Configuring TLS and mTLS on the Istio ingress

This topic explains how to enable on-way TLS and mTLS on the Istio ingress.

Configuring one-way TLS

Use one-way TLS to secure API proxy endpoints on the Istio ingress. To enable one-way TLS, you configure the ingress with TLS cert/key pairs or with a Kubernetes Secret, as explained in the following options.

Option 1: key/cert pair

Provide SSL cert and key files in the virtualhosts property in your overrides file:

virtualhosts: - 
name: $ENVIRONMENT_GROUP_NAME 
sslCertPath: " $CERT_FILE 
"
    sslKeyPath: " $KEY_FILE 
"

Where $ENVIRONMENT_GROUP_NAME is the name of an environment group with corresponding host aliases, and $CERT_FILE and $KEY_FILE are TLS key and certificate files. See Create TLS certificates .

Option 2: Kubernetes Secret

Create a Kubernetes Secret in the istio-system namespace and add the Secret name to your overrides file:

1. Create the Secret:

   kubectl create -n istio-system secret generic $SECRET_NAME 
   \
   --from-file=key= $KEY_FILE 
   \
   --from-file=cert= $CERT_FILE 
   

2. Configure the virtualhosts property in your overrides file:

   virtualhosts: - 
   name: $ENVIRONMENT_GROUP_NAME 
   tlsMode: SIMPLE  # Note: SIMPLE is the default, so it is optional.
       sslSecret: $SECRET_NAME 
   

Configuring mTLS

Instead of one-way TLS, you can configure mTLS on the Istio ingress. There are two options for configuring mTLS, as explained below.

Option 1: key/cert pair and CA file

Provide a Certificate Authority (CA) certificate with SSL cert and key files in the virtualhosts property in your overrides file:

virtualhosts: - 
name: $ENVIRONMENT_GROUP_NAME 
tlsMode: MUTUAL
    caCertPath: " $CA_FILE 
"
    sslCertPath: " $CERT_FILE 
"
    sslKeyPath: " $KEY_FILE 
"

Where $ENVIRONMENT_GROUP_NAME is the name of an environment group with corresponding host aliases, $CA_FILE is an authorized certificate, and $CERT_FILE and $KEY_FILE are TLS key and certificate files. See Create TLS certificates .

Option 2: Kubernetes Secrets

1. Create two Kubernetes secrets in the istio-system namespace. The first secret is for the CA and the second is for the SSL cert/key pair:

   kubectl create -n istio-system secret generic $SECRET_NAME 
   \
   --from-file=key= $KEY_FILE 
   \
   --from-file=cert= $CERT_FILE 
   

2. Create a secret for the CA:

   kubectl create -n istio-system secret generic $SECRET_NAME 
   -cacert  \
   --from-file=cacert= $CA_FILE 
   

3. Configure the virtualhosts property in your overrides file:

   virtualhosts: - 
   name: $ENVIRONMENT_GROUP_NAME 
   tlsMode: MUTUAL  # Note: Be sure to specify MUTUAL
       sslSecret: $SECRET_NAME