Vault
PKI secrets engine (API)
Note: This engine can use external X.509 certificates as part of TLS or signature validation. Verifying signatures against X.509 certificates that use SHA-1 is deprecated and is no longer usable without a workaround starting in Vault 1.12. See the deprecation FAQ for more information.
This is the API documentation for the Vault PKI secrets engine. For general information about the usage and operation of the PKI secrets engine, please see the PKI documentation.
This documentation assumes the PKI secrets engine is enabled at the /pki
path
in Vault. Since it is possible to enable secrets engines at any location, please
update your API calls accordingly.
Table of contents
- Notice About New Multi-Issuer Functionality
- Issuing Certificates
- List Roles
- Read Role
- Generate Certificate and Key
- Generate Certificate and Key with External Policy Enterprise
- Sign Certificate
- Sign Certificate with External Policy Enterprise
- Sign Intermediate
- Sign Intermediate with External Policy Enterprise
- Sign Self-Issued
- Sign Verbatim
- Revoke Certificate
- Revoke Certificate with Private Key
- List Revoked Certificates
- List Revocation Requests
- List Cross-Cluster Revocations
- Accessing Authority Information
- Managing Keys and Issuers
- Managing Authority Information
- List Roles
- Create/Update Role
- Read Role
- Delete Role
- Read Certificate Issuance External Policy Service (CIEPS) Configuration Enterprise
- Set Certificate Issuance External Policy Service (CIEPS) Configuration Enterprise
- Read URLs
- Set URLs
- Read Issuers Configuration
- Set Issuers Configuration
- Read Keys Configuration
- Set Keys Configuration
- Read Cluster Configuration
- Set Cluster Configuration
- Read CRL Configuration
- Set CRL Configuration
- Rotate CRLs
- Rotate Delta CRLs
- Combining CRLs from the Same Issuer
- Sign Revocation List
- Tidy
- Read Automatic Tidy Configuration
- Set Automatic Tidy Configuration
- Tidy Status
- Cancel Tidy
- Certificate Issuance Protocols
- Cluster Scalability
- Managed Key (Enterprise Only)
- Vault CLI with DER/PEM responses
Notice about new Multi-Issuer functionality
Vault since 1.11.0 allows a single PKI mount to have multiple Certificate Authority (CA) certificates ("issuers") in a single mount, for the purpose of facilitating rotation. All issuers within a single mount are treated as a single Authority, meaning that:
- Certificate Revocation List (CRL) configuration is common to all issuers,
- All authority access URLs are common to all issuers,
- Issued certificates' serial numbers will be unique across all issuers.
However, since each issuer may have a distinct subject and keys, different issuers may have different CRLs.
It is strongly encouraged to limit the scope of CAs within a mount and not to mix different types of CAs (roots and intermediates).
Note: Some functionality will not work if a default issuer is not configured. Vault automatically selects the default issuer from the current issuing certificate on migration from an older Vault version (Vault < 1.11.0).
Issuing certificates
The following API endpoints allow users or operators to request certificates and are all authenticated.
In general, for self-serve use, the /pki/sign/:name
and /pki/issue/:name
are sufficient to allow most users to access for ACL purposes. The per-issuer
variants (/pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/sign/:name
and
/pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/issue/:name
) allow the requester to override the
role's chosen issuer, potentially allowing users to request certificates
issued by the wrong parent authority.
Some API endpoints included here are privileged and should only be accessed
by trusted users or operators; these include the various sign-verbatim
,
sign-self-signed
and sign-intermediate
endpoints.
If an issued certificate has been compromised, it should be revoked. The Vault PKI secrets engine presently only allows revocation by serial number; because this could allow users to deny access to other users, it should be restricted to operators.
List roles
This endpoint returns a list of available roles. Only the role names are returned, not any values. It is useful to both operators and users.
Method | Path |
---|---|
LIST | /pki/roles |
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request LIST \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/roles
Sample response
{
"auth": null,
"data": {
"keys": ["dev", "prod"]
},
"lease_duration": 0,
"lease_id": "",
"renewable": false
}
Read role
This endpoint queries the role definition. It is useful to both operators and users.
Method | Path |
---|---|
GET | /pki/roles/:name |
Parameters
name
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the name of the role to read. This is part of the request URL.
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/roles/my-role
Sample response
{
"data": {
"allow_any_name": false,
"allow_ip_sans": true,
"allow_localhost": true,
"allow_subdomains": false,
"allowed_domains": ["example.com", "foobar.com"],
"allowed_uri_sans": ["example.com", "spiffe://*"],
"allowed_other_sans": [
"1.3.6.1.4.1.311.20.2.3;utf8:devops@example.com",
"1.3.6.1.4.1.311.20.2.4;UTF-8:*"
],
"client_flag": true,
"code_signing_flag": false,
"key_bits": 2048,
"key_type": "rsa",
"ttl": "6h",
"max_ttl": "12h",
"server_flag": true,
... additional fields elided ...
}
}
Generate certificate and key
This endpoint generates a new set of credentials (private key and certificate)
based on the role named in the endpoint. The issuing CA certificate and full CA
chain is returned as well, so that only the root CA need be in a client's trust
store. Choice of issuing CA is determined first by the role (when using the
/pki/issue/:name
path) and then by the path (when using the
/pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/issue/name
path).
It is suggested to limit access to the path-overridden issue endpoint (on
/pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/issue/:name
).
Note: The private key is not stored. If you do not save the private key from the response, you will need to request a new certificate.
Method | Path | Issuer |
---|---|---|
POST | /pki/issue/:name | Role selected |
POST | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/issue/:name | Path selected |
Parameters
name
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the name of the role to create the certificate against. This is part of the request URL.issuer_ref
(string: <required>)
- Reference to an existing issuer, either by Vault-generated identifier, the literal stringdefault
to refer to the currently configured default issuer, or the name assigned to an issuer. This parameter is part of the request URL.
Note: This parameter is not present on the /pki/issue/:name
path and
takes its value from the role's issuer_ref
field.
common_name
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested CN for the certificate. If the CN is allowed by role policy, it will be issued. If more than onecommon_name
is desired, specify the alternative names in thealt_names
list.
Note: A value for common_name
is required when require_cn is set to true
alt_names
(string: "")
- Specifies requested Subject Alternative Names, in a comma-delimited list. These can be host names or email addresses; they will be parsed into their respective fields. If any requested names do not match role policy, the entire request will be denied.ip_sans
(string: "")
- Specifies requested IP Subject Alternative Names, in a comma-delimited list. Only valid if the role allows IP SANs (which is the default).uri_sans
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested URI Subject Alternative Names, in a comma-delimited list. If any requested URIs do not match role policy, the entire request will be denied.other_sans
(string: "")
- Specifies custom OID/UTF8-string SANs. These must match values specified on the role inallowed_other_sans
(see role creation for allowed_other_sans globbing rules). The format is the same as OpenSSL:<oid>;<type>:<value>
where the only current valid type isUTF8
. This can be a comma-delimited list or a JSON string slice.ttl
(string: "")
- Specifies requested Time To Live. Cannot be greater than the role'smax_ttl
value. If not provided, the role'sttl
value will be used. Note that the role values default to system values if not explicitly set. Seenot_after
as an alternative for setting an absolute end date (rather than a relative one).format
(string: "pem")
- Specifies the format for returned data. Can bepem
,der
, orpem_bundle
; defaults topem
. Ifder
, the output is base64 encoded. Ifpem_bundle
, thecertificate
field will contain the private key and certificate, concatenated; if the issuing CA is not a Vault-derived self-signed root, this will be included as well.private_key_format
(string: "der")
- Specifies the format for marshaling the private key within the private_key response field. Defaults toder
which will return either base64-encoded DER or PEM-encoded DER, depending on the value offormat
. The other option ispkcs8
which will return the key marshalled as PEM-encoded PKCS8.
Note that this does not apply to the private key within the certificate
field if format=pem_bundle
parameter is specified.
exclude_cn_from_sans
(bool: false)
- If true, the givencommon_name
will not be included in DNS or Email Subject Alternate Names (as appropriate). Useful if the CN is not a hostname or email address, but is instead some human-readable identifier.not_after
(string)
- Set the Not After field of the certificate with specified date value. The value format should be given in UTC formatYYYY-MM-ddTHH:MM:SSZ
. Supports the Y10K end date for IEEE 802.1AR-2018 standard devices,9999-12-31T23:59:59Z
.remove_roots_from_chain
(bool: false)
- If true, the returnedca_chain
field will not include any self-signed CA certificates. Useful if end-users already have the root CA in their trust store.user_ids
(string: "")
- Specifies the comma-separated list of requested User ID (OID 0.9.2342.19200300.100.1.1) Subject values to be placed on the signed certificate. This field is validated againstallowed_user_ids
on the role.cert_metadata
(string: "")
- Enterprise A base 64 encoded value or an empty string to associate with the certificate's serial number. The role's no_store_metadata must be set to false, otherwise an error is returned when specified. To retrieve metadata see: Read Certificate Metadata
Sample payload
{
"common_name": "www.example.com"
}
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/issue/my-role
Sample response
{
"lease_id": "pki/issue/test/7ad6cfa5-f04f-c62a-d477-f33210475d05",
"renewable": false,
"lease_duration": 21600,
"data": {
"expiration": "1654105687",
"certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDzDCCAragAwIBAgIUOd0ukLcjH43TfTHFG9qE0FtlMVgwCwYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...\numkqeYeO30g1uYvDuWLXVA==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"issuing_ca": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDUTCCAjmgAwIBAgIJAKM+z4MSfw2mMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBsxGTAXBgNV\n...\nG/7g4koczXLoUM3OQXd5Aq2cs4SS1vODrYmgbioFsQ3eDHd1fg==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"ca_chain": [
"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDUTCCAjmgAwIBAgIJAKM+z4MSfw2mMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBsxGTAXBgNV\n...\nG/7g4koczXLoUM3OQXd5Aq2cs4SS1vODrYmgbioFsQ3eDHd1fg==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"
],
"private_key": "-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----\nMIIEowIBAAKCAQEAnVHfwoKsUG1GDVyWB1AFroaKl2ImMBO8EnvGLRrmobIkQvh+\n...\nQN351pgTphi6nlCkGPzkDuwvtxSxiCWXQcaxrHAL7MiJpPzkIBq1\n-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----\n",
"private_key_type": "rsa",
"serial_number": "39:dd:2e:90:b7:23:1f:8d:d3:7d:31:c5:1b:da:84:d0:5b:65:31:58"
},
"warnings": "",
"auth": null
}
Generate certificate and key with external policy Enterprise
Similar to the generate certificate and key endpoint, this endpoint generate key material and certificate via an external policy engine. The private key material stays local to Vault, with the external service getting only an empty CSR. Any parameters passed to this endpoint are passed verbatim to the Certificate Issuance External Policy Service (CIEPS)Enterprise. The response format is the same between both endpoints.
It is suggested to limit access to the path-overridden issue endpoint (on
/pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/external-policy/issue/:policy
) and let the CIEPS
engine override the issuer as necessary.
Method | Path | Issuer |
---|---|---|
POST | /pki/external-policy/issue(/:policy) | default or CIEPS-selected |
POST | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/external-policy/issue(/:policy) | Path or CIEPS selected |
Parameters
policy
(string: <optional>)
- Specifies the name of the policy to create the certificate against. This is part of the request URL and is passed to the external CIEPS engine.issuer_ref
(string: <required>)
- Reference to an existing issuer, either by Vault-generated identifier, the literal stringdefault
to refer to the currently configured default issuer, or the name assigned to an issuer. This parameter is part of the request URL.
Note: This parameter is not present on the /pki/external-policy/sign/:policy
path and takes its value from the CIEPS engine response's issuer_ref
field, which can override the user-requested issuer.
format
(string: "pem")
- Specifies the format for returned data. Can bepem
,der
, orpem_bundle
; defaults topem
. Ifder
, the output is base64 encoded. Ifpem_bundle
, thecertificate
field will contain the private key and certificate, concatenated; if the issuing CA is not a Vault-derived self-signed root, this will be included as well.key_type
(string: "rsa")
- Specifies the desired key type; must bersa
,ed25519
orec
.
Note: In FIPS 140-2 mode, the following algorithms are not certified
and thus should not be used: ed25519
.
key_bits
(int: 0)
- Specifies the number of bits to use for the generated keys. Allowed values are 0 (universal default); withkey_type=rsa
, allowed values are: 2048 (default), 3072, 4096 or 8192; withkey_type=ec
, allowed values are: 224, 256 (default), 384, or 521; ignored withkey_type=ed25519
.private_key_format
(string: "der")
- Specifies the format for marshaling the private key within the private_key response field. Defaults toder
which will return either base64-encoded DER or PEM-encoded DER, depending on the value offormat
. The other option ispkcs8
which will return the key marshalled as PEM-encoded PKCS8.
Note that this does not apply to the private key within the certificate
field if format=pem_bundle
parameter is specified.
remove_roots_from_chain
(bool: false)
- If true, the returnedca_chain
field will not include any self-signed CA certificates. Useful if end-users already have the root CA in their trust store.
Other parameters may be specified and will not be parsed by Vault but may be recognized based on external CIEPS engine definition.
Sample payload
{
"common_name": "example.com",
"key_type": "rsa",
"key_bits": 2048
}
Sample response
{
"lease_id": "",
"renewable": false,
"lease_duration": 0,
"data": {
"expiration": "1654105687",
"certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDzDCCAragAwIBAgIUOd0ukLcjH43TfTHFG9qE0FtlMVgwCwYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...\numkqeYeO30g1uYvDuWLXVA==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"issuing_ca": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDUTCCAjmgAwIBAgIJAKM+z4MSfw2mMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBsxGTAXBgNV\n...\nG/7g4koczXLoUM3OQXd5Aq2cs4SS1vODrYmgbioFsQ3eDHd1fg==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"ca_chain": [
"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDUTCCAjmgAwIBAgIJAKM+z4MSfw2mMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBsxGTAXBgNV\n...\nG/7g4koczXLoUM3OQXd5Aq2cs4SS1vODrYmgbioFsQ3eDHd1fg==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"
],
"serial_number": "39:dd:2e:90:b7:23:1f:8d:d3:7d:31:c5:1b:da:84:d0:5b:65:31:52"
},
"auth": null
}
Sign certificate
This endpoint signs a new certificate based upon the provided CSR and the supplied parameters, subject to the restrictions contained in the role named in the endpoint. The issuing CA certificate and the full CA chain is returned as well, so that only the root CA need be in a client's trust store.
It is suggested to limit access to the path-overridden sign endpoint (on
/pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/sign/:name
).
Method | Path | Issuer |
---|---|---|
POST | /pki/sign/:name | Role selected |
POST | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/sign/:name | Path selected |
Parameters
name
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the name of the role to create the certificate against. This is part of the request URL.issuer_ref
(string: <required>)
- Reference to an existing issuer, either by Vault-generated identifier, the literal stringdefault
to refer to the currently configured default issuer, or the name assigned to an issuer. This parameter is part of the request URL.
Note: This parameter is not present on the /pki/sign/:name
path and
takes its value from the role's issuer_ref
field.
csr
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the PEM-encoded CSR.common_name
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the requested CN for the certificate. If the CN is allowed by role policy, it will be issued. If more than onecommon_name
is desired, specify the alternative names in thealt_names
list.alt_names
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested Subject Alternative Names, in a comma-delimited list. These can be host names or email addresses; they will be parsed into their respective fields. If any requested names do not match role policy, the entire request will be denied.other_sans
(string: "")
- Specifies custom OID/UTF8-string SANs. These must match values specified on the role inallowed_other_sans
(see role creation for allowed_other_sans globbing rules). The format is the same as OpenSSL:<oid>;<type>:<value>
where the only current valid type isUTF8
. This can be a comma-delimited list or a JSON string slice.ip_sans
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested IP Subject Alternative Names, in a comma-delimited list. Only valid if the role allows IP SANs (which is the default).uri_sans
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested URI Subject Alternative Names, in a comma-delimited list. If any requested URIs do not match role policy, the entire request will be denied.ttl
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested Time To Live. Cannot be greater than the role'smax_ttl
value. If not provided, the role'sttl
value will be used. Note that the role values default to system values if not explicitly set. Seenot_after
as an alternative for setting an absolute end date (rather than a relative one).format
(string: "pem")
- Specifies the format for returned data. Can bepem
,der
, orpem_bundle
. Ifder
, the output is base64 encoded. Ifpem_bundle
, thecertificate
field will contain the certificate and, if the issuing CA is not a Vault-derived self-signed root, it will be concatenated with the certificate.exclude_cn_from_sans
(bool: false)
- If true, the givencommon_name
will not be included in DNS or Email Subject Alternate Names (as appropriate). Useful if the CN is not a hostname or email address, but is instead some human-readable identifier.not_after
(string)
- Set the Not After field of the certificate with specified date value. The value format should be given in UTC formatYYYY-MM-ddTHH:MM:SSZ
. Supports the Y10K end date for IEEE 802.1AR-2018 standard devices,9999-12-31T23:59:59Z
.remove_roots_from_chain
(bool: false)
- If true, the returnedca_chain
field will not include any self-signed CA certificates. Useful if end-users already have the root CA in their trust store.user_ids
(string: "")
- Specifies the comma-separated list of requested User ID (OID 0.9.2342.19200300.100.1.1) Subject values to be placed on the signed certificate. This field is validated againstallowed_user_ids
on the role.cert_metadata
(string: "")
- Enterprise A base 64 encoded value or an empty string to associate with the certificate's serial number. The role's no_store_metadata must be set to false, otherwise an error is returned when specified. To retrieve metadata see: Read Certificate Metadata
Sample payload
{
"csr": "...",
"common_name": "example.com"
}
Sample response
{
"lease_id": "pki/sign/test/7ad6cfa5-f04f-c62a-d477-f33210475d05",
"renewable": false,
"lease_duration": 21600,
"data": {
"expiration": "1654105687",
"certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDzDCCAragAwIBAgIUOd0ukLcjH43TfTHFG9qE0FtlMVgwCwYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...\numkqeYeO30g1uYvDuWLXVA==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"issuing_ca": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDUTCCAjmgAwIBAgIJAKM+z4MSfw2mMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBsxGTAXBgNV\n...\nG/7g4koczXLoUM3OQXd5Aq2cs4SS1vODrYmgbioFsQ3eDHd1fg==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"ca_chain": [
"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDUTCCAjmgAwIBAgIJAKM+z4MSfw2mMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBsxGTAXBgNV\n...\nG/7g4koczXLoUM3OQXd5Aq2cs4SS1vODrYmgbioFsQ3eDHd1fg==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"
],
"serial_number": "39:dd:2e:90:b7:23:1f:8d:d3:7d:31:c5:1b:da:84:d0:5b:65:31:58"
},
"auth": null
}
Sign certificate with external policy Enterprise
Similar to the sign certificate endpoint, this endpoint signs the specified leaf CSR via an external policy engine. Any parameters passed to this endpoint are passed verbatim to the Certificate Issuance External Policy Service (CIEPS)Enterprise. The response format is the same between both endpoints.
It is suggested to limit access to the path-overridden sign endpoint (on
/pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/external-policy/sign/:policy
) and let the CIEPS
engine override the issuer as necessary.
Method | Path | Issuer |
---|---|---|
POST | /pki/external-policy/sign(/:policy) | default or CIEPS-selected |
POST | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/external-policy/sign(/:policy) | Path or CIEPS selected |
Parameters
policy
(string: <optional>)
- Specifies the name of the policy to create the certificate against. This is part of the request URL and is passed to the external CIEPS engine.issuer_ref
(string: <required>)
- Reference to an existing issuer, either by Vault-generated identifier, the literal stringdefault
to refer to the currently configured default issuer, or the name assigned to an issuer. This parameter is part of the request URL.
Note: This parameter is not present on the /pki/external-policy/sign/:policy
path and takes its value from the CIEPS engine response's issuer_ref
field, which can override the user-requested issuer.
csr
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the PEM-encoded CSR.format
(string: "pem")
- Specifies the format for returned data. Can bepem
,der
, orpem_bundle
; defaults topem
. Ifder
, the output is base64 encoded. Ifpem_bundle
, thecertificate
field will contain the private key and certificate, concatenated; if the issuing CA is not a Vault-derived self-signed root, this will be included as well.private_key_format
(string: "der")
- Specifies the format for marshaling the private key within the private_key response field. Defaults toder
which will return either base64-encoded DER or PEM-encoded DER, depending on the value offormat
. The other option ispkcs8
which will return the key marshalled as PEM-encoded PKCS8.
Note that this does not apply to the private key within the certificate
field if format=pem_bundle
parameter is specified.
remove_roots_from_chain
(bool: false)
- If true, the returnedca_chain
field will not include any self-signed CA certificates. Useful if end-users already have the root CA in their trust store.
Other parameters may be specified and will not be parsed by Vault but may be recognized based on external CIEPS engine definition.
Sample payload
{
"csr": "...",
"common_name": "example.com",
"key_attestation": "..."
}
Sample response
{
"lease_id": "",
"renewable": false,
"lease_duration": 0,
"data": {
"expiration": "1654105687",
"certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDzDCCAragAwIBAgIUOd0ukLcjH43TfTHFG9qE0FtlMVgwCwYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...\numkqeYeO30g1uYvDuWLXVA==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"issuing_ca": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDUTCCAjmgAwIBAgIJAKM+z4MSfw2mMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBsxGTAXBgNV\n...\nG/7g4koczXLoUM3OQXd5Aq2cs4SS1vODrYmgbioFsQ3eDHd1fg==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"ca_chain": [
"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDUTCCAjmgAwIBAgIJAKM+z4MSfw2mMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBsxGTAXBgNV\n...\nG/7g4koczXLoUM3OQXd5Aq2cs4SS1vODrYmgbioFsQ3eDHd1fg==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"
],
"serial_number": "39:dd:2e:90:b7:23:1f:8d:d3:7d:31:c5:1b:da:84:d0:5b:65:31:52"
},
"auth": null
}
Sign intermediate
This endpoint uses the configured CA certificate to issue a certificate with
appropriate values for acting as an intermediate CA. Distribution points use the
values set via config/urls
. Values set in the CSR are ignored unless
use_csr_values
is set to true, in which case the values from the CSR are used
verbatim.
This endpoint can be used both when signing a Vault-backed intermediate or when signing an externally-owned intermediate.
Note: This is a privileged endpoint, as callers are granted a new intermediate certificate, with which they can issue for arbitrary names. Access to this endpoint should be restricted by policy to only trusted operators.
By default, Vault truncates the notAfter
field of the signed intermediary
to use the notAfter
field of the signing issuer, it the computed field for the
intermediary goes beyond the prescribed length.
Method | Path | Issuer |
---|---|---|
POST | /pki/root/sign-intermediate | default |
POST | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/sign-intermediate | Selected |
Parameters
issuer_ref
(string: <required>)
- Reference to an existing issuer, either by Vault-generated identifier, the literal stringdefault
to refer to the currently configured default issuer, or the name assigned to an issuer. This parameter is part of the request URL.
Note: This parameter is not present on the /pki/root/sign-intermediate
path and takes the value default
.
csr
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the PEM-encoded CSR to be signed.common_name
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the requested CN for the certificate. If more than onecommon_name
is desired, specify the alternative names in thealt_names
list.alt_names
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested Subject Alternative Names, in a comma-delimited list. These can be host names or email addresses; they will be parsed into their respective fields.ip_sans
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested IP Subject Alternative Names, in a comma-delimited list.uri_sans
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested URI Subject Alternative Names, in a comma-delimited list.other_sans
(string: "")
- Specifies custom OID/UTF8-string SANs. These must match values specified on the role inallowed_other_sans
(see role creation for allowed_other_sans globbing rules). The format is the same as OpenSSL:<oid>;<type>:<value>
where the only current valid type isUTF8
. This can be a comma-delimited list or a JSON string slice.ttl
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested Time To Live (after which the certificate will be expired). This cannot be larger than the engine's max (or, if not set, the system max). However, this can be after the expiration of the signing CA. Seenot_after
as an alternative for setting an absolute end date (rather than a relative one).format
(string: "pem")
- Specifies the format for returned data. Can bepem
,der
, orpem_bundle
. Ifder
, the output is base64 encoded. Ifpem_bundle
, thecertificate
field will contain the certificate and, if the issuing CA is not a Vault-derived self-signed root, it will be concatenated with the certificate.max_path_length
(int: -1)
- Specifies the maximum path length to encode in the generated certificate.-1
, means no limit, unless the signing certificate has a maximum path length set, in which case the path length is set to one less than that of the signing certificate. A limit of0
means a literal path length of zero.key_usage
([]string: CRL,CertSign)
- This list of key usages will be added to the existing set of key usages, CRL,CertSign, on the generated certificate. Values can be found at https://golang.org/pkg/crypto/x509/#KeyUsage part of the name. This is overwritten by use_csr_values if a key usage extension exists within the csr.exclude_cn_from_sans
(bool: false)
- If true, the givencommon_name
will not be included in DNS or Email Subject Alternate Names (as appropriate). Useful if the CN is not a hostname or email address, but is instead some human-readable identifier.use_csr_values
(bool: false)
- If set totrue
, then: 1) Subject information, including names and alternate names, will be preserved from the CSR rather than using the values provided in the other parameters to this path; 2) Any key usages (for instance, non-repudiation) requested in the CSR will be added to the basic set of key usages used for CA certs signed by this path; 3) Extensions requested in the CSR will be copied into the issued certificate.permitted_dns_domains
(string: "")
- A comma separated string (or, string array) containing DNS domains for which certificates are allowed to be issued or signed by this CA certificate. Supports subdomains via a.
in front of the domain, as per RFC 5280 Section 4.2.1.10 - Name Constraintsou
(string: "")
- Specifies the OU (OrganizationalUnit) values in the subject field of the resulting certificate. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.organization
(string: "")
- Specifies the O (Organization) values in the subject field of the resulting certificate. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.country
(string: "")
- Specifies the C (Country) values in the subject field of the resulting certificate. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.locality
(string: "")
- Specifies the L (Locality) values in the subject field of the resulting certificate. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.province
(string: "")
- Specifies the ST (Province) values in the subject field of the resulting certificate. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.street_address
(string: "")
- Specifies the Street Address values in the subject field of the resulting certificate. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.postal_code
(string: "")
- Specifies the Postal Code values in the subject field of the resulting certificate. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.serial_number
(string: "")
- - Specifies the requested Subject's named Serial Number value, if any. If you want more than one, specify alternative names in thealt_names
map using OID 2.5.4.5. Note that this has no impact on the Certificate's serial number field, which Vault randomly generates.not_before_duration
(duration: "30s")
- Specifies the duration by which to backdate the NotBefore property. This value has no impact in the validity period of the requested certificate, specified in thettl
field. Uses duration format strings.not_after
(string)
- Set the Not After field of the certificate with specified date value. The value format should be given in UTC formatYYYY-MM-ddTHH:MM:SSZ
. Supports the Y10K end date for IEEE 802.1AR-2018 standard devices,9999-12-31T23:59:59Z
.signature_bits
(int: 0)
- Specifies the number of bits to use in the signature algorithm; accepts 256 for SHA-2-256, 384 for SHA-2-384, and 512 for SHA-2-512. Defaults to 0 to automatically detect based on issuer's key length (SHA-2-256 for RSA keys, and matching the curve size for NIST P-Curves).
Note: ECDSA and Ed25519 issuers do not follow configuration of the
signature_bits
value; only RSA issuers will change signature types
based on this parameter.
skid
(string: "")
- Value for the Subject Key Identifier field (RFC 5280 Section 4.2.1.2). Specified as a string in hex format. Default is empty, allowing Vault to automatically calculate the SKID according to method one in the above RFC section.
Note: This value should ONLY be used when cross-signing to mimic the existing certificate's SKID value; this is necessary to allow certain TLS implementations (such as OpenSSL) which use SKID/AKID matches in chain building to restrict possible valid chains.
use_pss
(bool: false)
- Specifies whether or not to use PSS signatures over PKCS#1v1.5 signatures when a RSA-type issuer is used. Ignored for ECDSA/Ed25519 issuers.
Sample payload
{
"csr": "...",
"common_name": "example.com"
}
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/root/sign-intermediate
Sample response
{
"lease_id": "",
"renewable": false,
"lease_duration": 0,
"data": {
"expiration": "1654105687",
"certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDzDCCAragAwIBAgIUOd0ukLcjH43TfTHFG9qE0FtlMVgwCwYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...\numkqeYeO30g1uYvDuWLXVA==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"issuing_ca": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDUTCCAjmgAwIBAgIJAKM+z4MSfw2mMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBsxGTAXBgNV\n...\nG/7g4koczXLoUM3OQXd5Aq2cs4SS1vODrYmgbioFsQ3eDHd1fg==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"ca_chain": [
"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDUTCCAjmgAwIBAgIJAKM+z4MSfw2mMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBsxGTAXBgNV\n...\nG/7g4koczXLoUM3OQXd5Aq2cs4SS1vODrYmgbioFsQ3eDHd1fg==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"
],
"serial_number": "39:dd:2e:90:b7:23:1f:8d:d3:7d:31:c5:1b:da:84:d0:5b:65:31:58"
},
"auth": null
}
Sign Intermediate with External Policy Enterprise
Similar to sign intermediate, this endpoint accepts a CSR and returns a certificate with appropriate values for acting as an intermediate CA via an external policy engine. Any parameters passed to this endpoint are passed verbatim to the Certificate Issuance External Policy Service (CIEPS)Enterprise. The response format is the same between both endpoints.
It is suggested to limit access to the path-overridden issue endpoint (on /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/external-policy/issue/:policy) and let the CIEPS engine override the issuer as necessary.
Method | Path | Issuer |
---|---|---|
POST | /pki/external-policy/sign-intermediate(/:policy) | default or CIEPS-selected |
POST | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/external-policy/sign-intermediate(/:policy) | Path or CIEPS selected |
Parameters
policy
(string: <optional>)
- Specifies the name of the policy to create the certificate against. This is part of the request URL and is passed to the external CIEPS engine.issuer_ref
(string: <required>)
- Reference to an existing issuer, either by Vault-generated identifier, the literal stringdefault
to refer to the currently configured default issuer, or the name assigned to an issuer. This parameter is part of the request URL.
Note: This parameter is not present on the /pki/external-policy/sign-intermediate
path and takes its value from the CIEPS engine response's issuer_ref
field, which can override the user-requested issuer.
csr
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the PEM-encoded CSR.format
(string: "pem")
- Specifies the format for returned data. Can bepem
,der
, orpem_bundle
; defaults topem
. Ifder
, the output is base64 encoded. Ifpem_bundle
, thecertificate
field will contain the private key and certificate, concatenated; if the issuing CA is not a Vault-derived self-signed root, this will be included as well.private_key_format
(string: "pem")
- Specifies the format for marshaling the private key within the private_key response field. Defaults toder
which will return either base64-encoded DER or PEM-encoded DER, depending on the value offormat
. The other option ispkcs8
which will return the key marshalled as PEM-encoded PKCS8.
Note that this does not apply to the private key within the certificate
field if format=pem_bundle
parameter is specified.
Other parameters may be specified and will not be parsed by Vault but may be recognized based on external CIEPS engine definition.
Sample payload
{
"csr": "..."
}
Sample response
{
"lease_id": "",
"renewable": false,
"lease_duration": 0,
"data": {
"expiration": "1654105687",
"certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDzDCCAragAwIBAgIUOd0ukLcjH43TfTHFG9qE0FtlMVgwCwYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...\numkqeYeO30g1uYvDuWLXVA==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"issuing_ca": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDUTCCAjmgAwIBAgIJAKM+z4MSfw2mMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBsxGTAXBgNV\n...\nG/7g4koczXLoUM3OQXd5Aq2cs4SS1vODrYmgbioFsQ3eDHd1fg==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"ca_chain": [
"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDUTCCAjmgAwIBAgIJAKM+z4MSfw2mMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBsxGTAXBgNV\n...\nG/7g4koczXLoUM3OQXd5Aq2cs4SS1vODrYmgbioFsQ3eDHd1fg==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"
],
"serial_number": "39:dd:2e:90:b7:23:1f:8d:d3:7d:31:c5:1b:da:84:d0:5b:65:31:58"
},
"auth": null
}
Sign Self-Issued
This endpoint uses the configured CA certificate to sign a self-issued certificate (which will usually be a self-signed certificate as well).
This is an extremely privileged endpoint. The given certificate will be
signed as-is with only minimal validation performed (is it a CA cert, and is it
actually self-issued). The only values that will be changed will be the
authority key ID, the issuer DN, and, if set, any distribution points.
It is recommended to limit this endpoint to only trusted operators.
This is generally only needed for root certificate rolling in cases where you
don't want/can't get access to a CSR (such as if it's a root stored in Vault
where the key is not exposed). If you don't know whether you need this
endpoint, you most likely should be using a different endpoint (such as
sign-intermediate
).
Method | Path | Issuer | Requires sudo capability |
---|---|---|---|
POST | /pki/root/sign-self-issued | default | yes |
POST | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/sign-self-issued | Selected | no |
Parameters
issuer_ref
(string: <required>)
- Reference to an existing issuer, either by Vault-generated identifier, the literal stringdefault
to refer to the currently configured default issuer, or the name assigned to an issuer. This parameter is part of the request URL.
Note: This parameter is not present on the /pki/root/sign-self-issued
path and takes the value default
.
certificate
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the PEM-encoded self-issued certificate.require_matching_certificate_algorithms
(bool: false)
- If true, requires that the public key algorithm of the CA match that of the submitted certificate.
Sample payload
{
"certificate": "..."
}
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/root/sign-self-issued
Sample response
{
"lease_id": "",
"renewable": false,
"lease_duration": 0,
"data": {
"certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDzDCCAragAwIBAgIUOd0ukLcjH43TfTHFG9qE0FtlMVgwCwYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...\numkqeYeO30g1uYvDuWLXVA==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"issuing_ca": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDUTCCAjmgAwIBAgIJAKM+z4MSfw2mMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBsxGTAXBgNV\n...\nG/7g4koczXLoUM3OQXd5Aq2cs4SS1vODrYmgbioFsQ3eDHd1fg==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"
},
"auth": null
}
Sign verbatim
This endpoint signs a new certificate based upon the provided CSR. Values are
taken verbatim from the CSR; the only restriction is that this endpoint will
refuse to issue an intermediate CA certificate (see the
/pki/root/sign-intermediate
endpoint for that functionality.)
This is a potentially dangerous endpoint and only highly trusted users should have access.
Method | Path | Issuer |
---|---|---|
POST | /pki/sign-verbatim(/:name) | default |
POST | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/sign-verbatim(/:name) | Selected |
Parameters
issuer_ref
(string: <required>)
- Reference to an existing issuer, either by Vault-generated identifier, the literal stringdefault
to refer to the currently configured default issuer, or the name assigned to an issuer. This parameter is part of the request URL.
Note: This parameter is not present on the /pki/root/sign-self-issued
path and takes the value default
.
name
(string: "")
- Specifies a role. If set, the following parameters from the role will have effect:ttl
,max_ttl
,issuer
,generate_lease
,no_store
,no_store_metadata
andnot_before_duration
.csr
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the PEM-encoded CSR.key_usage
(list: ["DigitalSignature", "KeyAgreement", "KeyEncipherment"])
- Specifies the default key usage constraint on the issued certificate. Valid values can be found at https://golang.org/pkg/crypto/x509/#KeyUsage - simply drop theKeyUsage
part of the value. Values are not case-sensitive. To specify no default key usage constraints, set this to an empty list.
Note: previous versions of this document incorrectly called this a constraint;
this value is only used as a default when the KeyUsage
extension is missing
from the CSR.
ext_key_usage
(list: [])
- Specifies the default extended key usage constraint on the issued certificate. Valid values can be found at https://golang.org/pkg/crypto/x509/#ExtKeyUsage - simply drop theExtKeyUsage
part of the value. Values are not case-sensitive. To specify no key default usage constraints, set this to an empty list.
Note: previous versions of this document incorrectly called this a constraint;
this value is only used as a default when the ExtendedKeyUsage
extension is
missing from the CSR.
ext_key_usage_oids
(string: "")
- A comma-separated string or list of extended key usage oids.
Note: This value is only used as a default when the ExtendedKeyUsage
extension is missing from the CSR.
enforce_leaf_not_after_behavior
(bool: false)
- If true, do not apply the default truncate behavior to the issued CA certificate, instead defer to the issuer's configuredleaf_not_after_behavior
ttl
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested Time To Live. Cannot be greater than the engine'smax_ttl
value. If not provided, the engine'sttl
value will be used, which defaults to system values if not explicitly set. Seenot_after
as an alternative for setting an absolute end date (rather than a relative one).format
(string: "pem")
- Specifies the format for returned data. Can bepem
,der
, orpem_bundle
. Ifder
, the output is base64 encoded. Ifpem_bundle
, thecertificate
field will contain the certificate and, if the issuing CA is not a Vault-derived self-signed root, it will be concatenated with the certificate.not_after
(string)
- Set the Not After field of the certificate with specified date value. The value format should be given in UTC formatYYYY-MM-ddTHH:MM:SSZ
. Supports the Y10K end date for IEEE 802.1AR-2018 standard devices,9999-12-31T23:59:59Z
.signature_bits
(int: 0)
- Specifies the number of bits to use in the signature algorithm; accepts 256 for SHA-2-256, 384 for SHA-2-384, and 512 for SHA-2-512. Defaults to 0 to automatically detect based on issuer's key length (SHA-2-256 for RSA keys, and matching the curve size for NIST P-Curves).
Note: ECDSA and Ed25519 issuers do not follow configuration of the
signature_bits
value; only RSA issuers will change signature types
based on this parameter.
use_pss
(bool: false)
- Specifies whether or not to use PSS signatures over PKCS#1v1.5 signatures when a RSA-type issuer is used. Ignored for ECDSA/Ed25519 issuers.remove_roots_from_chain
(bool: false)
- If true, the returnedca_chain
field will not include any self-signed CA certificates. Useful if end-users already have the root CA in their trust store.user_ids
(string: "")
- Specifies the comma-separated list of requested User ID (OID 0.9.2342.19200300.100.1.1) Subject values to be placed on the signed certificate. No validation on names is performed using this endpoint.cert_metadata
(string: "")
- Enterprise A base 64 encoded value or an empty string to associate with the certificate's serial number. A role must be passed to sign-verbatim, and that role's no_store_metadata must be set to false, otherwise an error is returned when specified. To retrieve metadata see: Read Certificate Metadata
Sample payload
{
"csr": "..."
}
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/sign-verbatim
Sample response
{
"lease_id": "pki/sign-verbatim/7ad6cfa5-f04f-c62a-d477-f33210475d05",
"renewable": false,
"lease_duration": 21600,
"data": {
"certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDzDCCAragAwIBAgIUOd0ukLcjH43TfTHFG9qE0FtlMVgwCwYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...\numkqeYeO30g1uYvDuWLXVA==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"issuing_ca": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDUTCCAjmgAwIBAgIJAKM+z4MSfw2mMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBsxGTAXBgNV\n...\nG/7g4koczXLoUM3OQXd5Aq2cs4SS1vODrYmgbioFsQ3eDHd1fg==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"ca_chain": [
"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDUTCCAjmgAwIBAgIJAKM+z4MSfw2mMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBsxGTAXBgNV\n...\nG/7g4koczXLoUM3OQXd5Aq2cs4SS1vODrYmgbioFsQ3eDHd1fg==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"
],
"serial_number": "39:dd:2e:90:b7:23:1f:8d:d3:7d:31:c5:1b:da:84:d0:5b:65:31:58"
},
"auth": null
}
Revoke certificate
This endpoint revokes a certificate using its serial number. This is an
alternative option to the standard method of revoking using Vault lease IDs. A
successful revocation rotates the CRL unless auto_rebuild
is set to true
in the CRL configuration.
Note: This operation is privileged as it allows revocation of arbitrary
certificates based purely on their serial number. It does not validate that
the requesting user issued the certificate or has possession of the private
key.
It is not possible to revoke issuers using this path.
Method | Path |
---|---|
POST | /pki/revoke |
Parameters
Note: either serial_number
or certificate
(but not both) must be
specified on requests to this endpoint.
serial_number
(string: <optional>)
- Specifies the serial number of the certificate to revoke, in hyphen-separated or colon-separated hexadecimal.certificate
(string: <optional>)
- Specifies the certificate to revoke, in PEM format. This certificate must have been signed by one of the issuers in this mount in order to be accepted for revocation.
Sample payload
{
"serial_number": "39:dd:2e..."
}
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/revoke
Sample response
{
"data": {
"revocation_time": 1433269787
}
}
Revoke certificate with private key
This endpoint revokes a certificate using its private key as proof that the request is authorized by an appropriate individual (Proof of Possession).
This is an alternative option to the standard method of revoking using Vault
lease IDs or revocation via serial number. A successful revocation will
rotate the CRL unless auto_rebuild
is set to true
in the CRL configuration.
It is not possible to revoke issuers using this path.
Note: This operation is NOT privileged, as it validates revocation has a private key corresponding to a certificate signed by Vault. However, to avoid third parties performing a denial-of-service (DOS) against Vault, we've made this endpoint authenticated. Thus it is strongly encouraged to generally allow all access to this path via ACLs.
Method | Path |
---|---|
POST | /pki/revoke-with-key |
Parameters
Note: either serial_number
or certificate
(but not both) must be
specified on requests to this endpoint.
serial_number
(string: <optional>)
- Specifies the serial number of the certificate to revoke, in hyphen-separated or colon-separated hexadecimal.certificate
(string: <optional>)
- Specifies the certificate to revoke, in PEM format. This certificate must have been signed by one of the issuers in this mount in order to be accepted for revocation.private_key
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the private key (in PEM format) corresponding to the certificate issued by Vault that is attempted to be revoked. This endpoint must be called several times (with each unique certificate/serial number) if this private key is used in multiple certificates as Vault does not maintain such a mapping.
Sample payload
{
"serial_number": "39:dd:2e...",
"private_key": "-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\n..."
}
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/revoke-with-key
Sample response
{
"data": {
"revocation_time": 1433269787
}
}
List revoked certificates
This endpoint returns a list of serial numbers that have been revoked on the local cluster.
Method | Path |
---|---|
LIST | /certs/revoked |
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request LIST \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/certs/revoked
Sample response
{
"data": {
"keys": [
"3d:80:91:c3:c2:34:3b:81:69:3d:92:a3:80:69:db:53:04:26:ab:b4"
]
}
}
List revocation requests
This endpoint returns a list of serial numbers that have been requested to be revoked on any cluster, along with information about the request's state and which cluster it originated on.
Method | Path |
---|---|
LIST | /certs/revocation-queue |
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request LIST \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/certs/revocation-queue
Sample response
{
"data": {
"key_info": {
"3d:80:91:c3:c2:34:3b:81:69:3d:92:a3:80:69:db:53:04:26:ab:b4": {
"requesting_cluster": "48327b28-8325-6d79-6a0b-4cbaa6f27b4a"
}
},
"keys": [
"3d:80:91:c3:c2:34:3b:81:69:3d:92:a3:80:69:db:53:04:26:ab:b4"
]
}
}
List Cross-Cluster revocations
This endpoint returns a list of serial numbers that have been revoked on any cluster, along with the clusters that have a copy of that revoked certificate.
Method | Path |
---|---|
LIST | /certs/unified-revoked |
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request LIST \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/certs/unified-revoked
Sample response
{
"data": {
"key_info": {
"7f:fd:12:5b:16:29:bb:28:ea:24:bc:a1:80:f7:4e:6e:a0:69:b9:95": {
"revoking_clusters": [
"48327b28-8325-6d79-6a0b-4cbaa6f27b4a"
]
}
},
"keys": [
"7f:fd:12:5b:16:29:bb:28:ea:24:bc:a1:80:f7:4e:6e:a0:69:b9:95"
]
}
}
Accessing authority information
All consumers of the PKI Secrets Engine mount point will have access to the following unauthenticated APIs, useful for reading information about the certificate authority in this mount point.
This includes information about CA certificates, their chains, and their signed CRLs, containing an encoded list of revoked certificates previously issued by this authority. Individual issued certificates can also be read, assuming their serial number is known. Finally, the list of issuing certificates is public information in this mount.
List issuers
This endpoint returns a list of issuers currently provisioned in this mount. The response includes both the issuer's identifier as well as the name chosen by the operators; either can be used to refer to the issuer later.
This endpoint is unauthenticated.
Method | Path |
---|---|
LIST | /pki/issuers |
Sample request
$ curl \
--request LIST \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/issuers
Sample response
{
"data": {
"key_info": {
"1ae8ce9d-2f70-0761-a465-8c9840a247a2": {
"issuer_name": "imported-root"
},
"3dc79a5a-7a6c-70e2-1123-94b88557ba12": {
"issuer_name": "root-x1"
}
},
"keys": [
"1ae8ce9d-2f70-0761-a465-8c9840a247a2",
"3dc79a5a-7a6c-70e2-1123-94b88557ba12"
]
}
}
Read issuer certificate
This endpoint retrieves the specified issuer's certificate.
Note that the response differs between the older /pki/cert/ca
path and the newer /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/json
path; the latter
includes the full ca_chain
of the issuer, removing the need for a separate
endpoint.
These are unauthenticated endpoints.
Note: this endpoint accepts the If-Modified-Since
header, to respond with
304 Not Modified when the requested resource has not changed. This header
needs to be allowed on the PKI mount by tuning the passthrough_request_headers
option. In order for clients to know the last modified time, the response
header Last-Modified
needs to be added to the mount tunable
allowed_response_headers
.
Method | Path | Issuer | Format |
---|---|---|---|
GET | /pki/cert/ca | default | JSON |
GET | /pki/ca | default | DER [1] |
GET | /pki/ca/pem | default | PEM [1] |
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/json | Selected | JSON |
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/der | Selected | DER [1] |
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/pem | Selected | PEM [1] |
Parameters
issuer_ref
(string: <required>)
- Reference to an existing issuer, either by Vault-generated identifier, the literal stringdefault
to refer to the currently configured default issuer, or the name assigned to an issuer. This parameter is part of the request URL.
Note: This parameter is not present on the /pki/cert/ca
and
/pki/ca(/pem)?
paths and takes the implicit value default
.
Sample request
$ curl \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/issuer/root-x1/json
Sample response
{
"data": {
"ca_chain": [
"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDFDCCAfygAwIBAgIUXgxy54mKooz5soqQoRINazH/3pQwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...",
"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDFTCCAf2gAwIBAgIUUo/qwLm5AyqUWqFHw1MlgwUtS/kwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n..."
],
"certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nnMIIDFDCCAfygAwIBAgIUXgxy54mKooz5soqQoRINazH/3pQwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL...",
"revocation_time": 0
}
}
Read default issuer certificate chain
This endpoint retrieves the default issuer's CA certificate chain, including the default issuer.
To read other issuers' chains, use the
/pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/json
endpoint instead.
These are unauthenticated endpoints.
Method | Path | Issuer | Format |
---|---|---|---|
GET | /pki/ca_chain | default | PEM [1] |
GET | /pki/cert/ca_chain | default | JSON |
Note: As of Vault 1.11.0, these endpoints now return the full chain (including the default issuer's certificate and all parent issuers known to Vault) in these responses.
Sample request
$ curl \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/ca_chain
Sample response
<PEM-encoded certificate chain>
Read issuer CRL
This endpoint retrieves the specified issuer's CRL.
Note that the response differs between the older /pki/cert/crl
path and
the newer /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/crl
path; the latter correctly places the
PEM-encoded CRL in the crl
field whereas the former incorrectly places it
in the certificate
field.
Endpoints with type complete
are full CRLs containing all revoked
certificates (as of the time of generation. Endpoints with type delta
contain incremental CRLs on top of the last complete CRL, with any new
certificates that have been revoked. See the revocation configuration
section for more information about these options.
The delta CRL clears when the next complete CRL is rebuilt. Consumers of
delta CRLs will need to update their client to support fetching the
corresponding full CRL when it has been regenerated; otherwise, some serial
numbers may not appear in the local copy of the full CRL if the remote
complete and delta CRLs has been regenerated.
Endpoints with source local
only include cluster-local revocations. When
the unified_crl
parameters is enabled in the CRL
configuration, endpoints with source unified
will have revocations from all clusters. Generally use of the unified
source is more consistent with expectations of external apps, but see
the PKI Considerations page
for a discussion on cluster size and unified CRLs/OCSP.
Enterprise
Unified CRLs require a Vault Enterprise license or HCP Plus cluster.
These are unauthenticated endpoints.
Note: As of Vault 1.11.0, these endpoints now serve a version 2 CRL response.
Note: this endpoint accepts the If-Modified-Since
header, to respond with
304 Not Modified when the requested resource has not changed. This header
needs to be allowed on the PKI mount by tuning the passthrough_request_headers
option. In order for clients to know the last modified time, the response
header Last-Modified
needs to be added to the mount tunable
allowed_response_headers
.
Method | Path | Issuer | Format | Type | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
GET | /pki/cert/crl | default | JSON | Complete | Local |
GET | /pki/crl | default | DER [1] | Complete | Local |
GET | /pki/crl/pem | default | PEM [1] | Complete | Local |
GET | /pki/cert/delta-crl | default | JSON | Delta | Local |
GET | /pki/crl/delta | default | DER [1] | Delta | Local |
GET | /pki/crl/delta/pem | default | PEM [1] | Delta | Local |
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/crl | Selected | JSON | Complete | Local |
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/crl/der | Selected | DER [1] | Complete | Local |
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/crl/pem | Selected | PEM [1] | Complete | Local |
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/crl/delta | Selected | JSON | Delta | Local |
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/crl/delta/der | Selected | DER [1] | Delta | Local |
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/crl/delta/pem | Selected | PEM [1] | Delta | Local |
GET | /pki/cert/unified-crl | default | JSON | Complete | Unified |
GET | /pki/unified-crl | default | DER [1] | Complete | Unified |
GET | /pki/unified-crl/pem | default | PEM [1] | Complete | Unified |
GET | /pki/cert/unified-delta-crl | default | JSON | Delta | Unified |
GET | /pki/unified-crl/delta | default | DER [1] | Delta | Unified |
GET | /pki/unified-crl/delta/pem | default | PEM [1] | Delta | Unified |
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/unified-crl | Selected | JSON | Complete | Unified |
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/unified-crl/der | Selected | DER [1] | Complete | Unified |
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/unified-crl/pem | Selected | PEM [1] | Complete | Unified |
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/unified-crl/delta | Selected | JSON | Delta | Unified |
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/unified-crl/delta/der | Selected | DER [1] | Delta | Unified |
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/unified-crl/delta/pem | Selected | PEM [1] | Delta | Unified |
Parameters
issuer_ref
(string: <required>)
- Reference to an existing issuer, either by Vault-generated identifier, the literal stringdefault
to refer to the currently configured default issuer, or the name assigned to an issuer. This parameter is part of the request URL.
Note: This parameter is not present on the /pki/cert/crl
and
/pki/crl(/pem)?
paths and takes the implicit value default
.
Sample request
$ curl \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/issuer/root-x1/crl
Sample response
{
"data": {
"crl": "-----BEGIN X509 CRL-----\nMIIBizB1AgEBMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMBIxEDAOBgNVBAMTB3Jvb3QgeDEXDTIy\n..."
}
}
OCSP request
This endpoint retrieves an OCSP response (revocation status) for a given serial number. The request/response formats are based on RFC 6960
Endpoints with source local
only include cluster-local revocations. When
the unified_crl
parameters is enabled in the CRL
configuration, endpoints with source unified
will have revocations from all clusters. Generally use of the unified
source is more consistent with expectations of external apps, but see
the PKI Considerations page
for a discussion on cluster size and unified CRLs/OCSP.
Enterprise
Unified OCSP requires a Vault Enterprise license or HCP Plus cluster.
At this time there are certain limitations of the OCSP implementation at this path:
- Only a single serial number within the request will appear in the response,
- None of the extensions defined in the RFC are supported for requests or responses,
- Ed25519 backed CA's are not supported for OCSP requests,
- Note that this API will not work with the Vault client as both request and responses are DER encoded, and
- Note that KMS based issuers which require PSS support are not supported either (such as PKCS#11 HSMs or GCP in certain scenarios).
Note: The OCSP implementation for GET requests can lead to intermittent 400 errors when an encoded OCSP request contains consecutive '/' characters. Until this is resolved it is recommended to use POST based OCSP requests.
These are unauthenticated endpoints.
Method | Path | Response Format | Source |
---|---|---|---|
GET | /pki/ocsp/<base 64+URL encoded ocsp DER request> | DER [1] | Local |
POST | /pki/ocsp | DER [1] | Local |
GET | /pki/unified-ocsp/<base 64+URL encoded ocsp DER request> | DER [1] | Unified |
POST | /pki/unified-ocsp | DER [1] | Unified |
Parameters
- None
Sample request
openssl ocsp -no_nonce -issuer issuer.pem -CAfile ca_chain.pem -cert cert-to-revoke.pem -text -url $VAULT_ADDR/v1/pki/ocsp
List certificates
This endpoint returns a list of the current certificates by serial number only.
The response does not include the special serial numbers
(ca
, ca_chain
, and crl
) that can be used with /pki/cert/:serial
.
This includes only certificates issued by this mount with no_store=false
.
While root generation does create entries here, importing certificates
(including both roots and intermediates) will not cause the imported
certificate's serial number to appear in this list.
Note: The endpoint to list all certificates is authenticated. This is to
prevent automated enumeration of issued certificates for internal services;
however, this information should generally be considered non-sensitive and
the certificates themselves are exposed without authentication (provided
their serial number is known).
Many Public CAs participate in the Certificate Transparency initiative,
where all issued certificates are publicly disclosed in the interest
of third-party verification of CA integrity.
Method | Path |
---|---|
LIST | /pki/certs |
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request LIST \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/certs
Sample response
{
"data": {
"keys": [
"17:67:16:b0:b9:45:58:c0:3a:29:e3:cb:d6:98:33:7a:a6:3b:66:c1",
"26:0f:76:93:73:cb:3f:a0:7a:ff:97:85:42:48:3a:aa:e5:96:03:21"
]
}
}
Read certificate
This endpoint retrieves the certificate specified by its serial number, including issued certificates.
Note: With the exception of the special values (ca
, crl
, and
ca_chain
), /pki/cert/:serial
will return different results on
different clusters. This is because stored certificates are not
replicated across different Performance Replication clusters.
These are unauthenticated endpoints.
Method | Path | Format |
---|---|---|
GET | /pki/cert/:serial | JSON |
GET | /pki/cert/:serial/raw | DER [1] |
GET | /pki/cert/:serial/raw/pem | PEM [1] |
Parameters
serial
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the serial of the key to read. This is part of the request URL. Valid values forserial
are:
<serial>
for the certificate with the given serial number, in hyphen-separated or colon-separated hexadecimal.ca
for the default issuer's CA certificatecrl
for the default issuer's CRLca_chain
for the default issuer's CA trust chain.
Note: As of Vault 1.11.0, these endpoints return the full chain
(including this certificate and all parent issuers known to Vault) in
the ca_chain
response, for both the certificate
and newer ca_chain
fields. The root certificate is no longer elided.
Sample request
$ curl \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/cert/67:b4:f7:2c:aa:ef:b9:30:f6:ae:f5:12:21:79:ac:08:8a:86:89:72
Sample response
{
"data": {
"certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIGmDCCBYCgAwIBAgIHBzEB3fTzhTANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQsFADCBjDELMAkGA1UE\n...",
"revocation_time": 1667400107,
"revocation_time_rfc3339": "2022-11-02T14:41:47.327515Z",
"issuer_id": "e27bf456-51e1-d937-0001-4a609184fd9b"
}
}
Read Certificate Metadata Enterprise
This endpoint retrieves the metadata associated with the certificate specified by the serial number.
Method | Path | Format |
---|---|---|
GET | /pki/cert-metadata/:serial | JSON |
Parameters
serial
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the serial of the certificate whose metadata to read. This is part of the request URL.
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/cert-metadata/67:b4:f7:2c:aa:ef:b9:30:f6:ae:f5:12:21:79:ac:08:8a:86:89:72
Sample response
{
"data": {
"issuer_id": "e27bf456-51e1-d937-0001-4a609184fd9b",
"expiration": "2022-11-02T14:41:47.327515Z",
"cert_metadata": "dXNlci1wcm92aWRlZC1tZXRhZGF0YQ==",
"role": "role-name",
"serial_number": "67:b4:f7:2c:aa:ef:b9:30:f6:ae:f5:12:21:79:ac:08:8a:86:89:72"
}
}
Sample cert_metadata fetch
$ base64 --decode <<< $(vault read --field=cert_metadata pki/cert-metadata/67:b4:f7:2c:aa:ef:b9:30:f6:ae:f5:12:21:79:ac:08:8a:86:89:72 )
user-provided-metadata
List Certificate Metadata Enterprise
This endpoint returns a list of stored certificate metadata. Only the serial numbers of the certificates the metadata is associated with are returned, not the certificate metadata itself.
Method | Path |
---|---|
LIST | /pki/cert-metadata |
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request LIST \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/cert-metadata
Sample response
{
"auth": null,
"data": {
"keys": ["38:1f:29:ad:99:e8:c9:ae:7b:33:4d:b2:a5:c8:30:7c:71:93:77:ee", "67:b4:f7:2c:aa:ef:b9:30:f6:ae:f5:12:21:79:ac:08:8a:86:89:72"]
},
"lease_duration": 0,
"lease_id": "",
"renewable": false
}
Managing keys and issuers
The following endpoints are highly privileged and allow operators to generate or import new issuer certificates and keys, remove existing keys and issuers, or read internal information about keys and issuers.
List issuers
Refer to the earlier section for more information about listing issuers.
List keys
This endpoint returns a list of keys currently provisioned in this mount. The response includes both the key's identifier as well as the name chosen by the operators; either can be used to refer to the key later.
This endpoint is authenticated.
Method | Path |
---|---|
LIST | /pki/keys |
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request LIST \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/keys
Sample response
{
"data": {
"key_info": {
"f9244f54-adc7-4a5c-6b08-6ca3a3325620": {
"key_name": "imported-root-key"
},
},
"keys": [
"f9244f54-adc7-4a5c-6b08-6ca3a3325620",
]
}
}
Generate key
This endpoint generates a new private key for use in the PKI mount. This key
can be used with either the root or intermediate
endpoints, using the type=existing
variant.
If the path ends with exported
, the private key will be returned in the
response; if it is internal
the private key will not be returned and cannot
be retrieved later; if it is kms
, a managed keys will be
used.
Method | Path |
---|---|
POST | /pki/keys/generate/:type |
Parameters
type
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the type of the key to create. Ifexported
, the private key will be returned in the response; ifinternal
the private key will not be returned and cannot be retrieved later;kms
is also supported: see below for more details about managed keys. This parameter is part of the request URL.key_name
(string: "")
- When a new key is created with this request, optionally specifies the name for this. The global refdefault
may not be used as a name.key_type
(string: "rsa")
- Specifies the desired key type; must bersa
,ed25519
orec
.
Note: In FIPS 140-2 mode, the following algorithms are not certified
and thus should not be used: ed25519
.
key_bits
(int: 0)
- Specifies the number of bits to use for the generated keys. Allowed values are 0 (universal default); withkey_type=rsa
, allowed values are: 2048 (default), 3072, 4096 or 8192; withkey_type=ec
, allowed values are: 224, 256 (default), 384, or 521; ignored withkey_type=ed25519
.
Managed keys parameters
See Managed Keys for additional details on this feature, if
type
was set to kms
. One of the following parameters must be set
managed_key_name
(string: "")
- The managed key's configured name.managed_key_id
(string: "")
- The managed key's UUID.
Sample payload
{
"key_type": "ec",
"key_bits": "256",
"key_name": "root-key-2022"
}
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/keys/generate/internal
Sample response
{
"request_id": "8ad22b2f-7d14-f2cd-a10a-d1abc33676ab",
"lease_id": "",
"lease_duration": 0,
"renewable": false,
"data": {
"key_id": "adda2443-a8aa-d181-9d07-07c7be6a76ab",
"key_name": "root-key-2022",
"key_type": "ec"
},
"warnings": null
}
Generate root
This endpoint generates a new self-signed CA certificate and private key. If
the path ends with exported
, the private key will be returned in the
response; if it is internal
the private key will not be returned and cannot
be retrieved later; if it is existing
, the key specified by key_ref
will
be reused for this root; if it is kms
, a managed keys will
be used.
This generated root will sign its own CRL. Authority Access distribution points
use the values set via config/urls
.
Note: As of Vault 1.11.0, the PKI Secrets Engine now supports multiple
issuers under a single mount. Use the management operations in this section
to list and modify issuers within this
mount. No issuers will be overridden by calling this operation. Deleting
individual keys and issuers should be preferred to calling DELETE /pki/root
,
which deletes everything.
Method | Path |
---|---|
POST | /pki/root/generate/:type |
POST | /pki/issuers/generate/root/:type |
POST | /pki/root/rotate/:type |
Parameters
type
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the type of the root to create. Ifexported
, the private key will be returned in the response; ifinternal
the private key will not be returned and cannot be retrieved later; ifexisting
, we use the value of thekey_ref
parameter to find existing key material to create the CSR;kms
is also supported: see below for more details about managed keys. This parameter is part of the request URL.issuer_name
(string: "")
- Provides a name to the specified issuer. The name must be unique across all issuers and not be the reserved valuedefault
. When no value is supplied and the path is/pki/root/rotate/:type
, the default value of"next"
will be used.key_name
(string: "")
- When a new key is created with this request, optionally specifies the name for this. The global refdefault
may not be used as a name.key_ref
(string: "default")
- Specifies the key (eitherdefault
, by name, or by identifier) to use for generating this request. Only suitable fortype=existing
requests.common_name
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the requested CN for the certificate. If more than onecommon_name
is desired, specify the alternative names in thealt_names
list.alt_names
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested Subject Alternative Names, in a comma-delimited list. These can be host names or email addresses; they will be parsed into their respective fields.ip_sans
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested IP Subject Alternative Names, in a comma-delimited list.uri_sans
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested URI Subject Alternative Names, in a comma-delimited list.other_sans
(string: "")
- Specifies custom OID/UTF8-string SANs. These must match values specified on the role inallowed_other_sans
(see role creation for allowed_other_sans globbing rules). The format is the same as OpenSSL:<oid>;<type>:<value>
where the only current valid type isUTF8
. This can be a comma-delimited list or a JSON string slice.ttl
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested Time To Live (after which the certificate will be expired). This cannot be larger than the engine's max (or, if not set, the system max). Seenot_after
as an alternative for setting an absolute end date (rather than a relative one).format
(string: "pem")
- Specifies the format for returned data. Can bepem
,der
, orpem_bundle
. Ifder
, the output is base64 encoded. Ifpem_bundle
, thecertificate
field will contain the private key (if exported) and certificate, concatenated; if the issuing CA is not a Vault-derived self-signed root, this will be included as well.private_key_format
(string: "der")
- Specifies the format for marshaling the private key within the private_key response field. Defaults toder
which will return either base64-encoded DER or PEM-encoded DER, depending on the value offormat
. The other option ispkcs8
which will return the key marshalled as PEM-encoded PKCS8.
Note that this does not apply to the private key within the certificate
field if format=pem_bundle
parameter is specified.
key_type
(string: "rsa")
- Specifies the desired key type; must bersa
,ed25519
orec
.
Note: In FIPS 140-2 mode, the following algorithms are not certified
and thus should not be used: ed25519
.
key_bits
(int: 0)
- Specifies the number of bits to use for the generated keys. Allowed values are 0 (universal default); withkey_type=rsa
, allowed values are: 2048 (default), 3072, 4096 or 8192; withkey_type=ec
, allowed values are: 224, 256 (default), 384, or 521; ignored withkey_type=ed25519
.max_path_length
(int: -1)
- Specifies the maximum path length to encode in the generated certificate.-1
means no limit. Unless the signing certificate has a maximum path length set, in which case the path length is set to one less than that of the signing certificate. A limit of0
means a literal path length of zero.key_usage
([]string: CRL,CertSign)
- This list of key usages will be added to the existing set of key usages, CRL,CertSign, on the generated certificate. Values can be found at https://golang.org/pkg/crypto/x509/#KeyUsage part of the name.exclude_cn_from_sans
(bool: false)
- If true, the givencommon_name
will not be included in DNS or Email Subject Alternate Names (as appropriate). Useful if the CN is not a hostname or email address, but is instead some human-readable identifier.permitted_dns_domains
(string: "")
- A comma separated string (or, string array) containing DNS domains for which certificates are allowed to be issued or signed by this CA certificate. Note that subdomains are allowed, as per RFC 5280 Section 4.2.1.10 - Name Constraints.ou
(string: "")
- Specifies the OU (OrganizationalUnit) values in the subject field of the resulting certificate. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.organization
(string: "")
- Specifies the O (Organization) values in the subject field of the resulting certificate. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.country
(string: "")
- Specifies the C (Country) values in the subject field of the resulting certificate. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.locality
(string: "")
- Specifies the L (Locality) values in the subject field of the resulting certificate. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.province
(string: "")
- Specifies the ST (Province) values in the subject field of the resulting certificate. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.street_address
(string: "")
- Specifies the Street Address values in the subject field of the resulting certificate. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.postal_code
(string: "")
- Specifies the Postal Code values in the subject field of the resulting certificate. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.serial_number
(string: "")
- - Specifies the default Subject's named Serial Number value, if any. If you want more than one, specify alternative names in thealt_names
map using OID 2.5.4.5. Note that this has no impact on the Certificate's serial number field, which Vault randomly generates.not_before_duration
(duration: "30s")
- Specifies the duration by which to backdate the NotBefore property. This value has no impact in the validity period of the requested certificate, specified in thettl
field. Uses duration format strings.not_after
(string)
- Set the Not After field of the certificate with specified date value. The value format should be given in UTC formatYYYY-MM-ddTHH:MM:SSZ
. Supports the Y10K end date for IEEE 802.1AR-2018 standard devices,9999-12-31T23:59:59Z
.
Note: Keys of type
rsa
currently only support PKCS#1 v1.5 signatures.
Managed keys parameters
See Managed Keys for additional details on this feature, if
type
was set to kms
. One of the following parameters must be set
managed_key_name
(string: "")
- The managed key's configured name.managed_key_id
(string: "")
- The managed key's UUID.
Sample payload
{
"common_name": "example.com"
}
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/root/generate/internal
Sample response
{
"lease_id": "",
"lease_duration": 0,
"renewable": false,
"data": {
"expiration": "1654105687",
"certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDzDCCAragAwIBAgIUOd0ukLcjH43TfTHFG9qE0FtlMVgwCwYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...\numkqeYeO30g1uYvDuWLXVA==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"issuing_ca": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDzDCCAragAwIBAgIUOd0ukLcjH43TfTHFG9qE0FtlMVgwCwYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...\numkqeYeO30g1uYvDuWLXVA==\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
"serial_number": "39:dd:2e:90:b7:23:1f:8d:d3:7d:31:c5:1b:da:84:d0:5b:65:31:58",
"issuer_id": "7b493f17-6c08-ff73-cf1a-99bfcc448a73",
"issuer_name": "",
"key_id": "22b82e37-529d-7251-7d78-3862bfd069ac",
"key_name": ""
},
"auth": null
}
Generate intermediate CSR
This endpoint returns a new CSR for signing, optionally generating a new private key. If using Vault as a root (and, like many other CAs), the various parameters on the final signed certificate are set at signing time and may or may not honor the parameters set here (and transmitted in the returned CSR).
Note that this API supports Managed Keys; additional details are available below in a dedicated section.
The parameters below are mostly meant as a helper function; not all possible parameters that can be set in a CSR are supported in this request.
No new issuer is yet created by this call; note that a new key may be
generated depending on the type
request parameter.
Note: In order to complete the intermediate generation, the CSR must be signed and the resulting certificate imported. This may involve working with external systems (such as an external or offline root CA) to transmit the CSR and complete the signing before the signed intermediate certificate is imported into this mount.
Method | Path | Private key source (type ) |
---|---|---|
POST | /pki/intermediate/generate/:type | specified per request |
POST | /pki/issuers/generate/intermediate/:type | specified per request |
POST | /pki/intermediate/cross-sign | existing |
Parameters
type
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the type of the intermediate to create. Ifexported
, the private key will be returned in the response; ifinternal
the private key will not be returned and cannot be retrieved later; ifexisting
, we expect thekey_ref
parameter to use existing key material to create the CSR;kms
is also supported: see below for more details. This parameter is part of the request URL.common_name
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the requested CN for the certificate. If more than onecommon_name
is desired, specify the alternative names in thealt_names
list.alt_names
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested Subject Alternative Names, in a comma-delimited list. These can be host names or email addresses; they will be parsed into their respective fields.ip_sans
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested IP Subject Alternative Names, in a comma-delimited list.uri_sans
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested URI Subject Alternative Names, in a comma-delimited list.other_sans
(string: "")
- Specifies custom OID/UTF8-string SANs. These must match values specified on the role inallowed_other_sans
(see role creation for allowed_other_sans globbing rules). The format is the same as OpenSSL:<oid>;<type>:<value>
where the only current valid type isUTF8
. This can be a comma-delimited list or a JSON string slice.format
(string: "pem")
- Specifies the format for returned data. This can bepem
,der
, orpem_bundle
; defaults topem
. Ifder
, the output is base64 encoded. Ifpem_bundle
, thecsr
field will contain the private key (if exported) and CSR, concatenated.private_key_format
(string: "der")
- Specifies the format for marshaling the private key within the private_key response field. Defaults toder
which will return either base64-encoded DER or PEM-encoded DER, depending on the value offormat
. The other option ispkcs8
which will return the key marshalled as PEM-encoded PKCS8.
Note that this does not apply to the private key within the certificate
field if format=pem_bundle
parameter is specified.
key_type
(string: "rsa")
- Specifies the desired key type; must bersa
,ed25519
orec
. Not suitable fortype=existing
requests.
Note: In FIPS 140-2 mode, the following algorithms are not certified
and thus should not be used: ed25519
.
Note: Keys of type rsa
currently only support PKCS#1 v1.5 signatures.
This includes any managed keys.
key_bits
(int: 0)
- Specifies the number of bits to use for the generated keys. Allowed values are 0 (universal default); withkey_type=rsa
, allowed values are: 2048 (default), 3072, 4096, or 8192; withkey_type=ec
, allowed values are: 224, 256 (default), 384, or 521; ignored withkey_type=ed25519
. Not suitable fortype=existing
requests.key_name
(string: "")
- When a new key is created with this request, optionally specifies the name for this. The global refdefault
may not be used as a name.key_ref
(string: "default")
- Specifies the key (eitherdefault
, by name, or by identifier) to use for generating this request. Only suitable fortype=existing
requests.signature_bits
(int: 0)
- Specifies the number of bits to use in the signature algorithm; accepts 256 for SHA-2-256, 384 for SHA-2-384, and 512 for SHA-2-512. Defaults to 0 to automatically detect based on issuer's key length (SHA-2-256 for RSA keys, and matching the curve size for NIST P-Curves).
Note: ECDSA and Ed25519 issuers do not follow configuration of the
signature_bits
value; only RSA issuers will change signature types
based on this parameter.
exclude_cn_from_sans
(bool: false)
- If true, the givencommon_name
will not be included in DNS or Email Subject Alternate Names (as appropriate). Useful if the CN is not a hostname or email address, but is instead some human-readable identifier.ou
(string: "")
- Specifies the OU (OrganizationalUnit) values in the subject field of the resulting CSR. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.organization
(string: "")
- Specifies the O (Organization) values in the subject field of the resulting CSR. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.country
(string: "")
- Specifies the C (Country) values in the subject field of the resulting CSR. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.locality
(string: "")
- Specifies the L (Locality) values in the subject field of the resulting CSR. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.province
(string: "")
- Specifies the ST (Province) values in the subject field of the resulting CSR. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.street_address
(string: "")
- Specifies the Street Address values in the subject field of the resulting CSR. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.postal_code
(string: "")
- Specifies the Postal Code values in the subject field of the resulting CSR. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.serial_number
(string: "")
- Specifies the requested Subject's named Serial Number value, if any. If you want more than one, specify alternative names in thealt_names
map using OID 2.5.4.5. Note that this has no impact on the Certificate's serial number field, which Vault randomly generates.add_basic_constraints
(bool: false)
- Whether to add a Basic Constraints extension with CA: true. Only needed as a workaround in some compatibility scenarios with Active Directory Certificate Services.key_usage
([]string: )
- Specifies key_usage to encode in the generated certificate. This is a list of the names of each key usage, valid values can be found at https://golang.org/pkg/crypto/x509/#KeyUsage part of the name. If not set, key usage will not appear on the CSR.
Managed keys parameters
See Managed Keys for additional details on this feature, if
type
was set to kms
. One of the following parameters must be set
managed_key_name
(string: "")
- The managed key's configured name.managed_key_id
(string: "")
- The managed key's UUID.
Sample payload
{
"common_name": "www.example.com"
}
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/intermediate/generate/exported
{
"lease_id": "",
"renewable": false,
"lease_duration": 0,
"data": {
"csr": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----\nMIIDzDCCAragAwIBAgIUOd0ukLcjH43TfTHFG9qE0FtlMVgwCwYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...\numkqeYeO30g1uYvDuWLXVA==\n-----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----\n",
"private_key": "-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----\\nMIIEpAIBAAKCAQEAwsANtGz9gS3o5SwTSlOG1l-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----",
"private_key_type": "rsa"
},
"warnings": null,
"auth": null
}
Import CA certificates and keys
This endpoint allows submitting (importing) the CA information for the backend via a PEM file containing the CA certificate and any private keys, concatenated together, in any order.
Each certificate will be validated to ensure it is a valid CA (has an asserted isCA basic constraint); non-CA certs will err. Any provided CRLs will be ignored. Each unique certificate and private key will be imported as its own issuer or key entry; duplicates (including with existing keys) will be ignored.
The response will indicate what issuers and keys were created as part of this
request (in the imported_issuers
and imported_keys
), along with a mapping
field, indicating which keys belong to which issuers (including from already
imported entries present in the same bundle). In Vault 1.14.0, the response
also contains an existing_issuers
and existing_keys
fields, which specifies
the issuer and key IDs of any entries in the bundle that already
existed within this mount.
Method | Path | Allows private keys | Request Parameter |
---|---|---|---|
POST | /pki/config/ca | yes | pem_bundle |
POST | /pki/issuers/import/bundle | yes | pem_bundle |
POST | /pki/issuers/import/cert | no | pem_bundle |
POST | /pki/intermediate/set-signed | no | certificate |
Note: endpoints which allow importing private keys should be considered highly privileged and restricted appropriately. Endpoints which allow importing issuers should also be restricted, but note that issuers without keys are unable to issue certificates or CRLs.
Note: Vault will deduplicate differently-encoded but same-valued keys and issuers. This means the returned certificate may differ in encoding from the one provided on subsequent re-imports of the same issuer or key.
Note: This import may fail due to CRL rebuilding issues or other potential issues; this may impact long-term use of these issuers, but some issuers or keys may still be imported as a result of this process.
Warning: See the note regarding Subject naming on externally created CA certificates and shortcomings with CRL building.
Parameters
pem_bundle
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the unencrypted private key and certificate, concatenated in PEM format.
Note: this parameter is on the /pki/config/ca
and /pki/issuers/import/*
paths; it is not on the /pki/intermediate/set-signed
path.
certificate
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the certificates to import, concatenated in PEM format.
Note: this parameter is only on the /pki/intermediate/set-signed
path.
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data "@payload.json" \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/config/ca
Note that if you provide the data through the HTTP API, it must be
JSON-formatted, with newlines replaced with \n
, like so:
{
"pem_bundle": "-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----\n...\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----"
}
Sample response
{
"data": {
"imported_issuers": ["1ae8ce9d-2f70-0761-a465-8c9840a247a2"],
"imported_keys": ["97be2525-717a-e2f7-88da-0a20e11aad88"],
"mapping": {
"1ae8ce9d-2f70-0761-a465-8c9840a247a2": "97be2525-717a-e2f7-88da-0a20e11aad88"
},
"existing_issuers": [],
"existing_keys": []
}
}
Read issuer
This endpoint allows an operator to fetch a single issuer certificate and its
chain, including internal information not exposed on the unauthenticated
/pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/json
endpoint. This
includes information about the name, the key material, if an explicitly
constructed chain has been set, what the behavior is for signing longer TTL'd
certificates, and what usage modes are set on this issuer.
Method | Path |
---|---|
GET | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref |
Parameters
issuer_ref
(string: <required>)
- Reference to an existing issuer, either by Vault-generated identifier, the literal stringdefault
to refer to the currently configured default issuer, or the name assigned to an issuer. This parameter is part of the request URL.
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/issuer/default
Sample response
{
"data": {
"ca_chain": [
"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDFDCCAfygAwIBAgIUXgxy54mKooz5soqQoRINazH/3pQwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...",
"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDFTCCAf2gAwIBAgIUUo/qwLm5AyqUWqFHw1MlgwUtS/kwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n..."
],
"certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDFDCCAfygAwIBAgIUXgxy54mKooz5soqQoRINazH/3pQwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...",
"issuer_id": "7545992c-1910-0898-9e64-d575549fbe9c",
"issuer_name": "root-x1",
"key_id": "baadd98d-ec5a-66ac-06b7-dfc91c02c9cf",
"leaf_not_after_behavior": "truncate",
"manual_chain": null,
"usage": "read-only,issuing-certificates,crl-signing,ocsp-signing"
}
}
Update issuer
This endpoint allows an operator to manage a single issuer, updating various properties about it, including its name, an explicitly constructed chain, what the behavior is for signing longer TTL'd certificates, and what usage modes are set on this issuer.
Note that it is not possible to change the certificate of this issuer; to
do so, import a new issuer and a new issuer_id
will be assigned.
Method | Path |
---|---|
POST | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref |
PATCH | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref |
Note POST
ing to this endpoint causes Vault to overwrite the previous
contents of the issuer, using the provided request data (and any defaults
for elided parameters). It does not update only the provided fields.
Since Vault 1.11.0, Vault supports the PATCH operation to this endpoint,
using the JSON patch format
supported by KVv2, allowing update of specific fields. Note that
vault write
uses POST
.
Parameters
issuer_ref
(string: <required>)
- Reference to an existing issuer, either by Vault-generated identifier, the literal stringdefault
to refer to the currently configured default issuer, or the name assigned to an issuer. This parameter is part of the request URL.issuer_name
(string: "")
- Provides a name to the specified issuer. The name must be unique across all issuers and not be the reserved valuedefault
.leaf_not_after_behavior
(string: "err")
- Behavior of a leaf'sNotAfter
field during issuance. Valid options are:
Note: Not all values result in leaf certificates that can be validated
through the entire validity period. It is suggested to use truncate
for
intermediate CAs and permit
only for root CAs. This is because
(root) certificates in browsers' trust stores typically aren't checked
for validity, whereas intermediate CA certificates sent in TLS connections
are checked for validity at the time of use. This means that a leaf
certificate permitted to be issued for longer than the intermediate likely
won't continue to validate after the intermediate has expired.
manual_chain
([]string: nil)
- Chain of issuer references to build this issuer's computed CAChain field from, when non-empty.
Note: the manual_chain
field is an advanced field useful when automatic
chain building isn't desired. The first element must be the present
issuer's reference. Subsequent references should validate previous
entries, terminating with a root certificate. Ideally a single linear
chain would come first (from this issuer to a single root certificate)
before any parallel, alternate chains appear.
This field is especially useful for cross-signed intermediates within
Vault. Because each cross-signed intermediate will only know of the
one root, but issuance should serve both, update the issuers' entries
with the desired manual_chain
value.
The CA Chain returned by a GET to the issuer configuration is the same
chain presented during signing and (if this issuer is the default) on
the /ca_chain
path. Setting manual_chain
thus allows controlling
the presented chain as desired.
usage
([]string: read-only,issuing-certificates,crl-signing,ocsp-signing)
- Allowed usages for this issuer. Valid options are:read-only
, to allow this issuer to be read; implict; always allowed;issuing-certificates
, to allow this issuer to be used for issuing other certificates; orcrl-signing
, to allow this issuer to be used for signing CRLs. This is separate from the CRLSign KeyUsage on the x509 certificate, but this usage cannot be set unless that KeyUsage is allowed on the x509 certificate.ocsp-signing
, to allow this issuer to be used for signing OCSP responses
Note: The usage
field allows for a soft-delete capability on the issuer,
or to prevent use of the issuer prior to it being enabled. For example,
as issuance is rotated to a new issuer, the old issuer could be marked
usage=read-only,crl-signing,ocsp-signing
, allowing existing certificates to be revoked
(and the CRL updated), but preventing new certificate issuance. After all
certificates issued under this certificate have expired, this certificate
could be marked usage=read-only
, freezing the CRL. Finally, after a grace
period, the issuer could be deleted.
revocation_signature_algorithm
(string: "")
- Which signature algorithm to use when building CRLs. See Go'sx509.SignatureAlgorithm
constant for possible values. This flag allows control over hash function and signature scheme (PKCS#1v1.5 vs PSS). The default (empty string) value is for Go to select the signature algorithm automatically, which may not always work.
Note: This can fail if the underlying key does not support the requested
signature algorithm; this may not always be known at modification time.
This most commonly needs to be modified when using PKCS#11 managed keys
with the CKM_RSA_PKCS_PSS
mechanism type.
issuing_certificates
(array<string>: nil)
- Specifies the URL values for the Issuing Certificate field. This can be an array or a comma-separated string list. See also RFC 5280 Section 4.2.2.1 for information about the Authority Information Access field.crl_distribution_points
(array<string>: nil)
- Specifies the URL values for the CRL Distribution Points field. This can be an array or a comma-separated string list. See also RFC 5280 Section 4.2.1.13 for information about the CRL Distribution Points field.
Note: When multiple Performance Replication clusters are enabled, each
cluster will have its own CRL. Additionally, when multiple issuers are
in use under a single mount, each issuer will also have its own CRL
distribution point. These separate CRLs should either be aggregated into a
single CRL (externally; as Vault does not support this functionality)
or multiple crl_distribution_points
should be specified here, pointing
to each cluster and issuer.
ocsp_servers
(array<string>: nil)
- Specifies the URL values for the OCSP Servers field. This can be an array or a comma-separated string list. See also RFC 5280 Section 4.2.2.1 for information about the Authority Information Access field.enable_aia_url_templating
(bool: false)
- Specifies that the above AIA URL values (issuing_certificates
,crl_distribution_points
, andocsp_servers
) should be templated. This replaces the literal value{{issuer_id}}
with the ID of the issuer doing the issuance, the literal value{{cluster_path}}
with the value ofpath
from the cluster-local configuration endpoint/config/cluster
, and the literal value{{cluster_aia_path}}
with the value ofaia_path
from the cluster-local configuration endpoint/config/cluster
.
Note: If no cluster-local address is present and templating is used, issuance will fail.
Sample payload
{
"issuer_name": "root-x1"
}
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/issuer/default
Sample response
{
"data": {
"ca_chain": [
"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDFDCCAfygAwIBAgIUXgxy54mKooz5soqQoRINazH/3pQwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...",
"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDFTCCAf2gAwIBAgIUUo/qwLm5AyqUWqFHw1MlgwUtS/kwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n..."
],
"certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDFDCCAfygAwIBAgIUXgxy54mKooz5soqQoRINazH/3pQwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...",
"issuer_id": "7545992c-1910-0898-9e64-d575549fbe9c",
"issuer_name": "root-x1",
"key_id": "baadd98d-ec5a-66ac-06b7-dfc91c02c9cf",
"leaf_not_after_behavior": "truncate",
"manual_chain": null,
"usage": "read-only,issuing-certificates,crl-signing,ocsp-signing",
"revocation_signature_algorithm": "",
"issuing_certificates": ["<url1>", "<url2>"],
"crl_distribution_points": ["<url1>", "<url2>"],
"ocsp_servers": ["<url1>", "<url2>"]
}
}
Revoke issuer
This endpoint allows an operator to revoke an issuer certificate, marking it unable to issue new certificates and adding it to other issuers' CRLs, if they have signed this issuer's certificate. This will cause all CRLs to be rebuilt.
This is mostly provided for book-keeping and as a soft-delete feature, to ensure this issuer is not accidentally reused in the future.
Warning: This operation cannot be undone!
Note: This operation does not have any impact on other clusters or mounts and may not have any impact on whether clients consider these issuers revoked. Revoked issuers will not appear on their own CRLs. Revoked issuers may not appear on other CRLs if a suitable parent is not present in the same mount point. Revoked issuers will still need to be revoked in any other mounts they appear in, both as issuers, in the event of issuer reuse, and as issued certificates, in the event of an external parent mount.
Method | Path |
---|---|
POST | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/revoke |
Parameters
No parameters.
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/issuer/old-intermediate/revoke
Sample response
{
"data": {
"ca_chain": [
"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDFDCCAfygAwIBAgIUXgxy54mKooz5soqQoRINazH/3pQwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...",
"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDFTCCAf2gAwIBAgIUUo/qwLm5AyqUWqFHw1MlgwUtS/kwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n..."
],
"certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIDFDCCAfygAwIBAgIUXgxy54mKooz5soqQoRINazH/3pQwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL\n...",
"issuer_id": "7545992c-1910-0898-9e64-d575549fbe9c",
"issuer_name": "old-intermediate",
"key_id": "baadd98d-ec5a-66ac-06b7-dfc91c02c9cf",
"leaf_not_after_behavior": "truncate",
"manual_chain": null,
"usage": "read-only,issuing-certificates,crl-signing"
"revocation_time": 1433269787,
}
}
Delete issuer
This endpoint deletes the specified issuer. A warning is emitted and the default is cleared if this issuer is the default issuer.
Note: If an issuer is incorrectly deleted, but its key material
remains, it is possible to re-import just the issuer certificate. The
issuer_id
will change, but the name can be re-assigned to the new
issuer.
Method | Path |
---|---|
DELETE | /pki/issuer/:issuer_ref |
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request DELETE \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/issuer/root-x1
Import key
This endpoint allows an operator to import a single pem encoded rsa
, ec
, or ed25519
key.
Note: This API does not protect against importing keys using insecure combinations of algorithm and key length.
Method | Path |
---|---|
POST | /pki/keys/import |
Parameters
pem_bundle
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the unencrypted private key in PEM format.key_name
(string: "")
- Provides a name to the specified key. The name must be unique across all keys and not be the reserved valuedefault
.
Sample payload
{
"key_name": "my-imported-key",
"pem_bundle": "-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----\n...\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----"
}
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/keys/import
Sample response
{
"data": {
"key_id": "2cf03991-b052-1dc3-393e-374b41f8dcd8",
"key_name": "my-imported-key",
"key_type": "rsa"
},
}
Read key
This endpoint allows an operator to fetch information about an existing key.
Note: Vault does not allow reading the value of the private key after it has been created.
Method | Path |
---|---|
GET | /pki/key/:key_ref |
Parameters
key_ref
(string: <required>)
- Reference to an existing key, either by Vault-generated identifier, the literal stringdefault
to refer to the currently configured default key, or the name assigned to a key. This parameter is part of the request URL.
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/key/default
Sample response
{
"data": {
"key_id": "8c4046f8-52a8-0974-29d2-745d8a0dd848",
"key_name": "key-root-x1",
"key_type": "rsa"
}
}
Update key
This endpoint allows an operator to manage a single key. Currently, the only parameter that is configurable is the key's name.
Note that it is not possible to change the private key of this key; to
do so, import a new key and a new key_id
will be assigned.
Method | Path |
---|---|
POST | /pki/key/:key_ref |
Note POST
ing to this endpoint causes Vault to overwrite the previous
contents of the key, using the provided request data (and any defaults
for elided parameters). It does not update only the provided fields.
Parameters
key_ref
(string: <required>)
- Reference to an existing key, either by Vault-generated identifier, the literal stringdefault
to refer to the currently configured default key, or the name assigned to a key. This parameter is part of the request URL.key_name
(string: "")
- Provides a name to the specified key. The name must be unique across all keys and not be the reserved valuedefault
.
Sample payload
{
"key_name": "key-root-x1"
}
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/key/default
Sample response
{
"data": {
"key_id": "8c4046f8-52a8-0974-29d2-745d8a0dd848",
"key_name": "key-root-x1",
"key_type": "rsa"
}
}
Delete key
This endpoint deletes the specified key. A warning is emitted and the default is cleared if this key is the default key.
Note: Because Vault does not allow exporting the private key after it is initially generated, deletion of keys is a sensitive operation. Additionally, one key may be used by more than one issuer. As a result, Vault prohibits deletion of keys until all issuers using this key have also been deleted. If these issuers are still necessary for chain building, re-import them without the corresponding keys after the key has been deleted or use the soft-delete feature of issuers.
Method | Path |
---|---|
DELETE | /pki/key/:key_ref |
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request DELETE \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/key/key-root-x1
Delete all issuers and keys
This endpoint deletes all issuers and keys within the mount. It is highly recommended to use the individual delete operations instead. This mount will be unusable until new issuers and keys are provisioned.
This endpoint requires sudo/root privileges.
Method | Path |
---|---|
DELETE | /pki/root |
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request DELETE \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/root
Managing authority information
The following privileged endpoints allow the operator to control information about the core contents of certificates and to perform privileged operations like rotating the CRLs or performing tidy operations.
List roles
Refer to the earlier section for more information about listing roles.
Create/Update role
This endpoint creates or updates the role definition. Note that the
allowed_domains
, allow_subdomains
, allow_glob_domains
, and
allow_any_name
attributes are additive; between them nearly and across
multiple roles nearly any issuing policy can be accommodated. server_flag
,
client_flag
, and code_signing_flag
are additive as well. If a client
requests a certificate that is not allowed by the CN policy in the role, the
request is denied.
Method | Path |
---|---|
POST | /pki/roles/:name |
PATCH | /pki/roles/:name |
Note POST
ing to this endpoint when the role already exists causes
Vault to overwrite the contents of the role, using the provided request
data (and any defaults for elided parameters). It does not update only
the provided fields.
Since Vault 1.11.0, Vault supports the PATCH operation to this endpoint,
using the JSON patch format
supported by KVv2, allowing update of specific fields. Note that
vault write
uses POST
.
Parameters
name
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the name of the role to create. This is part of the request URL.issuer_ref
:(string: "default")
- Specifies the default issuer of this request. May be the valuedefault
, a name, or an issuer ID. Use ACLs to prevent access to the/pki/issuer/:issuer_ref/{issue,sign}/:name
paths to prevent users overriding the role'sissuer_ref
value.
Note: This parameter is stored as-is; if the reference is to a name, it is not resolve to an identifier. Deletion of issuers (or updating their names) may result in issuance failing or using an unexpected issuer.
Note: existing roles from previous Vault versions are migrated to use
the issuer_ref=default
.
ttl
(string: "")
- Specifies the Time To Live value to be used for the validity period of the requested certificate, provided as a string duration with time suffix. Hour is the largest suffix. The value specified is strictly used for future validity. If not set, uses the system default value or the value ofmax_ttl
, whichever is shorter. Seenot_after
as an alternative for setting an absolute end date (rather than a relative one).max_ttl
(string: "")
- Specifies the maximum Time To Live provided as a string duration with time suffix. Hour is the largest suffix. If not set, defaults to the system maximum lease TTL.allow_localhost
(bool: true)
- Specifies if clients can request certificates forlocalhost
as one of the requested common names. This is useful for testing and to allow clients on a single host to talk securely.
Note: This strictly applies to localhost
and localdomain
when this
option is enabled. Additionally, even if this option is disabled, if either
name is included in allowed_domains
, the match rules for that option
could permit issuance of a certificate for localhost
.
allowed_domains
(list: [])
- Specifies the domains this role is allowed to issue certificates for. This is used with theallow_bare_domains
,allow_subdomains
, andallow_glob_domains
options to determine the type of matching between these domains and the values of common name, DNS-typed SAN entries, and Email-typed SAN entries. Whenallow_any_name
is used, this attribute has no effect.
Note: The three options allow_bare_domains
, allow_subdomains
, and
allow_glob_domains
are each independent of each other. That is, at least
one type of allowed matching must describe the relationship between the
allowed_domains
list and the names on the issued certificate. For example,
given allowed_domain=foo.*.example.com
and allow_subdomains=true
and
allow_glob_domains=true
, a request for bar.foo.baz.example.com
won't
be permitted, even though it foo.baz.example.com
matches the glob
foo.*.example.com
and bar
is a subdomain of that.
allowed_domains_template
(bool: false)
- When set,allowed_domains
may contain templates, as with ACL Path Templating. Non-templated domains are also still permitted.allow_bare_domains
(bool: false)
- Specifies if clients can request certificates matching the value of the actual domains themselves; e.g. if a configured domain set withallowed_domains
isexample.com
, this allows clients to actually request a certificate containing the nameexample.com
as one of the DNS values on the final certificate. In some scenarios, this can be considered a security risk. Note that when anallowed_domain
field contains a potential wildcard character (for example,allowed_domains=*.example.com
) andallow_bare_domains
andallow_wildcard_certificates
are both enabled, issuance of a wildcard certificate for*.example.com
will be permitted.allow_subdomains
(bool: false)
- Specifies if clients can request certificates with CNs that are subdomains of the CNs allowed by the other role options. This includes wildcard subdomains. For example, anallowed_domains
value ofexample.com
with this option set to true will allowfoo.example.com
andbar.example.com
as well as*.example.com
. To restrict issuance of wildcards by this option, seeallow_wildcard_certificates
below. This option is redundant when using theallow_any_name
option.allow_glob_domains
(bool: false)
- Allows names specified inallowed_domains
to contain glob patterns (e.g.ftp*.example.com
). Clients will be allowed to request certificates with names matching the glob patterns.
Note: These globs behave like shell-style globs and can match
across multiple domain parts. For example, allowed_domains=*.example.com
with allow_glob_domains
enabled will match not only foo.example.com
but
also baz.bar.foo.example.com
.
Warning: Glob patterns will match wildcard domains and permit their
issuance unless otherwise restricted by allow_wildcard_certificates
. For
instance, with allowed_domains=*.*.example.com
and both allow_glob_domains
and allow_wildcard_certificates
enabled, we will permit the issuance of
a wildcard certificate for *.foo.example.com
.
allow_wildcard_certificates
(bool: true)
- Allows the issuance of certificates with RFC 6125 wildcards in the CN field. When set tofalse
, this prevents wildcards from being issued even if they would've been allowed by an option above. We support the following four wildcard types:*.example.com
, a single wildcard as the entire left-most label,foo*.example.com
, a single suffixed wildcard in the left-most label,*foo.example.com
, a single prefixed wildcard in the left-most label, andf*o.example.com
, a single interior wildcard in the left-most label.
allow_any_name
(bool: false)
- Specifies if clients can request any CN. Useful in some circumstances, but make sure you understand whether it is appropriate for your installation before enabling it. Note that bothenforce_hostnames
andallow_wildcard_certificates
are still checked, which may introduce limitations on issuance with this option.enforce_hostnames
(bool: true)
- Specifies if only valid host names are allowed for CNs, DNS SANs, and the host part of email addresses.allow_ip_sans
(bool: true)
- Specifies if clients can request IP Subject Alternative Names. No authorization checking is performed except to verify that the given values are valid IP addresses.allowed_uri_sans
(string: "")
- Defines allowed URI Subject Alternative Names. No authorization checking is performed except to verify that the given values are valid URIs. This can be a comma-delimited list or a JSON string slice. Values can contain glob patterns (e.g.spiffe://hostname/*
).allowed_uri_sans_template
(bool: false)
- When set,allowed_uri_sans
may contain templates, as with ACL Path Templating. Non-templated domains are also still permitted.allowed_other_sans
(string: "")
- Defines allowed custom OID/UTF8-string SANs. This can be a comma-delimited list or a JSON string slice, where each element has the same format as OpenSSL:<oid>;<type>:<value>
, but the only valid type isUTF8
orUTF-8
. Thevalue
part of an element may be a*
to allow any value with that OID. Alternatively, specifying a single*
will allow anyother_sans
input.allowed_serial_numbers
(string: "")
- If set, an array of allowed serial numbers to be requested during certificate issuance. These values support shell-style globbing. When empty, custom-specified serial numbers will be forbidden. It is strongly recommended to allow Vault to generate random serial numbers instead.server_flag
(bool: true)
- Specifies if certificates are flagged for server authentication use. See RFC 5280 Section 4.2.1.12 for information about the Extended Key Usage field.client_flag
(bool: true)
- Specifies if certificates are flagged for client authentication use. See RFC 5280 Section 4.2.1.12 for information about the Extended Key Usage field.code_signing_flag
(bool: false)
- Specifies if certificates are flagged for code signing use. See RFC 5280 Section 4.2.1.12 for information about the Extended Key Usage field.email_protection_flag
(bool: false)
- Specifies if certificates are flagged for email protection use. See RFC 5280 Section 4.2.1.12 for information about the Extended Key Usage field.key_type
(string: "rsa")
- Specifies the type of key to generate for generated private keys and the type of key expected for submitted CSRs. Currently,rsa
,ec
, anded25519
are supported, or when signing existing CSRs,any
can be specified to allow keys of either type and with any bit size (subject to >=2048 bits for RSA keys or >= 224 for EC keys). Whenany
is used, this role cannot generate certificates and can only be used to sign CSRs.
Note: In FIPS 140-2 mode, the following algorithms are not certified
and thus should not be used: ed25519
.
key_bits
(int: 0)
- Specifies the number of bits to use for the generated keys. Allowed values are 0 (universal default); withkey_type=rsa
, allowed values are: 2048 (default), 3072, 4096 or 8192; withkey_type=ec
, allowed values are: 224, 256 (default), 384, or 521; ignored withkey_type=ed25519
or in signing operations whenkey_type=any
.signature_bits
(int: 0)
- Specifies the number of bits to use in the signature algorithm; accepts 256 for SHA-2-256, 384 for SHA-2-384, and 512 for SHA-2-512. Defaults to 0 to automatically detect based on issuer's key length (SHA-2-256 for RSA keys, and matching the curve size for NIST P-Curves).
Note: ECDSA and Ed25519 issuers do not follow configuration of the
signature_bits
value; only RSA issuers will change signature types
based on this parameter.
use_pss
(bool: false)
- Specifies whether or not to use PSS signatures over PKCS#1v1.5 signatures when a RSA-type issuer is used. Ignored for ECDSA/Ed25519 issuers.key_usage
(list: ["DigitalSignature", "KeyAgreement", "KeyEncipherment"])
- Specifies the allowed key usage constraint on issued certificates. Valid values can be found at https://golang.org/pkg/crypto/x509/#KeyUsage - simply drop theKeyUsage
part of the value. Values are not case-sensitive. To specify no key usage constraints, set this to an empty list. See RFC 5280 Section 4.2.1.3 for more information about the Key Usage field.ext_key_usage
(list: [])
- Specifies the allowed extended key usage constraint on issued certificates. Valid values can be found at https://golang.org/pkg/crypto/x509/#ExtKeyUsage - simply drop theExtKeyUsage
part of the value. Values are not case-sensitive. To specify no key usage constraints, set this to an empty list. See RFC 5280 Section 4.2.1.12 for information about the Extended Key Usage field.ext_key_usage_oids
(string: "")
- A comma-separated string or list of extended key usage oids. Useful for adding EKUs not supported by the Go standard library.use_csr_common_name
(bool: true)
- When used with the CSR signing endpoint, the common name in the CSR will be used instead of taken from the JSON data. This does not include any requested SANs in the CSR; useuse_csr_sans
for that.use_csr_sans
(bool: true)
- When used with the CSR signing endpoint, the subject alternate names in the CSR will be used instead of taken from the JSON data. This does not include the common name in the CSR; useuse_csr_common_name
for that.ou
(string: "")
- Specifies the OU (OrganizationalUnit) values in the subject field of issued certificates. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.organization
(string: "")
- Specifies the O (Organization) values in the subject field of issued certificates. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.country
(string: "")
- Specifies the C (Country) values in the subject field of issued certificates. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.locality
(string: "")
- Specifies the L (Locality) values in the subject field of issued certificates. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.province
(string: "")
- Specifies the ST (Province) values in the subject field of issued certificates. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.street_address
(string: "")
- Specifies the Street Address values in the subject field of issued certificates. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.postal_code
(string: "")
- Specifies the Postal Code values in the subject field of issued certificates. This is a comma-separated string or JSON array.generate_lease
(bool: false)
- Specifies if certificates issued/signed against this role will have Vault leases attached to them. Certificates can be added to the CRL byvault revoke <lease_id>
when certificates are associated with leases. It can also be done using thepki/revoke
endpoint. However, when lease generation is disabled, invokingpki/revoke
would be the only way to add the certificates to the CRL. When large number of certificates are generated with long lifetimes, it is recommended that lease generation be disabled, as large amount of leases adversely affect the startup time of Vault.no_store
(bool: false)
- If set, certificates issued/signed against this role will not be stored in the storage backend. This can improve performance when issuing large numbers of certificates. However, certificates issued in this way cannot be enumerated or revoked via serial number. Certificates may still be revoked via BYOC revocation. This option is recommend only for certificates that are non-sensitive, extremely short-lived, or have high volume/turn-over that would prohibit storage. This option implies a value offalse
forgenerate_lease
.require_cn
(bool: true)
- If set to false, makes thecommon_name
field optional while generating a certificate.policy_identifiers
(list: [])
- A comma-separated string or list of policy OIDs.basic_constraints_valid_for_non_ca
(bool: false)
- Mark Basic Constraints valid when issuing non-CA certificates.not_before_duration
(duration: "30s")
- Specifies the duration by which to backdate the NotBefore property. This value has no impact in the validity period of the requested certificate, specified in thettl
field.not_after
(string)
- Set the Not After field of the certificate with specified date value. The value format should be given in UTC formatYYYY-MM-ddTHH:MM:SSZ
. Supports the Y10K end date for IEEE 802.1AR-2018 standard devices,9999-12-31T23:59:59Z
.cn_validations
(list: ["email", "hostname"])
- Validations to run on the Common Name field of the certificate. Valid values include:email
, to ensure the Common Name is an email address (contains an@
sign),hostname
, to ensure the Common Name is a hostname (otherwise).
Multiple values can be separated with a comma or specified as a list and use OR semantics (either email or hostname in the CN are allowed). When the special value "disabled" is used (must be specified alone), none of the usual validation is run (including but not limited to
allowed_domains
and basic correctness validation around email addresses and domain names). This allows non-standard CNs to be used verbatim from the request.allowed_user_ids
(string: "")
- Comma separated, globbing list of User ID Subject components to allow on requests. By default, no user IDs are allowed. Use the bare wildcard*
value to allow any value. See also theuser_ids
request parameter.no_store_metadata
(bool: false)
- Enterprise allows metadata to be stored keyed on the certificate's serial number. The field is independent ofno_store
, allowing metadata storage regardless of whether certificates are stored. If true, metadata is not stored and an error is returned if themetadata
field is specified on issuance APIs
Sample payload
{
"allowed_domains": ["example.com"],
"allow_subdomains": true
}
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/roles/my-role
Read role
Refer to the earlier section for more information about reading roles.
Delete role
This endpoint deletes the role definition. Deleting a role does not revoke certificates previously issued under this role.
Method | Path |
---|---|
DELETE | /pki/roles/:name |
Parameters
name
(string: <required>)
- Specifies the name of the role to delete. This is part of the request URL.
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request DELETE \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/roles/my-role
Read Certificate Issuance External Policy Service (CIEPS) configuration Enterprise
This endpoint reads the Certificate Issuance External Policy Service (CIEPS) engine Enterprise connection properties.
On top of the configuration parameters documented below, this endpoint returns the following parameters:
external_service_last_updated
- An RFC 3339 timestamp indicating when the configuration was last modified.external_service_validated
- Indicates whether a successful connection to the external policy engine has been made under this configuration.last_successful_request
- Timestamp of the last successful request to the external policy engine.
Note that the last two parameters are node-specific and will be reset whenever the mount reloads (e.g., leadership election or seal/unseal).
Method | Path |
---|---|
GET | /pki/config/external-policy |
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request GET \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/config/external-policy
Sample Response
{
"data": {
"enabled": false,
"external_service_last_updated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
"external_service_url": "",
"external_service_validated": false,
"last_successful_request": "",
"timeout": 15000000000,
"trusted_ca": "",
"trusted_leaf_certificate_bundle": "",
"vault_client_cert_bundle": ""
},
}
Set Certificate Issuance External Policy Service (CIEPS) configuration Enterprise
This endpoint allows enabling the Certificate Issuance External Policy Service (CIEPS) Enterprise engine and configuring connection properties.
Method | Path |
---|---|
POST | /pki/config/external-policy |
Parameters
enabled
(bool: false)
- Enables or disables the external policy service. When disabled, issuance mechanisms underexternal-policy
paths (e.g.,/pki/external-policy/sign/:policy
) will not work.external_service_url
(string: <required>)
- URI to the external policy engine. Must use thehttps://
scheme.timeout
(string: "")
- This is how long any particular API request should wait for a timeout at various layers of the stack. Defaults to15s
.trusted_ca
(string: "")
- A PEM bundle of trusted CAs to verify the certificates presented by the external policy engine against. Optional; one oftrusted_ca
ortrusted_leaf_certificate_bundle
must be specified.trusted_leaf_certificate_bundle
(string: "")
- A PEM bundle of pinned non-CA leaf certificates that must be presented by the external policy engine. Optional; one oftrusted_ca
ortrusted_leaf_certificate_bundle
must be specified.vault_client_cert_bundle
(string: "")
- A PEM bundle of a private key and one or more certificates to present during authentication to the external policy service.entity_jmespath
(string: "")
- A JMESPath expression that will select and filter entity metadata to the service. By default no entity metadata beyond the entity id is sent, use "@" to send all informationgroup_jmespath
(string: "")
- A JMESPath expression that will select and filter entity group metadata to the service. By default no group entity metadata is sent, use "@" to send all information
Sample payload
{
"enabled": true,
"external_service_url": "https://cieps.dadgarcorp.internal",
"trusted_ca": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----...."
}
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/config/external-policy
Read URLs
This endpoint fetches the URLs to be encoded in generated certificates. No URL configuration will be returned until the configuration is set.
Method | Path |
---|---|
GET | /pki/config/urls |
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/config/urls
Sample response
{
"lease_id": "",
"renewable": false,
"lease_duration": 0,
"data": {
"issuing_certificates": ["<url1>", "<url2>"],
"crl_distribution_points": ["<url1>", "<url2>"],
"ocsp_servers": ["<url1>", "<url2>"]
},
"auth": null
}
Set URLs
This endpoint allows setting the issuing certificate endpoints, CRL distribution points, and OCSP server endpoints that will be encoded into issued certificates. You can update any of the values at any time without affecting the other existing values. To remove the values, simply use a blank string as the parameter.
Method | Path |
---|---|
POST | /pki/config/urls |
Note: When using multiple issuers within the same mount, it is strongly
suggested to use the per-issuer AIA information instead of the global
AIA information. If any of the per-issuer AIA fields are set, the entire
issuer's preferences will be used instead. Otherwise, these fields are used
as a fallback.
This can be achieved by using templated global AIA values, but setting
the cluster-local address in configuration. When used, this value must
be set on all performance replication clusters, otherwise issuance will
fail!
Parameters
issuing_certificates
(array<string>: nil)
- Specifies the URL values for the Issuing Certificate field. This can be an array or a comma-separated string list. See also RFC 5280 Section 4.2.2.1 for information about the Authority Information Access field.crl_distribution_points
(array<string>: nil)
- Specifies the URL values for the CRL Distribution Points field. This can be an array or a comma-separated string list. See also RFC 5280 Section 4.2.1.13 for information about the CRL Distribution Points field.
Note: When multiple Performance Replication clusters are enabled, each
cluster will have its own CRL. Additionally, when multiple issuers are
in use under a single mount, each issuer will also have its own CRL
distribution point. These separate CRLs should either be aggregated into a
single CRL (externally; as Vault does not support this functionality)
or multiple crl_distribution_points
should be specified here, pointing
to each cluster and issuer.
ocsp_servers
(array<string>: nil)
- Specifies the URL values for the OCSP Servers field. This can be an array or a comma-separated string list. See also RFC 5280 Section 4.2.2.1 for information about the Authority Information Access field.enable_templating
(bool: false)
- Specifies that the above AIA URL values (issuing_certificates
,crl_distribution_points
, andocsp_servers
) should be templated. This replaces the literal value{{issuer_id}}
with the ID of the issuer doing the issuance, the literal value{{cluster_path}}
with the value ofpath
from the cluster-local configuration endpoint/config/cluster
, and the literal value{{cluster_aia_path}}
with the value ofaia_path
from the cluster-local configuration endpoint/config/cluster
.For example, the following values can be used globally to ensure all AIA URIs use the cluster-local, per-issuer canonical reference, but with the issuing CA certificate and CRL distribution points to potentially use an external, non-Vault CDN.
Note: If no cluster-local address is present and templating is used, issuance will fail.
Sample payload
{
"issuing_certificates": ["{{cluster_aia_path}}/issuer/{{issuer_id}}/der"],
"crl_distribution_points": ["{{cluster_aia_path}}/issuer/{{issuer_id}}/crl/der"],
"ocsp_servers": ["{{cluster_aia_path}}/ocsp"]
}
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
--request POST \
--data @payload.json \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/config/urls
Read issuers configuration
This endpoint allows getting the value of the default issuer.
Method | Path |
---|---|
GET | /pki/config/issuers |
Sample request
$ curl \
--header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/pki/config/issuers
Sample response
{
"data": {
"default": "3dc79a5a-7a6c-70e2-1123-94b88557ba12",
"default_follows_latest_issuer": "false"
}
}
Set issuers configuration
This endpoint allows setting the value of the default issuer.
Method | Path |
---|---|
POST | /pki/config/issuers |
POST | /pki/root/replace |