Create a Subordinate Certificate Authority

Create a subordinate certificate authority from a root or subordinate CA.

Explore further

For detailed documentation that includes this code sample, see the following:

• Create a subordinate certificate authority

Code sample

Java

To authenticate to CA Service, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

import com.google.api.core.ApiFuture;
import com.google.cloud.security.privateca.v1.CaPoolName;
import com.google.cloud.security.privateca.v1.CertificateAuthority;
import com.google.cloud.security.privateca.v1.CertificateAuthority.KeyVersionSpec;
import com.google.cloud.security.privateca.v1.CertificateAuthority.SignHashAlgorithm;
import com.google.cloud.security.privateca.v1.CertificateAuthorityServiceClient;
import com.google.cloud.security.privateca.v1.CertificateConfig;
import com.google.cloud.security.privateca.v1.CertificateConfig.SubjectConfig;
import com.google.cloud.security.privateca.v1.CreateCertificateAuthorityRequest;
import com.google.cloud.security.privateca.v1.KeyUsage;
import com.google.cloud.security.privateca.v1.KeyUsage.KeyUsageOptions;
import com.google.cloud.security.privateca.v1.Subject;
import com.google.cloud.security.privateca.v1.SubjectAltNames;
import com.google.cloud.security.privateca.v1.X509Parameters;
import com.google.cloud.security.privateca.v1.X509Parameters.CaOptions;
import com.google.longrunning.Operation;
import com.google.protobuf.Duration;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;

public class CreateSubordinateCa {

  public static void main(String[] args)
      throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException, IOException {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    // location: For a list of locations, see:
    // https://cloud.google.com/certificate-authority-service/docs/locations
    // poolId: Set it to the CA Pool under which the CA should be created.
    // subordinateCaName: Unique name for the Subordinate CA.
    String project = "your-project-id";
    String location = "ca-location";
    String poolId = "ca-pool-id";
    String subordinateCaName = "subordinate-certificate-authority-name";

    createSubordinateCertificateAuthority(project, location, poolId, subordinateCaName);
  }

  public static void createSubordinateCertificateAuthority(
      String project, String location, String poolId, String subordinateCaName)
      throws IOException, ExecutionException, InterruptedException {
    // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
    // once, and can be reused for multiple requests. After completing all of your requests, call
    // the `certificateAuthorityServiceClient.close()` method on the client to safely
    // clean up any remaining background resources.
    try (CertificateAuthorityServiceClient certificateAuthorityServiceClient =
        CertificateAuthorityServiceClient.create()) {

      String commonName = "commonname";
      String orgName = "csr-org-name";
      String domainName = "dns.example.com";
      int caDuration = 100000; // Validity of this CA in seconds.

      // Set the type of Algorithm.
      KeyVersionSpec keyVersionSpec =
          KeyVersionSpec.newBuilder().setAlgorithm(SignHashAlgorithm.RSA_PKCS1_4096_SHA256).build();

      // Set CA subject config.
      SubjectConfig subjectConfig =
          SubjectConfig.newBuilder()
              .setSubject(
                  Subject.newBuilder().setCommonName(commonName).setOrganization(orgName).build())
              // Set the fully qualified domain name.
              .setSubjectAltName(SubjectAltNames.newBuilder().addDnsNames(domainName).build())
              .build();

      //  Set the key usage options for X.509 fields.
      X509Parameters x509Parameters =
          X509Parameters.newBuilder()
              .setKeyUsage(
                  KeyUsage.newBuilder()
                      .setBaseKeyUsage(
                          KeyUsageOptions.newBuilder().setCrlSign(true).setCertSign(true).build())
                      .build())
              .setCaOptions(CaOptions.newBuilder().setIsCa(true).build())
              .build();

      // Set certificate authority settings.
      CertificateAuthority subCertificateAuthority =
          CertificateAuthority.newBuilder()
              .setType(CertificateAuthority.Type.SUBORDINATE)
              .setKeySpec(keyVersionSpec)
              .setConfig(
                  CertificateConfig.newBuilder()
                      .setSubjectConfig(subjectConfig)
                      .setX509Config(x509Parameters)
                      .build())
              // Set the CA validity duration.
              .setLifetime(Duration.newBuilder().setSeconds(caDuration).build())
              .build();

      // Create the CertificateAuthorityRequest.
      CreateCertificateAuthorityRequest subCertificateAuthorityRequest =
          CreateCertificateAuthorityRequest.newBuilder()
              .setParent(CaPoolName.of(project, location, poolId).toString())
              .setCertificateAuthorityId(subordinateCaName)
              .setCertificateAuthority(subCertificateAuthority)
              .build();

      // Create Subordinate CA.
      ApiFuture<Operation> futureCall =
          certificateAuthorityServiceClient
              .createCertificateAuthorityCallable()
              .futureCall(subCertificateAuthorityRequest);

      Operation response = futureCall.get();

      if (response.hasError()) {
        System.out.println("Error while creating Subordinate CA !" + response.getError());
        return;
      }

      System.out.println(
          "Subordinate Certificate Authority created successfully : " + subordinateCaName);
    }
  }
}

Python

To authenticate to CA Service, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

import google.cloud.security.privateca_v1 as privateca_v1
from google.protobuf import duration_pb2


def create_subordinate_ca(
    project_id: str,
    location: str,
    ca_pool_name: str,
    subordinate_ca_name: str,
    common_name: str,
    organization: str,
    domain: str,
    ca_duration: int,
) -> None:
    """
    Create Certificate Authority (CA) which is the subordinate CA in the given CA Pool.
    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        location: location you want to use. For a list of locations, see: https://cloud.google.com/certificate-authority-service/docs/locations.
        ca_pool_name: set it to the CA Pool under which the CA should be created.
        subordinate_ca_name: unique name for the Subordinate CA.
        common_name: a title for your certificate authority.
        organization: the name of your company for your certificate authority.
        domain: the name of your company for your certificate authority.
        ca_duration: the validity of the certificate authority in seconds.
    """

    ca_service_client = privateca_v1.CertificateAuthorityServiceClient()

    # Set the type of Algorithm
    key_version_spec = privateca_v1.CertificateAuthority.KeyVersionSpec(
        algorithm=privateca_v1.CertificateAuthority.SignHashAlgorithm.RSA_PKCS1_4096_SHA256
    )

    # Set CA subject config.
    subject_config = privateca_v1.CertificateConfig.SubjectConfig(
        subject=privateca_v1.Subject(
            common_name=common_name, organization=organization
        ),
        # Set the fully qualified domain name.
        subject_alt_name=privateca_v1.SubjectAltNames(dns_names=[domain]),
    )

    # Set the key usage options for X.509 fields.
    x509_parameters = privateca_v1.X509Parameters(
        key_usage=privateca_v1.KeyUsage(
            base_key_usage=privateca_v1.KeyUsage.KeyUsageOptions(
                crl_sign=True,
                cert_sign=True,
            )
        ),
        ca_options=privateca_v1.X509Parameters.CaOptions(
            is_ca=True,
        ),
    )

    # Set certificate authority settings.
    certificate_authority = privateca_v1.CertificateAuthority(
        type_=privateca_v1.CertificateAuthority.Type.SUBORDINATE,
        key_spec=key_version_spec,
        config=privateca_v1.CertificateConfig(
            subject_config=subject_config,
            x509_config=x509_parameters,
        ),
        # Set the CA validity duration.
        lifetime=duration_pb2.Duration(seconds=ca_duration),
    )

    ca_pool_path = ca_service_client.ca_pool_path(project_id, location, ca_pool_name)

    # Create the CertificateAuthorityRequest.
    request = privateca_v1.CreateCertificateAuthorityRequest(
        parent=ca_pool_path,
        certificate_authority_id=subordinate_ca_name,
        certificate_authority=certificate_authority,
    )

    operation = ca_service_client.create_certificate_authority(request=request)
    result = operation.result()

    print(f"Operation result: {result}")

Terraform

To learn how to apply or remove a Terraform configuration, see Basic Terraform commands. For more information, see the Terraform provider reference documentation.

resource "google_privateca_certificate_authority" "root_ca" {
  // This example assumes this pool already exists.
  // Pools cannot be deleted in normal test circumstances, so we depend on static pools
  pool                                   = "my-pool"
  certificate_authority_id               = "my-certificate-authority-root"
  location                               = "us-central1"
  deletion_protection                    = false # set to true to prevent destruction of the resource
  ignore_active_certificates_on_deletion = true
  config {
    subject_config {
      subject {
        organization = "ACME"
        common_name  = "my-certificate-authority"
      }
    }
    x509_config {
      ca_options {
        # is_ca *MUST* be true for certificate authorities
        is_ca = true
      }
      key_usage {
        base_key_usage {
          # cert_sign and crl_sign *MUST* be true for certificate authorities
          cert_sign = true
          crl_sign  = true
        }
        extended_key_usage {
        }
      }
    }
  }
  key_spec {
    algorithm = "RSA_PKCS1_4096_SHA256"
  }
  // valid for 10 years
  lifetime = "${10 * 365 * 24 * 3600}s"
}

resource "google_privateca_certificate_authority" "sub_ca" {
  // This example assumes this pool already exists.
  // Pools cannot be deleted in normal test circumstances, so we depend on static pools
  pool                     = "my-sub-pool"
  certificate_authority_id = "my-certificate-authority-sub"
  location                 = "us-central1"
  deletion_protection      = false # set to true to prevent destruction of the resource
  subordinate_config {
    certificate_authority = google_privateca_certificate_authority.root_ca.name
  }
  config {
    subject_config {
      subject {
        organization = "ACME"
        common_name  = "my-subordinate-authority"
      }
    }
    x509_config {
      ca_options {
        is_ca = true
        # Force the sub CA to only issue leaf certs.
        # Use e.g.
        #    max_issuer_path_length = 1
        # if you need to chain more subordinates.
        zero_max_issuer_path_length = true
      }
      key_usage {
        base_key_usage {
          cert_sign = true
          crl_sign  = true
        }
        extended_key_usage {
        }
      }
    }
  }
  // valid for 5 years
  lifetime = "${5 * 365 * 24 * 3600}s"
  key_spec {
    algorithm = "RSA_PKCS1_2048_SHA256"
  }
  type = "SUBORDINATE"
}

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