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LDAP secrets engine (API)

This is the API documentation for the Vault LDAP secrets engine. For general information about the usage and operation of the LDAP secrets engine, please see the LDAP secrets engine docs.

This documentation assumes the LDAP secrets engine is enabled at the /ldap path in Vault. Since it is possible to mount secrets engines at any path, please update your API calls accordingly.

Configuration management

This endpoint configures the LDAP secret engine to manage user entries.

Method
Path

POST

/ldap/config

GET

/ldap/config

DELETE

/ldap/config

Note: The LDAP entry used by config should have the necessary privileges to search and change entry passwords in LDAP.

Parameters

  • binddn (string: <required>) - Distinguished name (DN) of object to bind for managing user entries. For example, cn=vault,ou=Users,dc=hashicorp,dc=com.

  • bindpass (string: <required>) - Password to use along with binddn for managing user entries.

  • url (string: "ldap://127.0.0.1") - The LDAP server to connect to. Examples: ldaps://ldap.myorg.com, ldaps://ldap.myorg.com:636. This can also be a comma-delineated list of URLs, e.g. ldaps://ldap.myorg.com, ldaps://ldap.myorg.com:636, in which case the servers will be tried in-order if there are errors during the connection process.`.

  • password_policy (string: <optional>) - The name of the password policy to use to generate passwords. Note that this accepts the name of the policy, not the policy itself.

  • schema (string: "openldap") - The LDAP schema to use when storing entry passwords. Valid schemas include openldap, ad, and racf.

  • userdn (string: <optional>) - The base DN under which to perform user search in library management and static roles. For example, ou=Users,dc=hashicorp,dc=com.

  • userattr (string: <optional>) – The attribute field name used to perform user search in library management and static roles. Defaults to cn for the openldap schema, userPrincipalName for the ad schema, and racfid for the racf schema.

  • upndomain (string: optional) - The domain (userPrincipalDomain) used to construct a UPN string for authentication. The constructed UPN will appear as [binddn]@[upndomain]. For example, if upndomain=example.com and binddn=admin, the UPN string admin@example.com will be used to log in to Active Directory.

  • connection_timeout (integer: 30 or string: "30s") - Timeout, in seconds, when attempting to connect to the LDAP server before trying the next URL in the configuration.

  • request_timeout (integer: 90, string: "90s" <optional>) - Timeout, in seconds, for the connection when making requests against the server before returning back an error.

  • starttls (bool: <optional>) - If true, issues a StartTLS command after establishing an unencrypted connection.

  • insecure_tls (bool: <optional>) - If true, skips LDAP server SSL certificate verification - insecure, use with caution!

  • certificate (string: <optional>) - CA certificate to use when verifying LDAP server certificate, must be x509 PEM encoded.

  • client_tls_cert (string: <optional>) - Client certificate to provide to the LDAP server, must be x509 PEM encoded.

  • client_tls_key (string: <optional>) - Client key to provide to the LDAP server, must be x509 PEM encoded.

Deprecated Parameters:

  • length (int: 64) - The length of generated password strings. Note: some schemas may require shorter password lengths (such as racf). Mutually exclusive with password_policy

Note about password generation:

length and password_policy cannot both be set in the configuration. The POST endpoint will reject the configuration if both are specified.

  • If neither are set, this will default to a reasonable default password generation algorithm (the same algorithm as prior to the introduction of password policies).

  • If length is set, the same algorithm is used, but with the length specified instead of the default length.

  • If password_policy is set, the password will be generated from the associated password policy. The policy is not exercised prior to saving the configuration. The policy will need to exist prior to passwords needing to be generated by this engine, but does not need to exist prior to saving the configuration.

See LDAP secrets engine docs for additional information.

Sample payload

{
  "binddn": "cn=vault,ou=Users,dc=hashicorp,dc=com",
  "bindpass": "pa$$w0rd",
  "url": "ldaps://127.0.0.11"
}

Sample POST request

$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    --request POST \
    --data @payload.json \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/ldap/config

Sample GET request

$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    --request GET \
    https://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/ldap/config

Sample response

{
  "data": {
    "binddn": "cn=admin,dc=hashicorp,dc=com",
    "case_sensitive_names": false,
    "certificate": "",
    "insecure_tls": false,
    "length": 64,
    "schema": "openldap",
    "starttls": false,
    "tls_max_version": "tls12",
    "tls_min_version": "tls12",
    "url": "ldap://127.0.0.1"
  }
}

Rotate root password

The rotate-root endpoint offers password rotation for the binddn entry used to manage LDAP. This generated password will only be known to Vault and will not be retrievable once rotated.

Method
Path

POST

/ldap/rotate-root

Sample request

$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    --request POST \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/ldap/rotate-root

Static roles

The static-role endpoint configures Vault to manage the passwords of existing individual LDAP entries.

Method
Path

GET

/ldap/static-role

GET

/ldap/static-role/:role_name

POST

/ldap/static-role/:role_name

DELETE

/ldap/static-role/:role_name

Parameters

  • username (string: <required>) - The username of the existing LDAP entry to manage password rotation for. LDAP search for the username will be rooted at the userdn configuration value. The attribute to use when searching for the user can be configured with the userattr configuration value. This is useful when dn isn't used for login purposes (such as SSH). Cannot be modified after creation. Example: "bob"

  • dn (string: <optional>) - Distinguished name (DN) of the existing LDAP entry to manage password rotation for. If given, it will take precedence over username for the LDAP search performed during password rotation. Cannot be modified after creation. Example: cn=bob,ou=Users,dc=hashicorp,dc=com

  • rotation_period (string: <required>) - How often Vault should rotate the password of the user entry. Accepts duration format strings. The minimum rotation period is 5 seconds. Example: "3600", "5s", "1h"

Sample payload

{
  "dn": "cn=hashicorp,ou=Users,dc=hashicorp,dc=com",
  "rotation_period": "24h",
  "username": "hashicorp"
}

Sample POST request

$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    --request POST \
    --data @payload.json \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/ldap/static-role/hashicorp

Sample GET request

$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    --request GET \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/ldap/static-role/hashicorp

Sample GET response

{
  "data": {
    "dn": "uid=hashicorp,ou=Users,dc=hashicorp,dc=com",
    "last_vault_rotation": "2020-02-19T11:31:53.7812-05:00",
    "rotation_period": 86400,
    "username": "hashicorp"
  }
}

Sample LIST response

["hashicorp", "bob"]

Static role passwords

The static-cred endpoint offers the credential information for a given static-role.

Method
Path

GET

/ldap/static-cred/:role_name

Sample get request

$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    --request GET \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/ldap/static-cred/hashicorp

Sample get response

{
  "dn": "uid=hashicorp,ou=Users,dc=hashicorp,dc=com",
  "last_vault_rotation": "2020-02-19T11:31:53.7812-05:00",
  "password": "LTNfyn7pS7XEZIxEYQ2sEAWic02PEP7zSvIs0xMqIjaU0ORzLhKOKVmYLxL1Xkyv",
  "last_password": "?@09AZSen9TzUwK7ZhafS7B0GuWGraQjfWEna5SwnmF/tVaKFqjXhhGV/Z0v/pBJ",
  "rotation_period": 86400,
  "ttl": 86072,
  "username": "hashicorp"
}

Manually rotate static role password

The rotate-role endpoint rotates the password of an existing static role.

Method
Path

POST

/ldap/rotate-role/:role_name

Sample request

$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    --request POST \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/ldap/rotate-role/:role_name

Dynamic roles

Create or update a dynamic role configuration. This provides instructions to Vault on how to create an LDAP domain user account.

Create/Delete dynamic role configuration

Creates, updates, or deletes a dynamic role.

Method
Path

POST

/ldap/role/:role_name

DELETE

/ldap/role/:role_name

The POST endpoint allows for partial updates of existing roles. If a role exists and a POST request is made against it, only the keys specified in the request will be updated. To delete a value, specify the key with an empty string as the value. Example: vault write ldap/role/myrole default_ttl=""

Parameters

  • role_name (string, required) - The name of the dynamic role.

  • creation_ldif (string, required) - A templatized LDIF string used to create a user account. This may contain multiple LDIF entries. The creation_ldif can also be used to add the user account to an existing group. All LDIF entries are performed in order. If Vault encounters an error while executing the creation_ldif it will stop at the first error and not execute any remaining LDIF entries. If an error occurs and rollback_ldif is specified, the LDIF entries in rollback_ldif will be executed. See rollback_ldif for more details. This field may optionally be provided as a base64 encoded string.

  • deletion_ldif (string, required) - A templatized LDIF string used to delete the user account once its TTL has expired. This may contain multiple LDIF entries. All LDIF entries are performed in order. If Vault encounters an error while executing an entry in the deletion_ldif it will attempt to continue executing any remaining entries. This field may optionally be provided as a base64 encoded string.

  • rollback_ldif (string, not required but recommended) - A templatized LDIF string used to attempt to rollback any changes in the event that execution of the creation_ldif results in an error. This may contain multiple LDIF entries. All LDIF entries are performed in order. If Vault encounters an error while executing an entry in the rollback_ldif it will attempt to continue executing any remaining entries. This field may optionally be provided as a base64 encoded string.

  • username_template (string) - A template used to generate a dynamic username. This will be used to fill in the .Username field within the creation_ldif string.

Default Username Template
v_{{.DisplayName}}_{{.RoleName}}_{{random 10}}_{{unix_time}}

  • default_ttl (string/int) - Specifies the TTL for the leases associated with this role. Accepts duration format strings. Defaults to system/engine default TTL time.

  • max_ttl (string/int) - Specifies the maximum TTL for the leases associated with this role. Accepts duration format strings. Defaults to system/mount default TTL time; this value is allowed to be less than the mount max TTL (or, if not set, the system max TTL), but it is not allowed to be longer.

The creation_ldif, deletion_ldif, rollback_ldif, and username_template fields are all templated fields. See Username Templating for details on how to use templating. Also see Templates for specifics on what data is available for each template.

Sample payload

Sample LDIF files:

creation.ldif:

dn: cn={{.Username}},ou=users,dc=learn,dc=example
objectClass: person
objectClass: top
cn: learn
sn: {{.Password | utf16le | base64}}
memberOf: cn=dev,ou=groups,dc=learn,dc=example
userPassword: {{.Password}}

deletion.ldif & rollback.ldif:

dn: cn={{.Username}},ou=users,dc=learn,dc=example
changetype: delete

Full Payload:

{
  "creation_ldif": "...",
  "deletion_ldif": "...",
  "rollback_ldif": "...",
  "username_template": "...",
  "default_ttl": "1h",
  "max_ttl": "24h"
}

Note: The LDIF statements may optionally be base64 encoded. If they are base64 encoded when creating/updating the role configuration, the decoded version will be returned from the GET endpoint.

Sample POST request

$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    --request POST \
    --data @payload.json \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/ldap/role/dynamic-role

Read dynamic role configuration

Retrieves a dynamic role's configuration.

Method
Path

GET

/ldap/role/:role_name

Response

200 OK

{
  "creation_ldif": "...",
  "default_ttl": 1800,
  "deletion_ldif": "...",
  "max_ttl": 0,
  "rollback_ldif": "...",
  "username_template": "..."
}

Templates

LDIF and username templates use the Go template syntax to construct the LDIF/username that will be executed against the server. This is done because certain values (such as the username and password within an LDIF statement) are not known at configuration time. Additionally, the template gives a lot of flexibility to the operator to construct the LDIF and username.

Templated fields are delimited by {{ and }}. To reference a field (such as the generated Username), a period is placed in front of the field name. Example: {{.Username}}. Spaces can be included between {{ and }}. For instance: {{.Username|lowercase}} is the same as {{ .Username | lowercase }}.

If a field needs to be modified (such as SHA256 hashing, base64 encoding, etc.) the value can be sent to one of the built-in functions. This uses a "pipe" syntax: {{.Username | base64}}. Values may be "piped" to multiple functions: {{.Username | lowercase | base64}}

LDIF template fields

The following parameters are available within the LDIF templates:

.Username - The name of the generated user (optionally from username_template). Default pattern: v_<display name>_<role name>_<10 random chars>_<unix timestamp>

.Password - The generated password (optionally from password policies)

.RoleName - The name of the role that credentials are being generated for.

.DisplayName - The display name associated with the authentication token used to make the credentials request.

.IssueTime - The time that the lease was created. This time may be slightly earlier than the associated lease due to where this value is calculated compared with where Vault calculates details of the lease. Format: 2006-01-02T15:04:05Z07:00 (RFC3339)

.IssueTimeSeconds - The unix time the lease was created. This time may be slightly earlier than the associated lease due to where this value is calculated compared with where Vault calculates details of the lease. Format: Integer indicating the number of seconds elapsed since January 1, 1970.

.ExpirationTime - The time that the lease is set to expire. This time may be slightly earlier than the associated lease due to where this value is calculated compared with where Vault calculates details of the lease. Format: 2006-01-02T15:04:05Z07:00 (RFC3339)

.ExpirationTimeSeconds - The unix time the lease is set to expire. This time may be slightly earlier than the associated lease due to where this value is calculated compared with where Vault calculates details of the lease. Format: Integer indicating the number of seconds elapsed since January 1, 1970.

Username template fields

The following parameters are available within the username template:

Important note: If any of the following fields include dashes or underscores, they will not be removed/changed unless explicitly done so within the username template. For instance:

If RoleName is test-role and the username_template is v_{{.RoleName}}_{{unix_time}}, the result of this template may be: v_test-role_1234567890. Note the - (dash) in the test-role. If the LDAP system Vault is managing restricts usernames/DNs to not allow for dashes (or other characters), the template must explicitly modify/remove those characters. In this example, the template can be changed to v_{{.RoleName | replace "-" "_"}} to replace the dashes with underscores. See Template Functions for more functions available.

.RoleName - The name of the role the credentials are being generated from.

.DisplayName - The display name associated with the user making the request against Value.

Template functions

Both the LDIF templates and the username template use the Go template language so all functions and capabilities from that language are supported including functions such as printf.

In addition to the functions available through the template language, the following custom functions are also available:

random - Generates a random string from lowercase letters, uppercase letters, and numbers. Must include a number indicating how many characters to generate. Example: {{random 20}} generates 20 random characters

truncate - truncates the previous value to the provided number of characters. Example: {{.FieldName | truncate 10}}

truncate_sha256 - Truncates the previous value to the provided number of characters. The last 8 characters of the truncated value will be the first 8 characters of the SHA256 hash of the truncated characters.

This can aid in identifying values (such as the role & display names) if they need to be truncated to a particular length, particularly if the value has common prefixes. An example of this is having many roles with a common prefix in the name of the role, but the role name is truncated such that only the prefix is shown. This function will keep the non-prefix part of the role name in the username which will aid in identification while also keeping uniqueness.

Example: v_{{.RoleName | truncate_sha256 15}}_{{unix_time}}. If two roles exist for this template, myreallylongprefix-foobar and myreallylongprefix-bazqux, the username for the first role would be v_myrealle6da86ec_1234567890 and the username for the second role would be v_myrealld0420a55_1234567890.

uppercase - Uppercases the provided value. Example: {{.FieldName | uppercase}}

lowercase - Lowercases the provided value. Example: {{.FieldName | lowercase}}

replace - Find/replace on the provided value. Example: {{.FieldName | replace "-" "_"}}

sha256 - SHA256 hashes the provided value. Example: {{.FieldName | sha256}}

base64 - Base64 encodes the provided value. Example: {{.FieldName | base64}}

unix_time - The current unix timestamp (number of seconds since Jan 1 1970). Example: {{unix_time}}

unix_time_millis - The current unix timestamp in milliseconds. Example: {{unix_time_millis}}

timestamp - The current time. Must provide a formatting string based on Go’s time package. Example: {{timestamp "2006-01-02T15:04:05Z"}}

uuid - Generates a random UUID. Example: {{uuid}}

LDIF template functions

Additionally, the LDIF templates include an additional function to facilitate Active Directory password handling. The username template cannot use this function.

utf16le - Encodes the provided value into UTF16-LE. Example: {{.FieldName | utf16le}}

Dynamic role passwords

The creds endpoint offers the credential information for a given dynamic role.

Method
Path

GET

/ldap/creds/:role_name

Sample get request

$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    --request GET \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/ldap/creds/dynamic-role

Sample get response

{
  "distinguished_names": [
    "cn=v_token-dispname_testrole_jmZMnjS42a_1680580467,ou=users,dc=hashicorp,dc=com"
  ],
  "password": "OWexB3OzYYLFiotWxUS2EheGpriwR20fa2yA7JGTsnBREcxyqpwf73htofMihxcC",
  "username": "v_token-dispname_testrole_jmZMnjS42a_1680580467"
}

Library set management

The library endpoint configures the sets of service accounts that Vault will offer for check-out.

Method
Path

LIST

/ldap/library

POST

/ldap/library/:set_name

GET

/ldap/library/:set_name

DELETE

/ldap/library/:set_name

When adding a service account to the library, Vault verifies it already exists in the LDAP directory.

Parameters

  • name (string: "", required) - The name of the set of service accounts.

  • service_account_names (string: "", or list: [] required) - The names of all the service accounts that can be checked out from this set. These service accounts must only be used by Vault, and may only be in one set. These service accounts must already exist in the LDAP directory.

  • ttl (duration: "24h", optional) - The maximum amount of time a single check-out lasts before Vault automatically checks it back in. Defaults to 24 hours. Setting it to zero reflects an unlimited lending period. Uses duration format strings.

  • max_ttl (duration: "24h", optional) - The maximum amount of time a check-out last with renewal before Vault automatically checks it back in. Defaults to 24 hours. Setting it to zero reflects an unlimited lending period. Uses duration format strings.

  • disable_check_in_enforcement (bool: false, optional) - Disable enforcing that service accounts must be checked in by the entity or client token that checked them out. Defaults to false.

Sample POST request

$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    --request POST \
    --data @payload.json \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/ldap/library/accounting-team

Sample POST payload

{
  "service_account_names": ["fizz@example.com", "buzz@example.com"],
  "ttl": "10h",
  "max_ttl": "20h",
  "disable_check_in_enforcement": false
}

Sample GET response

{
  "service_account_names": ["fizz@example.com", "buzz@example.com"],
  "ttl": "10h",
  "max_ttl": "20h",
  "disable_check_in_enforcement": false
}

Sample LIST response

Performing a LIST on the /ldap/library endpoint will list the names of all the sets of service accounts Vault contains.

["accounting-team"]

Library set status check

This endpoint provides the check-out status of service accounts in a library set.

Method
Path

GET

/ldap/library/:set_name/status

Sample GET request

$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    --request GET \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/ldap/library/accounting-team/status

Sample GET response

{
  "request_id": "9e44c8b5-d142-5867-2a11-49f3ba71215a",
  "lease_id": "",
  "renewable": false,
  "lease_duration": 0,
  "data": {
    "buzz@example.com": {
      "available": true
    },
    "fizz@example.com": {
      "available": false,
      "borrower_client_token": "4c653e473bf7e27c6759fccc3def20c44d776279",
      "borrower_entity_id": "631256b1-8523-9838-5501-d0a1e2cdad9c"
    }
  },
  "wrap_info": null,
  "warnings": null,
  "auth": null
}

Check-Out management

This endpoint provides service account check out for a library set.

Method
Path

POST

/ldap/library/:set_name/check-out

Returns a 200 if a credential is available, and a 400 if no credential is available.

Parameters

  • name (string: "", required) - The name of the set of service accounts.

  • ttl (duration: "", optional) - The maximum amount of time a check-out lasts before Vault automatically checks it back in. Setting it to zero reflects an unlimited lending period. Defaults to the set's ttl. If the requested ttl is higher than the set's, the set's will be used. Uses duration format strings.

Sample POST request

$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    --request POST \
    --data @payload.json \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/ldap/library/accounting-team/check-out

Sample POST payload

{
  "ttl": "1h"
}

Sample POST response

{
  "request_id": "364a17d4-e5ab-998b-ceee-b49929229e0c",
  "lease_id": "ad/library/accounting-team/check-out/aoBsaBEI4PK96VnukubvYDlZ",
  "renewable": true,
  "lease_duration": 36000,
  "data": {
    "password": "?@09QW0KZ8DSBu3deIu7XLY1NZqzwhozmMAZ6v0IcZJGOjs5GvpVMvOeW7/duls2",
    "service_account_name": "fizz@example.com"
  },
  "wrap_info": null,
  "warnings": null,
  "auth": null
}

Check-In management

By default, check-in must be called by the same entity or client token used for check-out. To disable this behavior, use the disable_check_in_enforcement toggle on the library set. Or, use the ad/library/manage/:set_name/check-in behavior to force check-in of the account. Access to the "manage" endpoint should only be granted to highly privileged Vault users, like Vault operators.

If a caller attempts to check in a service account they're not authorized to check in, they will receive an error response. If they attempt to check in a service account they are authorized to check in, but it's already checked in, they will receive a successful response but the account will not be included in the check_ins listed. check_ins shows which service accounts were checked in by this particular call.

Method
Path

POST

/ldap/library/:set_name/check-in

POST

/ldap/library/manage/:set_name/check-in

Parameters

  • name (string: "", required) - The name of the set of service accounts.

  • service_account_names (string: "", or list: [] optional) - The names of all the service accounts to be checked in. May be omitted if only one is checked out.

Sample POST request

$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    --request POST \
    --data @payload.json \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/ldap/library/accounting-team/check-in

Sample POST payload

{
  "service_account_names": ["fizz@example.com"]
}

Sample POST response

{
  "request_id": "db45c714-3f68-b748-95bc-8f7467637a52",
  "lease_id": "",
  "renewable": false,
  "lease_duration": 0,
  "data": {
    "check_ins": ["fizz@example.com"]
  },
  "wrap_info": null,
  "warnings": null,
  "auth": null
}
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