F5 WAF Universal Orchestrator Extension

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Overview

The F5 WAF Orchestrator extension remotely manages TLS and CA Root certificates uploaded to F5 Distributed Multi-Cloud App Connect, which is the F5 platform that manages WAF services. Certificates bound to Http Load Balancers within Multi-Cloud App Connect can be renewed/replaced, but they cannot be removed. Certificate store types f5WafTls and f5WafCa are used to manage stores containing TLS and CA Root certificates, respectively.

The F5 WAF Universal Orchestrator extension implements 2 Certificate Store Types. Depending on your use case, you may elect to use one, or both of these Certificate Store Types. Descriptions of each are provided below.

F5 WAF TLS (f5WafTls)

f5WafTls

The f5WafTls certificate store type is used to manage F5 Distributed Multi-Cloud App Connect TLS certificates.

Use cases supported:

1. Discovery of TLS stores. Discovery for F5 WAF returns any discoverable namespaces in the F5 WAF instance.
2. Inventory of a TLS store. All TLS certificates, bound or unbound, within a namespace will be returned to Keyfactor Command.
3. Management-Add. Add a new certificate or renew an existing one. Renew will work for both bound and unbound certificates. All existing binding will remain in place, bound to the same alias with the newly replaced/renewed certificate.
4. Management-Delete. Remove an existing certificate. Will only work for unbound certificates.

F5 WAF CA (f5WafCa)

f5WafCa

The f5WafCa certificate store type is used to manage F5 Distributed Multi-Cloud App Connect CA Root certificates.

Use cases supported:

1. Discovery of TLS stores. Discovery for F5 WAF returns any discoverable namespaces in the F5 WAF instance.
2. Inventory of a TLS store. All CA Root certificates within a namespace will be returned to Keyfactor Command.
3. Management-Add. Add a new certificate or renew an existing one.
4. Management-Delete. Remove an existing certificate. Please note, for CA Root certicates, deleting an existing certificate will replace ALL instances of the same certificate and not only the one represented by the intended alias. This is an F5 WAF feature that the integration has no control over.

Compatibility

This integration is compatible with Keyfactor Universal Orchestrator version 10.4.1 and later.

Support

The F5 WAF Universal Orchestrator extension is supported by Keyfactor for Keyfactor customers. If you have a support issue, please open a support ticket with your Keyfactor representative. If you have a support issue, please open a support ticket via the Keyfactor Support Portal at https://support.keyfactor.com.

To report a problem or suggest a new feature, use the Issues tab. If you want to contribute actual bug fixes or proposed enhancements, use the Pull requests tab.

Requirements & Prerequisites

Before installing the F5 WAF Universal Orchestrator extension, we recommend that you install kfutil. Kfutil is a command-line tool that simplifies the process of creating store types, installing extensions, and instantiating certificate stores in Keyfactor Command.

F5 Multi-Cloud App Connect uses API tokens to authenticate when calling APIs. API Tokens can be created through the F5 Distributed Cloud Console. Once logged in, select Multi-Cloud App Connect from the options under "Common services". Next, select Account Services from the pull down at the top right of the screen, and select "Account Settings". From there, click on "Credentials" on the left nav and "Add Credentials" on the subsequent screen. In the form shown, select "API Token" from the Credential Type dropdown, and enter the name of the credential and the expiration date. Please note that credentials can only be created for up to 90 day periods of time. After 90 days, a new API token will need to be generated and replaced in your F5 WAF certificate store(s). Clicking Generate will then show the value of the newly created API Token. Copy this and save to a safe place, as this will be the value you will enter in the Server Password field when setting up your certificate store. If you forget or lose this token value, there is no way to access it again in the F5 Distributed Cloud portal. You will need to create a new API Token.

Create Certificate Store Types

To use the F5 WAF Universal Orchestrator extension, you must create the Certificate Store Types required for your usecase. This only needs to happen once per Keyfactor Command instance.

The F5 WAF Universal Orchestrator extension implements 2 Certificate Store Types. Depending on your use case, you may elect to use one, or both of these Certificate Store Types.

F5 WAF TLS (f5WafTls)

• Create f5WafTls using kfutil:

  # F5 WAF TLS
  kfutil store-types create f5WafTls

• Create f5WafTls manually in the Command UI:

  Create f5WafTls manually in the Command UI

  Create a store type called f5WafTls with the attributes in the tables below:

  Basic Tab

  Attribute	Value	Description
  Name	F5 WAF TLS	Display name for the store type (may be customized)
  Short Name	f5WafTls	Short display name for the store type
  Capability	f5WafTls	Store type name orchestrator will register with. Check the box to allow entry of value
  Supports Add	✅ Checked	Check the box. Indicates that the Store Type supports Management Add
  Supports Remove	✅ Checked	Check the box. Indicates that the Store Type supports Management Remove
  Supports Discovery	✅ Checked	Check the box. Indicates that the Store Type supports Discovery
  Supports Reenrollment	🔲 Unchecked	Indicates that the Store Type supports Reenrollment
  Supports Create	🔲 Unchecked	Indicates that the Store Type supports store creation
  Needs Server	✅ Checked	Determines if a target server name is required when creating store
  Blueprint Allowed	✅ Checked	Determines if store type may be included in an Orchestrator blueprint
  Uses PowerShell	🔲 Unchecked	Determines if underlying implementation is PowerShell
  Requires Store Password	🔲 Unchecked	Enables users to optionally specify a store password when defining a Certificate Store.
  Supports Entry Password	🔲 Unchecked	Determines if an individual entry within a store can have a password.

  The Basic tab should look like this:

  

  Advanced Tab

  Attribute	Value	Description
  Supports Custom Alias	Required	Determines if an individual entry within a store can have a custom Alias.
  Private Key Handling	Required	This determines if Keyfactor can send the private key associated with a certificate to the store. Required because IIS certificates without private keys would be invalid.
  PFX Password Style	Default	'Default' - PFX password is randomly generated, 'Custom' - PFX password may be specified when the enrollment job is created (Requires the Allow Custom Password application setting to be enabled.)

  The Advanced tab should look like this:

  

  Custom Fields Tab

  Custom fields operate at the certificate store level and are used to control how the orchestrator connects to the remote target server containing the certificate store to be managed. The following custom fields should be added to the store type:

  Name	Display Name	Description	Type	Default Value/Options	Required
  ServerUsername	Server Username	Not used. Set to No Value.	Secret		🔲 Unchecked
  ServerPassword	Server Password	The API Token configured in the F5 Distributed Cloud instance's Account Settings. Please review the Requirements & Prerequisites section in this README for more information on creating this API token.	Secret		🔲 Unchecked

  The Custom Fields tab should look like this:

  

F5 WAF CA (f5WafCa)

• Create f5WafCa using kfutil:

  # F5 WAF CA
  kfutil store-types create f5WafCa

• Create f5WafCa manually in the Command UI:

  Create f5WafCa manually in the Command UI

  Create a store type called f5WafCa with the attributes in the tables below:

  Basic Tab

  Attribute	Value	Description
  Name	F5 WAF CA	Display name for the store type (may be customized)
  Short Name	f5WafCa	Short display name for the store type
  Capability	f5WafCa	Store type name orchestrator will register with. Check the box to allow entry of value
  Supports Add	✅ Checked	Check the box. Indicates that the Store Type supports Management Add
  Supports Remove	✅ Checked	Check the box. Indicates that the Store Type supports Management Remove
  Supports Discovery	✅ Checked	Check the box. Indicates that the Store Type supports Discovery
  Supports Reenrollment	🔲 Unchecked	Indicates that the Store Type supports Reenrollment
  Supports Create	🔲 Unchecked	Indicates that the Store Type supports store creation
  Needs Server	✅ Checked	Determines if a target server name is required when creating store
  Blueprint Allowed	✅ Checked	Determines if store type may be included in an Orchestrator blueprint
  Uses PowerShell	🔲 Unchecked	Determines if underlying implementation is PowerShell
  Requires Store Password	🔲 Unchecked	Enables users to optionally specify a store password when defining a Certificate Store.
  Supports Entry Password	🔲 Unchecked	Determines if an individual entry within a store can have a password.

  The Basic tab should look like this:

  

  Advanced Tab

  Attribute	Value	Description
  Supports Custom Alias	Required	Determines if an individual entry within a store can have a custom Alias.
  Private Key Handling	Forbidden	This determines if Keyfactor can send the private key associated with a certificate to the store. Required because IIS certificates without private keys would be invalid.
  PFX Password Style	Default	'Default' - PFX password is randomly generated, 'Custom' - PFX password may be specified when the enrollment job is created (Requires the Allow Custom Password application setting to be enabled.)

  The Advanced tab should look like this:

  

  Custom Fields Tab

  Custom fields operate at the certificate store level and are used to control how the orchestrator connects to the remote target server containing the certificate store to be managed. The following custom fields should be added to the store type:

  Name	Display Name	Description	Type	Default Value/Options	Required
  ServerUsername	Server Username	Not used. Set to No Value.	Secret		🔲 Unchecked
  ServerPassword	Server Password	The API Token configured in the F5 Distributed Cloud instance's Account Settings. Please review the Requirements & Prerequisites section in this README for more information on creating this API token.	Secret		🔲 Unchecked

  The Custom Fields tab should look like this:

  

Installation

1. Download the latest F5 WAF Universal Orchestrator extension from GitHub.

   Navigate to the F5 WAF Universal Orchestrator extension GitHub version page. Refer to the compatibility matrix below to determine whether the net6.0 or net8.0 asset should be downloaded. Then, click the corresponding asset to download the zip archive.

   Universal Orchestrator Version	Latest .NET version installed on the Universal Orchestrator server	rollForward condition in Orchestrator.runtimeconfig.json	f5-waf-orchestrator .NET version to download
   Older than 11.0.0			net6.0
   Between 11.0.0 and 11.5.1 (inclusive)	net6.0		net6.0
   Between 11.0.0 and 11.5.1 (inclusive)	net8.0	Disable	net6.0
   Between 11.0.0 and 11.5.1 (inclusive)	net8.0	LatestMajor	net8.0
   11.6 and newer	net8.0		net8.0

   Unzip the archive containing extension assemblies to a known location.

   Note If you don't see an asset with a corresponding .NET version, you should always assume that it was compiled for net6.0.

2. Locate the Universal Orchestrator extensions directory.

   • Default on Windows - C:\Program Files\Keyfactor\Keyfactor Orchestrator\extensions
   • Default on Linux - /opt/keyfactor/orchestrator/extensions

3. Create a new directory for the F5 WAF Universal Orchestrator extension inside the extensions directory.

   Create a new directory called f5-waf-orchestrator.

   The directory name does not need to match any names used elsewhere; it just has to be unique within the extensions directory.

4. Copy the contents of the downloaded and unzipped assemblies from step 2 to the f5-waf-orchestrator directory.

5. Restart the Universal Orchestrator service.

   Refer to Starting/Restarting the Universal Orchestrator service.

6. (optional) PAM Integration

   The F5 WAF Universal Orchestrator extension is compatible with all supported Keyfactor PAM extensions to resolve PAM-eligible secrets. PAM extensions running on Universal Orchestrators enable secure retrieval of secrets from a connected PAM provider.

   To configure a PAM provider, reference the Keyfactor Integration Catalog to select an extension, and follow the associated instructions to install it on the Universal Orchestrator (remote).

The above installation steps can be supplimented by the official Command documentation.

Defining Certificate Stores

The F5 WAF Universal Orchestrator extension implements 2 Certificate Store Types, each of which implements different functionality. Refer to the individual instructions below for each Certificate Store Type that you deemed necessary for your use case from the installation section.

F5 WAF TLS (f5WafTls)

• Manually with the Command UI

  Create Certificate Stores manually in the UI

  1. Navigate to the Certificate Stores page in Keyfactor Command.

     Log into Keyfactor Command, toggle the Locations dropdown, and click Certificate Stores.

  2. Add a Certificate Store.

     Click the Add button to add a new Certificate Store. Use the table below to populate the Attributes in the Add form.

     Attribute	Description
     Category	Select "F5 WAF TLS" or the customized certificate store name from the previous step.
     Container	Optional container to associate certificate store with.
     Client Machine	The URL for the F5 Distributed Cloud instance (typically ending in '.console.ves.volterra.io').
     Store Path	The Multi-Cloud App Connect namespace containing the certificates you wish to manage.
     Orchestrator	Select an approved orchestrator capable of managing f5WafTls certificates. Specifically, one with the f5WafTls capability.
     ServerUsername	Not used. Set to No Value.
     ServerPassword	The API Token configured in the F5 Distributed Cloud instance's Account Settings. Please review the Requirements & Prerequisites section in this README for more information on creating this API token.

• Using kfutil

  Create Certificate Stores with kfutil

  1. Generate a CSV template for the f5WafTls certificate store

     kfutil stores import generate-template --store-type-name f5WafTls --outpath f5WafTls.csv

  2. Populate the generated CSV file

     Open the CSV file, and reference the table below to populate parameters for each Attribute.

     Attribute	Description
     Category	Select "F5 WAF TLS" or the customized certificate store name from the previous step.
     Container	Optional container to associate certificate store with.
     Client Machine	The URL for the F5 Distributed Cloud instance (typically ending in '.console.ves.volterra.io').
     Store Path	The Multi-Cloud App Connect namespace containing the certificates you wish to manage.
     Orchestrator	Select an approved orchestrator capable of managing f5WafTls certificates. Specifically, one with the f5WafTls capability.
     ServerUsername	Not used. Set to No Value.
     ServerPassword	The API Token configured in the F5 Distributed Cloud instance's Account Settings. Please review the Requirements & Prerequisites section in this README for more information on creating this API token.

  3. Import the CSV file to create the certificate stores

     kfutil stores import csv --store-type-name f5WafTls --file f5WafTls.csv

The content in this section can be supplimented by the official Command documentation.

F5 WAF CA (f5WafCa)

• Manually with the Command UI

  Create Certificate Stores manually in the UI

  1. Navigate to the Certificate Stores page in Keyfactor Command.

     Log into Keyfactor Command, toggle the Locations dropdown, and click Certificate Stores.

  2. Add a Certificate Store.

     Click the Add button to add a new Certificate Store. Use the table below to populate the Attributes in the Add form.

     Attribute	Description
     Category	Select "F5 WAF CA" or the customized certificate store name from the previous step.
     Container	Optional container to associate certificate store with.
     Client Machine	The URL for the F5 Distributed Cloud instance (typically ending in '.console.ves.volterra.io').
     Store Path	The Multi-Cloud App Connect namespace containing the certificates you wish to manage.
     Orchestrator	Select an approved orchestrator capable of managing f5WafCa certificates. Specifically, one with the f5WafCa capability.
     ServerUsername	Not used. Set to No Value.
     ServerPassword	The API Token configured in the F5 Distributed Cloud instance's Account Settings. Please review the Requirements & Prerequisites section in this README for more information on creating this API token.

     Attributes eligible for retrieval by a PAM Provider on the Universal Orchestrator

     If a PAM provider was installed on the Universal Orchestrator in the Installation section, the following parameters can be configured for retrieval on the Universal Orchestrator.

     Attribute	Description
     ServerPassword	The API Token configured in the F5 Distributed Cloud instance's Account Settings. Please review the Requirements & Prerequisites section in this README for more information on creating this API token.

     Please refer to the Universal Orchestrator (remote) usage section (PAM providers on the Keyfactor Integration Catalog) for your selected PAM provider for instructions on how to load attributes orchestrator-side.

     Any secret can be rendered by a PAM provider installed on the Keyfactor Command server. The above parameters are specific to attributes that can be fetched by an installed PAM provider running on the Universal Orchestrator server itself.

• Using kfutil

  Create Certificate Stores with kfutil

  1. Generate a CSV template for the f5WafCa certificate store

     kfutil stores import generate-template --store-type-name f5WafCa --outpath f5WafCa.csv

  2. Populate the generated CSV file

     Open the CSV file, and reference the table below to populate parameters for each Attribute.

     Attribute	Description
     Category	Select "F5 WAF CA" or the customized certificate store name from the previous step.
     Container	Optional container to associate certificate store with.
     Client Machine	The URL for the F5 Distributed Cloud instance (typically ending in '.console.ves.volterra.io').
     Store Path	The Multi-Cloud App Connect namespace containing the certificates you wish to manage.
     Orchestrator	Select an approved orchestrator capable of managing f5WafCa certificates. Specifically, one with the f5WafCa capability.
     ServerUsername	Not used. Set to No Value.
     ServerPassword	The API Token configured in the F5 Distributed Cloud instance's Account Settings. Please review the Requirements & Prerequisites section in this README for more information on creating this API token.

     Attributes eligible for retrieval by a PAM Provider on the Universal Orchestrator

     If a PAM provider was installed on the Universal Orchestrator in the Installation section, the following parameters can be configured for retrieval on the Universal Orchestrator.

     Attribute	Description
     ServerPassword	The API Token configured in the F5 Distributed Cloud instance's Account Settings. Please review the Requirements & Prerequisites section in this README for more information on creating this API token.

     Any secret can be rendered by a PAM provider installed on the Keyfactor Command server. The above parameters are specific to attributes that can be fetched by an installed PAM provider running on the Universal Orchestrator server itself.

  3. Import the CSV file to create the certificate stores

     kfutil stores import csv --store-type-name f5WafCa --file f5WafCa.csv

The content in this section can be supplimented by the official Command documentation.

Discovering Certificate Stores with the Discovery Job

The following table describes the required and optional fields to schedule a Discovery job for the f5WafTls and f5WafCa certificate store types.

In Keyfactor Command, navigate to Certificate Stores from the Locations Menu and then click on the Discover tab.

Attribute	Description
Category	Select either F5WafTls or F5WafCa depending on whether you want to return namespaces for TLS certificates or CA Root certificates.
Orchestrator	Select an approved orchestrator capable of managing F5 WAF certificates. Specifically, one with the f5WafTls and f5WafCa capabilities.
Schedule	Enter the schedule for when you want the job to run
Client Machine	The URL for the F5 Distributed Cloud instance (typically ending in '.console.ves.volterra.io'.
Server Username	This is not used but required in the UI. Enter any value.
Server Password	The API Token configured in the F5 Distributed Cloud instance's Account Settings. Please see Requirements & Prerequisites for more information on creating this token.
Directories to Search	Not used for this integration. Leave Blank.
Directories to ignore	Not used for this integration. Leave Blank.
Extensions	Not used for this integration. Leave Blank.
File name patterns to match	Not used for this integration. Leave Blank.
Follow SymLinks	Not used for this integration. Leave Unchecked.
Follow SymLinks	Not used for this integration. Leave Unchecked.
Use SSL?	Not used for this integration. Leave Unchecked.

Discovery jobs will return all known namespaces for this F5 WAF instance. Please note that because Keyfactor Command has a restriction on multiple certificate stores having the same Client Machine and Store Path, certificate stores for f5WafTls will return stores with a "tls-" prefixed to the beginning of the store path (namespace); while f5WafCA stores will have "ca-" prefixed. Any jobs that run for stores with these prefixes will have these prefixes removed before calling any F5 WAF APIs. What this means is a store path (namespace) for an f5WafTls store of "tls-namespace1" will be the same as one labeled "namespace1".

License

Apache License 2.0, see LICENSE.

Related Integrations

See all Keyfactor Universal Orchestrator extensions.