Let's Encrypt

Let's Encrypt has revolutionized the way website owners implement HTTPS by offering free and automated SSL certificates, making secure connections accessible to everyone. This article delves into the technical aspects of Let's Encrypt, explaining how it establishes trust and secures your website.

Before diving into Let's Encrypt, it's essential to understand the role of a Certificate Authority (CA). CAs are trusted entities that verify domain ownership and issue SSL certificates. They form the foundation of the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) that enables secure communication on the internet.

The Role of a Certificate Authority (CA):

The process begins when a web server requests a certificate from the CA, specifying the domain name. The CA sends a challenge to validate the server's control over the domain. Upon successful validation, the CA issues an X.509/SSL/TLS certificate, which the server installs. When a user visits the website, their browser verifies the certificate's authenticity by checking the chain of trust back to a trusted root certificate. If the chain is valid, a secure connection is established.

A critical role in this ecosystem is played by Certificate Authorities (CAs). CAs are trusted third-party entities responsible for:

• Domain Validation: CAs employ various mechanisms to validate the ownership or control of a domain name by the entity requesting the certificate. This validation process helps mitigate phishing attacks and ensures certificates are issued to legitimate entities.

• Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Management: CAs operate within a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) framework. They maintain a repository of trusted root certificates and issue intermediate certificates signed by a trusted root. Website administrators generate a public/private key pair, and the CA signs a certificate binding the public key to the validated domain identity. This signed certificate, containing the public key and domain information, is then installed on the web server.

• Trust Chain Establishment: Web browsers and operating systems come pre-loaded with a set of trusted root certificates issued by well-known CAs. When a user visits a website with a valid SSL/TLS certificate, the browser can verify the certificate's authenticity by chaining it back to a trusted root certificate, establishing a secure connection.

This sequence below shows the role of a CA in the certificate issuance and validation process:

Traditionally, obtaining certificates from CAs involved a manual enrollment process and significant costs. Let's Encrypt disrupted this model by offering free certificates through an automated process using the Automated Certificate Management Environment (ACME) protocol. ACME streamlines communication between web servers and the CA, automating the entire certificate lifecycle, including issuance and renewal. Let's Encrypt certificates have a short 90-day validity period to enhance security, and the automation ensures seamless renewal before expiration.

This sequence shows the steps involved in obtaining a Let's Encrypt SSL/TLS certificate for a web server.

Here's a breakdown:

1. Requesting a Certificate: The web server software initiates the process by sending a request to Let's Encrypt CA, asking for a certificate.

2. Challenge for Validation: Let's Encrypt CA responds by sending the web server a challenge. This challenge is designed to verify that the software requesting the certificate actually controls the domain name. A common challenge involves placing a specific file on the web server's directory.

3. Responding to the Challenge: The web server software must complete the challenge. In this example, it would place the specific file in the designated directory on the server.

4. Verification by Let's Encrypt: Once the web server software completes the challenge, Let's Encrypt CA verifies the response.

5. Two Possible Outcomes:

   • Success: If the challenge response is valid, Let's Encrypt CA issues a new SSL/TLS certificate for the web server's domain name.

     • The web server software then downloads the certificate from Let's Encrypt CA.

     • The downloaded certificate is installed on the web server.

     • Finally, the web server is configured to enable HTTPS, which encrypts communication between the website and visitors.

   • Failure: If the challenge response is invalid (e.g., the file wasn't placed correctly), Let's Encrypt CA informs the web server of the failure.

     • In this case, the web server software would likely retry the entire process by requesting a new certificate again.

Let's Encrypt and Key Pinning

Let's Encrypt recently introduced new intermediate certificates to replace older ones that are nearing expiration. These new certificates are designed to be more secure and efficient. One of the goals is to discourage the use of an outdated practice known as key pinning.

Key pinning refers to a security practice where software applications are configured to trust only a specific set of cryptographic keys issued by a certificate authority (CA). In the context of Let's Encrypt, this would involve an application trusting only a particular intermediate certificate used by Let's Encrypt to sign website certificates.

There are a few reasons why Let's Encrypt discourages key pinning:

• Manual Updates: Key pinning typically requires manual updates whenever a certificate authority changes its certificates, which can be a cumbersome and error-prone process.

• Reduced Flexibility: Pinned keys limit your ability to benefit from security improvements or optimizations introduced by the CA's newer certificates.

• Potential Outages: If a pinned certificate expires or becomes invalid, applications that rely on it may malfunction or fail entirely, potentially leading to outages.

Let's Encrypt argues that trusting the built-in trust store of your operating system or web browser is a more secure and flexible approach. These trust stores are automatically updated to reflect changes made by certificate authorities, reducing the risk of errors and outages.

However, there are some niche cases where key pinning might still be considered justified. For instance, an organization might pin a key if they have a specific security requirement to strictly limit trusted certificates.

Overall, Let's Encrypt's move to new intermediate certificates aims to improve security and efficiency while promoting a more automated and flexible approach to certificate trust management.