community.crypto.openssl_privatekey module – Generate OpenSSL private keys

Note

This module is part of the community.crypto collection (version 2.26.5).

You might already have this collection installed if you are using the ansible package. It is not included in ansible-core. To check whether it is installed, run ansible-galaxy collection list.

To install it, use: ansible-galaxy collection install community.crypto. You need further requirements to be able to use this module, see Requirements for details.

To use it in a playbook, specify: community.crypto.openssl_privatekey.

Synopsis

  • Keys are generated in PEM format.

  • One can generate RSA, DSA, ECC or EdDSA private keys.

  • Please note that the module regenerates private keys if they do not match the module’s options. In particular, if you provide another passphrase (or specify none), change the keysize, and so on, the private key will be regenerated. If you are concerned that this could overwrite your private key, consider using the backup option.

  • The default mode for the private key file will be 0600 if mode is not explicitly set.

  • This module allows one to (re)generate OpenSSL private keys.

Requirements

The below requirements are needed on the host that executes this module.

  • cryptography >= 1.2.3 (older versions might work as well)

Parameters

Parameter

Comments

attributes

aliases: attr

string

The attributes the resulting filesystem object should have.

To get supported flags look at the man page for chattr on the target system.

This string should contain the attributes in the same order as the one displayed by lsattr.

The = operator is assumed as default, otherwise + or - operators need to be included in the string.

backup

boolean

Create a backup file including a timestamp so you can get the original private key back if you overwrote it with a new one by accident.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

cipher

string

The cipher to encrypt the private key. This is only used when passphrase is provided.

Must be auto.

Default: "auto"

curve

string

Note that not all curves are supported by all versions of cryptography.

For maximal interoperability, secp384r1 or secp256r1 should be used.

We use the curve names as defined in the IANA registry for TLS.

Please note that all curves except secp224r1, secp256k1, secp256r1, secp384r1, and secp521r1 are discouraged for new private keys.

Choices:

  • "secp224r1"

  • "secp256k1"

  • "secp256r1"

  • "secp384r1"

  • "secp521r1"

  • "secp192r1"

  • "brainpoolP256r1"

  • "brainpoolP384r1"

  • "brainpoolP512r1"

  • "sect163k1"

  • "sect163r2"

  • "sect233k1"

  • "sect233r1"

  • "sect283k1"

  • "sect283r1"

  • "sect409k1"

  • "sect409r1"

  • "sect571k1"

  • "sect571r1"

force

boolean

Should the key be regenerated even if it already exists.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

format

string

added in community.crypto 1.0.0

Determines which format the private key is written in. By default, PKCS1 (traditional OpenSSL format) is used for all keys which support it. Please note that not every key can be exported in any format.

The value auto selects a format based on the key format. The value auto_ignore does the same, but for existing private key files, it will not force a regenerate when its format is not the automatically selected one for generation.

Note that if the format for an existing private key mismatches, the key is regenerated by default. To change this behavior, use the format_mismatch option.

Choices:

  • "pkcs1"

  • "pkcs8"

  • "raw"

  • "auto"

  • "auto_ignore" ← (default)

format_mismatch

string

added in community.crypto 1.0.0

Determines behavior of the module if the format of a private key does not match the expected format, but all other parameters are as expected.

If set to regenerate (default), generates a new private key.

If set to convert, the key will be converted to the new format instead.

Only supported by the cryptography backend.

Choices:

  • "regenerate" ← (default)

  • "convert"

group

string

Name of the group that should own the filesystem object, as would be fed to chown.

When left unspecified, it uses the current group of the current user unless you are root, in which case it can preserve the previous ownership.

mode

any

The permissions the resulting filesystem object should have.

For those used to /usr/bin/chmod remember that modes are actually octal numbers. You must give Ansible enough information to parse them correctly. For consistent results, quote octal numbers (for example, '644' or '1777') so Ansible receives a string and can do its own conversion from string into number. Adding a leading zero (for example, 0755) works sometimes, but can fail in loops and some other circumstances.

Giving Ansible a number without following either of these rules will end up with a decimal number which will have unexpected results.

As of Ansible 1.8, the mode may be specified as a symbolic mode (for example, u+rwx or u=rw,g=r,o=r).

If mode is not specified and the destination filesystem object does not exist, the default umask on the system will be used when setting the mode for the newly created filesystem object.

If mode is not specified and the destination filesystem object does exist, the mode of the existing filesystem object will be used.

Specifying mode is the best way to ensure filesystem objects are created with the correct permissions. See CVE-2020-1736 for further details.

owner

string

Name of the user that should own the filesystem object, as would be fed to chown.

When left unspecified, it uses the current user unless you are root, in which case it can preserve the previous ownership.

Specifying a numeric username will be assumed to be a user ID and not a username. Avoid numeric usernames to avoid this confusion.

passphrase

string

The passphrase for the private key.

path

path / required

Name of the file in which the generated TLS/SSL private key will be written. It will have 0600 mode if mode is not explicitly set.

regenerate

string

added in community.crypto 1.0.0

Allows to configure in which situations the module is allowed to regenerate private keys. The module will always generate a new key if the destination file does not exist.

By default, the key will be regenerated when it does not match the module’s options, except when the key cannot be read or the passphrase does not match. Please note that this changed for Ansible 2.10. For Ansible 2.9, the behavior was as if full_idempotence is specified.

If set to never, the module will fail if the key cannot be read or the passphrase is not matching, and will never regenerate an existing key.

If set to fail, the module will fail if the key does not correspond to the module’s options.

If set to partial_idempotence, the key will be regenerated if it does not conform to the module’s options. The key is not regenerated if it cannot be read (broken file), the key is protected by an unknown passphrase, or when they key is not protected by a passphrase, but a passphrase is specified.

If set to full_idempotence, the key will be regenerated if it does not conform to the module’s options. This is also the case if the key cannot be read (broken file), the key is protected by an unknown passphrase, or when they key is not protected by a passphrase, but a passphrase is specified. Make sure you have a backup when using this option!

If set to always, the module will always regenerate the key. This is equivalent to setting force to true.

Note that if format_mismatch is set to convert and everything matches except the format, the key will always be converted, except if regenerate is set to always.

Choices:

  • "never"

  • "fail"

  • "partial_idempotence"

  • "full_idempotence" ← (default)

  • "always"

return_content

boolean

added in community.crypto 1.0.0

If set to true, will return the (current or generated) private key’s content as privatekey.

Note that especially if the private key is not encrypted, you have to make sure that the returned value is treated appropriately and not accidentally written to logs, and so on! Use with care!

Use Ansible’s no_log task option to avoid the output being shown. See also https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/reference_appendices/faq.html#how-do-i-keep-secret-data-in-my-playbook.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

select_crypto_backend

string

Determines which crypto backend to use.

The default choice is auto, which tries to use cryptography if available.

If set to cryptography, will try to use the cryptography library.

Choices:

  • "auto" ← (default)

  • "cryptography"

selevel

string

The level part of the SELinux filesystem object context.

This is the MLS/MCS attribute, sometimes known as the range.

When set to _default, it will use the level portion of the policy if available.

serole

string

The role part of the SELinux filesystem object context.

When set to _default, it will use the role portion of the policy if available.

setype

string

The type part of the SELinux filesystem object context.

When set to _default, it will use the type portion of the policy if available.

seuser

string

The user part of the SELinux filesystem object context.

By default it uses the system policy, where applicable.

When set to _default, it will use the user portion of the policy if available.

size

integer

Size (in bits) of the TLS/SSL key to generate.

Default: 4096

state

string

Whether the private key should exist or not, taking action if the state is different from what is stated.

Choices:

  • "absent"

  • "present" ← (default)

type

string

The algorithm used to generate the TLS/SSL private key.

Note that ECC, X25519, X448, Ed25519, and Ed448 require the cryptography backend. X25519 needs cryptography 2.5 or newer, while X448, Ed25519, and Ed448 require cryptography 2.6 or newer. For ECC, the minimal cryptography version required depends on the curve option.

Choices:

  • "DSA"

  • "ECC"

  • "Ed25519"

  • "Ed448"

  • "RSA" ← (default)

  • "X25519"

  • "X448"

unsafe_writes

boolean

Influence when to use atomic operation to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target filesystem object.

By default this module uses atomic operations to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target filesystem objects, but sometimes systems are configured or just broken in ways that prevent this. One example is docker mounted filesystem objects, which cannot be updated atomically from inside the container and can only be written in an unsafe manner.

This option allows Ansible to fall back to unsafe methods of updating filesystem objects when atomic operations fail (however, it doesn’t force Ansible to perform unsafe writes).

IMPORTANT! Unsafe writes are subject to race conditions and can lead to data corruption.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

Attributes

Attribute

Support

Description

check_mode

Support: full

Can run in check_mode and return changed status prediction without modifying target.

diff_mode

Support: full

Will return details on what has changed (or possibly needs changing in check_mode), when in diff mode.

idempotent

Support: partial

The option regenerate=always generally disables idempotency.

When run twice in a row outside check mode, with the same arguments, the second invocation indicates no change.

This assumes that the system controlled/queried by the module has not changed in a relevant way.

safe_file_operations

Support: full

Uses Ansible’s strict file operation functions to ensure proper permissions and avoid data corruption.

See Also

See also

community.crypto.openssl_privatekey_pipe

Generate OpenSSL private keys without disk access.

community.crypto.openssl_privatekey_info

Provide information for OpenSSL private keys.

community.crypto.x509_certificate

Generate and/or check OpenSSL certificates.

community.crypto.x509_certificate_pipe

Generate and/or check OpenSSL certificates.

community.crypto.openssl_csr

Generate OpenSSL Certificate Signing Request (CSR).

community.crypto.openssl_csr_pipe

Generate OpenSSL Certificate Signing Request (CSR).

community.crypto.openssl_dhparam

Generate OpenSSL Diffie-Hellman Parameters.

community.crypto.openssl_pkcs12

Generate OpenSSL PKCS#12 archive.

community.crypto.openssl_publickey

Generate an OpenSSL public key from its private key.

Examples

---
- name: Generate an OpenSSL private key with the default values (4096 bits, RSA)
  community.crypto.openssl_privatekey:
    path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem

- name: Generate an OpenSSL private key with the default values (4096 bits, RSA) and a passphrase
  community.crypto.openssl_privatekey:
    path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
    passphrase: ansible
    cipher: auto

- name: Generate an OpenSSL private key with a different size (2048 bits)
  community.crypto.openssl_privatekey:
    path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
    size: 2048

- name: Force regenerate an OpenSSL private key if it already exists
  community.crypto.openssl_privatekey:
    path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
    force: true

- name: Generate an OpenSSL private key with a different algorithm (DSA)
  community.crypto.openssl_privatekey:
    path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
    type: DSA

- name: Generate an OpenSSL private key with elliptic curve cryptography (ECC)
  community.crypto.openssl_privatekey:
    path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
    type: ECC
    curve: secp256r1

Return Values

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key

Description

backup_file

string

Name of backup file created.

Returned: changed and if backup is true

Sample: "/path/to/privatekey.pem.2019-03-09@11:22~"

curve

string

Elliptic curve used to generate the TLS/SSL private key.

Returned: changed or success, and type is ECC

Sample: "secp256r1"

filename

string

Path to the generated TLS/SSL private key file.

Returned: changed or success

Sample: "/etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem"

fingerprint

dictionary

The fingerprint of the public key. Fingerprint will be generated for each hashlib.algorithms available.

Returned: changed or success

Sample: {"md5": "84:75:71:72:8d:04:b5:6c:4d:37:6d:66:83:f5:4c:29", "sha1": "51:cc:7c:68:5d:eb:41:43:88:7e:1a:ae:c7:f8:24:72:ee:71:f6:10", "sha224": "b1:19:a6:6c:14:ac:33:1d:ed:18:50:d3:06:5c:b2:32:91:f1:f1:52:8c:cb:d5:75:e9:f5:9b:46", "sha256": "41:ab:c7:cb:d5:5f:30:60:46:99:ac:d4:00:70:cf:a1:76:4f:24:5d:10:24:57:5d:51:6e:09:97:df:2f:de:c7", "sha384": "85:39:50:4e:de:d9:19:33:40:70:ae:10:ab:59:24:19:51:c3:a2:e4:0b:1c:b1:6e:dd:b3:0c:d9:9e:6a:46:af:da:18:f8:ef:ae:2e:c0:9a:75:2c:9b:b3:0f:3a:5f:3d", "sha512": "fd:ed:5e:39:48:5f:9f:fe:7f:25:06:3f:79:08:cd:ee:a5:e7:b3:3d:13:82:87:1f:84:e1:f5:c7:28:77:53:94:86:56:38:69:f0:d9:35:22:01:1e:a6:60:...:0f:9b"}

privatekey

string

added in community.crypto 1.0.0

The (current or generated) private key’s content.

Will be Base64-encoded if the key is in raw format.

Returned: if state is present and return_content is true

size

integer

Size (in bits) of the TLS/SSL private key.

Returned: changed or success

Sample: 4096

type

string

Algorithm used to generate the TLS/SSL private key.

Returned: changed or success

Sample: "RSA"

Authors

  • Yanis Guenane (@Spredzy)

  • Felix Fontein (@felixfontein)