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Secure Redis Communication

ZeroTrustKerberosLink implements comprehensive security measures for Redis communication to protect session data, caching, and other sensitive information stored in Redis.

Security Features

TLS Support

All communication with Redis servers is encrypted using TLS to prevent eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks.

redis:
  tls:
    enabled: true
    cert_file: "/etc/zerotrustkerberos/certs/redis-cert.pem"
    key_file: "/etc/zerotrustkerberos/certs/redis-key.pem"
    ca_file: "/etc/zerotrustkerberos/certs/ca.pem"
    verify_hostname: true

Secure Credential Handling

Redis credentials are securely managed to prevent unauthorized access:

  • Environment Variables: Credentials can be stored in environment variables
  • Secret Management: Integration with secret management systems
  • Credential Rotation: Support for automatic credential rotation
  • Minimal Privileges: Redis users with minimal required permissions
redis:
  auth:
    username: "zerotrustkerberos"
    password_env: "REDIS_PASSWORD"  # Reference to environment variable
    password_file: "/etc/zerotrustkerberos/secrets/redis-password"  # Alternative file-based approach

Connection Pooling

Secure connection pooling optimizes performance while maintaining security:

  • Connection Limits: Controls on maximum connections
  • Connection Timeouts: Automatic timeout of idle connections
  • Connection Verification: Verification of connection integrity
  • TLS Session Reuse: Optimization of TLS handshakes
redis:
  pool:
    max_connections: 10
    min_idle: 2
    max_idle: 5
    idle_timeout: 300  # seconds
    health_check_interval: 60  # seconds

Error Handling and Logging

Robust error handling prevents security issues during Redis communication failures:

  • Graceful Degradation: Fallback mechanisms when Redis is unavailable
  • Secure Logging: Security-focused logging of Redis operations
  • Error Suppression: Prevention of sensitive information in error messages
  • Automatic Recovery: Reconnection with exponential backoff
redis:
  error_handling:
    max_retries: 3
    retry_backoff: 1.5  # exponential backoff multiplier
    log_level: "warn"  # Options: debug, info, warn, error
    sensitive_commands:  # Commands that require special logging
      - "AUTH"
      - "CONFIG"

Secure Cache Operations

Protection against cache poisoning and other cache-related attacks:

  • Key Validation: Validation of cache keys
  • Value Validation: Validation of cached values
  • TTL Controls: Mandatory expiration for all cached items
  • Namespace Isolation: Isolation of cache namespaces
redis:
  cache:
    key_prefix: "zerotrustkerberos:"
    default_ttl: 3600  # seconds
    max_ttl: 86400  # seconds (1 day)
    validate_keys: true
    validate_values: true

Implementation Guide

Setting Up TLS for Redis

  1. Generate Certificates:
# Generate CA key and certificate
openssl genrsa -out ca.key 4096
openssl req -x509 -new -nodes -key ca.key -sha256 -days 3650 -out ca.pem

# Generate server key and certificate
openssl genrsa -out redis.key 2048
openssl req -new -key redis.key -out redis.csr
openssl x509 -req -in redis.csr -CA ca.pem -CAkey ca.key -CAcreateserial -out redis.pem -days 365 -sha256
  1. Configure Redis Server:
# /etc/redis/redis.conf
port 0
tls-port 6379
tls-cert-file /path/to/redis.pem
tls-key-file /path/to/redis.key
tls-ca-cert-file /path/to/ca.pem
tls-auth-clients yes
  1. Configure ZeroTrustKerberosLink:
redis:
  host: "redis.example.com"
  port: 6379
  tls:
    enabled: true
    cert_file: "/etc/zerotrustkerberos/certs/client.pem"
    key_file: "/etc/zerotrustkerberos/certs/client.key"
    ca_file: "/etc/zerotrustkerberos/certs/ca.pem"

Setting Up Redis Authentication

  1. Create Redis User (Redis 6.0+):
# In redis-cli
ACL SETUSER zerotrustkerberos ON >secure_password ~zerotrustkerberos:* +@read +@write -@dangerous
  1. Configure ZeroTrustKerberosLink:
redis:
  auth:
    username: "zerotrustkerberos"
    password_env: "REDIS_PASSWORD"
  1. Set Environment Variable:
export REDIS_PASSWORD="secure_password"

Security Best Practices

  1. Network Segmentation: Place Redis servers in a separate network segment
  2. Firewall Rules: Restrict Redis access to only necessary clients
  3. Regular Updates: Keep Redis server and client libraries updated
  4. Monitoring: Set up monitoring for Redis access and operations
  5. Disable Dangerous Commands: Disable commands like FLUSHALL, CONFIG, etc.
  6. Benchmark Security: Regularly test Redis security configuration

Testing Redis Security

ZeroTrustKerberosLink provides tools to test Redis security:

# Test Redis connection security
zerotrustkerberos-cli test redis-security

# Test specific Redis security feature
zerotrustkerberos-cli test redis-security --feature=tls

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions:

Issue Solution
TLS handshake failure Verify certificate paths and permissions
Authentication failure Check username/password and ACL settings
Connection timeout Verify network connectivity and firewall rules
High latency Check connection pool settings and network quality

Redis security works in conjunction with other security features:

Further Reading