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How to setup your very own Cert-O-Matic Root CA server
This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
# License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
# file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/.
How to setup your very own Cert-O-Matic Root CA server
The program certcgi is part of a small test CA that is used inside
Netscape by the NSS development team. That CA is affectionately known
as "Cert-O-Matic" or "Cert-O-Matic II". It presently runs on a server
named interzone.mcom.com inside Netscape's firewall.
If you wish to setup your own Cert-O-Matic, here are directions.
Disclaimer: This program does not follow good practices for root CAs.
It should be used only for playing/testing and never for production use.
Remember, you've been warned!
Cert-O-Matic consists of some html files, shell scripts, one executable
program that uses NSS and NSPR, the usual set of NSS .db files, and a file
in which to remember the serial number of the last cert issued. The
html files and the source to the executable program are in this directory.
Sample shell scripts are shown below.
The shell scripts and executable program run as CGI "scripts". The
entire thing runs on an ordinary http web server. It would also run on
an https web server. The shell scripts and html files must be
customized for the server on which they run.
The package assumes you have a "document root" directory $DOCROOT, and a
"cgi-bin" directory $CGIBIN. In this example, the document root is
assumed to be located in /var/www/htdocs, and the cgi-bin directory in
/var/www/cgi-bin.
The server is assumed to run all cgi scripts as the user "nobody".
The names of the cgi scripts run directly by the server all end in .cgi
because some servers like it that way.
Instructions:
- Create directory $DOCROOT/certomatic
- Copy the following files from nss/cmd/certcgi to $DOCROOT/certomatic
ca.html index.html main.html nscp_ext_form.html stnd_ext_form.html
- Edit the html files, substituting the name of your own server for the
server named in those files.
- In some web page (e.g. your server's home page), provide an html link to
$DOCROOT/certomatic/index.html. This is where users start to get their
own certs from certomatic.
- give these files and directories appropriate permissions.
- Create directories $CGIBIN/certomatic and $CGIBIN/certomatic/bin
make sure that $CGIBIN/certomatic is writable by "nobody"
- Create a new set of NSS db files there with the following command:
certutil -N -d $CGIBIN/certomatic
- when certutil prompts you for the password, enter the word foo
because that is compiled into the certcgi program.
- Create the new Root CA cert with this command
certutil -S -x -d $CGIBIN/certomatic -n "Cert-O-Matic II" \
-s "CN=Cert-O-Matic II, O=Cert-O-Matic II" -t TCu,cu,cu -k rsa \
-g 1024 -m 10001 -v 60
(adjust the -g, -m and -v parameters to taste. -s and -x must be as
shown.)
- dump out the new root CA cert in base64 encoding:
certutil -d $CGIBIN/certomatic -L -n "Cert-O-Matic II" -a > \
$CGIBIN/certomatic/root.cacert
- In $CGIBIN/certomatic/bin add two shell scripts - one to download the
root CA cert on demand, and one to run the certcgi program.
download.cgi, the script to install the root CA cert into a browser on
demand, is this:
#!/bin/sh
echo "Content-type: application/x-x509-ca-cert"
echo
cat $CGIBIN/certomatic/root.cacert
You'll have to put the real path into that cat command because CGIBIN
won't be defined when this script is run by the server.
certcgi.cgi, the script to run the certcgi program is similar to this:
#!/bin/sh
cd $CGIBIN/certomatic/bin
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$PLATFORM/lib
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
$PLATFORM/bin/certcgi $* 2>&1
Where $PLATFORM/lib is where the NSPR nad NSS DSOs are located, and
$PLATFORM/bin is where certcgi is located. PLATFORM is not defined when
the server runs this script, so you'll have to substitute the right value
in your script. certcgi requires that the working directory be one level
below the NSS DBs, that is, the DBs are accessed in the directory "..".
You'll want to provide an html link somewhere to the script that downloads
the root.cacert file. You'll probably want to put that next to the link
that loads the index.html page. On interzone, this is done with the
following html:
<a href="/certomatic/index.html">Cert-O-Matic II Root CA server</a>
<p>
<a href="/cgi-bin/certomatic/bin/download.cgi">Download and trust Root CA
certificate</a>
The index.html file in this directory invokes the certcgi.cgi script with
the form post method, so if you change the name of the certcgi.cgi script,
you'll also have to change the index.html file in $DOCROOT/certomatic
The 4 files used by the certcgi program (the 3 NSS DBs, and the serial
number file) are not required to live in $CGIBIN/certomatic, but they are
required to live in $CWD/.. when certcgi starts.
Known bugs:
1. Because multiple of these CAs exist simultaneously, it would be best if
they didn't all have to be called "Cert-O-Matic II", but that string is
presently hard coded into certcgi.c.
2. the html files in this directory contain numerous extraneous <FORM> tags
which appear to use the post method and have action URLS that are never
actually used. burp.cgi and echoform.cgi are never actually used. This
should be cleaned up.
3. The html files use <layer> tags which are supported only in Netscape
Navigator and Netscape Communication 4.x browsers. The html files do
not work as intended with Netscape 6.x, Mozilla or Microsoft IE browsers.
The html files should be fixed to work with all those named browsers.
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