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Configure TLS

Configure TLS communication from the command line to allow clients (for example Teku, a dapp, or curl) and Web3Signer to communicate securely.

Web3Signer provides multiple options to configure client TLS access:

This example uses a known clients file to limit access to specified clients.

info

The Teku tutorial provides step-by-step instructions to configure the Teku client and Web3Signer for TLS communication, including creating the required keystores and truststore.

Prerequisites​

Web3Signer prerequisites:

  • Web3Signer's password-protected PKCS #12 keystore.
  • File containing the keystore password.

Client prerequisites:

  • The client must be configured for TLS.
  • Client's PKCS #12 keystore information.

Create the known clients file​

Create a file (in this example, knownClients.txt) that lists one or more clients that are trusted to connect to Web3Signer. The file can contain clients that use trusted CA or self-signed certificates.

The file contents use the format <common_name> <hex-string> where:

  • <common_name> is the Common Name used for the client's keystore
  • <hex-string> is the SHA-256 fingerprint of the client's keystore.
curl_client DF:65:B8:02:08:5E:91:82:0F:91:F5:1C:96:56:92:C4:1A:F6:C6:27:FD:6C:FC:31:F2:BB:90:17:22:59:5B:50

You can use OpenSSL or keytool to display the client's Common Name and fingerprint. For example:

keytool -list -v -keystore <keystore> -storetype PKCS12 -storepass <password>

Start Web3Signer​

web3signer --key-store-path=/Users/me/keyFiles/ \
--tls-keystore-file=/Users/me/certs/web3signerKeystore.p12 \
--tls-keystore-password-file=/Users/me/certs/password.txt \
--tls-known-clients-file=/Users/me/certs/knownClients.txt

The command line:

note

Use the --tls-allow-any-client option to allow access to any client, or --tls-allow-ca-clients to allow access to any client with a trusted CA certificate.

You can't use --tls-allow-any-client with tls-known-clients-file or --tls-allow-ca-clients.

Server TLS connection​

Allow Web3Signer to send and receive secure HTTP JSON-RPCs from the server (for example Besu).

note

This can only be used when Web3Signer is eth1 mode.

Server prerequisites:

Create the known servers file​

Create a file (in this example, knownServers) that lists one or more trusted servers. The file contents use the format <hostname>:<port> <hex-string> where:

  • <hostname> is the server hostname
  • <port> is the port used for communication
  • <hex-string> is the SHA-256 fingerprint of the server's certificate.
localhost:8590 6C:B2:3E:F9:88:43:5E:62:69:9F:A9:9D:41:14:03:BA:83:24:AC:04:CE:BD:92:49:1B:8D:B2:A4:86:39:4C:BB
127.0.0.1:8590 6C:B2:3E:F9:88:43:5E:62:69:9F:A9:9D:41:14:03:BA:83:24:AC:04:CE:BD:92:49:1B:8D:B2:A4:86:39:4C:BB
note

Specify both hostname and IP address in the file if unsure which is used in requests.

Start Web3Signer​

web3signer eth1 --downstream-http-tls-enabled --downstream-http-tls-keystore-file=/Users/me/my_node/keystore.pfx --downstream-http-tls-keystore-password-file=/Users/me/my_node/keyPassword --downstream-http-tls-known-servers-file=/Users/me/my_node/knownServers

The command line:

note

The --downstream-http-tls-ca-auth-enabled option is true by default and allows connections to servers with trusted root CAs.