Ansible Collection - trfore.smallstep

• This collection is for setting up a a public key infrastructure (PKI) using Smallstep. It will install CA server and, optionally, configure the CA server and host servers ("clients") to request x509 certificates from the CA.
• The default values for the collection are set with the intention of being used in production and initializing the CA server offline, outside of an Ansible play. However, you can set step_ca_initialize: true and initialize the PKI via an Ansible playbook, for more details see:
  • step_ca readme or scenario guide: ca
• For client servers, the default argument values for the roles are designed for generating a single ACME certificate and automatically renew it on each host. Yet, you can configure the roles to generate and request multiple x509 certificates and SSH certificates as well. See the example playbook below, READMEs and scenario guides for more details:
  • step_cert readme or scenario guide: client
  • step_ssh readme or scenario guide: ssh

Install the Collection

You can install this collection with the Ansible Galaxy CLI:

ansible-galaxy collection install trfore.smallstep

Roles

• Variables and default values are listed in each role's README and available at the documentation website: https://trfore.github.io/ansible-smallstep/branch/main
  • step_ca - Install and Initialize Step CA
  • step_ca_cert - Download and add the CA root certificate to trust stores
  • step_cert - Request an x509 certificate from the CA and automatically renew it
  • step_cli - Install Step CLI
  • step_provisioner - Add provisioners to Step CA
  • step_ssh - Generate SSH host certificate and configure server to accept user certificates

Tested Platforms

• ansible-core 2.15, 2.16 & 2.17
• CentOS Stream 9
• Debian 11 & 12
• Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04 & 24.04

Example Playbook

Production Workflow

• Phase I: Create a step CA server.

---
- name: Setup Step CA Server
  hosts: ca-server
  become: true
  gather_facts: true
  roles:
    - name: Install Step CLI
      role: trfore.smallstep.step_cli

    - name: Install Step Certificates
      role: trfore.smallstep.step_ca
### Initialize the CA Offline, storing the root key in an encrypted drive ###

• Phase II: Configure clients to request certificates from the CA.

---
- name: Extract Root CA Information
  hosts: ca-server
  become: true
  tasks:
    - name: Get Root CA Fingerprint
      ansible.builtin.command: step certificate fingerprint /etc/step-ca/certs/root_ca.crt
      register: ca_fingerprint
      changed_when: true

- name: Setup Step CA Clients (Servers)
  hosts: ca_clients
  become: true
  gather_facts: true
  roles:
    - name: Install Step CLI
      role: trfore.smallstep.step_cli

    - name: Bootstrap Step CA Root Certificate
      role: trfore.smallstep.step_ca_cert
      vars:
        step_ca_fingerprint: "{{ hostvars['ca-server'].ca_fingerprint.stdout }}"
        step_ca_url: "https://ca.example.com"

    - name: Request x509 Certificate
      role: trfore.smallstep.step_cert

Non-production Example with CA Initialization

• A complete playbook file is available under playbooks/non-production.yml (link) with example playbooks/group_vars (link).

---
- name: Setup Step CA Server
  hosts: ca-server
  become: true
  gather_facts: true
  roles:
    - name: Install Step Certificates
      role: trfore.smallstep.step_ca
      vars:
        step_ca_initialize: true
        step_ca_enable_service: true
        step_ca_name: "Example.com CA" # Required
        step_ca_password: "password01" # Required
        step_ca_provisioner_password: "password02" # Required
        step_ca_ssh_mgmt: true # For SSH certificates

    - name: Add Provisioner to Step CA
      role: trfore.smallstep.step_provisioner
      vars:
        step_provisioner:
          - name: acme
            type: acme
            renewal_after_expiry: true
            x509_default_dur: "48h"
            x509_max_dur: "168h"
          - name: google
            type: oidc
            ssh: true # For SSH certificates
            client_id: "" # From GCP API Config
            client_secret: "" # From GCP API Config
            config_endpoint: "https://accounts.google.com/.well-known/openid-configuration"
            domain: "gmail.com"
          - name: sshpop # For SSH certificate renewal
            type: sshpop
            ssh: true

  tasks:
    - name: Get root CA fingerprint
      ansible.builtin.command: step certificate fingerprint /etc/step-ca/certs/root_ca.crt
      register: ca_fingerprint
      changed_when: false
      failed_when: ca_fingerprint.rc == 1

- name: Setup Step CA Clients (Servers)
  hosts: ca_clients
  become: true
  gather_facts: true
  roles:
    - name: Install Step CLI
      role: trfore.smallstep.step_cli

    - name: Bootstrap Step CA Root Certificate
      role: trfore.smallstep.step_ca_cert
      vars:
        step_ca_fingerprint: "{{ hostvars['ca-server'].ca_fingerprint.stdout }}"
        step_ca_url: "https://ca.example.com"

    - name: Request x509 Certificate
      role: trfore.smallstep.step_cert

    # For SSH certificates
    - name: Configure Host for SSH Certificates
      role: trfore.smallstep.step_ssh
      vars:
        step_ssh_provisioner: "Example.com" # JWK provisioner name extracted from 'Example.com CA'
        step_ssh_provisioner_password: "password02" # Same value passed to 'step_provisioner_password', see 'step_ssh' README for details.

Author and License Information

Taylor Fore (https://github.com/trfore)

See LICENSE file for this Ansible collection.

Smallstep (certificates and cli) is Apache 2.0 license software from Smallstep Labs, Inc. For additional information see:

• https://smallstep.com/terms-of-use/
• https://github.com/smallstep/certificates/blob/master/LICENSE
• https://github.com/smallstep/cli/blob/master/LICENSE

References

• https://smallstep.com/docs/step-ca/certificate-authority-server-production/
• https://smallstep.com/docs/step-ca/provisioners/
• https://smallstep.com/docs/step-cli/reference/ca/provisioner/add/

Using Smallstep in Production

• Using a Yubikey as an alternative to a HSM, https://smallstep.com/blog/build-a-tiny-ca-with-raspberry-pi-yubikey/
• https://smallstep.com/docs/step-ca/certificate-authority-server-production/