Appendix B - OpenSSL Server Certificates for Testing

This version of the documentation is archived and no longer supported. View the current documentation to learn how to upgrade your version of MongoDB.

Warning

Disclaimer

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

The following tutorial provides some basic steps 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.

Prerequisite

The procedure outlined on this page uses the test intermediate authority certificate and key mongodb-test-ia.crt and mongodb-test-ia.key created in Appendix A - OpenSSL CA Certificate for Testing .

Procedure

The following procedure outlines the steps to create test certificates for MongoDB servers. For steps to create test certificates for MongoDB clients, see Appendix C - OpenSSL Client Certificates for Testing.

A. Create the OpenSSL Configuration File

Create a test configuration file openssl-test-server.cnf for your server with the following content:

# NOT FOR PRODUCTION USE. OpenSSL configuration file for testing.
[ req ]
default_bits = 4096
default_keyfile = myTestServerCertificateKey.pem    ## The default private key file name.
default_md = sha256
distinguished_name = req_dn
req_extensions = v3_req
[ 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
subjectAltName = @alt_names
[ alt_names ]
DNS.1 =         ##TODO: Enter the DNS names. The DNS names should match the server names.
DNS.2 =         ##TODO: Enter the DNS names. The DNS names should match the server names.
IP.1 =          ##TODO: Enter the IP address. SAN matching by IP address is available starting in MongoDB 4.2
IP.2 =          ##TODO: Enter the IP address. SAN matching by IP address is available starting in MongoDB 4.2
[ req_dn ]
countryName = Country Name (2 letter code)
countryName_default = TestServerCertificateCountry
countryName_min = 2
countryName_max = 2
stateOrProvinceName = State or Province Name (full name)
stateOrProvinceName_default = TestServerCertificateState
stateOrProvinceName_max = 64
localityName = Locality Name (eg, city)
localityName_default = TestServerCertificateLocality
localityName_max = 64
organizationName = Organization Name (eg, company)
organizationName_default = TestServerCertificateOrg
organizationName_max = 64
organizationalUnitName = Organizational Unit Name (eg, section)
organizationalUnitName_default = TestServerCertificateOrgUnit
organizationalUnitName_max = 64
commonName = Common Name (eg, YOUR name)
commonName_max = 64

In the [alt_names] section, enter the appropriate DNS names and/or IP addresses for the MongoDB server. You can specify multiple DNS names a MongoDB server.
For OpenSSL SAN identifiers, MongoDB supports:
- DNS names and/or
- IP address fields (Starting in MongoDB 4.2)
Optional. You can update the default Distinguished Name (DN) values.

Tip

Specify a non-empty value for at least one of the following attributes: Organization (O), the Organizational Unit (OU), or the Domain Component (DC).
When creating test server certificates for internal membership authentication, the following attributes, if specified, must match exactly across the member certificates: Organization (O), Organizational Unit (OU), the Domain Component (DC).
For more information on requirements for internal membership authentication, see membership authentication.

B. Generate the Test PEM File for Server

Important

Before proceeding, ensure that you have entered the appropriate DNS names in the [alt_names] section of the configuration file openssl-test-server.cnf.

Create the test key file mongodb-test-server1.key.
```
openssl genrsa -out mongodb-test-server1.key 4096
```
Create the test certificate signing request mongodb-test-server1.csr.
When asked for Distinguished Name values, enter the appropriate values for your test certificate:
- Specify a non-empty value for at least one of the following attributes: Organization (O), the Organizational Unit (OU), or the Domain Component (DC).
- When creating test server certificates for internal membership authentication, the following attributes, if specified, must match exactly across the member certificates: Organization (O), Organizational Unit (OU), the Domain Component (DC).
```
openssl req -new -key mongodb-test-server1.key -out mongodb-test-server1.csr -config openssl-test-server.cnf
```

Create the test server certificate mongodb-test-server1.crt.

openssl x509 -sha256 -req -days 365 -in mongodb-test-server1.csr -CA mongodb-test-ia.crt -CAkey mongodb-test-ia.key -CAcreateserial -out mongodb-test-server1.crt -extfile openssl-test-server.cnf -extensions v3_req

Create the test PEM file for the server.
```
cat mongodb-test-server1.crt mongodb-test-server1.key > test-server1.pem
```
You can use the test PEM file when configuring a mongod or a mongos for TLS/SSL testing. For example:
Example
For MongoDB 4.2 or greater
mongod --tlsMode requireTLS --tlsCertificateKeyFile test-server1.pem --tlsCAFile test-ca.pem
Although still available, --sslMode, --sslPEMKeyFile, and --sslCAFile are deprecated as of MongoDB 4.2.
Example
For MongoDB 4.0 and earlier
mongod --sslMode requireSSL --sslPEMKeyFile test-server1.pem --sslCAFile test-ca.pem
On macOS,
If you are testing with Keychain Access to manage certificates, create a pkcs-12 file to add to Keychain Access instead of a PEM file:
openssl pkcs12 -export -out test-server1.pfx -inkey mongodb-test-server1.key -in mongodb-test-server1.crt -certfile mongodb-test-ia.crt
Once added to Keychain Access, instead of specifying the certificate key file, you can use the --tlsCertificateSelector to specify the certificate to use. If the CA file is also in Keychain Access, you can omit --tlsCAFile as well.
For MongoDB 4.2 or greater
mongod --tlsMode requireTLS --tlsCertificateSelector subject="<TestServerCertificateCommonName>"
Although still available, --sslMode and --sslCertificateSelector are deprecated as of MongoDB 4.2.
For MongoDB 4.0 and earlier
mongod --sslMode requireSSL --sslCertificateSelector subject="<TestServerCertificateCommonName>"
For adding certificates to Keychain Access, refer to your official documentation for Keychain Access.

Warning

Disclaimer

Prerequisite

Procedure

A. Create the OpenSSL Configuration File

Tip

B. Generate the Test PEM File for Server

Important

Example

For MongoDB 4.2 or greater

Example

For MongoDB 4.0 and earlier

Tip

See also: