vCenter Server certificate validation error for external solutions in environments with vCenter Server 7.0

Products

VMware vCenter Server VMware vCenter Server 7.0

Issue/Introduction

Some solutions, such as VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager, VMware vSphere Replication, or VMware vCenter Support Assistant are always installed on a different machine than the vCenter Server system.
If you replace the machine SSL certificate of a vCenter Server system with an embedded Platform Services Controller, a connection error results when the solution attempts to connect to the vCenter Server system. The reason is that the vCenter Server system uses a new certificate, but the corresponding registration with the VMware Lookup Service is not updated. When solutions connect to vCenter Server, they use the service registration information, which includes the service URL and the sslTrust string. The sslTrust string is the Base 64 encoded certificate.
This article explains how to resolve the issue in environments with vCenter Server 7.0 which is by default with Embedded Platform Services Controller.
Refer to below KBs for 6.x environments:
- For environments with an External Platform Services Controller, see vCenter Server or Platform Services Controller certificate validation error messages for external solutions in environments with a External Platform Services Controller
- For environments with an Embedded Platform Services Controller, see vCenter Server certificate validation error for external solutions in environments with Embedded Platform Services Controller

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 7.0.x

Resolution

Task 0: Validating the sslTrust Anchors for the vCenter Server

Validating the sslTrust Anchors from Command Line on the vCenter Server Appliance

Log in to the vCenter Server Appliance through SSH or console.
Change to Bash shell by typing shell and press Enter.

Run this command to get the current sslTrust anchor stored for the vCenter Server:

/usr/lib/vmware-lookupsvc/tools/lstool.py list --url https://localhost/lookupservice/sdk --no-check-cert --ep-type com.vmware.cis.cs.identity.sso 2>/dev/null

For example:

Note: SSL trust was truncated for readability.

Service Product: com.vmware.cis
Service Type: cs.identity
Service ID: ########-####-####-####-########5141
Site ID: default-site
Node ID: ########-####-####-####-########efd1
Owner ID: [email protected]
Version: 2.0
Endpoints:
Type: com.vmware.cis.cs.identity.sso
Protocol: wsTrust
URL: https://vcenter.example.local/sts/STSService/vsphere.local
SSL trust: IIDeDCCAmCgAwIBAgIJAP7kGwWSSd0yMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAM+++wnWkeAeqnGRYvzifG9M6DK/YMP1S/akAJ...DS7Y85NorISiQfAVy/R2wjP4rNWDfN9DMCcwfPvw/0nFwrpr+0Cg==

Run this command to get the current SSL certificate used on port 443 on the vCenter Server:

echo | openssl s_client -connect localhost:443

For example:

Note: The certificate was truncated for readability.

CONNECTED(00000003)
depth=3 /DC=local/DC=EXAMPLE/CN=VMWARE
verify return:1
depth=2 /DC=local/DC=EXAMPLE/CN=VMWARE-1
verify return:1
depth=1 /C=US/DC=vsphere/DC=local/O=vcenter.example.local/CN=CA
verify return:1
depth=0 /CN=vcenter.example.local/C=US
verify return:1
---
Certificate chain
0 s:/CN=vcenter.example.local/C=US
i:/C=US/DC=vsphere/DC=local/O=vcenter.example.local/CN=CA
---
Server certificate
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
MIIDWDCCAkCgAwIBAgIJANr+++MJ5+WxMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMGgxCzAJBgNV
...
LqSKWg/apP1XlBV1VyC5LPZrH/rrq8+Naoj7i/P6HAzTwAAL+O10ggClaP8=
-----END CERTIFICATE-----

Using the output from the openssl s_client and the lstool.py, verify if the returned SSL certificates match for your vCenter Server. If they do match, you do not need to continue. If they do not match, proceed to Task 1: Retrieving the Old Certificate to start updating the sslTrust anchors.

Note: If you have more than one vCenter Server in a vSphere domain (Enhanced Linked Mode), repeat the steps for each vCenter Server in the environment.

Task 1: Retrieving the Old Certificate

You can retrieve the old certificate using lstool.py (Step 3 of Task 0).

On the vCenter Server, create a directory to store the old certificate. This article uses the location '/certificates'

Run this command to get the old certificate stored for the vCenter Server:

/usr/lib/vmware-lookupsvc/tools/lstool.py list --url https://localhost/lookupservice/sdk --no-check-cert --ep-type com.vmware.cis.cs.identity.sso 2>/dev/null

For example:

Note: SSL trust was truncated for readability.

Service Product: com.vmware.cis
Service Type: cs.identity
Service ID: ########-####-####-####-########5141
Site ID: default-site
Node ID: ########-####-####-####-########efd1
Owner ID: [email protected]
Version: 2.0
Endpoints:
Type: com.vmware.cis.cs.identity.sso
Protocol: wsTrust
URL: https://vcenter.example.local/sts/STSService/vsphere.local
SSL trust: LIIDeDCCAmCgAwIBAgIJAP7kGwWSSd0yMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAM+++wnWkeAeqnGRYvzifG9M6DK/YMP1S/akAJ...DS7Y85NorISiQfAVy/R2wjP4rNWDfN9DMCcwfPvw/0nFwrpr+0Cg==

Copy the Base64 encoded string from field 'SSL trust' to a file and save the file as old_machine.crt
Open old_machine.crt in a text editor.

Append -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- to the beginning of the text string, and append -----END CERTIFICATE----- to the end of the text string. Add a carriage return after the 64th character of each line of the contents copied from the sslTrust field.

For Example:

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
LIIDeDCCAmCgAwIBAgIJAP7kGwWSSd0yMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMGgxCzAJBgNV
PAMMAkNBMRcwFQYKCZImiZPyLGQBGRYHdnNwaGVyZTEVMBMGCgmSJomT8ixkARkW
QWxvY2FsMQswCQYDVQQGEwJVUzEcMBoGA1UECgwTaG9tZXBzYy5mcml0ei5sb2Nh
................................................................
-----END CERTIFICATE-----

Proceed with Task 2 to extract the thumbprint of old certificate /certificates/old_machine.crt.

Task 2: Extracting the Thumbprint from the Old Certificate

You can extract the thumbprint from the command line.

Extracting the Thumbprint from the Command Line on the Appliance

Run below command to get the thumbprint:

openssl x509 -in /certificates/old_machine.crt -noout -sha1 -fingerprint

You see output similar to:

SHA1 Fingerprint=##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##

The thumbprint, is the sequence of numbers and letters that follow the equal sign.

Task 3: Retrieving the New Certificate

You can retrieve the new certificate or current machine ssl certificate using vecs-cli:

Retrieving the New Certificate on the vCenter Server Appliance

Run this command to view the new certificate:

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry list --store MACHINE_SSL_CERT

Export the certificate to a file with this command:

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --store MACHINE_SSL_CERT --alias __MACHINE_CERT --output /certificates/new_machine.crt

Task 4: Running the ls_update_certs.py Script

Run the ls_update_certs.py script on the vCenter Server. To successfully run the script, you must have both the thumbprint of the old vCenter Server certificate and the new vCenter Server certificate.

Warning: Perform a backup or offline snapshot of all the vCenter Servers in Enhanced Linked mode before proceeding with below steps, so that you can recover if problems result.

Running ls_update_cert on the Appliance

The ls_update_certs.py script is located at /usr/lib/vmware-lookupsvc/tools/

Change directory to /usr/lib/vmware-lookupsvc/tools/ with the following command:
```
cd /usr/lib/vmware-lookupsvc/tools/
```

Run this command:

python ls_update_certs.py --url Lookup_Service_FQDN_of_vCenter_Server --fingerprint Old_Certificate_Fingerprint_from_Task_2 --certfile New_Certificate_Path_from_Task_3 --user [email protected] --password 'Password' 2>/dev/null

For example (do not copy the fingerprint used in this example):

python ls_update_certs.py --url https://vcenter.example.local/lookupservice/sdk --fingerprint ##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:## --certfile /certificates/new_machine.crt --user [email protected] --password 'xxxx' 2>/dev/null

Sample result:

[email protected] [ /usr/lib/vmware-lookupsvc/tools ]# python ls_update_certs.py --url https://vcenter.example.local/lookupservice/sdk --fingerprint ##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:##:## --certfile /certificates/new_machine.crt --user [email protected] --password 'Password' 2>/dev/null
Get service ########-####-####-####-########53b6
Update service ########-####-####-####-########53b6; spec: /tmp/svcspec_hvu8kxs8
Get service ########-####-####-####-########c392
Update service ########-####-####-####-########c392; spec: /tmp/svcspec_kost4p0i
.
.
Get service ########-####-####-####-########bfdc
Don't update service ########-####-####-####-########bfdc
Get service ########-####-####-####-########c918
Don't update service ########-####-####-####-########c918
Updated 41 service(s)
[email protected] [ /usr/lib/vmware-lookupsvc/tools ]#

Additional Information

Syntax for ls_update_cert

Run the script using the following syntax:

python ls_update_certs.py --url LS_URL --fingerprint OLD_CERT_SHA1_HASH --certfile NEW_CERT_PEM_FILEPATH --user USER --password PASSWORD

LS_URL	Lookup service URL. On the vCenter Server, use the following URL as a model: `https://external_platform_services_controller_FQDN.example.com/lookupservice/sdk`
OLD_CERT_SHA1_HASH	Thumbprint of the certificate that vCenter Server used before certificate replacement acquired in Task 2. Note: VMware does not recommends to find the old vCenter Server certificate in the filesystem.
NEW_CERT_PEM_FILEPATH	PEM encoded file of the new vCenter Server machine SSL certificate acquired in Task 3. Use the file that you just passed in as part of certificate replacement. If you no longer have that file, use the process in Retrieving the New Certificate. Note: Attempting to find the new vCenter Server certificate in the filesystem is not recommended.
USER and PASSWORD	User with administrator privileges for vCenter Single Sign-On.