Security FAQ

Revision as of 18:56, 3 February 2008

Can I use different SSL certificates for each virtual host?

We have two domains on one server. Is there an example config file showing how to have multiple ssl certificates, one for each virtual host?

This is not possible if you are using Resin's virtual hosting capability to serve to multiple domain names using a single IP address.

The SSL connection (and certificate) are handled before the HTTP request is sent. Unless the domain name is mapped to a unique ip address, the server doesn't know which domain name the user is using until after SSL is set up. There is no way for Resin to determine which domain name the user has specified in the url.

It is possible if you have separate IP addresses for the hosts. You would start separate http servers that only bind on that ip address. Each of these http servers can have seperate ssl configurations.

Why does Resin say I need OPENSSL_THREADS when I try to use OpenSSL?

Resin dies with an error on startup "Resin requires a threaded version of OpenSSL. OpenSSL must be compiled with OPENSSL_THREADS for Resin to use it."

Resin requires a threaded version of the OpenSSL libraries. Usually a threaded version is the default for OpenSSL, however on some systems it is necessary to explicitly request a thread version.

To recompile the openssl libraries with threading enabled:

$ cd openssl-0.9.7c
$ ./config threads
$ make
$ make install

The INSTALL document from the OpenSSL package contains more information on the threads option.

What is the sequence of handshakes for an SSL connection?

ClientHello->
<-ServerHello
<-CertificateChain
<-ServerHelloDone
ClientKeyExchange->
ChangeCipherSpec->
Finished->
<-ChangeCipherSpec
<-Finished

How do I handle port 80 and root issues on Linux?

Use Resin 3.1 Professional with the <user-name> tag. The Resin [watchdog] will start as root and bind to port 80 as root. Before the watchdog launches the Resin instance, it will change to the <user-name>.

Where can I learn more about SSL?

• Apache documentation

Converting a JSSE Keystore to OpenSSL

• Erik's Weblog - Converting a JSSE Keystore to OpenSSL

How can I handle SSL for virtual hosts if I have a separate IP for each host?

I have different IPs, but am trying to avoid using them in the config files as we have a develepment, staging and production environment each of which would have different IPs. Is it possible to specify multiple IPs for it to try binding to?

<resin xmlns="http://caucho.com/ns/resin">
<cluster id="">

  <server id="">
    <http host="*" port="80"/>

    <http host="199.199.0.10" port="443" virtual-host="gryffindor.com">
      <openssl>
        <certificate-file>keys/gryffindor.crt</certificate-file>
        <certificate-key-file>keys/gryffindor.key</certificate-key-file>
        <password>test123</password>
      </openssl>
    </http>

    <http host="199.199.0.11" port="443" virtual-host="slytherin.com">
      <openssl>
        <certificate-file>keys/slytherin.crt</certificate-file>
        <certificate-key-file>keys/slytherin.key</certificate-key-file>
        <password>test123</password>
      </openssl>
    </http>

  ...
  </server>

  <host id="gryffindor.com">
     <host-alias>www.gryffindor.com</host-alias>

    ...

  </host>

  <host id="slytherin.com">
    <host-alias>www.slytherin.com</host-alias>

    ...
  </host>

  ...
</cluster>
</resin>


<p>
If you want to keep one .conf file for different environments,
you can use the configuration [http://caucho.com/resin/doc/config-control.xtp control statements].
</p>