Chapter 2. Managing secrets securely using Secrets Store CSI driver with GitOps
This guide walks you through the process of integrating the Secrets Store Container Storage Interface (SSCSI) driver with the GitOps Operator in OpenShift Container Platform 4.14 and later.
2.1. Overview of managing secrets using Secrets Store CSI driver with GitOps Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Some applications need sensitive information, such as passwords and usernames which must be concealed as good security practice. If sensitive information is exposed because role-based access control (RBAC) is not configured properly on your cluster, anyone with API or etcd access can retrieve or modify a secret.
Anyone who is authorized to create a pod in a namespace can use that RBAC to read any secret in that namespace. With the SSCSI Driver Operator, you can use an external secrets store to store and provide sensitive information to pods securely.
2.1.1. Benefits Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Integrating the SSCSI driver with the GitOps Operator provides the following benefits:
- Enhance the security and efficiency of your GitOps workflows
- Facilitate the secure attachment of secrets into deployment pods as a volume
- Ensure that sensitive information is accessed securely and efficiently
2.2. Secrets store providers Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
The following secrets store providers are available for use with the Secrets Store CSI Driver Operator:
- AWS Secrets Manager
- AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store
- Microsoft Azure Key Vault
- HashiCorp Vault
2.3. Configure AWS Secrets Manager on OpenShift with GitOps Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
This guide provides instructions with examples to help you use GitOps workflows with the Secrets Store Container Storage Interface (SSCSI) Driver Operator to mount secrets from AWS Secrets Manager to a CSI volume in OpenShift Container Platform.
As an example, consider that you are using AWS Secrets Manager as your secrets store provider with the SSCSI Driver Operator. The following example shows the directory structure in GitOps repository that is ready to use the secrets from AWS Secrets Manager:
Example directory structure in GitOps repository
- 2
- Directory that stores the
aws-provider.yamlfile. - 3
- Configuration file that installs the AWS Secrets Manager provider and deploys resources for it.
- 1
- Configuration file that creates an application and deploys resources for AWS Secrets Manager.
- 4
- Directory that stores the deployment pod and credential requests.
- 5
- Directory that stores the
SecretProviderClassresources to define your secrets store provider. - 6
- Folder that stores the
credentialsrequest.yamlfile. This file contains the configuration for the credentials request to mount a secret to the deployment pod.
2.3.1. Storing AWS Secrets Manager resources in GitOps repository Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
You can store AWS Secrets Manager configurations in the GitOps repository for declarative and version-controlled secret management.
Using the SSCSI Driver Operator with AWS Secrets Manager is not supported in a hosted control plane cluster.
Prerequisites
-
You have access to the cluster with
cluster-adminprivileges. - You have access to the OpenShift Container Platform web console.
-
You have extracted and prepared the
ccoctlbinary. -
You have installed the
jqCLI tool. - Your cluster is installed on AWS and uses AWS Security Token Service (STS).
- You have configured AWS Secrets Manager to store the required secrets.
- SSCSI Driver Operator is installed on your cluster.
- Red Hat OpenShift GitOps Operator is installed on your cluster.
- You have a GitOps repository ready to use the secrets.
- You are logged in to the Argo CD instance by using the Argo CD admin account.
Procedure
Install the AWS Secrets Manager provider and add resources:
In your GitOps repository, create a directory and add
aws-provider.yamlfile in it with the following configuration to deploy resources for the AWS Secrets Manager provider:ImportantThe AWS Secrets Manager provider for the SSCSI driver is an upstream provider.
This configuration is modified from the configuration provided in the upstream AWS documentation so that it works properly with OpenShift Container Platform. Changes to this configuration might impact functionality.
Example
aws-provider.yamlfileCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Add a
secret-provider-app.yamlfile in your GitOps repository to create an application and deploy resources for AWS Secrets Manager:Example
secret-provider-app.yamlfileCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow - 1
- Update the value of the
repoURLfield to point to your GitOps repository.
Synchronize resources with the default Argo CD instance to deploy them in the cluster:
Add a label to the
openshift-cluster-csi-driversnamespace your application is deployed in so that the Argo CD instance in theopenshift-gitopsnamespace can manage it:oc label namespace openshift-cluster-csi-drivers argocd.argoproj.io/managed-by=openshift-gitops
$ oc label namespace openshift-cluster-csi-drivers argocd.argoproj.io/managed-by=openshift-gitopsCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Apply the resources in your GitOps repository to your cluster, including the
aws-provider.yamlfile you just pushed:Example output
application.argoproj.io/argo-app created application.argoproj.io/secret-provider-app created ...
application.argoproj.io/argo-app created application.argoproj.io/secret-provider-app created ...Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
In the Argo CD UI, you can observe that the csi-secrets-store-provider-aws daemonset continues to synchronize resources. To resolve this issue, you must configure the SSCSI driver to mount secrets from the AWS Secrets Manager.
2.3.2. Configuring SSCSI driver to mount secrets from AWS Secrets Manager Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
To store and manage your secrets securely, use GitOps workflows and configure the Secrets Store Container Storage Interface (SSCSI) Driver Operator to mount secrets from AWS Secrets Manager to a CSI volume in OpenShift Container Platform. For example, consider that you want to mount a secret to a deployment pod under the dev namespace which is in the /environments/dev/ directory.
Prerequisites
- You have the AWS Secrets Manager resources stored in your GitOps repository.
Procedure
Grant privileged access to the
csi-secrets-store-provider-awsservice account by running the following command:oc adm policy add-scc-to-user privileged -z csi-secrets-store-provider-aws -n openshift-cluster-csi-drivers
$ oc adm policy add-scc-to-user privileged -z csi-secrets-store-provider-aws -n openshift-cluster-csi-driversCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Example output
clusterrole.rbac.authorization.k8s.io/system:openshift:scc:privileged added: "csi-secrets-store-provider-aws"
clusterrole.rbac.authorization.k8s.io/system:openshift:scc:privileged added: "csi-secrets-store-provider-aws"Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Grant permission to allow the service account to read the AWS secret object:
Create a
credentialsrequest-dir-awsfolder under a namespace-scoped directory in your GitOps repository because the credentials request is namespace-scoped. For example, create acredentialsrequest-dir-awsfolder under thedevnamespace which is in the/environments/dev/directory by running the following command:mkdir credentialsrequest-dir-aws
$ mkdir credentialsrequest-dir-awsCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Create a YAML file with the following configuration for the credentials request in the
/environments/dev/credentialsrequest-dir-aws/path to mount a secret to the deployment pod in thedevnamespace:Example
credentialsrequest.yamlfileCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow - 2
- The namespace for the secret reference. Update the value of this
namespacefield according to your project deployment setup. - 1
- The ARN of your secret in the region where your cluster is on. The
<aws_region>of<aws_secret_arn>has to match the cluster region. If it does not match, create a replication of your secret in the region where your cluster is on.
TipTo find your cluster region, run the command:
oc get infrastructure cluster -o jsonpath='{.status.platformStatus.aws.region}'$ oc get infrastructure cluster -o jsonpath='{.status.platformStatus.aws.region}'Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Example output
us-west-2
us-west-2Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Retrieve the OIDC provider by running the following command:
oc get --raw=/.well-known/openid-configuration | jq -r '.issuer'
$ oc get --raw=/.well-known/openid-configuration | jq -r '.issuer'Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Example output
https://<oidc_provider_name>
https://<oidc_provider_name>Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Copy the OIDC provider name
<oidc_provider_name>from the output to use in the next step.Use the
ccoctltool to process the credentials request by running the following command:ccoctl aws create-iam-roles \ --name my-role --region=<aws_region> \ --credentials-requests-dir=credentialsrequest-dir-aws \ --identity-provider-arn arn:aws:iam::<aws_account>:oidc-provider/<oidc_provider_name> --output-dir=credrequests-ccoctl-output$ ccoctl aws create-iam-roles \ --name my-role --region=<aws_region> \ --credentials-requests-dir=credentialsrequest-dir-aws \ --identity-provider-arn arn:aws:iam::<aws_account>:oidc-provider/<oidc_provider_name> --output-dir=credrequests-ccoctl-outputCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Example output
2023/05/15 18:10:34 Role arn:aws:iam::<aws_account_id>:role/my-role-my-namespace-aws-creds created 2023/05/15 18:10:34 Saved credentials configuration to: credrequests-ccoctl-output/manifests/my-namespace-aws-creds-credentials.yaml 2023/05/15 18:10:35 Updated Role policy for Role my-role-my-namespace-aws-creds
2023/05/15 18:10:34 Role arn:aws:iam::<aws_account_id>:role/my-role-my-namespace-aws-creds created 2023/05/15 18:10:34 Saved credentials configuration to: credrequests-ccoctl-output/manifests/my-namespace-aws-creds-credentials.yaml 2023/05/15 18:10:35 Updated Role policy for Role my-role-my-namespace-aws-credsCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Copy the
<aws_role_arn>from the output to use in the next step. For example,arn:aws:iam::<aws_account_id>:role/my-role-my-namespace-aws-creds.Check the role policy on AWS to confirm the
<aws_region>of"Resource"in the role policy matches the cluster region:Example role policy
Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Bind the service account with the role ARN by running the following command:
oc annotate -n <namespace> sa/<app_service_account> eks.amazonaws.com/role-arn="<aws_role_arn>"
$ oc annotate -n <namespace> sa/<app_service_account> eks.amazonaws.com/role-arn="<aws_role_arn>"Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Example command
oc annotate -n dev sa/default eks.amazonaws.com/role-arn="<aws_role_arn>"
$ oc annotate -n dev sa/default eks.amazonaws.com/role-arn="<aws_role_arn>"Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Example output
serviceaccount/default annotated
serviceaccount/default annotatedCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
Create a namespace-scoped
SecretProviderClassresource to define your secrets store provider. For example, you create aSecretProviderClassresource in/environments/dev/apps/app-taxi/services/taxi/base/configdirectory of your GitOps repository.Create a
secret-provider-class-aws.yamlfile in the same directory where the target deployment is located in your GitOps repository:Example
secret-provider-class-aws.yamlCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Verify that after pushing this YAML file to your GitOps repository, the namespace-scoped
SecretProviderClassresource is populated in the target application page in the Argo CD UI.NoteIf the Sync Policy of your application is not set to
Auto, you can manually sync theSecretProviderClassresource by clicking Sync in the Argo CD UI.
2.3.3. Configuring GitOps managed resources to use mounted secrets Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
You must configure the GitOps managed resources by adding volume mounts configuration to a deployment and configuring the container pod to use the mounted secret.
Prerequisites
- You have the AWS Secrets Manager resources stored in your GitOps repository.
- You have the Secrets Store Container Storage Interface (SSCSI) driver configured to mount secrets from AWS Secrets Manager.
Procedure
Configure the GitOps managed resources. For example, consider that you want to add volume mounts configuration to the deployment of
app-taxiapplication and the100-deployment.yamlfile is in the/environments/dev/apps/app-taxi/services/taxi/base/config/directory.Add the volume mounting to the deployment YAML file and configure the container pod to use the secret provider class resources and mounted secret:
Example YAML file
Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow - Push the updated resource YAML file to your GitOps repository.
- In the Argo CD UI, click REFRESH on the target application page to apply the updated deployment manifest.
- Verify that all the resources are successfully synchronized on the target application page.
Verify that you can you can access the secrets from AWS Secrets manager in the pod volume mount:
List the secrets in the pod mount:
oc exec <deployment_name>-<hash> -n <namespace> -- ls /mnt/secrets-store/
$ oc exec <deployment_name>-<hash> -n <namespace> -- ls /mnt/secrets-store/Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Example command
oc exec taxi-5959644f9-t847m -n dev -- ls /mnt/secrets-store/
$ oc exec taxi-5959644f9-t847m -n dev -- ls /mnt/secrets-store/Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Example output
<secret_name>
<secret_name>Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow View a secret in the pod mount:
oc exec <deployment_name>-<hash> -n <namespace> -- cat /mnt/secrets-store/<secret_name>
$ oc exec <deployment_name>-<hash> -n <namespace> -- cat /mnt/secrets-store/<secret_name>Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Example command
oc exec taxi-5959644f9-t847m -n dev -- cat /mnt/secrets-store/testSecret
$ oc exec taxi-5959644f9-t847m -n dev -- cat /mnt/secrets-store/testSecretCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Example output
<secret_value>
<secret_value>Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
2.4. Configure HashiCorp Vault as a secrets provider on OpenShift with GitOps Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
You can configure HashiCorp Vault as a secrets provider by using the Secrets Store CSI Driver Operator on the OpenShift Container Platform. When combined with GitOps workflows managed by Argo CD, this setup enables you to securely retrieve secrets from Vault and inject it into your applications running on OpenShift.
Structure the GitOps repository and configure the Vault CSI provider to integrate with the Secrets Store CSI Driver in OpenShift Container Platform.
The following sample GitOps repository layout is used for integrating Vault with your application.
Example directory structure in GitOps repository
- 1
config/argocd/- Stores Argo CD Application definitions for cluster-wide tools like the Vault CSI provider.- 2
environments/<env>/apps/<app-name>/manifest/: Contains Kubernetes manifests specific to an application in a particular environment.- 3
environments/<env>/apps/<app-name>/argocd/: Contains the Argo CD Application definition that deploys the application and its resources.
2.4.1. Installing the Vault CSI Provider using GitOps Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Install the Vault CSI provider by deploying an Argo CD Application that uses HashiCorp’s official Helm chart. This method follows GitOps best practices by managing the installation declaratively through a version-controlled Argo CD Application resource.
Prerequisites
- You are logged in to the OpenShift Container Platform cluster as an administrator.
- You have access to the OpenShift Container Platform web console.
- The SSCSI Driver Operator is installed on your cluster.
- You installed Red Hat OpenShift GitOps on your OpenShift Container Platform cluster.
- You have a GitOps repository ready to use the secrets.
Procedure
Creating the Argo CD Application resource for the Vault CSI Provider.
Create an Argo CD Application resource to deploy the Vault CSI provider. Add this resource to your GitOps repository, for example,
config/argocd/vault-secret-provider-app.yaml:Example
vault-secret-provider-app.yamlfileCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow NoteThe
server.enabled: trueanddataStorage.enabled: falsesettings in the Helm values deploy a HashiCorp Vault server instance using ephemeral storage. This setup is suitable for development or testing environments. For production, you can enabledataStoragewith a persistent volume (PV) or use an external Vault cluster and setserver.enabledtofalse. If a Vault server is already deployed, you can setserver.enabledtofalse.
Apply the
vault-secret-provider-app.yamlfile from the GitOps repository to your cluster:oc apply -f vault-secret-provider-app.yaml
$ oc apply -f vault-secret-provider-app.yamlCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow After deploying the Vault CSI provider, the
vault-csi-providerDaemonSet may fail to run. This issue occurs because OpenShift Container Platform restricts privileged containers by default. In addition, the Vault CSI provider and the Secrets Store CSI Driver require access tohostPathmounts, which OpenShift Container Platform blocks unless the pods run as privileged.To resolve permission issues in OpenShift Container Platform:
Patch the
vault-csi-providerDaemonSet to run its containers as privileged:oc patch daemonset vault-csi-provider -n vault-csi-provider --type=json --patch='[{"op":"add","path":"/spec/template/spec/containers/0/securityContext","value":{"privileged":true}}]$ oc patch daemonset vault-csi-provider -n vault-csi-provider --type=json --patch='[{"op":"add","path":"/spec/template/spec/containers/0/securityContext","value":{"privileged":true}}]Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Grant the Secrets Store CSI Driver service account access to the privileged Security Context Constraints (SCC) in OpenShift Container Platform.
oc adm policy add-scc-to-user privileged \ system:serviceaccount:openshift-cluster-csi-drivers:secrets-store-csi-driver-operator
$ oc adm policy add-scc-to-user privileged \ system:serviceaccount:openshift-cluster-csi-drivers:secrets-store-csi-driver-operatorCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Grant the Vault CSI Provider service account access to the privileged Security Context Constraints (SCC) in OpenShift Container Platform.
oc adm policy add-scc-to-user privileged \ system:serviceaccount:vault-csi-provider:vault-csi-provider
$ oc adm policy add-scc-to-user privileged \ system:serviceaccount:vault-csi-provider:vault-csi-providerCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow NoteIf
server.enabledis set totruein the Helm chart, the Vault server pods run with specific user IDs (UIDs) or group IDs (GIDs) that OpenShift Container Platform blocks by default.Grant the Vault server service account the required Security Context Constraints (SCC) permissions.
oc adm policy add-scc-to-user anyuid system:serviceaccount:vault-csi-provider:vault
$ oc adm policy add-scc-to-user anyuid system:serviceaccount:vault-csi-provider:vaultCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
2.4.2. Initializing and configuring Vault to store a Secret Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
After deploying Vault using Argo CD and applying the necessary SCC permissions and DaemonSet patches, initialize Vault, unseal it, and configure Kubernetes authentication to enable secure secret storage and access.
Procedure
Access the Vault Pod.
If Vault is running within your OpenShift Container Platform cluster, for example, as the
vault-0pod in thevault-csi-providernamespace, run the following command to access the Vault CLI inside the pod:oc exec -it vault-0 -n vault-csi-provider -- /bin/sh
$ oc exec -it vault-0 -n vault-csi-provider -- /bin/shCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
Initialize Vault.
If your Vault instance is not yet initialized, run the following command:
vault operator init
$ vault operator initCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow As a result, the following output is displayed.
5 Unseal Keys - required to unseal the Vault. Initial Root Token - required to log in and configure Vault.
5 Unseal Keys - required to unseal the Vault. Initial Root Token - required to log in and configure Vault.Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow ImportantStore these credentials securely. At least 3 out of 5 unseal keys are required to unseal Vault. If the keys are lost, access to stored secrets is permanently blocked.
Unseal Vault.
Vault starts in a sealed state. Run the following commands to use three of the five Unseal Keys obtained in the earlier step:
vault operator unseal <Unseal Key 1>
$ vault operator unseal <Unseal Key 1> vault operator unseal <Unseal Key 2> vault operator unseal <Unseal Key 3>Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Once unsealed, the Vault becomes active and ready for use.
Log into Vault.
To use the root token to log in to Vault, run the following command:
vault login <Initial Root Token>
$ vault login <Initial Root Token>Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow This provides administrator access to enable and configure secret engines and authentication methods.
Enable Kubernetes Authentication in Vault.
Run the following command to enable Kubernetes authentication in Vault.
vault auth enable kubernetes
$ vault auth enable kubernetesCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow This allows Kubernetes workloads, for example, pods, to authenticate with Vault using their service accounts.
Configure Kubernetes authentication method in Vault.
To configure Vault for communicating with the Kubernetes API, run the following command:
vault write auth/kubernetes/config \ issuer="https://kubernetes.default.svc" \ token_reviewer_jwt="$(cat/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token)" \ kubernetes_host="https://${KUBERNETES_PORT_443_TCP_ADDR}:443" \ kubernetes_ca_cert=@/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/ca.crt$ vault write auth/kubernetes/config \ issuer="https://kubernetes.default.svc" \ token_reviewer_jwt="$(cat/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token)" \ kubernetes_host="https://${KUBERNETES_PORT_443_TCP_ADDR}:443" \ kubernetes_ca_cert=@/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/ca.crtCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow As a result, the following output is displayed.
Success! Data written to: auth/kubernetes/config
Success! Data written to: auth/kubernetes/configCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Where:
-
<issuer>is the name of the Kubernetes token issuer URL. -
<token_reviewer_jwt>is a JSON Web Token (JWT) that Vault uses to call the KubernetesTokenReviewAPI and to validate service account tokens. -
<kubernetes_host>is the URL that Vault uses to communicate with the Kubernetes API server. -
<kubernetes_ca_cert>is the CA certificate that Vault uses for secure communication with the Kubernetes API server.
-
2.4.3. Managing Secrets, Policies, and Roles in Vault Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
To create a secret in Vault, define a Vault policy and configure a Kubernetes authentication role that enables a Kubernetes workload to retrieve the secret securely.
Procedure
Enable the KV Secrets Engine
Use the Key-Value (KV) Version 2 secrets engine to store arbitrary secrets with versioning support. Run the following command to enable the KV secrets engine at the path secret/:
vault secrets enable -path=secret/ kv
$ vault secrets enable -path=secret/ kvCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
Store a secret in Vault.
Store a secret using the KV Version 2 secrets engine. Run the following command to store the secret data, username and password, at path
secret/demo/config:vault kv put secret/demo/config username="demo-user" password="demo-pass"
$ vault kv put secret/demo/config username="demo-user" password="demo-pass"Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
Create a Vault policy.
To create a policy that grants read access to the secret, run the following command:
vault policy write demo-app-policy -<<EOF path "secret/demo/config" { capabilities = ["read"] } EOF$ vault policy write demo-app-policy -<<EOF path "secret/demo/config" { capabilities = ["read"] } EOFCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow This
demo-app-policygrants read access to the secret atsecret/demo/configand is later linked to a Kubernetes role.
Create a Kubernetes Authentication Role in Vault.
To create a role that binds a Kubernetes service account to the Vault policy, run the following command.
vault write auth/kubernetes/role/app \ bound_service_account_names=demo-app-sa \ bound_service_account_namespaces=demo-app \ policies=demo-app-policy \ ttl=24h
$ vault write auth/kubernetes/role/app \ bound_service_account_names=demo-app-sa \ bound_service_account_namespaces=demo-app \ policies=demo-app-policy \ ttl=24hCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow This allows any pod using the service account to authenticate to Vault and retrieve the secret.
Where:
-
<bound_service_account_names>is the name of the Kubernetes service account that Vault trusts. -
<bound_service_account_namespaces>is the name of the namespace where the service account is located. -
<policies>is the name of the attached Vault policy. -
<ttl>is theTime-to-livevalue issued for the token.
-
2.4.4. Configuring GitOps managed resources to use Vault-mounted secrets Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Securely inject secrets from HashiCorp Vault into GitOps-managed Kubernetes workloads using the Secrets Store CSI driver and Vault provider. The secrets are mounted as files in the pod’s filesystem, allowing applications to access the data without storing it in Kubernetes Secret objects.
Procedure
Creating the
SecretProviderClass.Create a
SecretProviderClassresource in the application’s manifest directory for example,environments/dev/apps/demo-app/manifest/secretProviderClass.yaml. This resource defines how the Secrets Store CSI driver retrieves secrets from Vault.Example
vault-secret-provider-app.yamlfileCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow - 1
<provider: vault>- Specifies the name of the HashiCorp Vault.- 2
<vaultAddress>- Specifies the network address of the Vault server. Adjust this based on your Vault setup, such as, in-cluster service or an external URL.- 3
<roleName>- Specifies the Vault Kubernetes authentication role used by the application Service Account. Describes an array that defines which secrets to retrieve and how to map them to file names.- 4
<objects>- Specifies an array that defines which secrets to retrieve and how to map them to file names. ThesecretPathfor KV v2 includes/data/.
Create an Application, such as,
ServiceAccount.Create a Kubernetes
ServiceAccountfor the application workload. TheServiceAccountname must match thebound_service_account_namesvalue defined in the Vault Kubernetes authentication role. Store the manifest in the GitOps repository, for example,environments/dev/apps/demo-app/manifest/serviceAccount.yaml.Example
ServiceAccount.yamlfileapiVersion: v1 kind: ServiceAccount metadata: name: demo-app-sa namespace: demo-app
apiVersion: v1 kind: ServiceAccount metadata: name: demo-app-sa namespace: demo-appCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
Create the Application deployment:
Modify the application’s deployment to use the designated
ServiceAccountand mount secrets using the CSI volume. Store the updated manifest in the GitOps repository, for example,environments/dev/apps/demo-app/manifest/deployment.yaml:Example
deployment.yamlfileCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow - 1
serviceAccountName- Assigns the KubernetesServiceAccountname, for example,demo-app-sa, used by the application pod. ThisServiceAccountis fundamental for authenticating with HashiCorp Vault, as it is linked to a Vault role that grants permissions to retrieve the necessary secrets.- 2
volumeMounts- Mounts the vault-secrets volume into the container at the/mnt/secrets-storedirectory.- 3
volumes- Defines the vault-secrets volume using thesecrets-store.csi.k8s.iodriver and references thedemo-app-credsSecretProviderClass.
Define the Argo CD application for the workload:
Define an Argo CD application resource to deploy application components such as
ServiceAccount,SecretProviderClass, andDeploymentfrom the GitOps repository. Store the Argo CD manifest in a directory location, such as,environments/dev/apps/demo-app/argocd/demo-app.yaml.Example
demo-app.yamlfileCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
2.4.5. Verifying secret injection Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Verify the secret injection to ensure that Vault contains the expected values.
Procedure
Check the Pod status.
After the Argo CD Application has synced and all the resources are deployed, verify that the application pod is running successfully in the
demo-appnamespace. Run the following command:oc get pods -n demo-app
$ oc get pods -n demo-appCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
Open the Shell session.
Use the name of the application pod to open a shell session. Replace
<your-app-pod-name>with the actual pod name.oc exec -it <your-app-pod-name> -n demo-app -- sh
$ oc exec -it <your-app-pod-name> -n demo-app -- shCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
Verify mounted secrets.
To verify that the secrets are mounted at the expected path, run the following command:
ls -l /mnt/secrets-store
$ ls -l /mnt/secrets-store cat /mnt/secrets-store/demoAppUsername cat /mnt/secrets-store/demoAppPasswordCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Verify that the mounted secret files
demoAppUsernameanddemoAppPasswordcontain the expected values from Vault.