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Saltstack renderer for age-encrypted secrets

This project introduces a SaltStack renderer integrated with age, a modern and simple encryption tool. SaltStack is an open-source configuration management system that allows you to automate the setup, deployment, and management of your infrastructure. Integrating age encryption enhances SaltStack by providing a secure method to handle secrets.

By using age, this renderer allows you to securely store encrypted secrets directly in your source control. This is particularly useful for environments where security and privacy are paramount. Only Salt masters (or masterless minions) configured with the appropriate age identity or passphrase can decrypt these secrets, ensuring that sensitive information remains protected even if source control is compromised.

The typical use case for this extension involves encrypting secrets stored in Salt's pillar data, enhancing security without sacrificing convenience or functionality.

Requirements

This package has been tested with Saltstack 3007.0 on Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish).

Installation

If you use the official Saltstack package, you can simply install it using:

sudo salt-pip install saltstack-age

Configuration

age can be used to encrypt data using either a passphrase or an identity file. This extension supports both, and they can be defined either in the Saltstack daemon configuration file, or in the daemon environment. For encryption, you can also provide a recipient public key (age1...) via the CLI -r/--recipient flag — useful when you only have the public key of whoever will decrypt the secret.

Type Configuration directive Environment variable Expected value
identity age_identity_file AGE_IDENTITY_FILE Path of an age identity file
identity age_identity AGE_IDENTITY An age identity string
identity age_identity_command Command returning an identity
passphrase age_passphrase AGE_PASSPHRASE An age passphrase

age_identity_command must be a list of command arguments. It is executed without a shell, and its standard output must contain the age identity. For example, to keep the identity in pass:

age_identity_command:
  - pass
  - show
  - infra/salt/age-identity

You can check this example configuration.

Secret encryption

Encrypted secrets are formatted as ENC[age-passphrase,CIPHERTEXT] or ENC[age-identity,CIPHERTEXT], depending on the encryption type. CIPHERTEXT is the age-encrypted value, encoded with base64.

This package provides a handy CLI tool to make it easier:

$ saltstack-age -P secret-passphrase enc secret-value
ENC[age-passphrase,YWdlLWVuY3J5cHRpb24ub3JnL3YxCi0+IHNjcnlwdCB1QndwT3dJejhaSEtZZlIxeFEvZk5RIDIwCmhrcm9OY0tTOWdwNkhWbDdadlNIOHRFYmFLdkpZSjhLTktTWXhZVHFHKzgKLS0tIHFJWVRNc0JzTkpKNHJ1TFBuZ2tybWt0WWVQR0wrbjVnMmlZYzRaWVlBbFkKPWQu4lawaAu1owDXPDwwmj9/tN9/5NF/Avd4jPrLoy/ugUb0ciqm8H5My44=]

You can also encrypt to a recipient public key (no access to the private key required):

saltstack-age -r age1spnr3m67eudy9p5cvtj3jz8kfzz5t7dv3wy6t694suv3s84fg4jqj0ydnk enc secret-value

Caution

While it is convenient to pass all arguments to the command-line, be careful to not leak credentials while doing it.

The tool exposes multiple options to provide the passphrase and identity files. You can see them in details by reading its help: saltstack-age --help.

Pillar data formatting

The renderer must be specified on the first line of the pillar data files that contain encrypted values:

#!yaml|age

Then you can define your secret values as:

#!yaml|age
secret: ENC[age-passphrase,YWdlLWVuY3J5cHRpb24ub3JnL3YxCi0+IHNjcnlwdCB1QndwT3dJejhaSEtZZlIxeFEvZk5RIDIwCmhrcm9OY0tTOWdwNkhWbDdadlNIOHRFYmFLdkpZSjhLTktTWXhZVHFHKzgKLS0tIHFJWVRNc0JzTkpKNHJ1TFBuZ2tybWt0WWVQR0wrbjVnMmlZYzRaWVlBbFkKPWQu4lawaAu1owDXPDwwmj9/tN9/5NF/Avd4jPrLoy/ugUb0ciqm8H5My44=]

For reference, you can read this example.

FAQ

Why did you write this extension?

As a fan of GPG, I explored the GPG renderer offered by SaltStack. While GPG is robust, I found it somewhat cumbersome for smaller projects. The simplicity and effectiveness of age encryption inspired me to develop this extension, providing a straightforward solution for managing secrets in Salt environments.

Do I need to install age separately?

No, there's no need to install age separately. This extension utilizes pyrage, a Python wrapper that embeds rage, a Rust implementation of age. It simplifies the installation process by embedding all necessary functionality within the extension itself.

How do I ensure my secrets are secure when using this extension?

To maximize security:

  • Always use secure channels for transferring sensitive information, including age identities and passphrases.
  • Store your age identities and passphrases securely, using environment variables or secure files that are not checked into source control.
  • Be cautious with logging and command-line usage as these can inadvertently expose sensitive information if not handled properly.

To ensure calls to the saltstack-age command are never logged in your bash history, add it to your HISTIGNORE variable.

What should I do if I encounter errors during encryption or decryption?

First, verify that your age identities and passphrases are correctly configured and accessible to the Salt master or minion. Check for typos or incorrect paths in your configuration. If the issue persists, refer to the detailed error messages provided by Salt and age for further troubleshooting. You can also seek help from the Salt community or the issue tracker for this project. Please provide your entire configuration so we can reproduce the error (and use throwaway credentials to do so).

Where can I find more resources?

For more detailed guidance on using age, visit the official age documentation. For SaltStack, consult the SaltStack documentation and community forums. These resources offer comprehensive information and community-driven support that can help you effectively utilize age encryption in your SaltStack projects.

Development

  • Environment is managed with uv
  • Create a virtualenv: uv sync
  • Install Git hooks: uv run lefthook install
  • Run all configured Git hooks manually: uv run lefthook run pre-commit --all-files
  • Check typing: uv run basedpyright
  • Check formatting with ruff: uv run ruff format --check
  • Check linting with ruff: uv run ruff check
  • Run tests: uv run pytest

See workflow for reference.

Release

  • Build package: uv build
  • Publish package: uv publish

See workflow for reference.