community.crypto.x509_certificate module – Generate and/or check OpenSSL certificates

Note

This module is part of the community.crypto collection (version 2.22.3).

You might already have this collection installed if you are using the ansible package. It is not included in ansible-core. To check whether it is installed, run ansible-galaxy collection list.

To install it, use: ansible-galaxy collection install community.crypto. You need further requirements to be able to use this module, see Requirements for details.

To use it in a playbook, specify: community.crypto.x509_certificate.

Synopsis 

It implements a notion of provider (one of selfsigned, ownca, acme, and entrust) for your certificate.
It uses the cryptography python library to interact with OpenSSL.
Note that this module was called openssl_certificate when included directly in Ansible up to version 2.9. When moved to the collection community.crypto, it was renamed to community.crypto.x509_certificate. From Ansible 2.10 on, it can still be used by the old short name (or by ansible.builtin.openssl_certificate), which redirects to community.crypto.x509_certificate. When using FQCNs or when using the collections keyword, the new name community.crypto.x509_certificate should be used to avoid a deprecation warning.
Please note that the module regenerates existing certificate if it does not match the module’s options, or if it seems to be corrupt. If you are concerned that this could overwrite your existing certificate, consider using the backup option.
The ownca provider is intended for generating an OpenSSL certificate signed with your own CA (Certificate Authority) certificate (self-signed certificate).
This module allows one to (re)generate OpenSSL certificates.

Requirements 

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

acme-tiny >= 4.0.0 (if using the acme provider)
cryptography >= 1.6 (if using selfsigned or ownca provider)

Parameters 

Parameter	Comments
acme_accountkey_path path	The path to the accountkey for the `acme` provider. This is only used by the `acme` provider.
acme_chain boolean	Include the intermediate certificate to the generated certificate This is only used by the `acme` provider. Note that this is only available for older versions of `acme-tiny`. New versions include the chain automatically, and setting `acme_chain` to `true` results in an error. Choices: `false` ← (default) `true`
acme_challenge_path path	The path to the ACME challenge directory that is served on http://<HOST>:80/.well-known/acme-challenge/ This is only used by the `acme` provider.
acme_directory string added in community.crypto 1.0.0	The ACME directory to use. You can use any directory that supports the ACME protocol, such as Buypass or Let’s Encrypt. Let’s Encrypt recommends using their staging server while developing jobs. https://letsencrypt.org/docs/staging-environment/. Default: `"https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory"`
attributes aliases: attr string	The attributes the resulting filesystem object should have. To get supported flags look at the man page for `chattr` on the target system. This string should contain the attributes in the same order as the one displayed by `lsattr`. The `=` operator is assumed as default, otherwise `+` or `-` operators need to be included in the string.
backup boolean	Create a backup file including a timestamp so you can get the original certificate back if you overwrote it with a new one by accident. Choices: `false` ← (default) `true`
csr_content string added in community.crypto 1.0.0	Content of the Certificate Signing Request (CSR) used to generate this certificate. This is mutually exclusive with `csr_path`.
csr_path path	Path to the Certificate Signing Request (CSR) used to generate this certificate. This is mutually exclusive with `csr_content`.
entrust_api_client_cert_key_path path	The path to the private key of the client certificate used to authenticate to the Entrust Certificate Services (ECS) API. This is only used by the `entrust` provider. This is required if the provider is `entrust`.
entrust_api_client_cert_path path	The path to the client certificate used to authenticate to the Entrust Certificate Services (ECS) API. This is only used by the `entrust` provider. This is required if the provider is `entrust`.
entrust_api_key string	The key (password) for authentication to the Entrust Certificate Services (ECS) API. This is only used by the `entrust` provider. This is required if the provider is `entrust`.
entrust_api_specification_path path	The path to the specification file defining the Entrust Certificate Services (ECS) API configuration. You can use this to keep a local copy of the specification to avoid downloading it every time the module is used. This is only used by the `entrust` provider. Default: `"https://cloud.entrust.net/EntrustCloud/documentation/cms-api-2.1.0.yaml"`
entrust_api_user string	The username for authentication to the Entrust Certificate Services (ECS) API. This is only used by the `entrust` provider. This is required if the provider is `entrust`.
entrust_cert_type string	Specify the type of certificate requested. This is only used by the `entrust` provider. Choices: `"STANDARD_SSL"` ← (default) `"ADVANTAGE_SSL"` `"UC_SSL"` `"EV_SSL"` `"WILDCARD_SSL"` `"PRIVATE_SSL"` `"PD_SSL"` `"CDS_ENT_LITE"` `"CDS_ENT_PRO"` `"SMIME_ENT"`
entrust_not_after string	The point in time at which the certificate stops being valid. Time can be specified either as relative time or as an absolute timestamp. A valid absolute time format is `ASN.1 TIME` such as `2019-06-18`. A valid relative time format is `[+-]timespec` where timespec can be an integer + `[w \| d \| h \| m \| s]`, such as `+365d` or `+32w1d2h`). Time will always be interpreted as UTC. Note that only the date (day, month, year) is supported for specifying the expiry date of the issued certificate. The full date-time is adjusted to EST (GMT -5:00) before issuance, which may result in a certificate with an expiration date one day earlier than expected if a relative time is used. The minimum certificate lifetime is 90 days, and maximum is three years. If this value is not specified, the certificate will stop being valid 365 days the date of issue. This is only used by the `entrust` provider. Please note that this value is not covered by the `ignore_timestamps` option. Default: `"+365d"`
entrust_requester_email string	The email of the requester of the certificate (for tracking purposes). This is only used by the `entrust` provider. This is required if the provider is `entrust`.
entrust_requester_name string	The name of the requester of the certificate (for tracking purposes). This is only used by the `entrust` provider. This is required if the provider is `entrust`.
entrust_requester_phone string	The phone number of the requester of the certificate (for tracking purposes). This is only used by the `entrust` provider. This is required if the provider is `entrust`.
force boolean	Generate the certificate, even if it already exists. Choices: `false` ← (default) `true`
group string	Name of the group that should own the filesystem object, as would be fed to `chown`. When left unspecified, it uses the current group of the current user unless you are root, in which case it can preserve the previous ownership.
ignore_timestamps boolean added in community.crypto 2.0.0	Whether the “not before” and “not after” timestamps should be ignored for idempotency checks. It is better to keep the default value `true` when using relative timestamps (like `+0s` for now). Choices: `false` `true` ← (default)
mode any	The permissions the resulting filesystem object should have. For those used to `/usr/bin/chmod` remember that modes are actually octal numbers. You must give Ansible enough information to parse them correctly. For consistent results, quote octal numbers (for example, `'644'` or `'1777'`) so Ansible receives a string and can do its own conversion from string into number. Adding a leading zero (for example, `0755`) works sometimes, but can fail in loops and some other circumstances. Giving Ansible a number without following either of these rules will end up with a decimal number which will have unexpected results. As of Ansible 1.8, the mode may be specified as a symbolic mode (for example, `u+rwx` or `u=rw,g=r,o=r`). If `mode` is not specified and the destination filesystem object does not exist, the default `umask` on the system will be used when setting the mode for the newly created filesystem object. If `mode` is not specified and the destination filesystem object does exist, the mode of the existing filesystem object will be used. Specifying `mode` is the best way to ensure filesystem objects are created with the correct permissions. See CVE-2020-1736 for further details.
ownca_content string added in community.crypto 1.0.0	Content of the CA (Certificate Authority) certificate. This is only used by the `ownca` provider. This is mutually exclusive with `ownca_path`.
ownca_create_authority_key_identifier boolean	Create a Authority Key Identifier from the CA’s certificate. If the CSR provided a authority key identifier, it is ignored. The Authority Key Identifier is generated from the CA certificate’s Subject Key Identifier, if available. If it is not available, the CA certificate’s public key will be used. This is only used by the `ownca` provider. Note that this is only supported if the `cryptography` backend is used! Choices: `false` `true` ← (default)
ownca_create_subject_key_identifier string	Whether to create the Subject Key Identifier (SKI) from the public key. A value of `create_if_not_provided` (default) only creates a SKI when the CSR does not provide one. A value of `always_create` always creates a SKI. If the CSR provides one, that one is ignored. A value of `never_create` never creates a SKI. If the CSR provides one, that one is used. This is only used by the `ownca` provider. Note that this is only supported if the `cryptography` backend is used! Choices: `"create_if_not_provided"` ← (default) `"always_create"` `"never_create"`
ownca_digest string	The digest algorithm to be used for the `ownca` certificate. This is only used by the `ownca` provider. Default: `"sha256"`
ownca_not_after string	The point in time at which the certificate stops being valid. Time can be specified either as relative time or as absolute timestamp. Time will always be interpreted as UTC. Valid format is `[+-]timespec \| ASN.1 TIME` where timespec can be an integer + `[w \| d \| h \| m \| s]` (for example `+32w1d2h`). If this value is not specified, the certificate will stop being valid 10 years from now. Note that this value is not used to determine whether an existing certificate should be regenerated. This can be changed by setting the `ignore_timestamps` option to `false`. Please note that you should avoid relative timestamps when setting `ignore_timestamps=false`. This is only used by the `ownca` provider. On macOS 10.15 and onwards, TLS server certificates must have a validity period of 825 days or fewer. Please see https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210176 for more details. Default: `"+3650d"`
ownca_not_before string	The point in time the certificate is valid from. Time can be specified either as relative time or as absolute timestamp. Time will always be interpreted as UTC. Valid format is `[+-]timespec \| ASN.1 TIME` where timespec can be an integer + `[w \| d \| h \| m \| s]` (for example `+32w1d2h`). If this value is not specified, the certificate will start being valid from now. Note that this value is not used to determine whether an existing certificate should be regenerated. This can be changed by setting the `ignore_timestamps` option to `false`. Please note that you should avoid relative timestamps when setting `ignore_timestamps=false`. This is only used by the `ownca` provider. Default: `"+0s"`
ownca_path path	Remote absolute path of the CA (Certificate Authority) certificate. This is only used by the `ownca` provider. This is mutually exclusive with `ownca_content`.
ownca_privatekey_content string added in community.crypto 1.0.0	Content of the CA (Certificate Authority) private key to use when signing the certificate. This is only used by the `ownca` provider. This is mutually exclusive with `ownca_privatekey_path`.
ownca_privatekey_passphrase string	The passphrase for the `ownca_privatekey_path` resp. `ownca_privatekey_content`. This is only used by the `ownca` provider.
ownca_privatekey_path path	Path to the CA (Certificate Authority) private key to use when signing the certificate. This is only used by the `ownca` provider. This is mutually exclusive with `ownca_privatekey_content`.
ownca_version integer	The version of the `ownca` certificate. Nowadays it should almost always be `3`. This is only used by the `ownca` provider. Default: `3`
owner string	Name of the user that should own the filesystem object, as would be fed to `chown`. When left unspecified, it uses the current user unless you are root, in which case it can preserve the previous ownership. Specifying a numeric username will be assumed to be a user ID and not a username. Avoid numeric usernames to avoid this confusion.
path path / required	Remote absolute path where the generated certificate file should be created or is already located.
privatekey_content string added in community.crypto 1.0.0	Content of the private key to use when signing the certificate. This is mutually exclusive with `privatekey_path`.
privatekey_passphrase string	The passphrase for the `privatekey_path` resp. `privatekey_content`. This is required if the private key is password protected.
privatekey_path path	Path to the private key to use when signing the certificate. This is mutually exclusive with `privatekey_content`.
provider string	Name of the provider to use to generate/retrieve the OpenSSL certificate. Please see the examples on how to emulate it with community.crypto.x509_certificate_info, community.crypto.openssl_csr_info, community.crypto.openssl_privatekey_info and ansible.builtin.assert. The `entrust` provider was added for Ansible 2.9 and requires credentials for the Entrust Certificate Services (ECS) API. Required if `state` is `present`. Choices: `"acme"` `"entrust"` `"ownca"` `"selfsigned"`
return_content boolean added in community.crypto 1.0.0	If set to `true`, will return the (current or generated) certificate’s content as `certificate`. Choices: `false` ← (default) `true`
select_crypto_backend string	Determines which crypto backend to use. The default choice is `auto`, which tries to use `cryptography` if available. If set to `cryptography`, will try to use the cryptography library. Choices: `"auto"` ← (default) `"cryptography"`
selevel string	The level part of the SELinux filesystem object context. This is the MLS/MCS attribute, sometimes known as the `range`. When set to `_default`, it will use the `level` portion of the policy if available.
selfsigned_create_subject_key_identifier string	Whether to create the Subject Key Identifier (SKI) from the public key. A value of `create_if_not_provided` (default) only creates a SKI when the CSR does not provide one. A value of `always_create` always creates a SKI. If the CSR provides one, that one is ignored. A value of `never_create` never creates a SKI. If the CSR provides one, that one is used. This is only used by the `selfsigned` provider. Note that this is only supported if the `cryptography` backend is used! Choices: `"create_if_not_provided"` ← (default) `"always_create"` `"never_create"`
selfsigned_digest string	Digest algorithm to be used when self-signing the certificate. This is only used by the `selfsigned` provider. Default: `"sha256"`
selfsigned_not_after aliases: selfsigned_notAfter string	The point in time at which the certificate stops being valid. Time can be specified either as relative time or as absolute timestamp. Time will always be interpreted as UTC. Valid format is `[+-]timespec \| ASN.1 TIME` where timespec can be an integer + `[w \| d \| h \| m \| s]` (for example `+32w1d2h`). If this value is not specified, the certificate will stop being valid 10 years from now. Note that this value is not used to determine whether an existing certificate should be regenerated. This can be changed by setting the `ignore_timestamps` option to `false`. Please note that you should avoid relative timestamps when setting `ignore_timestamps=false`. This is only used by the `selfsigned` provider. On macOS 10.15 and onwards, TLS server certificates must have a validity period of 825 days or fewer. Please see https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210176 for more details. Default: `"+3650d"`
selfsigned_not_before aliases: selfsigned_notBefore string	The point in time the certificate is valid from. Time can be specified either as relative time or as absolute timestamp. Time will always be interpreted as UTC. Valid format is `[+-]timespec \| ASN.1 TIME` where timespec can be an integer + `[w \| d \| h \| m \| s]` (for example `+32w1d2h`). If this value is not specified, the certificate will start being valid from now. Note that this value is not used to determine whether an existing certificate should be regenerated. This can be changed by setting the `ignore_timestamps` option to `false`. Please note that you should avoid relative timestamps when setting `ignore_timestamps=false`. This is only used by the `selfsigned` provider. Default: `"+0s"`
selfsigned_version integer	Version of the `selfsigned` certificate. Nowadays it should almost always be `3`. This is only used by the `selfsigned` provider. Default: `3`
serole string	The role part of the SELinux filesystem object context. When set to `_default`, it will use the `role` portion of the policy if available.
setype string	The type part of the SELinux filesystem object context. When set to `_default`, it will use the `type` portion of the policy if available.
seuser string	The user part of the SELinux filesystem object context. By default it uses the `system` policy, where applicable. When set to `_default`, it will use the `user` portion of the policy if available.
state string	Whether the certificate should exist or not, taking action if the state is different from what is stated. Choices: `"absent"` `"present"` ← (default)
unsafe_writes boolean	Influence when to use atomic operation to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target filesystem object. By default this module uses atomic operations to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target filesystem objects, but sometimes systems are configured or just broken in ways that prevent this. One example is docker mounted filesystem objects, which cannot be updated atomically from inside the container and can only be written in an unsafe manner. This option allows Ansible to fall back to unsafe methods of updating filesystem objects when atomic operations fail (however, it doesn’t force Ansible to perform unsafe writes). IMPORTANT! Unsafe writes are subject to race conditions and can lead to data corruption. Choices: `false` ← (default) `true`

Attributes 

Attribute	Support	Description
check_mode	Support: full	Can run in `check_mode` and return changed status prediction without modifying target.
diff_mode	Support: full	Will return details on what has changed (or possibly needs changing in `check_mode`), when in diff mode.
safe_file_operations	Support: full	Uses Ansible’s strict file operation functions to ensure proper permissions and avoid data corruption.

Notes 

Note

All ASN.1 TIME values should be specified following the YYYYMMDDHHMMSSZ pattern.
Date specified should be UTC. Minutes and seconds are mandatory.
For security reason, when you use ownca provider, you should NOT run community.crypto.x509_certificate on a target machine, but on a dedicated CA machine. It is recommended not to store the CA private key on the target machine. Once signed, the certificate can be moved to the target machine.
For the selfsigned provider, csr_path and csr_content are optional. If not provided, a certificate without any information (Subject, Subject Alternative Names, Key Usage, etc.) is created.

Examples 

- name: Generate a Self Signed OpenSSL certificate
  community.crypto.x509_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/ansible.com.crt
    privatekey_path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
    csr_path: /etc/ssl/csr/ansible.com.csr
    provider: selfsigned

- name: Generate an OpenSSL certificate signed with your own CA certificate
  community.crypto.x509_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/ansible.com.crt
    csr_path: /etc/ssl/csr/ansible.com.csr
    ownca_path: /etc/ssl/crt/ansible_CA.crt
    ownca_privatekey_path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible_CA.pem
    provider: ownca

- name: Generate a Let's Encrypt Certificate
  community.crypto.x509_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/ansible.com.crt
    csr_path: /etc/ssl/csr/ansible.com.csr
    provider: acme
    acme_accountkey_path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
    acme_challenge_path: /etc/ssl/challenges/ansible.com/

- name: Force (re-)generate a new Let's Encrypt Certificate
  community.crypto.x509_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/ansible.com.crt
    csr_path: /etc/ssl/csr/ansible.com.csr
    provider: acme
    acme_accountkey_path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
    acme_challenge_path: /etc/ssl/challenges/ansible.com/
    force: true

- name: Generate an Entrust certificate via the Entrust Certificate Services (ECS) API
  community.crypto.x509_certificate:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/ansible.com.crt
    csr_path: /etc/ssl/csr/ansible.com.csr
    provider: entrust
    entrust_requester_name: Jo Doe
    entrust_requester_email: jdoe@ansible.com
    entrust_requester_phone: 555-555-5555
    entrust_cert_type: STANDARD_SSL
    entrust_api_user: apiusername
    entrust_api_key: a^lv*32!cd9LnT
    entrust_api_client_cert_path: /etc/ssl/entrust/ecs-client.crt
    entrust_api_client_cert_key_path: /etc/ssl/entrust/ecs-key.crt
    entrust_api_specification_path: /etc/ssl/entrust/api-docs/cms-api-2.1.0.yaml

# The following example shows how to emulate the behavior of the removed
# "assertonly" provider with the x509_certificate_info, openssl_csr_info,
# openssl_privatekey_info and assert modules:

- name: Get certificate information
  community.crypto.x509_certificate_info:
    path: /etc/ssl/crt/ansible.com.crt
    # for valid_at, invalid_at and valid_in
    valid_at:
      one_day_ten_hours: "+1d10h"
      fixed_timestamp: 20200331202428Z
      ten_seconds: "+10"
  register: result

- name: Get CSR information
  community.crypto.openssl_csr_info:
    # Verifies that the CSR signature is valid; module will fail if not
    path: /etc/ssl/csr/ansible.com.csr
  register: result_csr

- name: Get private key information
  community.crypto.openssl_privatekey_info:
    path: /etc/ssl/csr/ansible.com.key
  register: result_privatekey

- name: Check conditions on certificate, CSR, and private key
  ansible.builtin.assert:
    that:
      # When private key was specified for assertonly, this was checked:
      - result.public_key == result_privatekey.public_key
      # When CSR was specified for assertonly, this was checked:
      - result.public_key == result_csr.public_key
      - result.subject_ordered == result_csr.subject_ordered
      - result.extensions_by_oid == result_csr.extensions_by_oid
      # signature_algorithms check
      - "result.signature_algorithm == 'sha256WithRSAEncryption' or result.signature_algorithm == 'sha512WithRSAEncryption'"
      # subject and subject_strict
      - "result.subject.commonName == 'ansible.com'"
      - "result.subject | length == 1"  # the number must be the number of entries you check for
      # issuer and issuer_strict
      - "result.issuer.commonName == 'ansible.com'"
      - "result.issuer | length == 1"  # the number must be the number of entries you check for
      # has_expired
      - not result.expired
      # version
      - result.version == 3
      # key_usage and key_usage_strict
      - "'Data Encipherment' in result.key_usage"
      - "result.key_usage | length == 1"  # the number must be the number of entries you check for
      # extended_key_usage and extended_key_usage_strict
      - "'DVCS' in result.extended_key_usage"
      - "result.extended_key_usage | length == 1"  # the number must be the number of entries you check for
      # subject_alt_name and subject_alt_name_strict
      - "'dns:ansible.com' in result.subject_alt_name"
      - "result.subject_alt_name | length == 1"  # the number must be the number of entries you check for
      # not_before and not_after
      - "result.not_before == '20190331202428Z'"
      - "result.not_after == '20190413202428Z'"
      # valid_at, invalid_at and valid_in
      - "result.valid_at.one_day_ten_hours"  # for valid_at
      - "not result.valid_at.fixed_timestamp"  # for invalid_at
      - "result.valid_at.ten_seconds"  # for valid_in

Return Values 

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

Key	Description
backup_file string	Name of backup file created. Returned: changed and if `backup` is `true` Sample: `"/path/to/www.ansible.com.crt.2019-03-09@11:22~"`
certificate string added in community.crypto 1.0.0	The (current or generated) certificate’s content. Returned: if `state` is `present` and `return_content` is `true`
filename string	Path to the generated certificate. Returned: changed or success Sample: `"/etc/ssl/crt/www.ansible.com.crt"`

Authors

Yanis Guenane (@Spredzy)
Markus Teufelberger (@MarkusTeufelberger)