openssl_certificate – Generate and/or check OpenSSL certificates

New in version 2.4.

Synopsis

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

  • It implements a notion of provider (ie. selfsigned, ownca, acme, assertonly) for your certificate.

  • The assertonly provider is intended for use cases where one is only interested in checking properties of a supplied certificate.

  • The ownca provider is intended for generating OpenSSL certificate signed with your own CA (Certificate Authority) certificate (self-signed certificate).

  • Many properties that can be specified in this module are for validation of an existing or newly generated certificate. The proper place to specify them, if you want to receive a certificate with these properties is a CSR (Certificate Signing Request).

  • Please note that the module regenerates existing certificate if it doesn’t match the module’s options, or if it seems to be corrupt. If you are concerned that this could overwrite your existing certificate, consider using the backup option.

  • It uses the pyOpenSSL or cryptography python library to interact with OpenSSL.

  • If both the cryptography and PyOpenSSL libraries are available (and meet the minimum version requirements) cryptography will be preferred as a backend over PyOpenSSL (unless the backend is forced with select_crypto_backend)

Requirements

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

  • PyOpenSSL >= 0.15 or cryptography >= 1.6 (if using selfsigned or assertonly provider)

  • acme-tiny (if using the acme provider)

Parameters

Parameter Choices/Defaults Comments
acme_accountkey_path
path
The path to the accountkey for the acme provider.
This is only used by the acme provider.
acme_chain
boolean
added in 2.5
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
Include the intermediate certificate to the generated certificate
This is only used by the acme provider.
Note that this is only available for older versions of acme-tiny. New versions include the chain automatically, and setting acme_chain to yes results in an error.
acme_challenge_path
path
The path to the ACME challenge directory that is served on http://<HOST>:80/.well-known/acme-challenge/
This is only used by the acme provider.
attributes
string
added in 2.3
The attributes the resulting file or directory 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.

aliases: attr
backup
boolean
added in 2.8
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
Create a backup file including a timestamp so you can get the original certificate back if you overwrote it with a new one by accident.
This is not used by the assertonly provider.
csr_path
path
Path to the Certificate Signing Request (CSR) used to generate this certificate.
This is not required in assertonly mode.
extended_key_usage
list
The extended_key_usage extension field must contain all these values.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.

aliases: extendedKeyUsage
extended_key_usage_strict
boolean
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
If set to yes, the extended_key_usage extension field must contain only these values.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.

aliases: extendedKeyUsage_strict
force
boolean
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
Generate the certificate, even if it already exists.
group
string
Name of the group that should own the file/directory, as would be fed to chown.
has_expired
boolean
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
Checks if the certificate is expired/not expired at the time the module is executed.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.
invalid_at
string
The certificate must be invalid at this point in time.
The timestamp is formatted as an ASN.1 TIME.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.
issuer
dictionary
The key/value pairs that must be present in the issuer name field of the certificate.
If you need to specify more than one value with the same key, use a list as value.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.
issuer_strict
boolean
added in 2.5
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
If set to yes, the issuer field must contain only these values.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.
key_usage
list
The key_usage extension field must contain all these values.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.

aliases: keyUsage
key_usage_strict
boolean
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
If set to yes, the key_usage extension field must contain only these values.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.

aliases: keyUsage_strict
mode
string
The permissions the resulting file or directory should have.
For those used to /usr/bin/chmod remember that modes are actually octal numbers. You must either add a leading zero so that Ansible's YAML parser knows it is an octal number (like 0644 or 01777) or quote it (like '644' or '1777') so Ansible receives a string and can do its own conversion from string into number.
Giving Ansible a number without following one 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).
not_after
string
The certificate must expire at this point in time.
The timestamp is formatted as an ASN.1 TIME.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.

aliases: notAfter
not_before
string
The certificate must start to become valid at this point in time.
The timestamp is formatted as an ASN.1 TIME.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.

aliases: notBefore
ownca_digest
string
added in 2.7
Default:
"sha256"
The digest algorithm to be used for the ownca certificate.
This is only used by the ownca provider.
ownca_not_after
string
added in 2.7
Default:
"+3650d"
The point in time at which the certificate stops being valid.
Time can be specified either as relative time or as absolute timestamp.
Time will always be interpreted as UTC.
Valid format is [+-]timespec | ASN.1 TIME where timespec can be an integer + [w | d | h | m | s] (e.g. +32w1d2h.
Note that if using relative time this module is NOT idempotent.
If this value is not specified, the certificate will stop being valid 10 years from now.
This is only used by the ownca provider.
ownca_not_before
string
added in 2.7
Default:
"+0s"
The point in time the certificate is valid from.
Time can be specified either as relative time or as absolute timestamp.
Time will always be interpreted as UTC.
Valid format is [+-]timespec | ASN.1 TIME where timespec can be an integer + [w | d | h | m | s] (e.g. +32w1d2h.
Note that if using relative time this module is NOT idempotent.
If this value is not specified, the certificate will start being valid from now.
This is only used by the ownca provider.
ownca_path
path
added in 2.7
Remote absolute path of the CA (Certificate Authority) certificate.
This is only used by the ownca provider.
ownca_privatekey_passphrase
string
added in 2.7
The passphrase for the ownca_privatekey_path.
This is only used by the ownca provider.
ownca_privatekey_path
path
added in 2.7
Path to the CA (Certificate Authority) private key to use when signing the certificate.
This is only used by the ownca provider.
ownca_version
integer
added in 2.7
Default:
3
The version of the ownca certificate.
Nowadays it should almost always be 3.
This is only used by the ownca provider.
owner
string
Name of the user that should own the file/directory, as would be fed to chown.
path
path / required
Remote absolute path where the generated certificate file should be created or is already located.
privatekey_passphrase
string
The passphrase for the privatekey_path.
This is required if the private key is password protected.
privatekey_path
path
Path to the private key to use when signing the certificate.
provider
string / required
    Choices:
  • acme
  • assertonly
  • ownca
  • selfsigned
Name of the provider to use to generate/retrieve the OpenSSL certificate.
The assertonly provider will not generate files and fail if the certificate file is missing.
select_crypto_backend
string
added in 2.8
    Choices:
  • auto ←
  • cryptography
  • pyopenssl
Determines which crypto backend to use.
The default choice is auto, which tries to use cryptography if available, and falls back to pyopenssl.
If set to pyopenssl, will try to use the pyOpenSSL library.
If set to cryptography, will try to use the cryptography library.
selevel
string
Default:
"s0"
The level part of the SELinux file 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.
selfsigned_digest
string
Default:
"sha256"
Digest algorithm to be used when self-signing the certificate.
This is only used by the selfsigned provider.
selfsigned_not_after
string
Default:
"+3650d"
The point in time at which the certificate stops being valid.
Time can be specified either as relative time or as absolute timestamp.
Time will always be interpreted as UTC.
Valid format is [+-]timespec | ASN.1 TIME where timespec can be an integer + [w | d | h | m | s] (e.g. +32w1d2h.
Note that if using relative time this module is NOT idempotent.
If this value is not specified, the certificate will stop being valid 10 years from now.
This is only used by the selfsigned provider.

aliases: selfsigned_notAfter
selfsigned_not_before
string
Default:
"+0s"
The point in time the certificate is valid from.
Time can be specified either as relative time or as absolute timestamp.
Time will always be interpreted as UTC.
Valid format is [+-]timespec | ASN.1 TIME where timespec can be an integer + [w | d | h | m | s] (e.g. +32w1d2h.
Note that if using relative time this module is NOT idempotent.
If this value is not specified, the certificate will start being valid from now.
This is only used by the selfsigned provider.

aliases: selfsigned_notBefore
selfsigned_version
integer
added in 2.5
Default:
3
Version of the selfsigned certificate.
Nowadays it should almost always be 3.
This is only used by the selfsigned provider.
serole
string
The role part of the SELinux file context.
When set to _default, it will use the role portion of the policy if available.
setype
string
The type part of the SELinux file context.
When set to _default, it will use the type portion of the policy if available.
seuser
string
The user part of the SELinux file 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.
signature_algorithms
list
A list of algorithms that you would accept the certificate to be signed with (e.g. ['sha256WithRSAEncryption', 'sha512WithRSAEncryption']).
This is only used by the assertonly provider.
state
string
    Choices:
  • absent
  • present ←
Whether the certificate should exist or not, taking action if the state is different from what is stated.
subject
dictionary
The key/value pairs that must be present in the subject name field of the certificate.
If you need to specify more than one value with the same key, use a list as value.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.
subject_alt_name
list
The subject_alt_name extension field must contain these values.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.

aliases: subjectAltName
subject_alt_name_strict
boolean
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
If set to yes, the subject_alt_name extension field must contain only these values.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.

aliases: subjectAltName_strict
subject_strict
boolean
added in 2.5
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
If set to yes, the subject field must contain only these values.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.
unsafe_writes
boolean
added in 2.2
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
Influence when to use atomic operation to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target file.
By default this module uses atomic operations to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target files, but sometimes systems are configured or just broken in ways that prevent this. One example is docker mounted files, 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 files 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.
valid_at
string
The certificate must be valid at this point in time.
The timestamp is formatted as an ASN.1 TIME.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.
valid_in
string
The certificate must still be valid at this relative time offset from now.
Valid format is [+-]timespec | number_of_seconds where timespec can be an integer + [w | d | h | m | s] (e.g. +32w1d2h.
Note that if using this parameter, this module is NOT idempotent.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.
version
integer
The version of the certificate.
Nowadays it should almost always be 3.
This is only used by the assertonly provider.

Notes

Note

  • All ASN.1 TIME values should be specified following the YYYYMMDDHHMMSSZ pattern.

  • Date specified should be UTC. Minutes and seconds are mandatory.

  • For security reason, when you use ownca provider, you should NOT run openssl_certificate on a target machine, but on a dedicated CA machine. It is recommended not to store the CA private key on the target machine. Once signed, the certificate can be moved to the target machine.

See Also

See also

openssl_csr – Generate OpenSSL Certificate Signing Request (CSR)

The official documentation on the openssl_csr module.

openssl_dhparam – Generate OpenSSL Diffie-Hellman Parameters

The official documentation on the openssl_dhparam module.

openssl_pkcs12 – Generate OpenSSL PKCS#12 archive

The official documentation on the openssl_pkcs12 module.

openssl_privatekey – Generate OpenSSL private keys

The official documentation on the openssl_privatekey module.

openssl_publickey – Generate an OpenSSL public key from its private key

The official documentation on the openssl_publickey module.

Examples

- name: Generate a Self Signed OpenSSL certificate
  openssl_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/ansible.com.crt
    privatekey_path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
    csr_path: /etc/ssl/csr/ansible.com.csr
    provider: selfsigned

- name: Generate an OpenSSL certificate signed with your own CA certificate
  openssl_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/ansible.com.crt
    csr_path: /etc/ssl/csr/ansible.com.csr
    ownca_path: /etc/ssl/crt/ansible_CA.crt
    ownca_privatekey_path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible_CA.pem
    provider: ownca

- name: Generate a Let's Encrypt Certificate
  openssl_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/ansible.com.crt
    csr_path: /etc/ssl/csr/ansible.com.csr
    provider: acme
    acme_accountkey_path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
    acme_challenge_path: /etc/ssl/challenges/ansible.com/

- name: Force (re-)generate a new Let's Encrypt Certificate
  openssl_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/ansible.com.crt
    csr_path: /etc/ssl/csr/ansible.com.csr
    provider: acme
    acme_accountkey_path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
    acme_challenge_path: /etc/ssl/challenges/ansible.com/
    force: yes

# Examples for some checks one could use the assertonly provider for:

# How to use the assertonly provider to implement and trigger your own custom certificate generation workflow:
- name: Check if a certificate is currently still valid, ignoring failures
  openssl_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/example.com.crt
    provider: assertonly
    has_expired: no
  ignore_errors: yes
  register: validity_check

- name: Run custom task(s) to get a new, valid certificate in case the initial check failed
  command: superspecialSSL recreate /etc/ssl/crt/example.com.crt
  when: validity_check.failed

- name: Check the new certificate again for validity with the same parameters, this time failing the play if it is still invalid
  openssl_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/example.com.crt
    provider: assertonly
    has_expired: no
  when: validity_check.failed

# Some other checks that assertonly could be used for:
- name: Verify that an existing certificate was issued by the Let's Encrypt CA and is currently still valid
  openssl_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/example.com.crt
    provider: assertonly
    issuer:
      O: Let's Encrypt
    has_expired: no

- name: Ensure that a certificate uses a modern signature algorithm (no SHA1, MD5 or DSA)
  openssl_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/example.com.crt
    provider: assertonly
    signature_algorithms:
      - sha224WithRSAEncryption
      - sha256WithRSAEncryption
      - sha384WithRSAEncryption
      - sha512WithRSAEncryption
      - sha224WithECDSAEncryption
      - sha256WithECDSAEncryption
      - sha384WithECDSAEncryption
      - sha512WithECDSAEncryption

- name: Ensure that the existing certificate belongs to the specified private key
  openssl_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/example.com.crt
    privatekey_path: /etc/ssl/private/example.com.pem
    provider: assertonly

- name: Ensure that the existing certificate is still valid at the winter solstice 2017
  openssl_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/example.com.crt
    provider: assertonly
    valid_at: 20171221162800Z

- name: Ensure that the existing certificate is still valid 2 weeks (1209600 seconds) from now
  openssl_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/example.com.crt
    provider: assertonly
    valid_in: 1209600

- name: Ensure that the existing certificate is only used for digital signatures and encrypting other keys
  openssl_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/example.com.crt
    provider: assertonly
    key_usage:
      - digitalSignature
      - keyEncipherment
    key_usage_strict: true

- name: Ensure that the existing certificate can be used for client authentication
  openssl_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/example.com.crt
    provider: assertonly
    extended_key_usage:
      - clientAuth

- name: Ensure that the existing certificate can only be used for client authentication and time stamping
  openssl_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/example.com.crt
    provider: assertonly
    extended_key_usage:
      - clientAuth
      - 1.3.6.1.5.5.7.3.8
    extended_key_usage_strict: true

- name: Ensure that the existing certificate has a certain domain in its subjectAltName
  openssl_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/example.com.crt
    provider: assertonly
    subject_alt_name:
      - www.example.com
      - test.example.com

Return Values

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

Key Returned Description
backup_file
string
changed and if backup is yes
Name of backup file created.

Sample:
/path/to/www.ansible.com.crt.2019-03-09@11:22~
filename
string
changed or success
Path to the generated Certificate

Sample:
/etc/ssl/crt/www.ansible.com.crt


Status

Authors

  • Yanis Guenane (@Spredzy)

  • Markus Teufelberger (@MarkusTeufelberger)

Hint

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