCTL_DEMO_MODE_ACK_TS
to be set as a unix-epoch timestamp within the last 24h (24h-tolerance
on the past side, 1-minute clock-skew on the future side). Catches the
"forgotten demo deployment promoted to production" failure mode —
next container restart past 24h refuses unless re-ack'd.
Tests in internal/config/config_test.go cover every new branch:
positive (passes when properly set), negative (each fail-closed path
fires with the matching sentinel + message-text). 11 new tests added.
Helm chart + HA runbook (DEPL-H1)
=================================
Created docs/operator/runbooks/ha.md documenting the three values
flips required for production HA: server.replicas, podDisruptionBudget,
service.sessionAffinity. Cross-link comments added to
deploy/helm/certctl/values.yaml next to the server.replicas (line 19)
and podDisruptionBudget (line 566) defaults. DEFAULTS DO NOT CHANGE
— that's the point per the prompt's 'do not flip networkPolicy default'
guidance: a default-enabled PDB blocks fresh helm install on
single-node clusters.
CI guard (DEPL-M2)
==================
scripts/ci-guards/no-change-me-in-prod-compose.sh grep-fails any
'change-me-' literal in compose files OTHER than docker-compose.demo.yml.
Catches the placeholder-credential-leak regression one layer earlier
than the runtime Validate() fail-closed guards from Bundle 2 (2026-05-12).
Excludes comment lines so docs explaining the pattern don't trip the
guard. Verified to fire on a synthetic leak; clean on the current tree.
Consolidated 'Security carve-outs' doc section
==============================================
docs/operator/security.md grows by one new section documenting the
seven existing carve-outs in one canonical place:
- SEC-M3: 3 InsecureSkipVerify=true sites (Agent dev, verify probe, tlsprobe)
- SEC-M5: F5 connector InsecureSkipVerify per-config field
- SEC-M4: ACME insecure + new ACK gate
- SEC-L1: CSP 'unsafe-inline' on style-src (Tailwind carve-out)
- SEC-L2: break-glass Argon2id rest-defense reminder
- SEC-L3: 1 MB body-size cap + CERTCTL_MAX_BODY_SIZE override
- DEPL-M2: change-me-* placeholder credentials in demo overlay
- DEPL-M3: K8s NetworkPolicy operator-opt-in default
Each entry cites the file:line, the rationale for the carve-out, and
the operator action.
CHANGELOG + ENVIRONMENTS coverage
==================================
CHANGELOG.md grows by one new '### Breaking changes (scheduled for
v2.2.0)' section under Unreleased, documenting SEC-H1 / SEC-M4 / SEC-H3
with explicit upgrade-window guidance for each.
deploy/ENVIRONMENTS.md adds five rows: AGENT_BOOTSTRAP_TOKEN +
AGENT_BOOTSTRAP_TOKEN_DENY_EMPTY + DEMO_MODE_ACK + DEMO_MODE_ACK_TS +
ACME_INSECURE_ACK. G-3 env-docs-drift CI guard stays clean.
WORKSPACE-ROADMAP.md (cowork-side) schedules the SEC-H1 default-flip
for v2.2.0.
Sandbox limitation
==================
The certctl repo's working tree is 6.1 GB which fills the sandbox
volume; the go1.25.10 toolchain download (go.mod requires it,
sandbox has 1.25.9) keeps failing on disk-full. Local 'go build' /
'go test' were NOT run in this commit's verification path.
make verify MUST be run on the operator's workstation before push
per CLAUDE.md operating rules.
CI guards (no-change-me, G-3 env-docs-drift, doc-rot-detector, +
all existing) verified clean by running each individually.
Closes: cowork/certctl-architecture-diligence-audit.html#fix-SEC-H1,
cowork/certctl-architecture-diligence-audit.html#fix-SEC-H3,
cowork/certctl-architecture-diligence-audit.html#fix-SEC-M4,
cowork/certctl-architecture-diligence-audit.html#fix-DEPL-H1,
cowork/certctl-architecture-diligence-audit.html#fix-DEPL-M2,
cowork/certctl-architecture-diligence-audit.html#fix-DEPL-M3,
cowork/certctl-architecture-diligence-audit.html#fix-SEC-M3,
cowork/certctl-architecture-diligence-audit.html#fix-SEC-M5,
cowork/certctl-architecture-diligence-audit.html#fix-SEC-L1,
cowork/certctl-architecture-diligence-audit.html#fix-SEC-L2,
cowork/certctl-architecture-diligence-audit.html#fix-SEC-L3
certctl Documentation
Last reviewed: 2026-05-12
The full docs index, organized by audience. Pick the section that matches what you need to do; each link below opens a focused doc rather than a wall of text.
For the elevator pitch and quickstart commands, see the repo README.md at the root. For the marketing site, see certctl.io.
Getting Started
You're new to certctl, just cloned the repo, or want to understand what it does before installing.
| Doc | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Concepts | TLS certificates explained for beginners — CAs, ACME, EST, private keys, the full glossary |
| Quickstart | Five-minute setup with Docker Compose, dashboard tour, API tour |
| Examples | Five turnkey scenarios — ACME+NGINX, wildcard DNS-01, private CA+Traefik, step-ca+HAProxy, multi-issuer |
| Advanced demo | End-to-end certificate lifecycle with technical depth at each step |
| Why certctl | Positioning vs ACME clients, agent-based SaaS, enterprise platforms; when to look elsewhere |
Reference
You're operating certctl in production or building integrations and need authoritative technical detail.
| Doc | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Architecture | System design, data flow, security model, deployment topologies |
| Profiles | CertificateProfile policy object — issuer wiring, EKUs, RequiresApproval gate (with profile-edit closure) |
| API | OpenAPI 3.1 spec, integration patterns, client SDK generation |
| CLI | certctl-cli command reference and CI/CD integration patterns |
| Configuration | CERTCTL_* environment variable reference (scheduler, rate limits, deploy verify, audit, agent) |
| MCP server | Model Context Protocol integration for AI assistants |
| Release verification | Cosign / SLSA / SBOM verification procedure |
| Intermediate CA hierarchy | Multi-level CA tree management — RFC 5280 §3.2/§4.2.1.9/§4.2.1.10 enforcement |
| Auth standards implemented | RFC + CWE evidence for the API-key + RBAC + OIDC + sessions + break-glass surface (NOT a compliance-mapping doc) |
| Deployment model | Atomic write, post-deploy verify, rollback semantics across all targets |
| Vendor matrix | Tested vendor versions per target connector |
Connectors
The connector index is the canonical catalog (interfaces, registry, scanners, plus an inline reference per built-in). Per-connector deep-dive siblings cover operator-grade material — vendor edges, troubleshooting, rotation playbooks, when-to-use vs alternatives.
Issuers (13 deep-dives): ACME · ADCS · AWS ACM Private CA · DigiCert · EJBCA / Keyfactor · Entrust · GlobalSign Atlas HVCA · Google CAS · Local CA · OpenSSL / Custom CA · Sectigo SCM · step-ca / Smallstep · Vault PKI
Targets (15 deep-dives): Apache · AWS Certificate Manager · Azure Key Vault · Caddy · Envoy · F5 BIG-IP · HAProxy · IIS · Java Keystore · Kubernetes Secrets · NGINX · Postfix / Dovecot · SSH (agentless) · Traefik · Windows Certificate Store
Protocols
| Doc | What it covers |
|---|---|
| ACME server | Run certctl as an RFC 8555 + RFC 9773 ARI ACME server |
| ACME server threat model | Security posture for the ACME server endpoint |
| SCEP server | RFC 8894 native SCEP server — RA cert config, multi-profile dispatch, must-staple, mTLS sibling route |
| SCEP for Microsoft Intune | Intune-specific deployment guide — NDES replacement playbook |
| EST server | RFC 7030 EST server — 802.1X / Wi-Fi enrollment, IoT bootstrap, channel binding |
| CRL & OCSP | RFC 5280 CRL + RFC 6960 OCSP responder for relying parties |
| Async CA polling | Bounded polling for async-CA issuer connectors |
Operator
You're running certctl in production and need operational guidance.
| Doc | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Security posture | Auth, rate limits, encryption at rest, key rotation, RBAC + OIDC + sessions + break-glass, bootstrap |
| Secret custody | Where private keys live; FileDriver vs HSM/KMS; encryption wire format; env-seeded vs DB-seeded plaintext policy |
| Observability | Metrics surface, Prometheus exposition vs client_golang, tracing scope, log structure, rate-limit semantics across restarts/replicas |
| RBAC operator reference | Roles, permissions, scopes, scope-down + day-0 bootstrap |
| Auth threat model | API-key + RBAC + OIDC + sessions + break-glass — token forgery, session hijacking, IdP compromise, role-grant abuse, bootstrap-token leak, audit-mutation |
| OIDC / SSO runbooks | Per-IdP setup guides — Keycloak, Authentik, Okta, Auth0, Entra ID, Google Workspace |
| Control plane TLS | Self-signed bootstrap, operator-supplied Secret, cert-manager Certificate CR |
| Database TLS | PostgreSQL transport encryption |
| Approval workflow | Two-person integrity gate for high-stakes issuance + profile-edit closure |
| Helm deployment | Kubernetes installation via the bundled chart |
| Performance baselines | Operator-runnable benchmarks for regression spot checks |
| Auth benchmarks | Session + OIDC validation p99 targets and measured baselines |
| Legacy clients (TLS 1.2) | Reverse-proxy runbook for embedded EST/SCEP clients on TLS 1.2 |
Runbooks
| Runbook | When |
|---|---|
| Cloud targets | AWS ACM + Azure Key Vault deployment, debugging, rollback |
| Expiry alerts | Per-policy multi-channel routing matrix, severity tiers |
| Disaster recovery | CRL cache, OCSP responder cert, CA private-key rotation, Postgres restore |
| Config-encryption upgrade | Force v1/v2 → v3 re-seal across the database; passphrase rotation procedure |
| PostgreSQL backup | Operator-run backup recipe (docker-compose + Kubernetes); recommended cadence; quarterly DR dry-run |
Migration
You're moving from another cert-management tool to certctl, or running both in parallel.
| From | Doc |
|---|---|
| Certbot | migration/from-certbot.md |
| acme.sh | migration/from-acmesh.md |
| cert-manager (coexistence, not replacement) | migration/cert-manager-coexistence.md |
| Caddy ACME (point Caddy at certctl) | migration/acme-from-caddy.md |
| cert-manager ACME (point cert-manager at certctl) | migration/acme-from-cert-manager.md |
| Traefik ACME (point Traefik at certctl) | migration/acme-from-traefik.md |
| API keys → RBAC (v2.0.x → v2.1.0) | migration/api-keys-to-rbac.md — AUDIT YOUR API KEYS post-upgrade |
| Enable OIDC SSO | migration/oidc-enable.md — step-by-step OIDC onboarding for an existing API-key + RBAC deployment |
Contributor
You're contributing to certctl, running tests locally, or trying to understand the CI pipeline.
| Doc | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Testing strategy | What we test and why; per-PR fast gates vs daily deep-scan |
| Test environment | Local environment with real CAs (Pebble, step-ca, etc.) |
| QA prerequisites | Before running QA: stack boot, demo data baseline, env vars |
| QA test suite | qa_test.go reference for release QA |
| GUI QA checklist | Manual GUI verification pass for release |
| Release sign-off | Release-day checklist — code state, automated gates, manual QA, artefact verification |
| CI pipeline | CI shape, regression guards, adding new checks |
| CI guards | Per-class CI guards (code-shape, contract-parity, build/dep, operational); how to add one |
Archive
Historical docs preserved for reference. Most operators don't need these.
| Doc | Why archived |
|---|---|
| Upgrade to TLS (v2.2) | Pre-v2.2 HTTPS-everywhere upgrade procedure |
| Upgrade past v2 JWT removal | G-1 milestone JWT auth removal procedure |
Reading order by role
First-time operator: Concepts → Quickstart → Examples. About 90 minutes end to end.
Production operator: Architecture → Security posture → Control plane TLS → Disaster recovery runbook. About 4 hours end to end.
PKI engineer: ACME server → SCEP server → EST server → Intermediate CA hierarchy. About 6 hours end to end.
Contributor: Architecture → Testing strategy → Test environment → CI pipeline. About 3 hours end to end.