# Creating and Applying SSL Certificates for Cockpit Web Interface

## What is Cockpit?

> Cockpit is an interactive server admin interface. It is easy to use and very lightweight. Cockpit interacts directly with the operating system from a real Linux session in a browser. -https://github.com/cockpit-project/cockpit

## Prerequisites

- A XCA PKI database https://youtu.be/ezzj3x207lQ

## Create Your SSL Certificate

1. Launch XCA
2. Open the PKI database if it is not already (File > Open DataBase), enter password
3. Click on the Certificates tab, right click on your Intermediate CA certificate
4. Select New
5. On the Source tab, make sure Use this Certificate for signing is selected
6. Verify your Intermediate CA certificate is selected from the drop down
7. Click the Subject tab
8. Complete the Distinguished Name section

   internalName: debian.i12bretro.local
   countryName: US
   stateOrProvinceName: Virginia
   localityName: Northern
   organizationName: i12bretro
   organizationUnitName: i12bretro Certificate Authority
   commonName: debian.i12bretro.local

9. Click the Generate a New Key button
10. Enter a name and set the key size to at least 2048
11. Click Create
12. Click on the Extensions tab
13. Select End Entity from the type list
14. Click Edit next to Subject Alternative Name
15. Add any DNS or IP addresses that the certificate will identify
16. Update the validity dates to fit your needs
17. Click the Key Usage tab
18. Under Key Usage select Digital Signature, Key Encipherment
19. Under Extended Key Usage select Web Server and Web Client Authentication
20. Click the Netscape tab
21. Select SSL Server
22. Click OK to create the certificate

## Exporting Required Files

1. In XCA, click on the Certificates tab
2. Right click the SSL certificate > Export > File
3. Set the file name with a .crt extension and verify the export format is PEM (*.crt)
4. Click OK
5. Click the Private Keys tab
6. Right click the private key generated for the SSL certificate > Export > File
7. Set the file name with a .key extension and verify the export format is PKCS #8 (*.pk8)
8. Click OK

## Applying the Certificates to Cockpit

Per the Cockpit documentation, Cockpit will "use the last file with a .cert or .crt extension in alphabetical order" and the private key "must be contained in a separate file with the same name as the certificate, but with a .key suffix"

1. Download WinSCP Download
2. Extract WinSCP and run the executable
3. Connect to the Cockpit host IP address via WinSCP
4. Copy the exported .crt and .key files to the target host home/$USER/Documents directory
5. Connect to the target host via SSH or console and run the following commands
   # copy the .crt file
   sudo cp ~/Documents/*.crt /etc/cockpit/ws-certs.d/
   # copy the .key file
   sudo cp ~/Documents/*.key /etc/cockpit/ws-certs.d/
   # restart cockpit service
   sudo systemctl restart cockpit
6. Open a web browser and navigate to the Cockpit web UI https://DNS:9090
7. The Cockpit web UI should be utilizing the new SSL certificate

Source: https://cockpit-project.org/guide/latest/https