Protecting the password.conf File
65
However, storing passwords in clear text can be dangerous. Setting proper file permissions protects
this file. Alternatively, the
password.conf
file can be by-passed by doing the following:
1. Back up the
password.conf
file.
2. Remove the
password.conf
file.
rm password.conf
3. Create a pipe corresponding to
password.conf
.
mkfifo password.conf
4. With the
password.conf
pipe, start the subsystem instance.
a. Run the standard start script. For example:
/etc/init.d/rhpki-ca start
b. Monitor the Tomcat web server log file,
catalina.out
, and the debug log. For example:
tail -f /var/lib/rhpki-ca/logs/catalina.out /var/lib/rhpki-ca/logs/debug
The server process will hang as it restarts because it is waiting for the input from the default
password.conf
file.
c. Redirect the password to the
password.conf
pipe. Assuming that the backup file for
password.conf
is called
password.bak
, run
cat password.bak > password.conf
.
Repeat this command until the server is fully started; this is apparent in the debug log.
This process still uses a clear text password file,
password.bak
, but this moves the password store
so that it is external to the Certificate System instance and can be stored anywhere, such as a smart
card. This only requires a utility which can reconstruct the original password file. For example, this
processes uses the
zip
tool to protect the password file:
1. Zip and protect the
password.conf
file using
zip
.
zip -e secret.zip password.conf
2. Delete the
password.conf
file, and create a pipe called
password.conf
.
3. Run the regular start script.
4. Monitor the Tomcat web server log,
catalina.out
, and the debug log.
5. Provide the passwords to the subsystem instance by running the following:
unzip -c secret.zip password.conf > password.conf
This is a simple and very flexible way to protect the clear text password file while still allowing
passwords to be managed easily through a text editor.
Summary of Contents for CERTIFICATE SYSTEM 7.3 - ADMINISTRATION
Page 15: ...xv Index 525 ...
Page 16: ...xvi ...
Page 38: ...Chapter 1 Overview 16 Figure 1 4 Certificate System Architecture ...
Page 82: ...Chapter 2 Installation and Configuration 60 rpm ev rhpki manage ...
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Page 318: ...Chapter 13 Certificate Profiles 296 Parameter IssuerType_n IssuerName_n ...
Page 321: ...Freshest CRL Extension Default 299 Parameter PointName_n PointIssuerName_n ...
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