Vault credential brokering quickstart

This tutorial provides an example of an integration with Vault to broker secrets to Boundary clients.

You can watch the following video to learn more about secrets management with Boundary and Vault:

Background

Boundary integrates with Vault to broker Vault secrets to Boundary clients. Secrets are brokered using the command line or desktop clients to use Boundary sessions.

This feature enables Boundary as a credential broker for infrastructure targets by binding credentials with user sessions, and surfacing those credentials during session initialization.

This tutorial sets up development versions of Vault and Boundary, and then walks through the process of creating Boundary credentials stores and credential libraries for brokering of Vault secrets.

Tutorial Contents

1. Deploy a demo database
2. Setup Vault
3. Setup Boundary
4. Broker credentials for the database via Boundary

Prerequisites

• A Boundary binary greater than 0.12 in your PATH

• This tutorial assumes that you are able to launch Boundary in dev mode.

• A Vault binary greater than 1.7.0 in your PATH

• Docker is installed

• A psql binary greater than 13.0 in your PATH

• Installing the Boundary Desktop App provides an optional workflow at the end of this tutorial. The 1.2.0 version or above is required for Vault support.

This tutorial assumes prior foundational knowledge of using Vault, including running a development server and managing policies, roles and tokens.

If you are new to using Vault, consider completing the Getting Started with Vault quick start tutorials before integrating Vault with Boundary.

Tutorial Scenario

Connecting to a networked service often requires credentials for authentication and authorization. For example, a financial analyst might require access to their company's sales database to create a monthly report. When the analyst wants to create the report, they will (hopefully) need database credentials which their reporting tool can use to connect to the sales database and run the report.

In this example, the analyst only needs credentials to the sales database once a month and only for a limited amount of time. If connection to the sales database was through Boundary, the credentials could be generated at the beginning of the session, returned to the analyst, and then revoked when the session is terminated.

This tutorial provides an example of enabling the analyst scenario by setting up a Vault integration with Boundary, and introduces the Boundary resources used for managing credentials.

Get setup

Three pieces must be setup for this tutorial:

• A demo postgres database target
• A Vault server with policies allowing connections from Boundary
• Boundary credential resources for managing credential lifecycle

The learn-boundary-vault-quickstart repository contains the lab environment for this tutorial.

Open a terminal and navigate to a working directory, such as the home directory. Clone down the sample repository containing the starter configuration files.

$ git clone https://github.com/hashicorp-education/learn-boundary-vault-quickstart

Navigate into the learn-boundary-vault-quickstart directory and list its contents.

$ ls -R1
README.md
analyst.sql.hcl
boundary-controller-policy.hcl
dba.sql.hcl
northwind-database-policy.hcl
northwind-database.sql
northwind-roles.sql

The repository contains the following files:

• analyst.sql.hcl: Vault role for generating credentials for the analyst database
• boundary-controller-policy.hcl: Vault policy for the Boundary controller that enables token management
• dba.sql.hcl: Vault role for the database analyst credential generation
• northwind-database-policy.hcl: Vault policy for the demo database admin
• northwind-database.sql: Demo database tables
• northwind-roles.sql: Demo database roles and permissions

Setup PostgreSQL Northwind demo database

Start by deploying the northwind postgres database container target. This will be the target that Boundary brokers credentials for via Vault.

Export the database name and URL as environment variables.

$ export PG_DB="northwind";export PG_URL="postgres://postgres:secret@localhost:16001/${PG_DB}?sslmode=disable"

Now launch the postgres container with Docker, passing the postgres password, database name, and URL port mapping as options.

$ docker run -d \
   -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret \
   -e POSTGRES_DB="${PG_DB}" \
   --name ${PG_DB} \
   -p 16001:5432 \
   postgres

Check that the container is running.

$ docker ps --format "table {{.ID}}\t{{.Names}}\t{{.Image}}\t{{.Status}}"
CONTAINER ID   NAMES       IMAGE      STATUS
af573c7093cd   northwind   postgres   Up About a minute

Next, seed the database tables.

$ psql -d $PG_URL -f northwind-database.sql --quiet

Lastly, apply the database roles and permissions.

$ psql -d $PG_URL -f northwind-roles.sql --quiet

This information will be queried at the end of the tutorial after the credentials are successfully brokered via Vault.

Setup Vault

Vault needs to be configured to generate secrets for the database target. To set up Vault you need to:

1. Start Vault
2. Set up a Boundary controller policy
3. Enable the database secrets engine
4. Configure the postgres database plugin
5. Create a database admin role to generate credentials
6. Create an analyst role to generate credentials

Run Vault in dev mode

Export the Vault address and set the token to the default admin user groot.

$ export VAULT_ADDR="http://127.0.0.1:8200"; export VAULT_TOKEN="groot"

Now start Vault in dev mode, passing in the VAULT_TOKEN variable.

$ vault server -dev -dev-root-token-id=${VAULT_TOKEN}
==> Vault server configuration:

             Api Address: http://127.0.0.1:8200
                     Cgo: disabled
         Cluster Address: https://127.0.0.1:8201
              Go Version: go1.16.7
              Listener 1: tcp (addr: "127.0.0.1:8200", cluster address: "127.0.0.1:8201", max_request_duration: "1m30s", max_request_size: "33554432", tls: "disabled")
               Log Level: info
                   Mlock: supported: false, enabled: false
           Recovery Mode: false
                 Storage: inmem
                 Version: Vault v1.8.2
             Version Sha: aca76f63357041a43b49f3e8c11d67358496959f

==> Vault server started! Log data will stream in below:

...
...
...

The unseal key and root token are displayed below in case you want to
seal/unseal the Vault or re-authenticate.

Unseal Key: yhEyybUnBCEfxYpuVX1yh6arllBNfufcnfIvR0Q9UpA=
Root Token: groot

Development mode should NOT be used in production installations!

Leave the Vault server running in this terminal, and open a new session to continue setting up Vault.

Create the boundary-controller policy

Boundary needs to lookup, renew, and revoke tokens and leases in order to broker credentials properly.

Examine the boundary-controller-policy.hcl policy file, which assigns the following:

• read auth/token/lookup-self
• update auth/token/renew-self
• update auth/token/revoke-self
• update sys/leases/renew
• update sys/leases/revoke
• update sys/capabilities-self

In the new shell session, export the Vault address and token environment variables again.

$ export VAULT_ADDR="http://127.0.0.1:8200"; export VAULT_TOKEN="groot"

Create the boundary-controller policy.

$ vault policy write boundary-controller boundary-controller-policy.hcl
Success! Uploaded policy: boundary-controller

Configure the database secrets engine

Next, the database secrets engine must be enabled and configured with the postgresql plugin. Then a database admin (DBA) role and analyst role are created to enable credential generation.

1. Enable the database secrets engine.

   $ vault secrets enable database
   Success! Enabled the database secrets engine at: database/
   

2. Configure Vault with the postgres-database-plugin, connection information and allowed roles of dba and analyst:

   $ vault write database/config/northwind \
         plugin_name=postgresql-database-plugin \
         connection_url="postgresql://{{username}}:{{password}}@localhost:16001/postgres?sslmode=disable" \
         allowed_roles=dba,analyst \
         username="vault" \
         password="vault-password"
   

3. Create the DBA role that creates credentials with dba.sql.hcl:

   $ vault write database/roles/dba \
         db_name=northwind \
         creation_statements=@dba.sql.hcl \
         default_ttl=3m \
         max_ttl=60m
   

   Request the DBA credentials from Vault to confirm.

   $ vault read database/creds/dba
   Key                Value
   ---                -----
   lease_id           database/creds/dba/mLuQEYJGTQbycgIDRe5Uig0G
   lease_duration     3m
   lease_renewable    true
   password           0WDx5u6wSI5GE-RVT6LO
   username           v-token-dba-nyI68lAMnqyqS2JdBhAp-1624918829
   

4. Create the analyst role that creates credentials with analyst.sql.hcl:

   $ vault write database/roles/analyst \
         db_name=northwind \
         creation_statements=@analyst.sql.hcl \
         default_ttl=3m \
         max_ttl=60m
   

   Request the analyst credentials from Vault to confirm.

   $ vault read database/creds/analyst
   Key                Value
   ---                -----
   lease_id           database/creds/analyst/VBTw3MLVq8UYWXHaNBBpYzax
   lease_duration     3m
   lease_renewable    true
   password           ZYjokywhm6U-0e01mrdA
   username           v-token-analyst-CFmmvAtFKpkg5PcHP7Ni-1624918869
   

Create northwind-database policy

A policy needs to be created that grants read access for both the DBA and analyst roles.

Examine the northwind-database-policy.hcl policy file, which assigns the following:

• read database/creds/analyst
• read database/creds/dba

$ vault policy write northwind-database northwind-database-policy.hcl
Success! Uploaded policy: northwind-database

Create Vault token for Boundary

Lastly, a Vault token is needed to access the Boundary credential store that will be configured when setting up Boundary.

It's very important that the token is:

• periodic
• orphan
• renewable

Boundary may not be able to broker credentials unless the Vault token has these properties.

Create the token with the boundary-controller and northwind-database policies.

$ vault token create \
  -no-default-policy=true \
  -policy="boundary-controller" \
  -policy="northwind-database" \
  -orphan=true \
  -period=20m \
  -renewable=true

Example output:

Key                  Value
---                  -----
token                s.B2X1XMd0Y78yHoUcEV4zNTQ1
token_accessor       djb0YsXztZoAYDUEcEqR0GT2
token_duration       20m
token_renewable      true
token_policies       ["boundary-controller" "northwind-database"]
identity_policies    []
policies             ["boundary-controller" "northwind-database"]

Setup Boundary

Start Boundary in dev mode.

$ boundary dev
==> Boundary server configuration:

        [Controller] AEAD Key Bytes: nI6pdy5GbZZg02jvFw9SUodRwdap3+r1/lWk9umgvhA=
          [Recovery] AEAD Key Bytes: twFJE7UkqgD9xGlK3kENafxIvD6OTYNhUyh75HI2VNU=
       [Worker-Auth] AEAD Key Bytes: t0iRAbP+S3/rNLxi9bxcn2DipcisaM00I308U5B1LGY=
               [Recovery] AEAD Type: aes-gcm
                   [Root] AEAD Type: aes-gcm
            [Worker-Auth] AEAD Type: aes-gcm
                                Cgo: disabled
     Controller Public Cluster Addr: 127.0.0.1:9201
             Dev Database Container: quirky_bell
                   Dev Database Url: postgres://postgres:password@localhost:55009/boundary?sslmode=disable
         Generated Admin Login Name: admin
           Generated Admin Password: password
          Generated Host Catalog Id: hcst_1234567890
                  Generated Host Id: hst_1234567890
              Generated Host Set Id: hsst_1234567890
      Generated Oidc Auth Method Id: amoidc_1234567890
             Generated Org Scope Id: o_1234567890
  Generated Password Auth Method Id: ampw_1234567890
         Generated Project Scope Id: p_1234567890
                Generated Target Id: ttcp_1234567890
  Generated Unprivileged Login Name: user
    Generated Unprivileged Password: password
                         Listener 1: tcp (addr: "127.0.0.1:9200", cors_allowed_headers: "[]", cors_allowed_origins: "[*]", cors_enabled: "true", max_request_duration: "1m30s", purpose: "api")
                         Listener 2: tcp (addr: "127.0.0.1:9201", max_request_duration: "1m30s", purpose: "cluster")
                         Listener 3: tcp (addr: "127.0.0.1:9202", max_request_duration: "1m30s", purpose: "proxy")
                          Log Level: info
                              Mlock: supported: false, enabled: false
                            Version: Boundary v0.12
                        Version Sha: 5f88243ddc6182db9c71ba84fd401040de4f5d41
           Worker Public Proxy Addr: 127.0.0.1:9202

==> Boundary server started! Log data will stream in below:

Leave Boundary running in this terminal session, and open a new one to continue the tutorial.

Authenticate to Boundary as the admin user.

$ boundary authenticate password \
  -auth-method-id=ampw_1234567890 \
  -login-name=admin

Configure database target

Two targets need to be created in Boundary's default project scope, one for the DBA and another for the analyst. The default host set will then be assigned to both targets.

Test connection to the sample database

Verify that Boundary can connect to the database target directly, without having a credential brokered from Vault. This is to ensure the target container is accessible to Boundary before attempting to broker credentials via Vault.

Authenticate to Boundary as the admin user.

$ boundary authenticate password \
  -auth-method-id=ampw_1234567890 \
  -login-name=admin

Execute boundary connect postgres to verify the connection to the analyst target. When prompted, enter the password secret to connect.

$ boundary connect postgres -target-id $ANALYST_TARGET_ID -username postgres
Password for user postgres:
psql (13.2)
Type "help" for help.

postgres=#

After successfully testing the connection, terminate the session by executing \q.

Credential stores

A credential store belongs to a scope and must support the principle of least privilege by providing mechanisms to limit the credentials it can access to the minimum necessary for the scope it is in.

A credential store:

• is a Boundary resource
• belongs to one and only one scope
• owns zero or more credentials
• owns zero or more credential libraries
• is deleted when the scope it belongs to is deleted

In this example the credential store is created to manage HashiCorp Vault secrets. Configuring a Vault credential store requires:

• A Vault token with appropriate permissions to allow Boundary to access Vault secrets
• One or more credential libraries and credentials that specify the paths where Boundary should access Vault credentials

Create vault credential store

Create a credential store resource in the default project scope. Supply the token created when setting up Vault.

$ boundary credential-stores create vault -scope-id "p_1234567890" \
  -vault-address "http://127.0.0.1:8200" \
  -vault-token "${VAULT_BOUNDARY_TOKEN}"

$ boundary credential-stores create vault -scope-id "p_1234567890" \
  -vault-address "http://127.0.0.1:8200" \
  -vault-token "s.NL1Az6rTsCRxMTmPRnDgpN7i"

Credential Store information:
  Created Time:        Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:44:38 MDT
  ID:                  csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r
  Type:                vault
  Updated Time:        Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:44:38 MDT
  Version:             1

  Scope:
    ID:                p_1234567890
    Name:              Generated project scope
    Parent Scope ID:   o_1234567890
    Type:              project

  Authorized Actions:
    no-op
    read
    update
    delete

  Attributes:
    Address:           http://127.0.0.1:8200
    Token HMAC:        xMJIrVWRISWvS2_d2jGpB-lKgrUKXxpNyDK_T9Ig618

$ export CRED_STORE_ID="csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r"

Credential libraries

A credential library provides credentials for sessions. All credentials returned by a library must be equivalent from an access control perspective. A credential library is responsible for managing the lifecycle of the credentials it returns. For dynamic secrets, this includes creation, renewal, and revocation. For rotating credentials, this includes check-out, check-in, and rotation of secrets. The system retrieves credentials from a library for a session and notifies the library when the session has been terminated. A credential library belongs to a single credential store.

Vault credential libraries are the Boundary resource that maps to Vault secrets engines. A single credential store may have multiple types of credential libraries. For example, Vault credential store might include separate credential libraries corresponding to each of the Vault secret engine backends.

A credential library:

• is a Boundary resource
• belongs to one and only one credential store
• can be associated with zero or more targets
• can contain zero or more credentials
• is deleted when the credential store it belongs to is deleted

Create credential libraries

While there is only a single database target, two separate credential libraries should be created for the DBA and analyst roles within the credential store.

The DBA credential library is responsible for brokering credentials at the database/creds/dba vault path, while the analyst credential library brokers credentials at database/creds/analyst. Using two credential libraries allows for separation of privileges, and enables distinct lifecycle management for the different database roles.

Credentials and targets

A credential is a data structure containing one or more secrets that binds an identity to a set of permissions or capabilities. Static credential and dynamic credential are two additional base types derived from the credential base type.

A credential:

• may be a Boundary resource
• belongs to one and only one credential store
• can be associated with zero or more targets directly if it is a resource
• can be associated with zero or more libraries directly if it is a resource
• is deleted when the credential store or credential library it belongs to is deleted

A target can have multiple credentials or credential libraries associated with it:

• one for the connection from a user to a worker (ingress)
• one for the connection from a worker to an endpoint (egress)
• multiple for application credentials (like username and password)

Application credentials are returned to the user from the controller. Ingress and egress credentials are only given to a worker from a controller, and users never have direct access to them.

Add credential libraries to targets

With the credential libraries created, assign them to the appropriate targets. You will need the target ID and credential library ID for the respective targets.

Broker credentials via Vault

With their respective credential libraries assigned added to the targets, sessions can be authorized using credentials brokered by Vault.

Use Boundary to connect to the northwind demo database

A session can be authorized directly using the boundary targets authorize-session command.

Authorize a session to the analyst target, supplying its target ID.

$ boundary targets authorize-session -id $ANALYST_TARGET_ID

Target information:
  Authorization Token:
  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
  Created Time:          Mon, 28 Jun 2021 17:07:37 MDT
  Endpoint:              tcp://localhost:16001
  Host ID:               hst_1234567890
  Scope ID:              p_1234567890
  Session ID:            s_SJQMxQSxTu
  Target ID:             ttcp_1r9XGCXdwE
  Type:                  tcp
  User ID:               u_1234567890

  Credentials:
    Credential Store ID:            csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r
    Credential Library ID:          clvlt_5A8xDDWpIm
    Credential Library Type:        vault
    Credential Library Name:        northwind analyst
    Secret:
      {
        "password": "TxNG8yqgN-kgAoOyIx6t",
        "username": "v-token-analyst-dca8kVx4Ipjd93dyIoIn-1624921657"
      }

Notice the Credentials: section of the output, which displays the base64 credentials.

If desired, jq can be used to parse the output and display the decoded credentials.

$ boundary targets authorize-session -id $ANALYST_TARGET_ID -format json | jq .
{
  "status_code": 200,
  "decoded_credentials": [
    {
      "credential_library": {
        "id": "clvlt_5A8xDDWpIm",
        "name": "northwind analyst",
        "credential_store_id": "csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r",
        "type": "vault"
      },
      "secret": {
        "password": "-Z5g06pzUZ2aY-jltA0R",
        "username": "v-token-analyst-1ee37SuBH6J92Ex6RDRp-1624921756"
      }
    }
  ],
  "item": {
    "session_id": "s_cEBfUD8D9X",
    "target_id": "ttcp_1r9XGCXdwE",
    "scope": {
      "id": "p_1234567890",
      "type": "project",
      "name": "Generated project scope",
      "description": "Provides an initial project scope in Boundary",
      "parent_scope_id": "o_1234567890"
    },
    "created_time": "2021-06-28T23:09:16.882279Z",
    "user_id": "u_1234567890",
    "host_set_id": "hsst_1234567890",
    "host_id": "hst_1234567890",
    "type": "tcp",
    "authorization_token": "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",
    "endpoint": "tcp://localhost:16001",
    "credentials": [
      {
        "credential_library": {
          "id": "clvlt_5A8xDDWpIm",
          "name": "northwind analyst",
          "credential_store_id": "csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r",
          "type": "vault"
        },
        "secret": "eyJwYXNzd29yZCI6Ii1aNWcwNnB6VVoyYVktamx0QTBSIiwidXNlcm5hbWUiOiJ2LXRva2VuLWFuYWx5c3QtMWVlMzdTdUJINko5MkV4NlJEUnAtMTYyNDkyMTc1NiJ9"
      }
    ]
  }
}

The decoded_credentials key displays the credentials without the base64 encryption.

Next, establish a connection to the analyst target using the boundary connect postgres command. This will automatically pass the brokered credentials for the target and establish a psql session to the northwind database.

$ boundary connect postgres -target-id ttcp_1r9XGCXdwE -dbname northwind

psql (13.2)
Type "help" for help.

northwind=>

A psql connection to the northwind database should open. Query the available schema.

$ \d
                 List of relations
 Schema |          Name          | Type  |  Owner
--------+------------------------+-------+----------
 public | categories             | table | postgres
 public | customer_customer_demo | table | postgres
 public | customer_demographics  | table | postgres
 public | customers              | table | postgres
 public | employee_territories   | table | postgres
 public | employees              | table | postgres
 public | order_details          | table | postgres
 public | orders                 | table | postgres
 public | products               | table | postgres
 public | region                 | table | postgres
 public | shippers               | table | postgres
 public | suppliers              | table | postgres
 public | territories            | table | postgres
 public | us_states              | table | postgres
(14 rows)

When finished, run \q to close the connection.

Check the controller spool in the terminal where boundary dev was executed.

[INFO]  controller.worker-handler: session activated: session_id=s_ikEN6aEiab target_id=ttcp_xA6k6Di332 user_id=u_1234567890 host_set_id=hsst_1234567890 host_id=hst_1234567890
[INFO]  controller.worker-handler: authorized connection: session_id=s_ikEN6aEiab connection_id=sc_O7EfwnWOoc connections_left=-1
[INFO]  controller.worker-handler: connection established: session_id=s_ikEN6aEiab connection_id=sc_O7EfwnWOoc client_tcp_address=127.0.0.1 client_tcp_port=62496 endpoint_tcp_address=::1 endpoint_tcp_port=16001
[INFO]  controller.worker-handler: connection closed: connection_id=sc_O7EfwnWOoc
[INFO]  controller: terminating completed sessions successful: sessions_terminated=1

Notice the session authorization, connection, and termination logs. Connections can also be monitored using the Admin Console or the Boundary Desktop app in the Sessions tab in the Generated project scope.

Connect using the Desktop App

Credentials can also be brokered using the Boundary Desktop App.

Launch the Desktop app and authenticate to dev mode at http://127.0.0.1:9200 using the credentials admin and password.

Navigate to the Targets view, locate the Northwind Analyst Database target and click Connect.

The credentials can be copied directly from this view. Depending on the target type other credentials may be available, such as the certificate and private key. The Desktop App's connect interface can be used instead of generating the credentials on the command-line.

The password, username and raw API output can also be displayed within the UI.

Cleanup and teardown

1. Locate the terminal session used to start the boundary dev command, and execute ctrl+c to stop Boundary.

2. Locate the terminal session used to start the vault server command, and execute ctrl+c to stop Vault.

3. Unset the environment variables used in any active terminal windows for this tutorial.

   $ unset VAULT_ADDR; unset VAULT_TOKEN
   

4. Destroy the northwind postgres container created for the tutorial.

   $ docker rm -f northwind
   

Check your work with a quick docker ps and ensure there are no more postgres containers from the tutorial leftover. If unexpected containers still exist, execute docker rm -f <CONTAINER_ID> against each to remove them.

Help and reference

• Boundary command documentation

• Installation Notes

• Vault Documentation