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Teleport

Database Access with Elasticsearch

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Database access for Elasticsearch is available starting from Teleport 10.3.

This guide will help you to configure secured access to an Elasticsearch database using Teleport Database Access.

Prerequisites

  • A running Teleport cluster. For details on how to set this up, see one of our Getting Started guides.

  • The tctl admin tool and tsh client tool version >= 12.1.1.

    tctl version

    Teleport v12.1.1 go1.19

    tsh version

    Teleport v12.1.1 go1.19

    See Installation for details.

  • A running Teleport cluster. For details on how to set this up, see our Enterprise Getting Started guide.

  • The Enterprise tctl admin tool and tsh client tool version >= 12.1.1, which you can download by visiting the customer portal.

    tctl version

    Teleport Enterprise v12.1.1 go1.19

    tsh version

    Teleport v12.1.1 go1.19

Cloud is not available for Teleport v.
Please use the latest version of Teleport Enterprise documentation.
  • A self-hosted Elasticsearch database. Elastic Cloud does not support client certificates, which are required for setting up Database Access.

  • A host where you will run the Teleport Database Service. If you are already running the Teleport Database Service, you must ensure that it uses Teleport version 10.3 or newer in order to connect to Elasticsearch. This can also be the same instance of Teleport running your Auth and/or Proxy service(s).

    See Installation for details.

To connect to Teleport, log in to your cluster using tsh, then use tctl remotely:

tsh login --proxy=teleport.example.com [email protected]
tctl status

Cluster teleport.example.com

Version 12.1.1

CA pin sha256:abdc1245efgh5678abdc1245efgh5678abdc1245efgh5678abdc1245efgh5678

You can run subsequent tctl commands in this guide on your local machine.

For full privileges, you can also run tctl commands on your Auth Service host.

To connect to Teleport, log in to your cluster using tsh, then use tctl remotely:

tsh login --proxy=myinstance.teleport.sh [email protected]
tctl status

Cluster myinstance.teleport.sh

Version 12.1.1

CA pin sha256:sha-hash-here

You must run subsequent tctl commands in this guide on your local machine.

Step 1/5. Set up the Teleport Database Service

The Database Service requires a valid auth token to connect to the cluster. Generate one by running the following command against your Teleport Auth Service and save it in /tmp/token on the node that will run the Database Service:

tctl tokens add --type=db

Install Teleport on the host where you will run the Teleport Database Service. Make sure you've selected your installation type (OSS, Enterprise, Cloud):

Use the appropriate commands for your environment to install your package.

Teleport Edition

Add the Teleport repository to your repository list:

Download Teleport's PGP public key

sudo curl https://apt.releases.teleport.dev/gpg \-o /usr/share/keyrings/teleport-archive-keyring.asc

Source variables about OS version

source /etc/os-release

Add the Teleport APT repository for v12. You'll need to update this

file for each major release of Teleport.

Note: if using a fork of Debian or Ubuntu you may need to use '$ID_LIKE'

and the codename your distro was forked from instead of '$ID' and '$VERSION_CODENAME'.

Supported versions are listed here: https://github.com/gravitational/teleport/blob/master/build.assets/tooling/cmd/build-os-package-repos/runners.go#L42-L67

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/teleport-archive-keyring.asc] \https://apt.releases.teleport.dev/${ID?} ${VERSION_CODENAME?} stable/v12" \| sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teleport.list > /dev/null

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install teleport

Source variables about OS version

source /etc/os-release

Add the Teleport YUM repository for v12. You'll need to update this

file for each major release of Teleport.

Note: if using a fork of RHEL/CentOS or Amazon Linux you may need to use '$ID_LIKE'

and the codename your distro was forked from instead of '$ID'

Supported versions are listed here: https://github.com/gravitational/teleport/blob/master/build.assets/tooling/cmd/build-os-package-repos/runners.go#L133-L153

sudo yum-config-manager --add-repo $(rpm --eval "https://yum.releases.teleport.dev/$ID/$VERSION_ID/Teleport/%{_arch}/stable/v12/teleport.repo")
sudo yum install teleport

Tip: Add /usr/local/bin to path used by sudo (so 'sudo tctl users add' will work as per the docs)

echo "Defaults secure_path = /sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin" > /etc/sudoers.d/secure_path

Optional: Use DNF on newer distributions

$ sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo https://rpm.releases.teleport.dev/teleport.repo

$ sudo dnf install teleport

In the example commands below, update $SYSTEM-ARCH with the appropriate value (amd64, arm64, or arm). All example commands using this variable will update after one is filled out.

curl https://get.gravitational.com/teleport-v12.1.1-linux-$SYSTEM-ARCH-bin.tar.gz.sha256

<checksum> <filename>

curl -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-v12.1.1-linux-$SYSTEM-ARCH-bin.tar.gz
shasum -a 256 teleport-v12.1.1-linux-$SYSTEM-ARCH-bin.tar.gz

Verify that the checksums match

tar -xvf teleport-v12.1.1-linux-$SYSTEM-ARCH-bin.tar.gz
cd teleport
sudo ./install

In the example commands below, update $SYSTEM-ARCH with the appropriate value (amd64, arm64, or arm). All example commands using this variable will update after one is filled out.

After Downloading the .deb file for your system architecture, install it with dpkg. The example below assumes the root user:

dpkg -i ~/Downloads/teleport-ent_12.1.1_$SYSTEM-ARCH.deb

Selecting previously unselected package teleport-ent.

(Reading database ... 30810 files and directories currently installed.)

Preparing to unpack teleport-ent_12.1.1_$SYSTEM_ARCH.deb ...

Unpacking teleport-ent 12.1.1 ...

Setting up teleport-ent 12.1.1 ...

After Downloading the .rpm file for your system architecture, install it with rpm:

rpm -i ~/Downloads/teleport-ent-12.1.1.$SYSTEM-ARCH.rpm

warning: teleport-ent-12.1.1.$SYSTEM-ARCH.rpm: Header V4 RSA/SHA512 Signature, key ID 6282c411: NOKEY

curl https://get.gravitational.com/teleport-ent-v12.1.1-linux-$SYSTEM-ARCH-bin.tar.gz.sha256

<checksum> <filename>

curl -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-ent-v12.1.1-linux-$SYSTEM-ARCH-bin.tar.gz
shasum -a 256 teleport-ent-v12.1.1-linux-$SYSTEM-ARCH-bin.tar.gz

Verify that the checksums match

tar -xvf teleport-ent-v12.1.1-linux-$SYSTEM-ARCH-bin.tar.gz
cd teleport-ent
sudo ./install

For FedRAMP/FIPS-compliant installations of Teleport Enterprise, package URLs will be slightly different:

curl https://get.gravitational.com/teleport-ent-v12.1.1-linux-$SYSTEM-ARCH-fips-bin.tar.gz.sha256

<checksum> <filename>

curl -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-ent-v12.1.1-linux-$SYSTEM-ARCH-fips-bin.tar.gz
shasum -a 256 teleport-ent-v12.1.1-linux-$SYSTEM-ARCH-fips-bin.tar.gz

Verify that the checksums match

tar -xvf teleport-ent-v12.1.1-linux-$SYSTEM-ARCH-fips-bin.tar.gz
cd teleport-ent
sudo ./install
Cloud is not available for Teleport v.
Please use the latest version of Teleport Enterprise documentation.

Start the Teleport Database Service, pointing the --auth-server flag to the address of your Teleport Proxy Service:

teleport db start \ --token=/tmp/token \ --auth-server=teleport.example.com:3080 \ --name=myelastic \ --protocol=elastic \ --uri=elasticsearch.example.com:9200 \ --labels=env=dev
Note

The --auth-server flag must point to the Teleport cluster's Proxy Service endpoint because the Database Service always connects back to the cluster over a reverse tunnel.

Configure teleport.yaml using the example below:

version: v3
teleport:
  auth_token: <insert token here>
  proxy_server: teleport.example.com

# disable services that are on by default
ssh_service: { enabled: no }
proxy_service: { enabled: no }
auth_service: { enabled: no }

# db service config
db_service:
  enabled: "yes"
  resources:
  - labels:
      "*": "*"
  databases:
  - name: myelastic
    protocol: elasticsearch
    uri: elasticsearch.example.com:9200
    static_labels:
      env: dev

Adjust for your environment, then start or restart Teleport. See the YAML reference for details.

Step 2/5. Create a Teleport user

Tip

To modify an existing user to provide access to the Database Access service, see Database Access Access Controls

Create a local Teleport user with the built-in access role:

tctl users add \ --roles=access \ --db-users=\* \ --db-names=\* \ alice
FlagDescription
--rolesList of roles to assign to the user. The builtin access role allows them to connect to any database server registered with Teleport.
--db-usersList of database usernames the user will be allowed to use when connecting to the databases. A wildcard allows any user.
--db-namesList of logical databases (aka schemas) the user will be allowed to connect to within a database server. A wildcard allows any database.
Warning

Database names are only enforced for PostgreSQL and MongoDB databases.

For more detailed information about database access controls and how to restrict access see RBAC documentation.

Step 3/5. Create a role mapping

Define a role mapping in Elasticsearch to assign your Teleport user(s) or role(s) to an Elasticsearch role. The example below maps the Teleport user alice to the user role in Elasticsearch.

curl -u elastic:your_elasticsearch_password -X POST "https://elasticsearch.example.com:9200/_security/role_mapping/mapping1?pretty" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d'

{

"roles": [ "user"],

"enabled": true,

"rules": {

"field" : { "username" : "alice" }

},

"metadata" : {

"version" : 1

}

}

'

In a scenario where Teleport is using single sign-on you may want to define a mapping for all users to a role:

curl -u elastic:your_elasticsearch_password -X POST "https://elasticsearch.example.com:9200/_security/role_mapping/mapping1?pretty" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d'

{

"roles": [ "monitoring"],

"enabled": true,

"rules": {

"field" : { "username" : "*@example.com" }

},

"metadata" : {

"version" : 1

}

}

'

Step 4/5. Set up mutual TLS

Teleport uses mutual TLS authentication with self-hosted databases. These databases must be configured with Teleport's certificate authority to be able to verify client certificates. They also need a certificate/key pair that Teleport can verify.

We will show you how to use tctl auth sign below.

To securely access your Elasticsearch database, sign the certificate for the hostname Teleport will connect to.

For example, if your Elasticsearch server is accessible at elastic.example.com, run:

tctl auth sign --format=elasticsearch --host=elastic.example.com --out=elastic --ttl=2160h

Database credentials have been written to elastic.key, elastic.crt, elastic.cas.

TTL

We recommend using a shorter TTL, but keep mind that you'll need to update the database server certificate before it expires to not lose the ability to connect. Pick the TTL value that best fits your use-case.

The command will create three files:

  • elastic.cas with Teleport's certificate authority
  • elastic.key with a generated private key
  • elastic.crt with a generated host certificate
Certificate Rotation

Teleport 10.0 introduced a new certificate authority that is only used by Database Access. Older Teleport versions use a host certificate to sign Database Access certificates.

After upgrading to Teleport 10.0, the host certificate authority will still be used by Database Access to maintain compatibility. The first certificate rotation will rotate host and database certificates.

New Teleport 10.0+ installations generate the database certificate authority when they first start, and are not affected by the rotation procedure described above.

Use the generated secrets to enable mutual TLS in your elasticsearch.yml configuration file:

xpack.security.http.ssl:
  certificate_authorities: /path/to/elastic.cas
  certificate: /path/to/elastic.crt
  key: /path/to/elastic.key
  enabled: true
  client_authentication: required
  verification_mode: certificate

xpack.security.authc.realms.pki.pki1:
  order: 1
  enabled: true
  certificate_authorities: /path/to/elastic.cas

Once mutual TLS has been enabled, you will no longer be able to connect to the cluster without providing a valid client certificate. You can set xpack.security.http.ssl.client_authentication to optional to allow connections from clients that do not present a certificate, using other methods like username and password.

Step 5/5. Connect

Log into your Teleport cluster and see available databases:

tsh login --proxy=teleport.example.com --user=alice
tsh db ls

Name Description Allowed Users Labels Connect

--------------------------- ----------- ------------- ------- ------------------------

> myelastic (user: elastic) [*] env=dev tsh db connect myelastic

tsh login --proxy=mytennant.teleport.sh --user=alice
tsh db ls

Name Description Allowed Users Labels Connect

--------------------------- ----------- ------------- ------- ------------------------

> myelastic (user: elastic) [*] env=dev tsh db connect myelastic

To connect to a particular database instance:

tsh db connect myelastic --db-user=alice

To log out of the database and remove credentials:

Remove credentials for a particular database instance.

tsh db logout myelastic

Remove credentials for all database instances.

tsh db logout

Tunneled connection example

We can create a tunneled connection to Elasticsearch to use with GUI applications like Elasticvue:

tsh proxy db myelastic --db-user=alice --tunnel

Started authenticated tunnel for the Elasticsearch database "myelastic" in cluster "teleport.example.com" on 127.0.0.1:53657.

Use one of the following commands to connect to the database:

* interactive SQL connection:

$ elasticsearch-sql-cli http://localhost:53657/

* run single request with curl:

$ curl http://localhost:53657/

Note the assigned port, and provide it to your GUI client:

ElasticVue

Next steps

  • Take a look at the YAML configuration reference.