I researched this and found that the documentation was wrong because it
said if the client has a 'root.crt', the server must have a 'root.crt',
when in fact on the server a 'server.crt' is required. Documentation
updated, and mention of libpq SSL section added to server documentation.
The libpq comment verifies this:
/* Set up to verify server cert, if root.crt is present */
Doc patch attached. Backpatched to 8.2.X.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Fuhr wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 26, 2007 at 12:04:21AM -0400, Tom Lane wrote:
> > Well, if it works then why is the OP complaining?
> >
> > Perhaps there is some non-obvious configuration issue that accounts
> > for the difference between your results and his?
>
> I don't see in the OP's messages that he's tried the configuration
> I used. He said he was using the following:
>
> > > no root.crt in the data dir
> > > no .postgresql/ <--- this is what made me think there was no server verification
> > > server.crt/key in the data dir
> > > pg_hba.conf set to hostssl
> > > PGSSLMODE=required or prefer
>
> My test configuration looks the same on the server but different
> on the client:
>
> Server, in $PGDATA
> ==================
> server.key
> server.crt (signed by some CA)
> no root.crt
>
> Client, in ~/.postgresql
> ========================
> root.crt (for the CA that signed server.crt)
> no postgresql.key or postgresql.crt
>
> The OP did say that
>
> > > When I first looked at the ssl doc, I didn't see any description of
> > > installing the root ca on the client. This seemed odd. On my web client,
> > > when I need to verify the server crt, I install the appropriate ca in
> > > the client.
>
> The "SSL Support" section of the libpq documentation mentions
> installing root.crt on the client:
>
> http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.2/interactive/libpq-ssl.html
>
> "If the file ~/.postgresql/root.crt is present in the user's home
> directory, libpq will use the certificate list stored therein to
> verify the server's certificate. (On Microsoft Windows the file is
> named %APPDATA%\postgresql\root.crt.) The SSL connection will fail
> if the server does not present a certificate; therefore, to use
> this feature the server must also have a root.crt file."
>
> The requirement that the server have a root.crt appears to be
> incorrect, at least in the tests I ran. Unless somebody can justify
> that statement I'll submit a documentation patch to correct it.
>
> --
> Michael Fuhr
>
> ---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
> TIP 7: You can help support the PostgreSQL project by donating at
>
> http://www.postgresql.org/about/donate
--
Bruce Momjian <bruce@momjian.us> http://momjian.us
EnterpriseDB http://www.enterprisedb.com
+ If your life is a hard drive, Christ can be your backup. +
Index: doc/src/sgml/libpq.sgml
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/libpq.sgml,v
retrieving revision 1.234
diff -c -c -r1.234 libpq.sgml
*** doc/src/sgml/libpq.sgml 20 Feb 2007 19:35:17 -0000 1.234
--- doc/src/sgml/libpq.sgml 30 Mar 2007 03:14:01 -0000
***************
*** 4501,4507 ****
<filename>%APPDATA%\postgresql\root.crt</filename>.)
The SSL connection will
fail if the server does not present a certificate; therefore, to
! use this feature the server must also have a <filename>root.crt</> file.
Certificate Revocation List (CRL) entries are also checked if the file
<filename>~/.postgresql/root.crl</filename> exists (<filename>%APPDATA%\postgresql\root.crl</filename>
on Microsoft Windows).
--- 4501,4507 ----
<filename>%APPDATA%\postgresql\root.crt</filename>.)
The SSL connection will
fail if the server does not present a certificate; therefore, to
! use this feature the server must have a <filename>server.crt</> file.
Certificate Revocation List (CRL) entries are also checked if the file
<filename>~/.postgresql/root.crl</filename> exists (<filename>%APPDATA%\postgresql\root.crl</filename>
on Microsoft Windows).
Index: doc/src/sgml/runtime.sgml
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/runtime.sgml,v
retrieving revision 1.380
diff -c -c -r1.380 runtime.sgml
*** doc/src/sgml/runtime.sgml 6 Mar 2007 09:59:22 -0000 1.380
--- doc/src/sgml/runtime.sgml 30 Mar 2007 03:14:04 -0000
***************
*** 1574,1583 ****
certificates of the <acronym>CA</acronym>(s) you wish to check for in
the file <filename>root.crt</filename> in the data directory. When
present, a client certificate will be requested from the client
! during SSL connection startup, and it must have been signed by one of the
! certificates present in <filename>root.crt</filename>. Certificate
! Revocation List (CRL) entries are also checked if the file
! <filename>root.crl</filename> exists.
</para>
<para>
--- 1574,1584 ----
certificates of the <acronym>CA</acronym>(s) you wish to check for in
the file <filename>root.crt</filename> in the data directory. When
present, a client certificate will be requested from the client
! during SSL connection startup, and it must have been signed by one of
! the certificates present in <filename>root.crt</filename>. (See <xref
! linkend="libpq-ssl"> for a description of how to set up client
! certificates.) Certificate Revocation List (CRL) entries are also
! checked if the file <filename>root.crl</filename> exists.
</para>
<para>