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Appendix

Appendix A - OpenSSL CA Certificate for Testing Self-Managed Deployments

Warning

Disclaimer

This page is provided for testing purposes only and the certificates are for testing purposes only.

The following tutorial provides some guidelines for creating test x.509 certificates:

  • Do not use these certificates for production. Instead, follow your security policies.

  • For information on OpenSSL, refer to the official OpenSSL docs. Although this tutorial uses OpenSSL, the material should not be taken as an authoritative reference on OpenSSL.

Procedures

The following procedures outlines the steps to create a test CA PEM file. The procedure creates both the CA PEM file and an intermediate authority certificate and key files to sign server/client test certificates.

A. Create the OpenSSL Configuration File

  1. Create a configuration file openssl-test-ca.cnf with the following content:

    # NOT FOR PRODUCTION USE. OpenSSL configuration file for testing.
    # For the CA policy
    [ policy_match ]
    countryName = match
    stateOrProvinceName = match
    organizationName = match
    organizationalUnitName = optional
    commonName = supplied
    emailAddress = optional
    [ req ]
    default_bits = 4096
    default_keyfile = myTestCertificateKey.pem    ## The default private key file name.
    default_md = sha256                           ## Use SHA-256 for Signatures
    distinguished_name = req_dn
    req_extensions = v3_req
    x509_extensions = v3_ca # The extensions to add to the self signed cert
    [ v3_req ]
    subjectKeyIdentifier  = hash
    basicConstraints = CA:FALSE
    keyUsage = critical, digitalSignature, keyEncipherment
    nsComment = "OpenSSL Generated Certificate for TESTING only.  NOT FOR PRODUCTION USE."
    extendedKeyUsage  = serverAuth, clientAuth
    [ req_dn ]
    countryName = Country Name (2 letter code)
    countryName_default =
    countryName_min = 2
    countryName_max = 2
    stateOrProvinceName = State or Province Name (full name)
    stateOrProvinceName_default = TestCertificateStateName
    stateOrProvinceName_max = 64
    localityName = Locality Name (eg, city)
    localityName_default = TestCertificateLocalityName
    localityName_max = 64
    organizationName = Organization Name (eg, company)
    organizationName_default = TestCertificateOrgName
    organizationName_max = 64
    organizationalUnitName = Organizational Unit Name (eg, section)
    organizationalUnitName_default = TestCertificateOrgUnitName
    organizationalUnitName_max = 64
    commonName = Common Name (eg, YOUR name)
    commonName_max = 64
    [ v3_ca ]
    # Extensions for a typical CA
    subjectKeyIdentifier=hash
    basicConstraints = critical,CA:true
    authorityKeyIdentifier=keyid:always,issuer:always

  2. Optional. You can update the default Distinguished Name (DN) values.

B. Generate the Test CA PEM File

  1. Create the test CA key file mongodb-test-ca.key.

    openssl genrsa -out mongodb-test-ca.key 4096

    Tip

    This private key is used to generate valid certificates for the CA. Although this private key, like all files in this appendix, is intended for testing purposes only, you should engage in good security practices and secure this key file.

  2. Create the CA certificate mongod-test-ca.crt using the generated key file. When asked for Distinguished Name values, enter the appropriate values for your test CA certificate.

    openssl req -new -x509 -days 1826 -key mongodb-test-ca.key -out mongodb-test-ca.crt -config openssl-test-ca.cnf

  3. Create the private key for the intermediate certificate.

    openssl genrsa -out mongodb-test-ia.key 4096

    Tip

    This private key is used to generate valid certificates for the intermediate authority. Although this private key, like all files in this appendix, is intended for testing purposes only, you should engage in good security practices and secure this key file.

  4. Create the certificate signing request for the intermediate certificate. When asked for Distinguished Name values, enter the appropriate values for your test Intermediate Authority certificate.

    openssl req -new -key mongodb-test-ia.key -out mongodb-test-ia.csr -config openssl-test-ca.cnf

  5. Create the intermediate certificate mongodb-test-ia.crt.

    openssl x509 -sha256 -req -days 730 -in mongodb-test-ia.csr -CA mongodb-test-ca.crt -CAkey mongodb-test-ca.key -set_serial 01 -out mongodb-test-ia.crt -extfile openssl-test-ca.cnf -extensions v3_ca

  6. Create the test CA PEM file from the test CA certificate mongod-test-ca.crt and test intermediate certificate mongodb-test-ia.crt.

    cat mongodb-test-ia.crt mongodb-test-ca.crt > test-ca.pem

You can use the test PEM file when configuring mongod, mongos, or mongosh for TLS/SSL testing.

You can use the test intermediate authority to sign the test certificates for both the server(s) and client(s). A single authority must issue the certificates for both the client and the server.

Tip

See also:

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