README.rst

SysCA - Certificate tool for Sysadmins

Description

Easy-to-use command-line tool for certificate management.

Features

• Simple command-line UI.
• Good defaults, sets up common extensions automatically.
• PGP- and password-protected private keys.
• OCSP and CRL info settings.
• Supports EC, RSA and DSA keys.

Dependencies

• Python cryptography module (version >= 3.1).
• (Optional) gpg command-line tool to decrypt files.

Summary

Generate new key:

sysca new-key              [--password-file TXT_FILE] [--out DST]
sysca new-key ec[:<curve>] [--password-file TXT_FILE] [--out DST]
sysca new-key rsa[:<bits>] [--password-file TXT_FILE] [--out DST]
sysca new-key dsa[:<bits>] [--password-file TXT_FILE] [--out DST]

Create certificate signing request:

sysca request [-h] --key KEY_FILE [--password-file PSW_FILE]
              [--out OUT_FILE] [--outform FMT] [--text] [--rsa-pss]
              [--subject DN] [--san GNAMES] [--usage USAGE] [--CA] [--path-length DEPTH]
              [--crl-urls URLS] [--issuer-urls URLS] [--ocsp-urls URLS]
              [--ocsp-must-staple] [--ocsp-must-staple-v2] [--ocsp-nocheck]
              [--permit-subtrees GNAMES] [--exclude-subtrees GNAMES]
              [--require-explicit-policy N] [--inhibit-policy-mapping N]
              [--inhibit-any N] [--add-policy POLICY]

Create selfsigned certificate:

sysca selfsign [-h] [--out OUT_FILE] [--outform FMT] [--text]
               --key KEY_FILE [--password-file PSW_FILE]
               [--not-valid-before DATE] [--not-valid-after DATE] [--days DAYS]
               [--serial-number SN] [--rsa-pss]
               [--subject DN] [--san GNAMES] [--usage USAGE] [--CA] [--path-length DEPTH]
               [--crl-urls URLS] [--issuer-urls URLS] [--ocsp-urls URLS]
               [--ocsp-must-staple] [--ocsp-must-staple-v2] [--ocsp-nocheck]
               [--permit-subtrees GNAMES] [--exclude-subtrees GNAMES]
               [--require-explicit-policy N] [--inhibit-policy-mapping N]
               [--inhibit-any N] [--add-policy POLICY]

Sign certificate signing request:

sysca sign [-h] [--out OUT_FILE] [--outform FMT] [--text] --request CSR_FILE
           --ca-info CRT_FILE --ca-key KEY_FILE [--password-file PSW_FILE]
           [--not-valid-before DATE] [--not-valid-after DATE] [--days DAYS]
           [--serial-number SN] [--reset] [--rsa-pss]
           [--subject DN] [--san GNAMES] [--usage USAGE] [--CA] [--path-length DEPTH]
           [--crl-urls URLS] [--issuer-urls URLS] [--ocsp-urls URLS]
           [--ocsp-must-staple] [--ocsp-must-staple-v2] [--ocsp-nocheck]
           [--permit-subtrees GNAMES] [--exclude-subtrees GNAMES]
           [--require-explicit-policy N] [--inhibit-policy-mapping N]
           [--inhibit-any N] [--add-policy POLICY]

Create or update CRL file:

sysca update-crl [-h] [--out OUT_FILE] [--outform FMT] [--text]
                 --ca-info CRT_FILE --ca-key KEY_FILE [--password-file PSW_FILE]
                 [--crl CRL_FILE] [--crl-number VER] [--delta-crl-number VER]
                 [--crl-scope SCOPE] [--crl-reasons REASONS] [--indirect-crl]
                 [--issuer-urls URLS] [--delta-crl-urls URLS]
                 [--last-update DATE] [--next-update DATE] [--days DAYS]
                 [--revoke-certs FN [FN ...]]
                 [--revoke-serials NUM [NUM ...]]
                 [--reason REASON] [--invalidity-date DATE] [--revocation-date DATE]

Display contents of CRT, CSR or CRL file:

sysca show FILE

Commands

new-key

Generate new key.

Takes key type as optional argument. Value can be either ec:<curve>, rsa:<bits> or dsa:<bits>. Shortcuts: ec is ec:secp256r1, rsa is rsa:2048, dsa is dsa:2048. Default: ec.

Suggested curves for EC: secp256r1, secp384r1, secp521r1, ed25519.

Options:

--password-file FILE

Password will be loaded from file. Can be PGP-encrypted. Resulting private key will be encrypted with this password.

--out DST_FN

Target file to write key to. It's preferable to write to stdout and encrypt with GPG.

--outform PEM|DER

Output file format. PEM is textual format, DER is binary. Default: PEM.

request

Create certificate signing request (CSR).

Options:

--key KEY_FILE

Private key file to create request for. Can be PGP-encrypted. Can be password-protected.

--password-file FN

Password file for private key. Can be PGP-encrypted.

--out CSR_FILE

Target file to write Certificate Signing Request to.

--outform PEM|DER

Output file format. PEM is textual format, DER is binary. Default: PEM.

--rsa-pss

Use RSA-PSS padding when signing with RSA key. Note that this setting will be inherited - certificate will be signed with RSA-PSS if either this flag is given, CA certificate uses RSA-PSS or CSR uses RSA-PSS.

Certifiace fields:

--subject DN

Subject's DistinguishedName which is X509 Name structure, which is collection of key-value pairs.

Each pair is separated with "/", key and value are separated with "=". Surrounding whitespace around both "/" and "=" will be stripped. "\" can be used for escaping.

Most important field: CN=commonName.

Common fields: O=organizationName, OU=organizationalUnit, C=countryName, L=locality, ST=stateOrProvinceName.

Less common fields: SN=surname, GN=givenName, T=title, P=pseudonym, SA=streetAddress.

Example: --subject "/CN=www.example.com/ O=My Company / OU = DevOps"

Default: empty.

Certificate field: Subject.

--san GNAMES

Specify alternative names for subject as list of comma-separated strings, that have prefix that describes data type.

Supported prefixes:

dns

Domain name.

email

Email address. Plain addr-spec (local_part @ domain) is allowed here, no <> or full name.

ip

IPv4 or IPv6 address.

uri

Uniform Resource Identifier.

dn

DirectoryName, which is X509 Name structure. See --subject for syntax.

Example: --san "dns: *.example.com, dns: www.foo.org, ip: 127.0.0.1 "

Extension: SubjectAlternativeName.

Options useful only when apps support them:

--usage USAGE_FLAGS

Comma-separated keywords that set KeyUsage and ExtendedKeyUsage flags.

ExtendedKeyUsage flags, none set by default.

client

TLS Web Client Authentication.

server

TLS Web Server Authentication.

code

Code signing.

email

E-mail protection.

time

Time stamping.

ocsp

OCSP signing.

any

All other purposes too that are not explicitly mentioned.

KeyUsage flags, by default CA certificate will have key_cert_sign and crl_sign set, non-CA certificate will have digital_signature and key_encipherment set but only if no --usage was given by user.

digital_signature

Allowed to sign anything that is not certificate for key.

key_agreement

Key is allowed to use in key agreement.

key_cert_sign

Allowed to sign certificates for other keys.

crl_sign

Allowed to sign certificates for certificate revocation lists (CRLs).

key_encipherment

Secret keys (either private or symmetric) can be encrypted against public key in certificate. Does not apply to session keys, but standalone secret keys?

data_encipherment

Raw data can be encrypted against public key in certificate. [Bad idea.]

content_commitment

Public key in certificate can be used for signature checking in "seriously-i-mean-it" environment. [Historical.]

encipher_only

If key_agreement is true, this flag limits use only for data encryption.

decipher_only

If key_agreement is true, this flag limits use only for data decryption.

--CA

The certificate will have CA rights - that means it can sign other certificates.

Extension: BasicConstraints.

--path-length

Applies only for CA certs - limits how many levels on sub-CAs can exist under generated certificate. Default: Undefined.

Extension: BasicConstraints.

--crl-urls URLS

List of URLs where certificate revocation lists can be downloaded.

Extension: CRLDistributionPoints.

--issuer-urls URLS

List of URLS where parent certificate can be downloaded, in case the parent CA is not root CA. Usually sub-CA certificates should be provided during key-agreement (TLS). This setting is for situations where this cannot happen or for fallback for badly-configured TLS servers.

Extension: AuthorityInformationAccess.

--ocsp-urls URLS

List of URL for OCSP endpoint where validity can be checked.

Extension: AuthorityInformationAccess.

--ocsp-must-staple

Requires that TLS handshake must be done with stapled OCSP response using status_request protocol.

Extension: OCSPMustStaple.

--ocsp-must-staple-v2

Requires that TLS handshake must be done with stapled OCSP response using status_request_v2 protocol.

Extension: OCSPMustStapleV2.

--ocsp-nocheck

Disable OCSP checking for this certificate. Used for certificates that sign OCSP status replies.

Extension: OCSPNoCheck.

--permit-subtrees NAME_PATTERNS

Allow CA to sign subjects that match patterns.

Specify patters for subject as list of comma-separated strings, that have prefix that describes data type.

Supported prefixes:

dns

Domain name.

email

Email address. Plain addr-spec (local_part @ domain) is allowed here, no <> or full name.

net

IPv4 or IPv6 network.

uri

Uniform Resource Identifier.

dn

DirectoryName, which is X509 Name structure. See --subject for syntax.

Extension: NameConstraints.

--exclude-subtrees NAME_PATTERNS

Disallow CA to sign subjects that match patterns. See --permit-subtrees for details.

--require-explicit-policy N

Require explicit certificate policy for whole path after N levels.

Extension: PolicyConstraints.

--inhibit-policy-mapping N

Disallow policy mapping processing after N levels.

Extension: PolicyConstraints.

--inhibit-any N

Disallow special handling of any policy (2.5.29.32.0) after N levels.

Extension: InhibitAnyPolicy.

--add-policy OID:SPECS

Add another PolicyInformation record to certificate with optional qualifiers.

Usage:

--add-policy OID

Just add OID alone. Recommended usage.

--add-policy OID:SPEC,SPEC

Add policy OID with one or more qualifiers.

Qualifier spec for URI pointer to CPS (Certification Practice Statement): |P=URI|

Qualifier spec for UserNotice with explicitText and noticeRef: |T=explicit_text|O=orgName|N=1:2:3|

Extension: CertificatePolicies.

sign

Create signed certificate based on data in certificate request. Any unsupported extensions in request will cause error.

It will add SubjectKeyIdentifier and AuthorityKeyIdentifier extensions to final certificate that help to uniquely identify both subject and issuers public keys. Also IssuerAlternativeName is added as copy of CA cert's SubjectAlternativeName extension if present.

Options:

--out CRT_FILE

Target file to write certificate to.

--outform PEM|DER

Output file format. PEM is textual format, DER is binary. Default: PEM.

--request CSR_FILE

Certificate request file generated by request command.

--ca-info CRT_FILE

CRT file generated by request command. Issuer CA info will be loaded from it.

--ca-key KEY_FILE

CA private key file. Can be PGP-encrypted. Can be password-protected.

--password-file FN

Password file for CA private key. Can be PGP-encrypted.

--not-valid-before DATE

Start of validity period, default: (now - 1h)

--not-valid-after DATE

End of validity period, default: (now + days)

--days DAYS

Lifetime for certificate in days.

--serial-number SN

Use SN instead automatically generated serial number.

--reset

Do not use any info fields from CSR, reload all info from command line. Without it, CSR fields are used and command line arguments can override corresponding fields in CSR.

--rsa-pss

Use RSA-PSS padding when signing with RSA key. Note that this setting will be inherited - certificate will be signed with RSA-PSS if either this flag is given, CA certificate uses RSA-PSS or CSR uses RSA-PSS.

Certificate fields are the same as in request command.

selfsign

This commands takes same arguments as request plus --days NUM. Preferable to use with --CA and --usage options.

update-crl

Creates or updates Certificate Revocation List file.

CRL file can be either full or delta:

full

Contains full set of revoked certificates. Options: --crl-number=CUR

delta

Contains only certificates missing from older CRL version. Options: --delta-crl-number=OLD --crl-number=CUR

CRL file can be either direct or indirect:

direct

All revoked certificates belong to signer that issues CRL.

indirect

Revoked certificates contain reference to actual CA that issued. Set with option: --indirect-crl.

Output options:

--out FN

Write output to file.

--outform PEM|DER

Output file format. PEM is textual format, DER is binary. Default: PEM.

Options for signing:

--ca-info CRT_FILE

CA certificate used for signing.

--ca-key KEY_FILE

CA private key file. Can be PGP-encrypted. Can be password-protected.

--password-file FN

Password file for CA private key. Can be PGP-encrypted.

Options for CRL itself:

--crl FN

Load existing file. Version numbers are reused unless overrided on command line.

--crl-number VER

Version number for main CRL.

Extension: CRLNumber.

--delta-crl-number VER

Version number of prevous CRL that this delta is from.

Extension: DeltaCRLNumber.

--crl-scope SCOPE

CRL scope, one of: all, user, ca, attr. Default: all

This flags shows that CRL contains only specific types of certificates.

all

All types. Default.

user

Only user certificates.

ca

Only CA certificates.

attr

Only attribute certificates.

Extension: CRLIssuingDistributionPoint.

--crl-reasons REASONS

Limit CRL scope to only list of reasons.

--indirect-crl

CRL list can contain revoked certificates not issued by CRL signer.

Extension: CRLIssuingDistributionPoint.

--issuer-urls URLS

Override issuer URLs. Default: taken from signer certificate.

Extension: CRLAuthorityInformationAccess.

--delta-crl-urls URLS

Set urls for Delta CRL Distribution Point.

Extension: FreshestCRL.

--last-update DATE

Set update time explicitly instead using current timestamp.

--next-update DATE

Set next update time explicitly instead using --days.

--days NUM

Set period that this CRL is valid.

Options for adding entries:

--revoke-certs FN [FN ...]

Filenames of certificates to add.

--revoke-serials NUM [NUM ...]

Certificate serial numbers to add.

--reason REASON

Revocation reason. Used for all entries added in one command. One of:

key_compromise

Private key compromise.

ca_compromise

CA key compromise.

affiliation_changed

Current certificate is obsolete. Another CA is being responsible.

superseded

Current certificate is obsolete. New certificate has been issued.

cessation_of_operation

Current certificate is obsolete. CA shut down.

privilege_withdrawn

Certificate attributes are not valid anymore.

aa_compromise

Provider of attributes to certificate has been compromised.

certificate_hold

Temporary entry, actual reason will follow later.

remove_from_crl

Certificate should not be in CRL anymore.

unspecified

Default, means no reason has been provided.

Extension: CRLReason.

--invalidity-date DATE

Consider certificate invalid from date. Optional, if missing revocation date is used.

Extension: CRLInvalidityDate.

--revocation-date DATE

Use DATE instead current timestamp.

show

Display contents of CSR or CRT file.

list

Output values for various parameters.

list ec-curves

Show supported safe curves. Needs --unsafe flag to show all supported curves.

list name-fields

Show keywords usable in name fields.

export

Reads and outputs file again. Useful for converting key formats.

Options:

--out FN

Write output to file.

--outform PEM|DER

Output file format. PEM is textual format, DER is binary. Default: PEM.

--password-file FN

Password file for CA private key. Can be PGP-encrypted.

export-pub

Reads certificate, certificate request or private key file and outputs it's public key.

Options:

--out FN

Write output to file.

--outform PEM|DER

Output file format. PEM is textual format, DER is binary. Default: PEM.

--password-file FN

Password file for CA private key. Can be PGP-encrypted.

autogen

Generates key and certificate based on config file.

Options:

--ca-dir DIRNAME

Where are CA keys located.

--password-file FN

Password file for CA private key. Can be PGP-encrypted.

--out OUTDIR

Directory where output is written.

--outform PEM|DER

Output file format. PEM is textual format, DER is binary. Default: PEM.

Autogen config format

Config is in INI/ConfigParser format:

[DEFAULT]
default_ca = SomeCA

[webserver]
usage = server
subject = CN=server.com, O=Org
alt_names = dns:server.com, dns:www.server.com
days = 500
ca_name = ${default_ca}

Default section

Config can contain optional section named DEFAULT. Parameters defined there are visible in all other sections.

Named sections

All other sections define key and certificate pair to generate.

Options:

ca_name = <CA name>

CA name to use.

Required parameter, no default.

days = <number-of-days>

How many days is certificate valid.

Default: 730

ktype = key-type

Which key type to use.

Default: ec

subject = Subject DN string

Distinguished Name for certificate subject./CN=foo/O=Org/OU=Web/

Default: CN=${common_name}

common_name = name

Common name for sertificate when subject= is not given.

Default: section name.

alt_names = <SAN string>

Common name for sertificate when subject= is not given.

Default: set to dns:${common_name} when subject= is missing.

Private Key Protection

Private keys can be stored unencryped, encrypted with PGP, encrypted with password or both. Unencrypted keys are good only for testing. Good practice is to encrypt both CA and end-entity keys with PGP and use passwords only for keys that can be deployed to servers with password-protection.

For each key, different set of PGP keys can be used that can decrypt it:

$ sysca new-key | gpg -aes -r "[email protected]" -r "[email protected]" > CA.key.gpg
$ sysca new-key | gpg -aes -r "[email protected]" -r "[email protected]" > server.key.gpg

Example

Self-signed CA example:

$ sysca new-key | gpg -aes -r "[email protected]" > TestCA.key.gpg
$ sysca selfsign --key TestCA.key.gpg --subject "/CN=TestCA/O=Gov" --CA > TestCA.crt

Sign server key:

$ sysca new-key | gpg -aes -r "[email protected]" > Server.key.gpg
$ sysca request --key Server.key.gpg --subject "/CN=web.server.com/O=Gov" > Server.csr
$ sysca sign --days 365 --request Server.csr --ca-key TestCA.key.gpg --ca-info TestCA.crt > Server.crt

Critical extensions

SysCA does not allow tuning of critical extension flag, following extensions are always set as critical when added to certificate:

• BasicConstraints
• KeyUsage
• ExtendedKeyUsage
• NameConstraints
• PolicyConstraints
• InhibitAnyPolicy

All other added extensions will be non-critical.

Compatibility notes

Although SysCA allows to set various extension parameters, that does not mean any software that uses the certificates actually looks or acts on the extensions. So it's reasonable to set up only extensions that are actually used.