PhixFlow Help

Configure a Keystore and Aliases

Owned by Fiona Sargeant (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jun 29, 2023 by Anthony George
3 min read

Overview

PhixFlow expects to use a keystore for:

  • a pepper key, which PhixFlow will add to local user passwords when encrypting them
  • the database username and password.

The pepper string and database account credentials are encrypted and stored here, along with their aliases. You can then use an alias to retrieve each secret from the keystore.

To configure the keystore, use the Java keytool -importpass command at the command line. In the following examples, we have used

  • a file type of PKCS12. You can also use JCEKS.
  • a keystore name of keystore.jks. If you use a different name for the keystore, you must update its name in the phixflow-secret.xml configuration file.
See also
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When you run the keytool -importpass command, it always prompts for a "password". This is because the keytool does not distinguish between the secrets that it stores. At the prompt, enter the actual value you want to store securely.

Create the keystore and add the pepper string and its alias

If you are creating the keystore on Windows, you must use the backslash \ in the path. PhixFlow will not be able to read the pepper key value if you use the forward slash /.

The following commands assume you have set the environment variable JAVA_HOME. If you do not, you can set it in your current session following the command examples:

  • On windows in powershell: $env:JAVA_HOME="C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_282"
  • On linux in a bash shell: export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/adoptopenjdk-11-hotspot-amd64

Alternatively, replace JAVA_HOME in the commands below with the base installation directory of Java.

  1. Run the -importpass command, specifying the alias: pepperkey 
    The alias is case-sensitive and must match phixflow-instance.xml: <prop key="pepperkey">pepperkey</prop>
    If you use a different alias, update phixflow-instance.xml to use the same alias.
  2. When prompted, enter the password you want to set for the keystore file, then re-enter to confirm it.
    Keep a secure record of this password.
  3. When prompted for a password, enter the string you want to use to use to pepper user passwords. 
    We recommend this string has the same characteristics as a password. For example it should be a random string containing at least 6 letters, numbers and special characters. 
    Keep a secure record of the pepper key. 
 Expand Windows Example

Command Line:

"%JAVA_HOME%\bin\keytool" -importpass -alias pepperkey -keystore C:\secure\keystore.jks -storetype PKCS12

Powershell:

&"$env:JAVA_HOME\bin\keytool.exe" -importpass -alias pepperkey -keystore C:\secure\keystore.jks -storetype PKCS12
 Expand Linux Example
$JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -importpass -alias pepperkey -keystore /opt/secure/keystore.jks -storetype PKCS12

Add Database Credentials

Step 1  Add the database username

1.1 Run the -importpass command, specifying the alias username for the PhixFlow database, for example phixflow-database-user.

1.2 When prompted, enter the keystore password.

1.3 When prompted for a password, enter the actual username for the PhixFlow database, for example phixflow. 

 Expand Windows Example

Command Line:

"%JAVA_HOME%\bin\keytool" -importpass -alias phixflow-database-user -keystore C:\secure\keystore.jks -storetype PKCS12

Powershell:

&"$env:JAVA_HOME\bin\keytool.exe" -importpass -alias phixflow-database-user -keystore C:\secure\keystore.jks -storetype PKCS12
 Expand Linux Example
$JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -importpass -alias phixflow-database-user -keystore /opt/secure/keystore.jks -storetype PKCS12

Step 2  Add the database password and alias to the keystore file

2.1.  Run the -importpass command again, specifying the alias password for the PhixFlow database, for example phixflow-database-password.

2.2  When prompted, enter the keystore password.

2.3 When prompted for the password, enter the actual password for the PhixFlow database. 


 Expand Windows Example
"%JAVA_HOME%\bin\keytool" -importpass -alias phixflow-database-password -keystore C:\secure\keystore.jks -storetype PKCS12
&"$env:JAVA_HOME\bin\keytool.exe" -importpass -alias phixflow-database-password -keystore C:\secure\keystore.jks -storetype PKCS12
 Expand Linux Example
$JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -importpass -alias phixflow-database-password -keystore C:\secure\keystore.jks -storetype PKCS12

Step 3  Configure phixflow-datasource.xml

Edit phixflow-datasource.xml to add the aliases for the PhixFlow database username and password. For example:

<property name="username">
	<value>phixflow-database-user</value>
</property>
<property name="password">
	<value>phixflow-database-password</value>
</property>

Step 4  Set the Environment Variable

We recommend that you use an environment variable for the keystore password, as it provides additional security.
If you do not set an environment variable, you must include the keystore password in phixflow-secret.xml.

Create an environment variable with the form <variable-name>: <keystore-password>


In WindowsIn Linux
<variable-name>

In Windows:  In the environment variable, specify any variable name you choose.

Use the EnvironmentFile directive in the systemd service definition.
Ensure that only root can read/write EnvironmentFile.

For information about how to set environment variables in Linux, see:

<keystore-password>

Specify the password for the keystore.


Never add the keystore password to the profile for the Tomcat user.

Step 5  Configure phixflow-secret.xml

Copy phixflow-secret.xml.example to phixflow-secret.xml and edit it to set the values as follows:

Required?PropertyValueExample
RequiredkeystoreTypeThe type of the keystore, either PKCS12 or JCEKS

<!-- keystore type (PKCS12 or JCEKS) -->
<property name="keystoreType">
   <value>PKCS12</value>
</property>

RequiredkeystoreFile

The path to the keystore.

<!-- keystore filepath  -->
<property name="keystoreFile">
   <value>/opt/secure/keystore.jks</value>
</property>

Either
(recommended)		keystorePassEnvironmentVariable

The name of the environment variable.

Use <!-- and --> to comment out the keystorePass property.

<!-- keystore password -->
<property name="keystorePassEnvironmentVariable">    <value>KEY_PASS</value>
</property>

OrkeystorePass

The password for the keystore.

Use <!-- and --> to comment out the keystorePassEnvironmentVariable property.

<!-- keystore password -->
<property name="keystorePass">
   <value>storepw</value>
</property>

On startup, PhixFlow checks that there is one password mechanism, either keystorePassEnvironmentVariable or keystorePass. Do not specify both as this will prevent PhixFlow from running.


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