Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- networking:openvpn [2024/08/12 17:45] – oscar
+++ networking:openvpn [2024/08/14 17:45] (current) – [7. Deploy Certificates & Keys] oscar
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-====== OpenVPN Keys Generation ======
+====== OpenVPN Setup & Certificates ======
-===== Install Easy-RSA =====
+----
+===== 1. Install Easy-RSA =====
+The first step in building an OpenVPN configuration is to establish a PKI (public key infrastructure). The PKI consists of:
+  * a separate certificate (also known as a public key) and private key for the server and each client, and
+  * a master Certificate Authority (CA) certificate and key which is used to sign each of the server and client certificates.
 Install easy-rsa package on your Debian system with the following command:
   # apt install easy-rsa
@@ Line 23: / Line 31: @@
 Generate the required certificates and keys:
-  $ ./easyrsa init-pki
+  $ easyrsa init-pki
-===== Create own CA certificate =====
+===== 2. Create own CA certificate =====
-  $ ./easyrsa build-ca
+  $ easyrsa build-ca
-===== Create Server Certificate, Key, and Encryption Files =====
+===== 3. Create Server Certificate & Key =====
-Throughout this tutorial, the OpenVPN server’s common name will simply be “server”. Be sure to include the nopass option as well. Failing to do so will password-protect the request file, which could lead to permissions issues later on.
+Throughout this tutorial, the OpenVPN server’s common name will be “MyServerName”. Be sure to include the nopass option as well. Failing to do so will password-protect the request file, which could lead to permissions issues later on.
-  $ ./easyrsa gen-req server nopass
+  $ easyrsa gen-req MyServerName nopass
 This will create a private key for the server and a certificate request file called server.req. Then sign the request by running easyrsa with the sign-req option, followed by the request type and the common name. The request type can either be client or server, so for the OpenVPN server’s certificate request, be sure to use the server request type.
-  $ ./easyrsa sign-req server server
+  $ easyrsa sign-req server MyServerName
 In the output, you’ll be asked to verify that the request comes from a trusted source. Type yes and press ENTER to confirm this.
-From there, create a strong Diffie-Hellman key to use during key exchange by typing:
+===== 4. Generating Diffie-Hellman (DH) params =====
+The Diffie–Hellman (DH) Algorithm is a key-exchange protocol that enables two parties communicating over public channel to establish a mutual secret without it being transmitted over the Internet. DH enables the two to use a public key to encrypt and decrypt their conversation or data using symmetric cryptography.
+After initializing a PKI, any entity can create DH params that needs them.
+DH key params can be generated with:
   $ ./easyrsa gen-dh
-This may take a few minutes to complete. Once it does, generate an HMAC signature to strengthen the server’s TLS integrity verification capabilities:
+This may take a few minutes to complete.
+===== 5. TLS-AUTH =====
+The tls-auth directive adds an additional HMAC signature to all SSL/TLS handshake packets for integrity verification. Any UDP packet not bearing the correct HMAC signature can be dropped without further processing. The tls-auth HMAC signature provides an additional level of security above and beyond that provided by SSL/TLS. It can protect against:DoS attacks, port flooding, Port scanning, Buffer overflow vulnerabilities, etc.
+Using tls-auth requires that you generate a shared-secret key that is used in addition to the standard RSA certificate/key. Generate an HMAC signature to strengthen the server’s TLS integrity verification capabilities:
-  $ openvpn --genkey --secret pki/ta.key
+  $ openvpn --genkey secret pki/ta.key
-When the command finishes, copy the two new files to your /etc/openvpn/ directory:
+This command will generate an OpenVPN static key and write it to the file ta.key. This key should be copied over a pre-existing secure channel to the server and all client machines. It can be placed in the same directory as the RSA .key and .crt files.
-    sudo cp ~/easy-rsa/ta.key /etc/openvpn/
+In the server configuration, add:
-    sudo cp ~/easy-rsa/pki/dh.pem /etc/openvpn/
+  tls-auth ta.key 0
-With that, all the certificate and key files needed by your server have been generated. You’re ready to create the corresponding certificates and keys that your client machine will use to access your OpenVPN server.
+In the client configuration, add:
+  tls-auth ta.key 1
+===== 6. Create Client Certificate and Key Pair =====
+n this step, you will first generate the client key and certificate pair. If you have more than one client, you can repeat this process for each one. Please note, though, that you will need to pass a unique name value to the script for every client. Throughout this tutorial, the first certificate/key pair is referred to as MyVPNClient.
+  $ easyrsa gen-req MyClientName nopass
+This will create a private key for the client and a certificate request file called MyClientName.req. Then sign the request by running easyrsa with the sign-req option, followed by the request type and the common name. The request type can either be client or server, so for the OpenVPN server’s certificate request, be sure to use the server request type.
+  $ easyrsa sign-req server MyClientName
+In the output, you’ll be asked to verify that the request comes from a trusted source. Type yes and press ENTER to confirm this.
+===== 7. Deploy Certificates & Keys =====
+With that, all the certificate and key files needed by your server have been generated. You’re ready to deploy the corresponding certificates and keys to both OpenVPN Server and Client systems.
+Now we will find our newly-generated keys and certificates in the keys subdirectory. Here is an explanation of the relevant files:
+^Filename 	^Needed By 	^Purpose 	^Secret^
+|ca.crt 	|server + all clients 	|Root CA certificate 	|NO|
+|ca.key 	|key signing machine only 	|Root CA key 	|YES|
+|dh2048.pem 	|server only 	|Diffie Hellman parameters 	|NO|
+|MyServerName.crt 	|server only 	|Server Certificate 	|NO|
+|MyServerName.key 	|server only 	|Server Key 	|YES|
+|MyClientName.crt 	|client1 only 	|Client1 Certificate 	|NO|
+|MyClientName.key 	|client1 only 	|Client1 Key 	|YES|
+=== Server Deployment ===
+Insert the following options in the openvpn configuration file:
+  vi /etc/config/openvpn
+  ----------------------
+  option ca '/etc/easy-rsa/keys/ca.crt'
+  option key '/etc/easy-rsa/keys/myvpnserver.key'
+  option cert '/etc/easy-rsa/keys/myvpnserver.crt'
+  option dh '/etc/easy-rsa/keys/dh2048.pem'
+=== Client Deployment ===
+Insert the various certificates and keys in the following sections of the client.ovpn configuration file:
+  - **ca.cert** --> insert contents --> between the <ca></ca>. Including the "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----" and "-----END CERTIFICATE-----" lines.
+  - **MyClientName.key** --> insert contents --> between the <key></key>. Including the "-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----" and "-----END PRIVATE KEY-----" lines.
+  - **MyClientName.crt** --> insert contents --> between the <cert></cert>. Including everything.
+  - **ta.key** --> insert contents --> between the <tls-auth></tls-auth>. Including everything.
+===== Links =====
+  * https://wiki.debian.org/OpenVPN#OpenVPN_Overview
+  * https://www.webhi.com/how-to/how-to-install-openvpn-server-on-linux-debian-11-12/
+  * https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-an-openvpn-server-on-debian-11