cert-manager-fips

The cert-manager FIPS Helm chart automates deployment and configuration of cert-manager in Kubernetes clusters using FIPS-validated Minimus images. cert-manager adds certificates and certificate issuers as resource types in Kubernetes clusters, and simplifies the process of obtaining, renewing and using those certificates.

Prerequisites

A subscription to the Minimus images included in the chart
A running Kubernetes cluster (v1.22 or higher is recommended)
kubectl installed and configured
Helm v3.8 or higher for OCI support (Installation instructions)
Cluster Admin privileges

Note: cert-manager requires CRDs to be installed. You can have the chart install them by setting cert-manager.crds.enabled=true, or pre-install them from the cert-manager releases.

Try It Out

In this example we will deploy cert-manager on a Kubernetes cluster using the Minimus cert-manager FIPS Helm chart. cert-manager will provide automated TLS certificate management for your Kubernetes workloads using FIPS-validated images.

Step 1: Start Cluster

If you have a cluster to work with, skip this step. Otherwise, start a Minikube cluster. Deployment instructions

Step 2: Create Namespace

Create a namespace:

kubectl create ns cert-manager-fips

Step 3: Deploy the Helm Chart

Deploy the Minimus Helm chart:

helm install my-cert-manager-fips oci://helm.mini.dev/cert-manager-fips \
  --version v1.20.3 \
  -n cert-manager-fips \
  --set cert-manager.crds.enabled=true \
  --wait

If you want to override the chart's defaults, go to the Values tab, save a copy locally with your changes. Deploy the chart with your overrides using -f values.yaml:

helm install my-cert-manager-fips oci://helm.mini.dev/cert-manager-fips \
  --version v1.20.3 \
  -f values.yaml \
  -n cert-manager-fips \
  --set cert-manager.crds.enabled=true \
  --wait

Step 4: Verify cert-manager FIPS is Running

Confirm the chart deployed successfully and cert-manager started:

kubectl get pods -n cert-manager-fips

You should see output similar to:

NAME                                               READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
my-cert-manager-fips-xxxxxxxxx-xxxxx               1/1     Running   0          2m
my-cert-manager-fips-cainjector-xxxxxxxxx-xxxxx    1/1     Running   0          2m
my-cert-manager-fips-webhook-xxxxxxxxx-xxxxx       1/1     Running   0          2m

Step 5: Test Certificate Issuance

Create a self-signed issuer and certificate to verify cert-manager is working:

cat <<EOF | kubectl apply -f -
apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1
kind: Issuer
metadata:
  name: test-selfsigned
  namespace: cert-manager-fips
spec:
  selfSigned: {}
---
apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1
kind: Certificate
metadata:
  name: test-cert
  namespace: cert-manager-fips
spec:
  secretName: test-cert-tls
  issuerRef:
    name: test-selfsigned
    kind: Issuer
  commonName: test.example.com
  dnsNames:
    - test.example.com
EOF

Wait for the certificate to be issued:

kubectl wait --for=condition=Ready certificate/test-cert -n cert-manager-fips --timeout=60s

You should see:

certificate.cert-manager.io/test-cert condition met

Step 6: Clean Up

Uninstall the chart and delete the namespace to remove all resources:

helm uninstall my-cert-manager-fips -n cert-manager-fips
kubectl delete namespace cert-manager-fips

Terms & Info

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