--- layout: docs page_title: LDAP - Secrets Engine description: >- The LDAP secret engine manages LDAP entry passwords. --- # LDAP Secrets Engine @include 'x509-sha1-deprecation.mdx' The LDAP secrets engine provides management of LDAP credentials as well as dynamic creation of credentials. It supports integration with implementations of the LDAP v3 protocol, including OpenLDAP, Active Directory, and IBM Resource Access Control Facility (RACF). The secrets engine has three primary features: - [Static Credentials](/vault/docs/secrets/ldap#static-credentials) - [Dynamic Credentials](/vault/docs/secrets/ldap#dynamic-credentials) - [Service Account Check-Out](/vault/docs/secrets/ldap#service-account-check-out) ## Setup 1. Enable the LDAP secret engine: ```sh $ vault secrets enable ldap ``` By default, the secrets engine will mount at the name of the engine. To enable the secrets engine at a different path, use the `-path` argument. 2. Configure the credentials that Vault uses to communicate with LDAP to generate passwords: ```sh $ vault write ldap/config \ binddn=$USERNAME \ bindpass=$PASSWORD \ url=ldaps://138.91.247.105 ``` Note: it's recommended a dedicated entry management account be created specifically for Vault. 3. Rotate the root password so only Vault knows the credentials: ```sh $ vault write -f ldap/rotate-root ``` Note: it's not possible to retrieve the generated password once rotated by Vault. It's recommended a dedicated entry management account be created specifically for Vault. ### Schemas The LDAP Secret Engine supports three different schemas: - `openldap` (default) - `racf` - `ad` #### OpenLDAP By default, the LDAP Secret Engine assumes the entry password is stored in `userPassword`. There are many object classes that provide `userPassword` including for example: - `organization` - `organizationalUnit` - `organizationalRole` - `inetOrgPerson` - `person` - `posixAccount` #### Resource Access Control Facility (RACF) For managing IBM's Resource Access Control Facility (RACF) security system, the secret engine must be configured to use the schema `racf`. Generated passwords must be 8 characters or less to support RACF. The length of the password can be configured using a [password policy](/vault/docs/concepts/password-policies): ```bash $ vault write ldap/config \ binddn=$USERNAME \ bindpass=$PASSWORD \ url=ldaps://138.91.247.105 \ schema=racf \ password_policy=racf_password_policy ``` #### Active Directory (AD) For managing Active Directory instances, the secret engine must be configured to use the schema `ad`. ```bash $ vault write ldap/config \ binddn=$USERNAME \ bindpass=$PASSWORD \ url=ldaps://138.91.247.105 \ schema=ad ``` ## Static Credentials ### Setup 1. Configure a static role that maps a name in Vault to an entry in LDAP. Password rotation settings will be managed by this role. ```sh $ vault write ldap/static-role/hashicorp \ dn='uid=hashicorp,ou=users,dc=hashicorp,dc=com' \ username='hashicorp' \ rotation_period="24h" ``` 2. Request credentials for the "hashicorp" role: ```sh $ vault read ldap/static-cred/hashicorp ``` ### Password Rotation Passwords can be managed in two ways: - automatic time based rotation - manual rotation ### Auto Password Rotation Passwords will automatically be rotated based on the `rotation_period` configured in the static role (minimum of 5 seconds). When requesting credentials for a static role, the response will include the time before the next rotation (`ttl`). Auto-rotation is currently only supported for static roles. The `binddn` account used by Vault should be rotated using the `rotate-root` endpoint to generate a password only Vault will know. ### Manual Rotation Static roles can be manually rotated using the `rotate-role` endpoint. When manually rotated the rotation period will start over. ### Deleting Static Roles Passwords are not rotated upon deletion of a static role. The password should be manually rotated prior to deleting the role or revoking access to the static role. ## Dynamic Credentials ### Setup Dynamic credentials can be configured by calling the `/role/:role_name` endpoint: ```bash $ vault write ldap/role/dynamic-role \ creation_ldif=@/path/to/creation.ldif \ deletion_ldif=@/path/to/deletion.ldif \ rollback_ldif=@/path/to/rollback.ldif \ default_ttl=1h \ max_ttl=24h ``` -> Note: The `rollback_ldif` argument is optional, but recommended. The statements within `rollback_ldif` will be executed if the creation fails for any reason. This ensures any entities are removed in the event of a failure. To generate credentials: ```bash $ vault read ldap/creds/dynamic-role Key Value --- ----- lease_id ldap/creds/dynamic-role/HFgd6uKaDomVMvJpYbn9q4q5 lease_duration 1h lease_renewable true distinguished_names [cn=v_token_dynamic-role_FfH2i1c4dO_1611952635,ou=users,dc=learn,dc=example] password xWMjkIFMerYttEbzfnBVZvhRQGmhpAA0yeTya8fdmDB3LXDzGrjNEPV2bCPE9CW6 username v_token_testrole_FfH2i1c4dO_1611952635 ``` The `distinguished_names` field is an array of DNs that are created from the `creation_ldif` statements. If more than one LDIF entry is included, the DN from each statement will be included in this field. Each entry in this field corresponds to a single LDIF statement. No de-duplication occurs and order is maintained. ### LDIF Entries User account management is provided through LDIF entries. The LDIF entries may be a base64-encoded version of the LDIF string. The string will be parsed and validated to ensure that it adheres to LDIF syntax. A good reference for proper LDIF syntax can be found [here](https://ldap.com/ldif-the-ldap-data-interchange-format/). Some important things to remember when crafting your LDIF entries: - There should not be any trailing spaces on any line, including empty lines - Each `modify` block needs to be preceded with an empty line - Multiple modifications for a `dn` can be defined in a single `modify` block. Each modification needs to close with a single dash (`-`) ### Active Directory (AD) For Active Directory, there are a few additional details that are important to remember: To create a user programmatically in AD, you first `add` a user object and then `modify` that user to provide a password and enable the account. - Passwords in AD are set using the `unicodePwd` field. This must be proceeded by two (2) colons (`::`). - When setting a password programmatically in AD, the following criteria must be met: - The password must be enclosed in double quotes (`" "`) - The password must be in [`UTF16LE` format](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/openspecs/windows_protocols/ms-adts/6e803168-f140-4d23-b2d3-c3a8ab5917d2) - The password must be `base64`-encoded - Additional details can be found [here](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-server/identity/set-user-password-with-ldifde) - Once a user's password has been set, it can be enabled. AD uses the `userAccountControl` field for this purpose: - To enable the account, set `userAccountControl` to `512` - You will likely also want to disable AD's password expiration for this dynamic user account. The `userAccountControl` value for this is: `65536` - `userAccountControl` flags are cumulative, so to set both of the above two flags, add up the two values (`512 + 65536 = 66048`): set `userAccountControl` to `66048` - See [here](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-server/identity/useraccountcontrol-manipulate-account-properties#property-flag-descriptions) for details on `userAccountControl` flags `sAMAccountName` is a common field when working with AD users. It is used to provide compatibility with legacy Windows NT systems and has a limit of 20 characters. Keep this in mind when defining your `username_template`. See [here](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/adschema/a-samaccountname) for additional details. Since the default `username_template` is longer than 20 characters which follows the template of `v_{{.DisplayName}}_{{.RoleName}}_{{random 10}}_{{unix_time}}`, we recommend customising the `username_template` on the role configuration to generate accounts with names less than 20 characters. Please refer to the [username templating document](/vault/docs/concepts/username-templating) for more information. With regard to adding dynamic users to groups, AD doesn't let you directly modify a user's `memberOf` attribute. The `member` attribute of a group and `memberOf` attribute of a user are [linked attributes](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/ad/linked-attributes). Linked attributes are forward link/back link pairs, with the forward link able to be modified. In the case of AD group membership, the group's `member` attribute is the forward link. In order to add a newly-created dynamic user to a group, we also need to issue a `modify` request to the desired group and update the group membership with the new user. #### Active Directory LDIF Example The various `*_ldif` parameters are templates that use the [go template](https://golang.org/pkg/text/template/) language. A complete LDIF example for creating an Active Directory user account is provided here for reference: ```ldif dn: CN={{.Username}},OU=HashiVault,DC=adtesting,DC=lab changetype: add objectClass: top objectClass: person objectClass: organizationalPerson objectClass: user userPrincipalName: {{.Username}}@adtesting.lab sAMAccountName: {{.Username}} dn: CN={{.Username}},OU=HashiVault,DC=adtesting,DC=lab changetype: modify replace: unicodePwd unicodePwd::{{ printf "%q" .Password | utf16le | base64 }} - replace: userAccountControl userAccountControl: 66048 - dn: CN=test-group,OU=HashiVault,DC=adtesting,DC=lab changetype: modify add: member member: CN={{.Username}},OU=HashiVault,DC=adtesting,DC=lab - ``` ## Service Account Check-Out Service account check-out provides a library of service accounts that can be checked out by a person or by machines. Vault will automatically rotate the password each time a service account is checked in. Service accounts can be voluntarily checked in, or Vault will check them in when their lending period (or, "ttl", in Vault's language) ends. The service account check-out functionality works with various [schemas](/vault/api-docs/secret/ldap#schema), including OpenLDAP, Active Directory, and RACF. In the following usage example, the secrets engine is configured to manage a library of service accounts in an Active Directory instance. First we'll need to enable the LDAP secrets engine and tell it how to securely connect to an AD server. ```shell-session $ vault secrets enable ldap Success! Enabled the ad secrets engine at: ldap/ $ vault write ldap/config \ binddn=$USERNAME \ bindpass=$PASSWORD \ url=ldaps://138.91.247.105 \ userdn='dc=example,dc=com' ``` Our next step is to designate a set of service accounts for check-out. ```shell-session $ vault write ldap/library/accounting-team \ service_account_names=fizz@example.com,buzz@example.com \ ttl=10h \ max_ttl=20h \ disable_check_in_enforcement=false ``` In this example, the service account names of `fizz@example.com` and `buzz@example.com` have already been created on the remote AD server. They've been set aside solely for Vault to handle. The `ttl` is how long each check-out will last before Vault checks in a service account, rotating its password during check-in. The `max_ttl` is the maximum amount of time it can live if it's renewed. These default to `24h`, and both use [duration format strings](/vault/docs/concepts/duration-format). Also by default, a service account must be checked in by the same Vault entity or client token that checked it out. However, if this behavior causes problems, set `disable_check_in_enforcement=true`. When a library of service accounts has been created, view their status at any time to see if they're available or checked out. ```shell-session $ vault read ldap/library/accounting-team/status Key Value --- ----- buzz@example.com map[available:true] fizz@example.com map[available:true] ``` To check out any service account that's available, simply execute: ```shell-session $ vault write -f ldap/library/accounting-team/check-out Key Value --- ----- lease_id ldap/library/accounting-team/check-out/EpuS8cX7uEsDzOwW9kkKOyGW lease_duration 10h lease_renewable true password ?@09AZKh03hBORZPJcTDgLfntlHqxLy29tcQjPVThzuwWAx/Twx4a2ZcRQRqrZ1w service_account_name fizz@example.com ``` If the default `ttl` for the check-out is higher than needed, set the check-out to last for a shorter time by using: ```shell-session $ vault write ldap/library/accounting-team/check-out ttl=30m Key Value --- ----- lease_id ldap/library/accounting-team/check-out/gMonJ2jB6kYs6d3Vw37WFDCY lease_duration 30m lease_renewable true password ?@09AZerLLuJfEMbRqP+3yfQYDSq6laP48TCJRBJaJu/kDKLsq9WxL9szVAvL/E1 service_account_name buzz@example.com ``` This can be a nice way to say, "Although I _can_ have a check-out for 24 hours, if I haven't checked it in after 30 minutes, I forgot or I'm a dead instance, so you can just check it back in." If no service accounts are available for check-out, Vault will return a 400 Bad Request. ```shell-session $ vault write -f ldap/library/accounting-team/check-out Error writing data to ldap/library/accounting-team/check-out: Error making API request. URL: POST http://localhost:8200/v1/ldap/library/accounting-team/check-out Code: 400. Errors: * No service accounts available for check-out. ``` To extend a check-out, renew its lease. ```shell-session $ vault lease renew ldap/library/accounting-team/check-out/0C2wmeaDmsToVFc0zDiX9cMq Key Value --- ----- lease_id ldap/library/accounting-team/check-out/0C2wmeaDmsToVFc0zDiX9cMq lease_duration 10h lease_renewable true ``` Renewing a check-out means its current password will live longer, since passwords are rotated anytime a password is _checked in_ either by a caller, or by Vault because the check-out `ttl` ends. To check a service account back in for others to use, call: ```shell-session $ vault write -f ldap/library/accounting-team/check-in Key Value --- ----- check_ins [fizz@example.com] ``` Most of the time this will just work, but if multiple service accounts are checked out by the same caller, Vault will need to know which one(s) to check in. ```shell-session $ vault write ldap/library/accounting-team/check-in service_account_names=fizz@example.com Key Value --- ----- check_ins [fizz@example.com] ``` To perform a check-in, Vault verifies that the caller _should_ be able to check in a given service account. To do this, Vault looks for either the same [entity ID](/vault/tutorials/auth-methods/identity) used to check out the service account, or the same client token. If a caller is unable to check in a service account, or simply doesn't try, Vault will check it back in automatically when the `ttl` expires. However, if that is too long, service accounts can be forcibly checked in by a highly privileged user through: ```shell-session $ vault write -f ldap/library/manage/accounting-team/check-in Key Value --- ----- check_ins [fizz@example.com] ``` Or, alternatively, revoking the secret's lease has the same effect. ```shell-session $ vault lease revoke ldap/library/accounting-team/check-out/PvBVG0m7pEg2940Cb3Jw3KpJ All revocation operations queued successfully! ``` ## Password Generation This engine previously allowed configuration of the length of the password that is generated when rotating credentials. This mechanism was deprecated in Vault 1.5 in favor of [password policies](/vault/docs/concepts/password-policies). This means the `length` field should no longer be used. The following password policy can be used to mirror the same behavior that the `length` field provides: ```hcl length= rule "charset" { charset = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789" } ``` ## LDAP Password Policy The LDAP secret engine does not hash or encrypt passwords prior to modifying values in LDAP. This behavior can cause plaintext passwords to be stored in LDAP. To avoid having plaintext passwords stored, the LDAP server should be configured with an LDAP password policy (ppolicy, not to be confused with a Vault password policy). A ppolicy can enforce rules such as hashing plaintext passwords by default. The following is an example of an LDAP password policy to enforce hashing on the data information tree (DIT) `dc=hashicorp,dc=com`: ``` dn: cn=module{0},cn=config changetype: modify add: olcModuleLoad olcModuleLoad: ppolicy dn: olcOverlay={2}ppolicy,olcDatabase={1}mdb,cn=config changetype: add objectClass: olcPPolicyConfig objectClass: olcOverlayConfig olcOverlay: {2}ppolicy olcPPolicyDefault: cn=default,ou=pwpolicies,dc=hashicorp,dc=com olcPPolicyForwardUpdates: FALSE olcPPolicyHashCleartext: TRUE olcPPolicyUseLockout: TRUE ``` ## Tutorial Refer to the [LDAP Secrets Engine](/vault/tutorials/secrets-management/openldap) tutorial to learn how to configure and use the LDAP secrets engine. ## API The LDAP secrets engine has a full HTTP API. Please see the [LDAP secrets engine API docs](/vault/api-docs/secret/ldap) for more details.