Configuring Certificate Enrollment for a PKI

Last Updated: July 18, 2012

Certificate enrollment, which is the process of obtaining a certificate from a certification authority (CA), occurs between the end host that requests the certificate and the CA. Each peer that participates in the public key infrastructure (PKI) must enroll with a CA. This module describes the different methods available for certificate enrollment and how to set up each method for a participating PKI peer.

Finding Feature Information

Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest caveats and feature information, see Bug Search Tool and the release notes for your platform and software release. To find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is supported, see the feature information table at the end of this module.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Prerequisites for PKI Certificate Enrollment

Before you configure peers for certificate enrollment, you must:

  • Authenticate the CA.
  • Have a generated Rivest, Shamir, and Adelman (RSA) key pair to enroll and a PKI in which to enroll.
  • Be familiar with the " Cisco IOS XE PKI Overview: Understanding and Planning a PKI " module in the Cisco IOS Security Configuration Guide: Secure Connectivity .

Restrictions for PKI Certificate Enrollment

Cisco IOS certificate servers cannot be configured using Cisco IOS XE software. The Cisco IOS certificate servers must be set up using Cisco IOS software (T- or mainline-based) images.

Information About Certificate Enrollment for a PKI

What Are CAs

A CA manages certificate requests and issues certificates to participating network devices. These services (managing certificate requests and issuing certificates) provide centralized key management for the participating devices to validate identities and to create digital certificates. Before any PKI operations can begin, the CA generates its own public key pair and creates a self-signed CA certificate; thereafter, the CA can sign certificate requests and begin peer enrollment for the PKI.

You can use the Cisco IOS XE certificate server or a CA provided by a third-party CA vendor.


Note


Cisco IOS XE certificate servers cannot be configured using Cisco IOS XE software. The Cisco IOS certificate servers must be set up using Cisco IOS software (T- or mainline-based images).

Authentication of the CA

The certificate of the CA must be authenticated before the device will be issued its own certificate and before certificate enrollment can occur. Authentication of the CA typically occurs only when you initially configure PKI support at your router. To authenticate the CA, issue the crypto pki authenticate command, which authenticates the CA to your router by obtaining the self-signed certificate of the CA that contains the public key of the CA.

Authentication via the fingerprint Command

You can issue the fingerprint command t o preenter a fingerprint that can be matched against the fingerprint of a CA certificate during authentication.

If a fingerprint is not preentered for a trustpoint, and if the authentication request is interactive, you must verify the fingerprint that is displayed during authentication of the CA certificate. If the authentication request is noninteractive, the certificate will be rejected without a preentered fingerprint.


Note


If the authentication request is made using the command-line interface (CLI), the request is an interactive request. If the authentication request is made using HTTP or another management tool, the request is a noninteractive request.

Supported Certificate Enrollment Methods

Cisco IOS XE software supports the following methods to obtain a certificate from a CA:

  • Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP)--A Cisco developed enrollment protocol that uses HTTP to communicate with the CA or registration authority (RA). SCEP is the most commonly used method for sending and receiving requests and certificates.

Note


To take advantage of automated certificate and key rollover functionality, you must be running a CA that supports rollover and SCEP must be used as your client enrollment method. If you are running a Cisco IOS XE CA, you must be running Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1 or a later release for rollover support.
  • PKCS12--The router imports certificates in PKCS12 format from an external server.
  • IOS File System (IFS)--The router uses any file system that is supported by Cisco IOS XE software (such as TFTP, FTP, flash, and NVRAM) to send a certificate request and to receive the issued certificate. Users may enable IFS certificate enrollment when their CA does not support SCEP.
  • Manual cut-and-paste--The router displays the certificate request on the console terminal, allowing the user to enter the issued certificate on the console terminal. A user may manually cut-and-paste certificate requests and certificates when there is no network connection between the router and CA.
  • Enrollment profiles--The router sends HTTP-based enrollment requests directly to the CA server instead of to the RA-mode CS. Enrollment profiles can be used if a CA server does not support SCEP.
  • Self-signed certificate enrollment for a trustpoint--The secure HTTP (HTTPS) server generates a self-signed certificate that is to be used during the secure socket layer (SSL) handshake, establishing a secure connection between the HTTPS server and the client. The self-signed certificate is then saved in the router's startup configuration (NVRAM). The saved, self-signed certificate can then be used for future SSL handshakes, eliminating the user intervention that was necessary to accept the certificate every time the router reloaded.

Note


To take advantage of autoenrollment and auto reenrollment, do not use either TFTP or manual cut-and-paste enrollment as your enrollment method. Both TFTP and manual cut-and-paste enrollment methods are manual enrollment processes, requiring user input.

Cisco IOS Suite-B Support for Certificate Enrollment for a PKI

Suite-B requirements comprise of four user interface suites of cryptographic algorithms for use with IKE and IPSec that are described in RFC 4869. Each suite consists of an encryption algorithm, a digital signature algorithm, a key agreement algorithm, and a hash or message digest algorithm.

Suite-B adds the following support for the certificate enrollment for a PKI:

  • Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) (256-bit and 384-bit curves) is used for the signature operation within X.509 certificates.
  • PKI support for validation of for X.509 certificates using ECDSA signatures.
  • PKI support for generating certificate requests using ECDSA signatures and for importing the issued certificates into IOS.

See the Configuring Security for VPNs with IPsec feature module for more detailed information about Cisco IOS Suite-B support.

Registration Authorities (RA)

A Cisco IOS XE certificate server can be configured to run in RA mode. An RA offloads authentication and authorization responsibilities from a CA. When the RA receives a SCEP or manual enrollment request, the administrator can either reject or grant it on the basis of local policy. If the request is granted, it will be forwarded to the issuing CA, and the CA can be configured to automatically generate the certificate and return it to the RA. The client can later retrieve the granted certificate from the RA.

Automatic Certificate Enrollment

Certificate autoenrollment allows the CA client to automatically request a certificate from its CA server. This automatic router request eliminates the need for operator intervention when the enrollment request is sent to the CA server. Automatic enrollment is performed on startup for any trustpoint CA that is configured and that does not have a valid client certificate. When the certificate expires, a new certificate is automatically requested.


Note


When automatic enrollment is configured, clients automatically request client certificates. The CA server performs its own authorization checks; if these checks include a policy to automatically issue certificates, all clients will automatically receive certificates, which is not very secure. Thus, automatic certificate enrollment should be combined with additional authentication and authorization mechanisms (such as Secure Device Provisioning (SDP), leveraging existing certificates, and one-time passwords).

Automated Client Certificate and Key Rollover

By default, the automatic certificate enrollment function requests a new client certificate and keys from the CS before the client's current certificate expires. Certificate and key rollover allows the certificate renewal rollover request to be made before the certificate expires by retaining the current key and certificate until the new, or rollover, certificate is available. After a specified amount of time, the rollover certificate and keys will become the active certificate and keys. The expired certificate and keys are immediately deleted upon rollover and removed from the certificate chain and CRL.

The setup for automatic rollover is twofold: CA clients must be automatically enrolled and the client's CAs must be automatically enrolled and have the auto-rollover command enabled.

An optional renewal percentage parameter can be used with the auto-enroll command to allow a new certificate to be requested when a specified percentage of the lifetime of the certificate has passed. For example, if the renewal percentage is configured as 90 and the certificate has a lifetime of one year, a new certificate is requested 36.5 days before the old certificate expires. In order for automatic rollover to occur, the renewal percentage must be less than 100.The specified percent value must not be less than 10. If a client certificate is issued for less than the configured validity period due to the impending expiration of the CA certificate, the rollover certificate will be issued for the balance of that period. A minimum of 10 percent of the configured validity period, with an absolute minimum of 3 minutes, is required to allow rollover enough time to function.


Tip


If CA autoenrollment is not enabled, you may manually initiate rollover on an existing client with the crypto pki enroll command if the expiration time of the current client certificate is equal to or greater than the expiration time of the corresponding CA certificate. The client will initiate the rollover process, which only occurs if the server is configured for automated rollover and has an available rollover server certificate.



Note


A key pair is also sent if configured by the auto-enroll re-generate command and keyword. It is recommended that a new key pair be issued for security reasons.

Certificate Enrollment Profiles

Enrollment profiles allow users to specify certificate authentication, enrollment, and reenrollment parameters when prompted. The values for these parameters are referenced by two templates that make up the profile. One template contains parameters for the HTTP request that is sent to the CA server to obtain the certificate of the CA (also known as certificate authentication); the other template contains parameters for the HTTP request that is sent to the CA for certificate enrollment.

Configuring two templates enables users to specify different URLs or methods for certificate authentication and enrollment; for example, authentication (getting the certificate of the CA) can be performed via TFTP (using the authentication url command) while enrollment can be performed manually (using the enrollment terminal command).

Users may specify the PKCS7 format for certificate renewal requests.


Note


A single enrollment profile can have up to three separate sections for each task--certificate authentication, enrollment, and reenrollment.

How to Configure Certificate Enrollment for a PKI

This section contains the following enrollment option procedures. If you configure enrollment or autoenrollment (the first task), you cannot configure manual certificate enrollment. Also, if you configure TFTP or manual cut-and-paste certificate enrollment, you cannot configure autoenrollment, auto reenrollment, an enrollment profile, nor can you utilize the automated CA certificate rollover capability.

Configuring Certificate Enrollment or Autoenrollment

Perform this task to configure certificate enrollment for clients participating in your PKI.

Before You Begin

Before configuring automatic certificate enrollment requests, you should ensure that all necessary enrollment information is configured.

Prerequisites for Enabling Automated Client Certificate and Key Rollover

CA client support for certificate rollover is automatically enabled when using autoenrollment. For automatic CA certificate rollover to run successfully, the following prerequisites are applicable:

  • Your network devices must support shadow PKI.
  • Your clients must be running Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1 or a later release.
  • The client's CS must support automatic rollover. See the section "Automatic CA Certificate and Key Rollover" in the chapter Configuring and Managing a Cisco IOS XE Certificate Server for PKI Deployment for more information on CA server automatic rollover configuration.

Prerequisites for Specifying Autoenrollment Initial Key Generation Location

To specify the location of the autoenrollment initial key generation, you must be running Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1 or a later release.

RSA Key Pair Restriction for Autoenrollment

Trustpoints configured to generate a new key pair using the regenerate command or the regenerate keyword of the auto-enroll command must not share key pairs with other trustpoints. To give each trustpoint its own key pair, use the rsakeypair command in ca-trustpoint configuration mode. Sharing key pairs among regenerating trustpoints is not supported and will cause loss of service on some of the trustpoints because of key and certificate mismatches.

Restrictions for Automated Client Certificate and Key Rollover

In order for clients to run automatic CA certificate rollover successfully, the following restrictions are applicable:

  • SCEP must be used to support rollover. Any device that enrolls with the PKI using an alternative to SCEP as the certificate management protocol or mechanism (such as enrollment profiles, manual enrollment, or TFTP enrollment) will not be able to take advantage of the rollover functionality provided by SCEP.
  • If the configuration cannot be saved to the startup configuration after a shadow certificate is generated, rollover will not occur.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    enable

2.    configure terminal

3.    crypto pki trustpoint name

4.    enrollment [mode] [retry period minutes] [retry count number] url url [pem]

5.    eckeypair label

6.    subject-name [x.500-name]

7.    ip address {ip address | interface | none

8.    serial-number [none]

9.    auto-enroll [percent] [regenerate

10.    usage method1 [method2 [method3]]

11.    password string

12.    rsakeypair key-label key-size encryption-key-size ]]

13.    fingerprint ca-fingerprint

14.    on devicename :

15.    exit

16.    crypto pki authenticate name

17.    exit

18.    copy system:running-config nvram:startup-config

19.    show crypto pki certificates


DETAILED STEPS
  Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
enable


Example:

Router> enable

 

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

  • Enter your password if prompted.
 
Step 2
configure terminal


Example:

Router# configure terminal

 

Enters global configuration mode.

 
Step 3
crypto pki trustpoint name


Example:

Router(config)# crypto pki trustpoint mytp

 

Declares the trustpoint and a given name and enters ca-trustpoint configuration mode.

 
Step 4
enrollment [mode] [retry period minutes] [retry count number] url url [pem]


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# enrollment url http://cat.example.com

 

Specifies the URL of the CA on which your router should send certificate requests.

  • mode --Specifies RA mode if your CA system provides an RA.
  • retry period minutes --Specifies the wait period between certificate request retries. The default is 1 minute between retries.
  • retry count number -- Specifies the number of times a router will resend a certificate request when it does not receive a response from the previous request. (Specify from 1 to 100 retries.)
  • url url -- URL of the file system where your router should send certificate requests. For enrollment method options, see the enrollment command in the Cisco IOS Security Command Reference.
  • pem --Adds privacy-enhanced mail (PEM) boundaries to the certificate request.
Note    An enrollment method other than TFTP or manual cut-and-paste must be configured to support autoenrollment.
 
Step 5
eckeypair label


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# eckeypair Router_1_Key

 

(Optional) Configures the trustpoint to use an Elliptic Curve (EC) key on which certificate requests are generated using ECDSA signatures. The label argument specifies the EC key label that is configured using the crypto key generate rsa or crypto key generate ec keysize command in global configuration mode. See the Configuring Internet Key Exchange for IPsec VPNs feature module for more information.

Note    If an ECDSA signed certificate is imported without a trustpoint configuration, then the label defaults to the FQDN value.
 
Step 6
subject-name [x.500-name]


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# subject-name cat

 

(Optional) Specifies the requested subject name that will be used in the certificate request.

  • x.500-name --If it is not specified, the fully qualified domain name (FQDN), which is the default subject name, will be used.
 
Step 7
ip address {ip address | interface | none


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# ip address 192.168.1.66

 

(Optional) Includes the IP address of the specified interface in the certificate request.

Issue the none keyword if no IP address should be included.

Note    If this command is enabled, you will not be prompted for an IP address during enrollment for this trustpoint.
 
Step 8
serial-number [none]


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# serial-number

 

(Optional) Specifies the router serial number in the certificate request, unless the none keyword is issued.

 
Step 9
auto-enroll [percent] [regenerate


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# auto-enroll regenerate

 

(Optional) Enables autoenrollment, allowing the client to automatically request a rollover certificate from the CA. If autoenrollment is not enabled, the client must be manually reenrolled in your PKI upon certificate expiration.

  • By default, only t he Domain Name System (DNS) name of the router is included in the certificat e.
  • Use the percent argument to specify that a new certificate will be requested after the percentage of the lifetime of the current certificate is reached.
  • Use the regenerate keyword to generate a new key for the certificate even if a named key already exists.
Note    If the key pair being rolled over is exportable, the new key pair will also be exportable. The following comment will appear in the trustpoint configuration to indicate whether the key pair is exportable: "! RSA key pair associated with trustpoint is exportable."
Note    It is recommended that a new key pair be generated for security reasons.
 
Step 10
usage method1 [method2 [method3]]


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# usage ssl-client

 

(Optional) Specifies the intended use for the certificate.

Available options are ike, ssl-client, and ssl-server; the default is ike.

 
Step 11
password string


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# password string1

 

(Optional) Specifies the revocation password for the certificate. If this command is enabled, you will not be prompted for a password during enrollment for this trustpoint.

Note    When SCEP is used, this password can be used to authorize the certificate request--often via a one-time password or similar mechanism.
 
Step 12
rsakeypair key-label key-size encryption-key-size ]]


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# rsakeypair cat

 

(Optional) Specifies which key pair to associate with the certificate.

  • A key pair with key-label will be generated during enrollment if it does not already exist or if the auto-enroll regenerate command was issued.
  • Specify the key-size argument for generating the key, and specify the encryption-key-size argument to request separate encryption, signature keys, and certificates.
Note    If this command is not enabled, the FQDN key pair is used.
 
Step 13
fingerprint ca-fingerprint


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# fingerprint 12EF53FA 355CD23E 12EF53FA 355CD23E

 

(Optional) Specifies a fingerprint that can be matched against the fingerprint of a CA certificate during authentication.

Note    If the fingerprint is not provided and authentication of the CA certificate is interactive, the fingerprint will be displayed for verification.
 
Step 14
on devicename :


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# on usbtoken0:

 

(Optional) Specifies that RSA keys will be created on the specified device upon autoenrollment initial key generation.

Devices that may be specified include NVRAM and local disks. USB tokens may be used as a storage device.

 
Step 15
exit


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# exit

 

Exits ca-trustpoint configuration mode and returns to global configuration mode.

 
Step 16
crypto pki authenticate name


Example:

Router(config)# crypto pki authenticate mytp

 

Retrieves the CA certificate and authenticates it.

  • Check the certificate fingerprint if prompted.
Note    This command is optional if the CA certificate is already loaded into the configuration.
 
Step 17
exit


Example:

Router(config)# exit

 

Exits global configuration mode.

 
Step 18
copy system:running-config nvram:startup-config


Example:

Router# copy system:running-config nvram:startup-config

 

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the NVRAM startup configuration.

Note    Autoenrollment will not update NVRAM if the running configuration has been modified but not written to NVRAM.
 
Step 19
show crypto pki certificates


Example:

Router# show crypto pki certificates

 

(Optional) Displays information about your certificates, including any rollover certificates.

 

Examples

The following example shows the configuration for the "mytp-A" certificate server and its associated trustpoint, where RSA keys generated by the initial autoenrollment for the trustpoint will be stored on a USB token, "usbtoken0":

crypto pki server mytp-A
   database level complete
   issuer-name CN=company, L=city, C=country
   grant auto
! Specifies that certificate requests will be granted automatically.
!
crypto pki trustpoint mytp-A
   revocation-check none
   rsakeypair myTP-A
   storage usbtoken0:
! Specifies that keys will be stored on usbtoken0:.
   on usbtoken0:
! Specifies that keys generated on initial auto enroll will be generated on and stored on ! usbtoken0:

Configuring Manual Certificate Enrollment

Manual certificate enrollment can be set up via TFTP or the manual cut-and-paste method. Both options can be used if your CA does not support SCEP or if a network connection between the router and CA is not possible. Perform one of the following tasks to set up manual certificate enrollment:

PEM-Formatted Files for Certificate Enrollment Request

Using PEM-formatted files for certificate requests can be helpful for customers who are using terminal or profile-based enrollment to request certificates from their CA server. Customers using PEM-formatted files can directly use existing certificates on their routers.

Restrictions for Manual Certificate Enrollment

Switching Enrollment URLs When Using SCEP

We do not recommend switching URLs if SCEP is used; that is, if the enrollment URL is "http://myca," do not change the enrollment URL after getting the CA certificate and before enrolling the certificate. A user can switch between TFTP and manual cut-and-paste

Key Regeneration Restriction

Do not regenerate the keys manually using the crypto key generate command; key regeneration will occur when the crypto pki enrollcommand is issued if the regenerate keyword is specified.

Configuring Cut-and-Paste Certificate Enrollment

Perform this task to configure manual certificate enrollment via the cut-and-paste method for peers participating in your PKI.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    enable

2.    configure terminal

3.    crypto pki trustpoint name

4.    enrollment terminal pem

5.    fingerprint ca-fingerprint

6.    exit

7.    crypto pki authenticate name

8.    crypto pki enroll name

9.    crypto pki import name certificate

10.    exit

11.    show crypto pki certificates


DETAILED STEPS
  Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
enable


Example:

Router> enable

 

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

  • Enter your password if prompted.
 
Step 2
configure terminal


Example:

Router# configure terminal

 

Enters global configuration mode.

 
Step 3
crypto pki trustpoint name


Example:

Router(config)# crypto pki trustpoint mytp

 

Declares the trustpoint and a given name and enters ca-trustpoint configuration mode.

 
Step 4
enrollment terminal pem


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# enrollment terminal

 

Specifies manual cut-and-paste certificate enrollment method. The certificate request will be displayed on the console terminal so that you may manually copied (or cut).

  • pem --Configures the trustpoint to generate PEM-formatted certificate requests to the console terminal.
 
Step 5
fingerprint ca-fingerprint


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# fingerprint 12EF53FA 355CD23E 12EF53FA 355CD23E

 

(Optional) Specifies a fingerprint that can be matched against the fingerprint of a CA certificate during authentication.

Note    If the fingerprint is not provided, it will be displayed for verification.
 
Step 6
exit


Example:

Router(config)# exit

 

Exits ca-trustpoint configuration mode and returns to global configuration mode.

 
Step 7
crypto pki authenticate name


Example:

Router(config)# crypto pki authenticate mytp

 

Retrieves the CA certificate and authenticates it.

 
Step 8
crypto pki enroll name


Example:

Router(config)# crypto pki enroll mytp

 

Generates certificate request and displays the request for copying and pasting into the certificate server.

You are prompted for enrollment information, such as whether to include the router FQDN and IP address in the certificate request. You are also given the choice about displaying the certificate request to the console terminal.

The base-64 encoded certificate with or without PEM headers as requested is displayed.

 
Step 9
crypto pki import name certificate


Example:

Router(config)# crypto pki import mytp certificate

 

Imports a certificate manually at the console terminal (pasting).

The base-64 encoded certificate is accepted from the console terminal and inserted into the internal certificate database.

Note    You must enter this command twice if usage keys, a signature key and an encryption key, are used. The first time the command is entered, one of the certificates is pasted into the router. The second time the command is entered, the other certificate is pasted into the router. It does not matter which certificate is pasted first.
Note    Some CAs ignore the usage key information in the certificate request and issue general purpose usage certificates. If this applies to the certificate authority you are using, import the general purpose certificate. The router will not use one of the two key pairs generated.
 
Step 10
exit


Example:

Router(config)# exit

 

Exits global configuration mode.

 
Step 11
show crypto pki certificates


Example:

Router# show crypto pki certificates

 

(Optional) Displays information about your certificates, the certificates of the CA, and RA certificates.

 

Configuring TFTP Certificate Enrollment

Perform this task to configure manual certificate enrollment using a TFTP server.

Before You Begin
  • You must know the correct URL to use if you are configuring certificate enrollment via TFTP.
  • The router must be able to write a file to the TFTP server for the crypto pki enroll command.
  • If using a file specification with the enrollment command, the file must contain the CA certificate either in binary format or be base-64 encoded.
  • You must know if your CA ignores key usage information in a certificate request and issues only a general purpose usage certificate.

Caution


Some TFTP servers require that the file must exist on the server before it can be written. Most TFTP servers require that the file be "write-able" by the world. This requirement may pose a risk because any router or other device may write or overwrite the certificate request; thus, the replacement certificate request will not used by the CA administrator, who must first check the enrollment request fingerprint before granting the certificate request.



SUMMARY STEPS

1.    enable

2.    configure terminal

3.    crypto pki trustpoint name

4.    enrollment [mode] [retry period minutes] [retry count number] url url [pem]

5.    fingerprint ca-fingerprint

6.    exit

7.    crypto pki authenticate name

8.    crypto pki enroll name

9.    crypto pki import name certificate

10.    exit

11.    show crypto pki certificates


DETAILED STEPS
  Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
enable


Example:

Router> enable

 

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

  • Enter your password if prompted.
 
Step 2
configure terminal


Example:

Router# configure terminal

 

Enters global configuration mode.

 
Step 3
crypto pki trustpoint name


Example:

Router(config)# crypto pki trustpoint mytp

 

Declares the trustpoint and a given name and enters ca-trustpoint configuration mode.

 
Step 4
enrollment [mode] [retry period minutes] [retry count number] url url [pem]


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# enrollment url tftp://certserver/file_specification

 

Specifies TFTP as the enrollment method to send the enrollment request and to retrieve the CA certificate and router certificate and any optional parameters.

Note    For TFTP enrollment, the url must be configured as a TFTP url, tftp://example_tftp_url.

An optional file specification filename may be included in the TFTP url. If the file specification is not included, the FQDN will be used. If the file specification is included, the router will append the extension ".ca" to the specified file name.

 
Step 5
fingerprint ca-fingerprint


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# fingerprint 12EF53FA 355CD23E 12EF53FA 355CD23E

 

(Optional) Specifies the fingerprint of the CA certificate received via an out-of-band method from the CA administrator.

Note    If the fingerprint is not provided, it will be displayed for verification.
 
Step 6
exit


Example:

Router(config)# exit

 

Exits ca-trustpoint configuration mode and returns to global configuration mode.

 
Step 7
crypto pki authenticate name


Example:

Router(config)# crypto pki authenticate mytp

 

Retrieves the CA certificate and authenticates it from the specified TFTP server.

 
Step 8
crypto pki enroll name


Example:

Router(config)# crypto pki enroll mytp

 

Generates certificate request and writes the request out to the TFTP server.

You are prompted for enrollment information, such as whether to include the router FQDN and IP address in the certificate request. You are queried about whether or not to display the certificate request to the console terminal.

The filename to be written is appended with the extension ".req". For usage keys, a signature key and an encryption key, two requests are generated and sent. The usage key request filenames are appended with the extensions "-sign.req" and "-encr.req" respectively.

 
Step 9
crypto pki import name certificate


Example:

Router(config)# crypto pki import mytp certificate

 

Imports a certificate via TFTP at the console terminal, which retrieves the granted certificate.

The router will attempt to retrieve the granted certificate via TFTP using the same filename used to send the request, except the extension is changed from ".req" to ".crt". For usage key certificates, the extensions "-sign.crt" and "-encr.crt" are used.

The router will parse the received files, verify the certificates, and insert the certificates into the internal certificate database on the router.

Note    Some CAs ignore the usage key information in the certificate request and issue general purpose usage certificates. If your CA ignores the usage key information in the certificate request, only import the general purpose certificate. The router will not use one of the two keypairs generated.
 
Step 10
exit


Example:

Router(config)# exit

 

Exits global configuration mode.

 
Step 11
show crypto pki certificates


Example:

Router# show crypto pki certificates

 

(Optional) Displays information about your certificates, the certificates of the CA, and RA certificates.

 

Configuring a Persistent Self-Signed Certificate for Enrollment via SSL

This section contains the following tasks:


Note


These tasks are optional because if you enable the HTTPS server, it generates a self-signed certificate automatically using default values.

Persistent Self-Signed Certificates Overview

The SSL protocol can be used to establish a secure connection between an HTTPS server and a client (web browser). During the SSL handshake, the client expects the SSL server's certificate to be verifiable using a certificate the client already possesses.

If Cisco IOS XE software does not have a certificate that the HTTPS server can use, the server generates a self-signed certificate by calling a PKI application programming interface (API). When the client receives this self-signed certificate and is unable to verify it, intervention is needed. The client asks you if the certificate should be accepted and saved for future use. If you accept the certificate, the SSL handshake continues.

Future SSL handshakes between the same client and the server use the same certificate. However, if the router is reloaded, the self-signed certificate is lost. The HTTPS server must then create a new self-signed certificate. This new self-signed certificate does not match the previous certificate so you are once again asked to accept it.

Requesting acceptance of the router's certificate each time that the router reloads may present an opportunity for an attacker to substitute an unauthorized certificate when you are being asked to accept the certificate. Persistent self-signed certificates overcome all these limitations by saving a certificate in the router's startup configuration.

Restrictions

You can configure only one trustpoint for a persistent self-signed certificate.


Note


Do not change the IP domain name or the hostname of the router after creating the self-signed certificate. Changing either name triggers the regeneration of the self-signed certificate and overrides the configured trustpoint. WebVPN ties the SSL trustpoint name to the WebVPN gateway configuration. If a new self-signed certificate is triggered, then the new trustpoint name does not match the WebVPN configuration, causing the WebVPN connections to fail.

Configuring a Trustpoint and Specifying Self-Signed Certificate Parameters

Perform the following task to configure a trustpoint and specify self-signed certificate parameters.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    enable

2.    configure terminal

3.    crypto pki trustpoint name

4.    enrollment selfsigned

5.    subject-name [x.500-name]

6.    rsakeypair key-label [key-size [encryption-key-size]]

7.    crypto pki enroll name

8.    end

9.    show crypto pki certificates [trustpoint-name [ verbose]]

10.    show crypto pki trustpoints [status | label [status]]


DETAILED STEPS
  Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
enable


Example:

Router> enable

 

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

  • Enter your password if prompted.
 
Step 2
configure terminal


Example:

Router# configure terminal

 

Enters global configuration mode.

 
Step 3
crypto pki trustpoint name


Example:

Router(config)# crypto pki trustpoint local

 

Declares the CA that your router should use and enters ca-trustpoint configuration mode.

Note    The crypto pki trustpoint command replaced the crypto pki trustpoint command.
 
Step 4
enrollment selfsigned


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# enrollment selfsigned

 

Specifies self-signed enrollment.

 
Step 5
subject-name [x.500-name]


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# subject-name

 

(Optional) Specifies the requested subject name to be used in the certificate request.

  • If the x-500-name argument is not specified, the FQDN, which is the default subject name, is used.
 
Step 6
rsakeypair key-label [key-size [encryption-key-size]]


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# rsakeypair examplekeys 1024 1024

 

(Optional) Specifies which key pair to associate with the certificate.

  • The key-label argument will be generated during enrollment if it does not already exist or if the auto-enroll regenerate command was issued.
  • Specify the key-size argument for generating the key, and specify the encryption-key-size argument to request separate encryption, signature keys, and certificates.
Note    If this command is not enabled, the FQDN key pair is used.
 
Step 7
crypto pki enroll name


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# crypto pki enroll local

 

Tells the router to generate the persistent self-signed certificate.

 
Step 8
end


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# end



Example:

Router(config)# end

 

(Optional) Exits ca-trustpoint configuration mode and global configuration mode.

 
Step 9
show crypto pki certificates [trustpoint-name [ verbose]]


Example:

Router# show crypto pki certificates local verbose

 

Displays information about your certificate, the certification authority certificate, and any registration authority certificates.

 
Step 10
show crypto pki trustpoints [status | label [status]]


Example:

Router# show crypto pki trustpoints status

 

Displays the trustpoints that are configured in the router.

 

Enabling the HTTPS Server

Perform the following task to enable the HTTPS server.

Before You Begin

To specify parameters, you must create a trustpoint and configure it. To use default values, delete any existing self-signed trustpoints. Deleting all self-signed trustpoints causes the HTTPS server to generate a persistent self-signed certificate using default values as soon as the server is enabled.


SUMMARY STEPS

1.    enable

2.    configure terminal

3.    ip http secure-server

4.    end

5.    copy system:running-config nvram: startup-config


DETAILED STEPS
  Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
enable


Example:

Router> enable

 

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

  • Enter your password if prompted.
 
Step 2
configure terminal


Example:

Router# configure terminal

 

Enters global configuration mode.

 
Step 3
ip http secure-server


Example:

Router(config)# ip http secure-server

 

Enables the secure HTTP web server.

Note    A key pair (modulus 1024) and a certificate are generated.
 
Step 4
end


Example:

Router(config)# end

 

Exits global configuration mode.

 
Step 5
copy system:running-config nvram: startup-config


Example:

Router# copy system:running-config nvram: startup-config

 

Saves the self-signed certificate and the HTTPS server in enabled mode.

 

Configuring a Certificate Enrollment Profile for Enrollment or Reenrollment

Perform this task to configure an enrollment profile for certificate enrollment or reenrollment of a router with a Cisco IOS XE CA that is already enrolled with a third-party vendor CA.

Enable a router that is enrolled with a third-party vendor CA to use its existing certificate to enroll with the Cisco IOS XE certificate server so the enrollment request is automatically granted. To enable this functionality, you must issue the enrollment credential command. Also, you cannot configure manual certificate enrollment.

Before You Begin

Before configuring a certificate enrollment profile for the client router that is already enrolled with a third party vendor CA so that the router can reenroll with a Cisco IOS XE certificate server, you should have already performed the following tasks at the client router:

  • Defined a trustpoint that points to the third-party vendor CA.
  • Authenticated and enrolled the client router with the third-party vendor CA.

Note


  • To use certificate profiles, your network must have an HTTP interface to the CA.
  • If an enrollment profile is specified, an enrollment URL may not be specified in the trustpoint configuration. Although both commands are supported, only one command can be used at a time in a trustpoint.
  • Because there is no standard for the HTTP commands used by various CAs, the user is required to enter the command that is appropriate to the CA that is being used.
>

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    enable

2.    configure terminal

3.    crypto pki trustpoint name

4.    enrollment profile label

5.    exit

6.    crypto pki profile enrollment label

7.   Do one of the following:

  • authentication url url

8.    authentication command

9.   Do one of the following:

  • enrollment url url

10.    enrollment credential label

11.    enrollment command

12.    parameter number {value value | prompt string}

13.    exit

14.    show crypto pki certificates


DETAILED STEPS
  Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
enable


Example:

Router> enable

 

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

  • Enter your password if prompted.
 
Step 2
configure terminal


Example:

Router# configure terminal

 

Enters global configuration mode.

 
Step 3
crypto pki trustpoint name


Example:

Router(config)# crypto pki trustpoint Entrust

 

Declares the trustpoint and a given name and enter ca-trustpoint configuration mode.

 
Step 4
enrollment profile label


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# enrollment profile E

 

Specifies that an enrollment profile is to be used for certificate authentication and enrollment.

 
Step 5
exit


Example:

Router(ca-trustpoint)# exit

 

Exits ca-trustpoint configuration mode.

 
Step 6
crypto pki profile enrollment label


Example:

Router(config)# crypto pki profile enrollment E

 

Defines an enrollment profile and enters ca-profile-enroll configuration mode.

  • label --Name for the enrollment profile; the enrollment profile name must match the name specified in the enrollment profile command.
 
Step 7
Do one of the following:
  • authentication url url


Example:

Router(ca-profile-enroll)# authentication url http://entrust:81



Example:



Example:



Example:

authentication terminal



Example:

Router(ca-profile-enroll)# authentication terminal

 

Specifies the URL of the CA server to which to send certificate authentication requests.

  • url --URL of the CA server to which your router should send authentication requests. If using HTTP, the URL should read "http://CA_name," where CA_name is the host DNS name or IP address of the CA. If using TFTP, the URL should read "tftp://certserver/file_specification." (If the URL does not include a file specification, the FQDN of the router will be used.)

Specifies manual cut-and-paste certificate authentication.

 
Step 8
authentication command


Example:

Router(ca-profile-enroll)# authentication command

 
(Optional) Specifies the HTTP command that is sent to the CA for authentication.

This command should be used after the authentication urlcommand has been entered.

 
Step 9
Do one of the following:
  • enrollment url url


Example:

Router(ca-profile-enroll)# enrollment url http://entrust:81/cda-cgi/clientcgi.exe



Example:



Example:



Example:

enrollment terminal



Example:

Router(ca-profile-enroll)# enrollment terminal

 

Specifies the URL of the CA server to which to send certificate enrollment requests via HTTP or TFTP.

Specifies manual cut-and-paste certificate enrollment.

 
Step 10
enrollment credential label


Example:

Router(ca-profile-enroll)# enrollment credential Entrust

 

(Optional) Specifies the third-party vendor CA trustpoint that is to be enrolled with the Cisco IOS XE CA.

Note    This command cannot be issued if manual certificate enrollment is being used.
 
Step 11
enrollment command


Example:

Router(ca-profile-enroll)# enrollment command

 

(Optional) Specifies the HTTP command that is sent to the CA for enrollment.

 
Step 12
parameter number {value value | prompt string}


Example:

Router(ca-profile-enroll)# parameter 1 value aaaa-bbbb-cccc

 

(Optional) Specifies parameters for an enrollment profile.

This command can be used multiple times to specify multiple values.

 
Step 13
exit


Example:

Router(ca-profile-enroll)# exit



Example:

Router(config)# exit

 

Enter this command two times--one time to exit ca-profile-enroll configuration mode and the second time to exit global configuration mode.

 
Step 14
show crypto pki certificates


Example:

Router# show crypto pki certificates

 

(Optional) Displays information about your certificates, the certificates of the CA, and RA certificates.

 

What to Do Next

If you configured the router to reenroll with a Cisco IOS XE CA, you should configure the Cisco IOS XE certificate server to accept enrollment requests only from clients already enrolled with the specified third- party vendor CA trustpoint to take advantage of this functionality.

Configuration Examples for PKI Certificate Enrollment Requests

Configuring Autoenrollment Example

The following example shows how to configure the router to automatically enroll with a CA on startup, enabling automatic rollover, and how to specify all necessary enrollment information in the configuration:

crypto pki trustpoint trustpt1 
 enrollment url http://trustpt1.company.com// 
 subject-name OU=Spiral Dept., O=exampleco.com 
 ip-address Fastethernet-0 
 serial-number none 
 usage ike 
 auto-enroll regenerate 
 password revokeme 
 rsa-key trustpt1 2048 
! 
crypto pki certificate chain trustpt1 
certificate pki 0B 
30820293 3082023D A0030201 0202010B 300D0609 2A864886 F70D0101 04050030 
79310B30 09060355 04061302 5553310B 30090603 55040813 02434131 15301306 
0355040A 130C4369 73636F20 53797374 656D3120 301E0603 55040B13 17737562 
6F726420 746F206B 6168756C 75692049 50495355 31243022 06035504 03131B79 
6E692D75 31302043 65727469 66696361 7465204D 616E6167 6572301E 170D3030 
30373134 32303536 32355A17 0D303130 37313430 31323834 335A3032 310E300C 
06035504 0A130543 6973636F 3120301E 06092A86 4886F70D 01090216 11706B69 
2D343562 2E636973 636F2E63 6F6D305C 300D0609 2A864886 F70D0101 01050003 
4B003048 024100B3 0512A201 3B4243E1 378A9703 8AC5E3CE F77AF987 B5A422C4 
15E947F6 70997393 70CF34D6 63A86B9C 4347A81A 0551FC02 ABA62360 01EF7DD2 
6C136AEB 3C6C3902 03010001 A381F630 81F3300B 0603551D 0F040403 02052030 
1C060355 1D110415 30138211 706B692D 3435622E 63697363 6F2E636F 6D301D06 
03551D0E 04160414 247D9558 169B9A21 23D289CC 2DDA2A9A 4F77C616 301F0603 
551D2304 18301680 14BD742C E892E819 1D551D91 683F6DB2 D8847A6C 73308185 
0603551D 1F047E30 7C307AA0 3CA03AA4 38303631 0E300C06 0355040A 13054369 
73636F31 24302206 03550403 131B796E 692D7531 30204365 72746966 69636174 
65204D61 6E616765 72A23AA4 38303631 0E300C06 0355040A 13054369 73636F31 
24302206 03550403 131B796E 692D7531 30204365 72746966 69636174 65204D61 
6E616765 72300D06 092A8648 86F70D01 01040500 03410015 BC7CECF9 696697DF 
E887007F 7A8DA24F 1ED5A785 C5C60452 47860061 0C18093D 08958A77 5737246B 
0A25550A 25910E27 8B8B428E 32F8D948 3DD1784F 954C70 
quit 

Note


In this example, keys are neither regenerated nor rolled over.

Configuring Certificate Autoenrollment with Key Regeneration Example

The following example shows how to configure the router to automatically enroll with the CA named "trustme1" on startup and enable automatic rollover. The regenerate keyword is issued, so a new key will be generated for the certificate and reissued when the automatic rollover process is initiated. The renewal percentage is configured as 90 so if the certificate has a lifetime of one year, a new certificate is requested 36.5 days before the old certificate expires. The changes made to the running configuration are saved to the NVRAM startup configuration because autoenrollment will not update NVRAM if the running configuration has been modified but not written to NVRAM.

crypto pki trustpoint trustme1
 enrollment url http://trustme1.company.com/
 subject-name OU=Spiral Dept., O=tiedye.com
 ip-address ethernet0
 serial-number none
 auto-enroll 90 regenerate
 password revokeme
 rsakeypair trustme1 2048
 exit
crypto pki authenticate trustme1
copy system:running-config nvram:startup-config

Configuring Cut-and-Paste Certificate Enrollment Example

The following example shows how to configure certificate enrollment using the manual cut-and-paste enrollment method:

Router(config)# 
crypto pki trustpoint TP
Router(ca-trustpoint)# 
enrollment terminal
Router(ca-trustpoint)# 
crypto pki authenticate TP
Enter the base 64 encoded CA certificate.
End with a blank line or the word "quit" on a line by itself
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----
Certificate has the following attributes:
Fingerprint: D6C12961 CD78808A 4E02193C 0790082A
% Do you accept this certificate? [yes/no]: 
y
Trustpoint CA certificate accepted.
% Certificate successfully imported
Router(config)# 
crypto pki enroll TP
% Start certificate enrollment..
% The subject name in the certificate will be: 
Router.company.com
% Include the router serial number in the subject name? [yes/no]: 
n
% Include an IP address in the subject name? [no]: 
n
Display Certificate Request to terminal? [yes/no]: 
y
Signature key certificate request -
Certificate Request follows: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!
!
!
Redisplay enrollment request? [yes/no]: 
Encryption key certificate request -
Certificate Request follows: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!
!
!
Redisplay enrollment request? [yes/no]: 
n
Router(config)# 
crypto pki import TP certificate
Enter the base 64 encoded certificate.
End with a blank line or the word "quit" on a line by itself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% Router Certificate successfully imported
Router(config)# 
crypto pki import TP cert
Enter the base 64 encoded certificate.
End with a blank line or the word "quit" on a line by itself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% Router Certificate successfully imported

You can verify that the certificate was successfully imported by issuing the show crypto pki certificate command.

Router# show crypto pki certificate
Certificate
  Status: Available
  Certificate Serial Number: 14DECE05000000000C48
  Certificate Usage: Encryption
  Issuer:
    CN = TPCA-root
     O = Company
     C = US
  Subject:
    Name: Router.company.com
    OID.1.2.840.113549.1.9.2 = Router.company.com
  CRL Distribution Point:
    http://tpca-root/CertEnroll/tpca-root.crl
  Validity Date:
    start date: 18:16:45 PDT Jun 7 2002
    end   date: 18:26:45 PDT Jun 7 2003
    renew date: 16:00:00 PST Dec 31 1969
  Associated Trustpoints: TP
Certificate
  Status: Available
  Certificate Serial Number: 14DEC2E9000000000C47
  Certificate Usage: Signature
  Issuer:
    CN = tpca-root
     O = company
     C = US
  Subject:
    Name: Router.company.com
    OID.1.2.840.113549.1.9.2 = Router.company.com
  CRL Distribution Point:
    http://tpca-root/CertEnroll/tpca-root.crl
  Validity Date:
    start date: 18:16:42 PDT Jun 7 2002
    end   date: 18:26:42 PDT Jun 7 2003
    renew date: 16:00:00 PST Dec 31 1969
  Associated Trustpoints: TP
CA Certificate
  Status: Available
  Certificate Serial Number: 3AC0A65E9547C2874AAF2468A942D5EE
  Certificate Usage: Signature
  Issuer:
    CN = tpca-root
     O = Company
     C = US
  Subject:
    CN = tpca-root
     O = company
     C = US
  CRL Distribution Point:
    http://tpca-root/CertEnroll/tpca-root.crl
  Validity Date:
    start date: 16:46:01 PST Feb 13 2002
    end   date: 16:54:48 PST Feb 13 2007
  Associated Trustpoints: TP

Configuring Manual Certificate Enrollment with Key Regeneration Example

The following example shows how to regenerate new keys with a manual certificate enrollment from the CA named "trustme2":

crypto pki trustpoint trustme2
 enrollment url http://trustme2.company.com/
 subject-name OU=Spiral Dept., O=exampleco.com
 ip-address Fastethernet0
 serial-number none
 regenerate
 password revokeme
 rsakeypair trustme2 2048s
 exit
crypto pki authenticate trustme2
crypto pki enroll trustme2

Creating and Verifying a Persistent Self-Signed Certificate Example

The following example shows how to declare and enroll a trustpoint named "local" and generate a self-signed certificate with an IP address:

crypto pki trustpoint local
 enrollment selfsigned
 end
configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.
crypto pki enroll local
Nov 29 20:51:13.067: %SSH-5-ENABLED: SSH 1.99 has been enabled
Nov 29 20:51:13.267: %CRYPTO-6-AUTOGEN: Generated new 512 bit key pair
% Include the router serial number in the subject name? [yes/no]: yes
% Include an IP address in the subject name? [no]: yes
Enter Interface name or IP Address[]: Fast
ethernet 0
Generate Self Signed Router Certificate? [yes/no]: yes
Router Self Signed Certificate successfully created

Note


A router can have only one self-signed certificate. If you attempt to enroll a trustpoint configured for a self-signed certificate and one already exists, you receive a notification and are asked if you want to replace it. If so, a new self-signed certificate is generated to replace the existing one.

Enabling the HTTPS Server: Example

The following example shows how to enable the HTTPS server and generate a default trustpoint because one was not previously configured:

configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.
ip http secure-server
% Generating 1024 bit RSA keys ...[OK]
*Dec 21 19:14:15.421:%PKI-4-NOAUTOSAVE:Configuration was modified.  Issue "write memory" to save new certificate
Router(config)#

Note


You need to save the configuration to NVRAM if you want to keep the self-signed certificate and have the HTTPS server enabled following router reloads.

The following message also appears:

*Dec 21 19:14:10.441:%SSH-5-ENABLED:SSH 1.99 has been enabled

Note


Creation of the key pair used with the self-signed certificate causes the Secure Shell (SSH) server to start. This behavior cannot be suppressed. You may want to modify your access control lists (ACLs) to permit or deny SSH access to the router.

Verifying the Self-Signed Certificate Configuration: Example

The following example displays information about the self-signed certificate that you just created:

Router# show crypto pki certificates
Router Self-Signed Certificate
  Status: Available
  Certificate Serial Number: 01
  Certificate Usage: General Purpose
  Issuer: 
    cn=IOS-Self-Signed-Certificate-3326000105
  Subject:
    Name: IOS-Self-Signed-Certificate-3326000105
    cn=IOS-Self-Signed-Certificate-3326000105
  Validity Date: 
    start date: 19:14:14 GMT Dec 21 2004
    end   date: 00:00:00 GMT Jan 1 2020
  Associated Trustpoints: TP-self-signed-3326000105

Note


The number 3326000105 above is the router's serial number and varies depending on the router's actual serial number.

The following example displays information about the key pair corresponding to the self-signed certificate:

Router# show crypto key mypubkey rsa
% Key pair was generated at: 19:14:10 GMT Dec 21 2004
Key name: TP-self-signed-3326000105
 Usage: General Purpose Key
 Key is not exportable.
 Key Data:
  30819F30 0D06092A 864886F7 0D010101 05000381 8D003081 89028181 00B88F70 
  6BC78B6D 67D6CFF3 135C1D91 8F360292 CA44A032 5AC1A8FD 095E4865 F8C95A2B 
  BFD1C2B7 E64A3804 9BBD7326 207BD456 19BAB78B D075E78E 00D2560C B09289AE 
  6DECB8B0 6672FB3A 5CDAEE92 9D4C4F71 F3BCB269 214F6293 4BA8FABF 9486BCFC 
  2B941BCA 550999A7 2EFE12A5 6B7B669A 2D88AB77 39B38E0E AA23CB8C B7020301 0001
% Key pair was generated at: 19:14:13 GMT Dec 21 2004
Key name: TP-self-signed-3326000105.server
 Usage: Encryption Key
 Key is not exportable.
 Key Data:
  307C300D 06092A86 4886F70D 01010105 00036B00 30680261 00C5680E 89777B42 
  463E5783 FE96EA9E F446DC7B 70499AF3 EA266651 56EE29F4 5B003D93 2FC9F81D 
  8A46E12F 3FBAC2F3 046ED9DD C5F27C20 1BBA6B9B 08F16E45 C34D6337 F863D605 
  34E30F0E B4921BC5 DAC9EBBA 50C54AA0 BF551BDD 88453F50 61020301 0001

Note


The second key pair with the name TP-self-signed-3326000105.server is the SSH key pair and is generated when any key pair is created on the router and SSH starts up.

The following example displays information about the trustpoint named "local":

Router# show crypto pki trustpoints
Trustpoint local:
    Subject Name:
    serialNumber=C63EBBE9+ipaddress=10.3.0.18+hostname=test.company.com
          Serial Number: 01
    Persistent self-signed certificate trust point

Configuring Direct HTTP Enrollment Example

The following example show how to configure an enrollment profile for direct HTTP enrollment with a CA server:

crypto pki trustpoint Entrust 
 enrollment profile E 
 serial 
crypto pki profile enrollment E 
 authentication url http://entrust:81 
 authentication command GET /certs/cacert.der 
 enrollment url http://entrust:81/cda-cgi/clientcgi.exe 
 enrollment command POST reference_number=$P2&authcode=$P1 
 &retrievedAs=rawDER&action=getServerCert&pkcs10Request=$REQ 
 parameter 1 value aaaa-bbbb-cccc 
 parameter 2 value 5001 

Additional References

The following sections provide references related to certificate enrollment for a PKI.

Related Documents

Related Topic

Document Title

Overview of PKI, including RSA keys, certificate enrollment, and CAs

" Cisco IOS XE PKI Overview: Understanding and Planning a PKI " module in the Cisco IOS Security Configuration Guide: Secure Connectivity

RSA key generation and deployment

" Deploying RSA Keys Within a PKI " module in the Cisco IOS Security Configuration Guide: Secure Connectivity

Security commands

Cisco IOS Security Command Reference

Standards

Standard

Title

None

--

MIBs

MIB

MIBs Link

None

To locate and download MIBs for selected platforms, Cisco IOS XE software releases, and feature sets, use Cisco MIB Locator found at the following URL:

http://www.cisco.com/go/mibs

RFCs

RFC

Title

None

--

Technical Assistance

Description

Link

The Cisco Support website provides extensive online resources, including documentation and tools for troubleshooting and resolving technical issues with Cisco products and technologies.

To receive security and technical information about your products, you can subscribe to various services, such as the Product Alert Tool (accessed from Field Notices), the Cisco Technical Services Newsletter, and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) Feeds.

Access to most tools on the Cisco Support website requires a Cisco.com user ID and password.

http://www.cisco.com/cisco/web/support/index.html

Feature Information for PKI Certificate Enrollment

The following table provides release information about the feature or features described in this module. This table lists only the software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Table 1 Feature Information for PKI Certificate Enrollment

Feature Name

Releases

Feature Information

Certificate Autoenrollment

Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1

This feature introduces certificate autoenrollment, which allows the router to automatically request a certificate from the CA that is using the parameters in the configuration.

The following sections provide information about this feature:

The following commands were introduced by this feature: auto-enroll, rsakeypair, show crypto pki timers

Certificate Enrollment Enhancements

Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1

This feature introduces five new crypto pki trustpointsubcommands that provide new options for certificate requests and allow users to specify fields in the configuration instead of having to go through prompts.

The following section provides information about this feature:

The following commands were introduced by this feature: ip-address (ca-trustpoint), password (ca-trustpoint), serial-number, subject-name, usage

Direct HTTP Enrollment with CA Servers

Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1

This feature allows users to configure an enrollment profile if their CA server does not support SCEP and they do not want to use an RA-mode CS. The enrollment profile allows users to send HTTP requests directly to the CA server instead of to an RA-mode CS.

The following sections provide information about this feature:

The following commands were introduced by this feature: authentication command, authentication terminal, authentication url, crypto pki profile enrollment, enrollment command, enrollment profile, enrollment terminal, enrollment url, parameter

Import of RSA Key Pair and Certificates in PEM Format

Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1

This feature allows customers to issue certificate requests and receive issued certificates in PEM-formatted files.

The following section provides information about this feature:

The following commands were modified by this feature: enrollment, enrollment terminal

Key Rollover for Certificate Renewal

Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1

This feature allows the certificate renewal request to be made before the certificate expires and retains the old key and certificate until the new certificate is available.

The following sections provide information about this feature:

The following commands were introduced or modified by this feature: auto-enroll, regenerate

Manual Certificate Enrollment (TFTP Cut-and-Paste)

Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1

This feature allows users to generate a certificate request and accept CA certificates as well as the router's certificates via a TFTP server or manual cut-and-paste operations.

The following sections provide information about this feature:

The following commands were introduced or modified by this feature: crypto pki import, enrollment, enrollment terminal

Persistent Self-Signed Certificates

Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1

This feature allows the HTTPS server to generate and save a self-signed certificate in the router startup configuration. Thus, future SSL handshakes between the client and the HTTPS server can use the same self-signed certificate without user intervention.

In Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1, this feature was implemented on the Cisco ASR series routers.

The following sections provide information about this feature:

The following commands were introduced or modified by this feature: enrollment selfsigned, show crypto pki certificates, show crypto pki trustpoints

PKI Status 1

Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1

This enhancement added the status keyword to the show crypto pki trustpoints command, which allows you to view the current status of the trustpoint. Prior to this enhancement, you had to issue the show crypto pki certificates and the show crypto pki timers commands for the current status.

The following section provides information about this enhancement:

Reenroll Using Existing Certificates

Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1

This feature allows users to reenroll a router with a Cisco IOS CA via existing certificates from a third-party vendor CA.

The following section provides information about this enhancement:

The following commands were introduced by this feature: enrollment credential, grant auto trustpoint

Suite-B support in IOS SW crypto

Cisco IOS XE Release 3.7S

Suite-B adds the following support for certificate enrollment for a PKI:

  • Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) (256 bit and 384 bit curves) is used for the signature operation within X.509 certificates.
  • PKI support for validation of for X.509 certificates using ECDSA signatures.
  • PKI support for generating certificate requests using ECDSA signatures and for importing the issued certificates into IOS.

Suite-B requirements comprise of four user interface suites of cryptographic algorithms for use with IKE and IPSec that are described in RFC 4869. Each suite consists of an encryption algorithm, a digital signature algorithm, a key agreement algorithm, and a hash or message digest algorithm. See the Configuring Security for VPNs with IPsec feature module for more detailed information about Cisco IOS Suite-B support.

The following sections provide information about this feature:

Trustpoint CLI

Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1

This feature introduces the crypto pki trustpoint command, which adds support for trustpoint CAs.

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. To view a list of Cisco trademarks, go to this URL: www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1110R)

Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and phone numbers used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses and phone numbers. Any examples, command display output, network topology diagrams, and other figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses or phone numbers in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.

© 2012 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.