Splunk Dev

Splunk Web support password-protected private keys or not?

daniel_splunk
Splunk Employee
Splunk Employee

From the latest document,

http://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/latest/Security/Self-signcertificatesforSplunkWeb

It stated that

Remove the password from your key. (Splunk Web does not support password-protected private keys.)

However, from the web.conf page (starting from 6.6.0),

http://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/latest/Admin/Webconf

It stated that

sslPassword = <password>
* Password protecting the private key specified by 'privKeyPath'.
* Optional. Defaults to unencrypted private key.
* If encrypted private key is used, do not enable client-authentication
  on splunkd server. In [sslConfig] stanza of server.conf,
  'requireClientCert' must be 'false'.

The 2 parameter seem contradict to each others. Any idea why?

Tags (1)
0 Karma

jeremyhagand61
Communicator

It certainly works with passwords in version 9

0 Karma

daniel_splunk
Splunk Employee
Splunk Employee

I would suggest to follow our older version practise not to set password to protect the web private key.

If password-protected private key is really needed in web.conf, don't set requireClientCert to true (default value is false) in server.conf

0 Karma

osmanysr
Engager

The documentation in version 9.0 and up is no longer asking to remove the password from the private key prior generating a CSR file.

Compare this documentation...

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.0.0/Security/Getthird-partycertificatesforSplunkWeb

vs.

This one...

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.2.9/Security/Getthird-partycertificatesforSplunkWeb

That says:

Remove the password from the private key. You must do this because Splunk Web does not support private key passwords.

In my case...

I am using Splunk version 9.0.2 and my private key (.key file) has password. I use it on web conf under sslPassword

0 Karma
Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

Index This | I am a number, but when you add ‘G’ to me, I go away. What number am I?

March 2024 Edition Hayyy Splunk Education Enthusiasts and the Eternally Curious!  We’re back with another ...

What’s New in Splunk App for PCI Compliance 5.3.1?

The Splunk App for PCI Compliance allows customers to extend the power of their existing Splunk solution with ...

Extending Observability Content to Splunk Cloud

Register to join us !   In this Extending Observability Content to Splunk Cloud Tech Talk, you'll see how to ...