/* This file is a sample configuration for apt https method. Configuration parameters found in this example file are expected to be used in main apt.conf file, just like other configuration parameters for different methods (ftp, file, ...). This example file starts with a common setup that voluntarily exhibits all available configurations knobs with simple comments. Extended comments on the behavior of the option is provided at the end for better readability. As a matter of fact, a common configuration file will certainly contain far less elements and benefit of default values for many parameters. Because some configuration parameters for apt https method in following examples apply to specific (fictional) repositories, the associated sources.list file is provided here: ... deb https://secure.dom1.tld/debian unstable main contrib non-free deb-src https://secure.dom1.tld/debian unstable main contrib non-free deb https://secure.dom2.tld/debian unstable main contrib non-free deb-src https://secure.dom2.tld/debian unstable main contrib non-free ... Some notes on the servers: - secure.dom1.tld is freely accessible using https (no client authentication is required). - secure.dom1.tld certificate is part of a multi level PKI, and we want to specifically check the issuer of its certificate. We do not have the constraint for secure.dom2.tld - secure.dom2.tld requires client authentication by certificate to access its content. - The certificate presented by both server have (as expected) a CN that matches their respective DNS names. - We have CRL available for both dom1.tld and dom2.tld PKI, and intend to use them. - It sometimes happens that we had other more generic https available repository to our list. We want the checks to be performed against a common list of anchors (like the one provided by ca-certificates package for instance) The sample configuration below basically covers those simple needs. */ // Verify peer certificate and also matching between certificate name // and server name as provided in sources.list (default values) Acquire::https::Verify-Peer "true"; Acquire::https::Verify-Host "true"; // Except otherwise specified, use that list of anchors Acquire::https::CaInfo "/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.pem"; // Use a specific anchor and associated CRL. Enforce issuer of // server certificate using its cert. Acquire::https::secure.dom1.tld::CaInfo "/etc/apt/certs/ca-dom1-crt.pem"; Acquire::https::secure.dom1.tld::CrlFile "/etc/apt/certs/ca-dom1-crl.pem"; Acquire::https::secure.dom1.tld::IssuerCert "/etc/apt/certs/secure.dom1-issuer-crt.pem"; // Like previous for anchor and CRL, but also provide our // certificate and keys for client authentication. Acquire::https::secure.dom2.tld::CaInfo "/etc/apt/certs/ca-dom2-crt.pem"; Acquire::https::secure.dom2.tld::CrlFile "/etc/apt/certs/ca-dom2-crl.pem"; Acquire::https::secure.dom2.tld::SslCert "/etc/apt/certs/my-crt.pem"; Acquire::https::secure.dom2.tld::SslKey "/etc/apt/certs/my-key.pem"; // No need to downgrade, TLS will be proposed by default. Uncomment // to have SSLv3 proposed. // Acquire::https::mirror.ipv6.ssi.corp::SslForceVersion "SSLv3"; // No need for more debug if every is fine (default). Uncomment // me to get additional information. // Debug::Acquire::https "true"; /* Options with extended comments: Acquire::https[::repo.domain.tld]::CaInfo "/path/to/ca/certs.pem"; A string providing the path of a file containing the list of trusted CA certificates used to verify the server certificate. The pointed file is made of the concatenation of the CA certificates (in PEM format) creating the chain used for the verification of the path from the root (self signed one). If the remote server provides the whole chain during the exchange, the file need only contain the root certificate. Otherwise, the whole chain is required. If you need to support multiple authorities, the only way is to concatenate everything. If None is provided, the default CA bundle used by GnuTLS (apt https method is linked against libcurl-gnutls) is used. At the time of writing, /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt. If no specific hostname is provided, the file is used by default for all https targets. If a specific mirror is provided, it is used for the https entries in the sources.list file that use that repository (with the same name). Acquire::https[::repo.domain.tld]::CrlFile "/path/to/all/crl.pem"; Like previous knob but for passing the list of CRL files (in PEM format) to be used to verify revocation status. Again, if the option is defined with no specific mirror (probably makes little sense), this CRL information is used for all defined https entries in sources.list file. In a mirror specific context, it only applies to that mirror. Acquire::https[::repo.domain.tld]::IssuerCert "/path/to/issuer/cert.pem"; Allows to constrain the issuer of the server certificate (for all https mirrors or a specific one) to a specific issuer. If the server certificate has not been issued by this certificate, connection fails. Acquire::https[::repo.domain.tld]::Verify-Peer "true"; When authenticating the server, if the certificate verification fails for some reason (expired, revoked, man in the middle, lack of anchor, ...), the connection fails. This is obviously what you want in all cases and what the default value (true) of this option provides. If you know EXACTLY what you are doing, setting this option to "false" allow you to skip peer certificate verification and make the exchange succeed. Again, this option is for debugging or testing purpose only. It removes ALL the security provided by the use of SSL.TLS to secure the HTTP exchanges. Acquire::https[::repo.domain.tld]::Verify-Host "true"; The certificate provided by the server during the TLS/SSL exchange provides the identity of the server which should match the DNS name used to access it. By default, as requested by RFC 2818, the name of the mirror is checked against the identity found in the certificate. This default behavior is safe and should not be changed. If you know that the server you are using has a DNS name which does not match the identity in its certificate, you can [report that issue to its administrator or] set the option to "false", which will prevent the comparison to be done. The options can be set globally or on a per-mirror basis. If set globally, the DNS name used is the one found in the sources.list file in the https URI. Acquire::https[::repo.domain.tld]::SslCert "/path/to/client/cert.pem"; Acquire::https[::repo.domain.tld]::SslKey "/path/to/client/key.pem"; These two options provides support for client authentication using certificates. They respectively accept the X.509 client certificate in PEM format and the associated client key in PEM format (non encrypted form). The options can be set globally (which rarely makes sense) or on a per-mirror basis. Acquire::https[::repo.domain.tld]::SslForceVersion "TLSv1"; This option can be use to select the version which will be proposed to the server. "SSLv3" and "TLSv1" are supported. SSLv2, which is considered insecure anyway is not supported (by gnutls, which is used by libcurl against which apt https method is linked). When the option is set to "SSLv3" to have apt propose SSLv3 (and associated sets of ciphersuites) instead of TLSv1 (the default) when performing the exchange. This prevents the server to select TLSv1 and use associated ciphersuites. You should probably not use this option except if you know exactly what you are doing. Note that the default setting does not guarantee that the server will not select SSLv3 (for ciphersuites and SSL/TLS version as selection is always done by the server, in the end). It only means that apt will not advertise TLS support. Debug::Acquire::https "true"; This option can be used to show debug information. Because it is quite verbose, it is mainly useful to debug problems in case of failure to connect to a server for some reason. The default value is "false". */