SECRET-SEN CyberArk Sentry Secrets Manager Questions and Answers

Conjur Followers are read-only replicas of the Leader that can serve client requests for authentication, authorization, and secret retrieval. However, Followers cannot perform write operations, such as creating or updating secrets, policies, or roles. If the Leader becomes unavailable, the Followers will not be able to sync with the latest data and will eventually become stale. To ensure high availability and data consistency, the customer should extend the auto-failover cluster to include Standbys in each data center. Standbys are also replicas of the Leader, but they can participate in replication and promotion. One Standby is configured for synchronous replication, which means it receives the same updates as the Leader at the same time. The other Standbys are configured for asynchronous replication, which means they receive updates from the Leader periodically, but not in real time. In case of Leader failure, the synchronous Standby can be automatically promoted to become the new Leader, and one of the asynchronous Standbys can become the new synchronous Standby. This way, the customer can ensure that there is always an up-to-date Leader that can serve write requests and sync with the Followers in different data centers. References: Set up Follower, Set up auto-failover cluster, Conjur architecture and deployment reference

The best way to enable debug for CCP is to edit the web.config file in the AIMWebService folder and change the value of the AIMWebServiceTrace parameter to 4, which is the verbose level. This will generate detailed logs in the AIMWSTrace.log file in the logs folder. The logs folder may need to be created manually and given the appropriate permissions for the IIS_IUSRS group. After changing the web.config file, the Windows Web Server (IIS) service needs to be restarted to apply the changes. This method is recommended by CyberArk Support and documented in the CyberArk Knowledge Base1.

Editing the basic_appprovider.conf file and changing the AIMWebServiceTrace value is not a valid option, as this parameter does not exist in this file. The basic_appprovider.conf file is used to configure the basic provider settings, such as the AppProviderVaultParmsFile, the AppProviderPort, and the AppProviderCacheMode. The AIMWebServiceTrace parameter is only found in the web.config file of the AIMWebService.

In the PVWA, going to the Applications tab, selecting the Application in question, and going to Options > Logging and choosing Debug is not a valid option, as this will only enable debug for the Application Identity Manager (AIM) component, not the CCP component. The AIM component is used to manage the application identities and their access to the Vault. The CCP component is used to provide secure retrieval of credentials from the Vault using web services. Enabling debug for AIM will generate logs in the APPconsole.log, APPtrace.log, and APPaudit.log files in the ApplicationPasswordProvider\Logs folder, but these logs will not help to troubleshoot the CCP authentication issues.

From the command line, running appprvmgr.exe update_config logging=debug is not a valid option, as this will only enable debug for the Application Provider Manager (APM) component, not the CCP component. The APM component is used to manage the configuration and operation of the providers, such as the basic provider, the LDAP provider, and the ENE provider. Running appprvmgr.exe update_config logging=debug will generate logs in the appprvmgr.log file in the ApplicationPasswordProvider\Logs folder, but these logs will not help to troubleshoot the CCP authentication issues. References:

• Enable Debugging and Gather Logs - Central Credential Provider1

• Create an authenticator policy for each authenticator and then load the policy to Conjur.
• Add each authenticator to conjur.yml using this format: <authenticator type> .
• Execute evoke configuration apply.

Comprehensive Explanation: Authenticators are plugins that enable Conjur to authenticate requests from different types of clients, such as Kubernetes, Azure, or LDAP. To configure authenticators, you need to follow these steps:

• Create an authenticator policy for each authenticator and then load the policy to Conjur. This step defines the authenticator as a resource in Conjur and grants permissions to the users or hosts that can use it. You can use the policy templates provided by Conjur for each authenticator type, or create your own custom policy. For more information, see Define Authenticator Policy.
• Add each authenticator to conjur.yml using this format: <authenticator type> . This step enables the authenticator service on the Conjur server and specifies the service ID that identifies the authenticator instance. The service ID must match the one used in the policy. For more information, see Enable Authenticators.
• Execute evoke configuration apply. This step applies the changes made to the conjur.yml file and restarts the Conjur service. This is necessary for the authenticator configuration to take effect. For more information, see Apply Configuration Changes.

References: The steps to configure authenticators are explained in detail in the Configure Authenticators section of the CyberArk Conjur Enterprise documentation. The image in the question is taken from the same source.

Line of business (LOB) is a term used by CyberArk Secrets Manager to describe the services that Conjur offers and typically refers to a group of application identities in Conjur. A LOB can be defined by a Conjur policy that grants permissions and access to secrets for a specific set of applications. For example, a LOB can represent a business unit, a project, a product, or a team within an organization. A LOB can also have sub-LOBs that inherit the permissions and secrets from the parent LOB, but can also have their own specific policies and secrets. A LOB can help organize and manage secrets for different applications in a hierarchical and scalable way. References: CyberArk Secrets Manager - Line of Business; CyberArk Secrets Manager - Policy Management; CyberArk Secrets Manager - Application Identity Management

This is the correct answer because the Conjur CLI is a tool that allows users to interact with the Conjur REST API from the command line. The Conjur CLI can be run on Windows, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and macOS operating systems, as well as in Docker containers. The Conjur CLI can be installed using various methods, such as downloading the executable file, using a package manager, or pulling the Docker image. The Conjur CLI supports Conjur Enterprise 12.9 or later versions. This answer is based on the CyberArk Secrets Manager documentation1 and the CyberArk Secrets Manager training course2.

The other options are not true statements for the Conjur CLI. The Conjur CLI can be run from any machine that has network access to the Conjur server, not only from the Conjur Leader node. The Conjur Leader node is the node that performs read/write operations on the Conjur database and policy engine, and hosts the Conjur UI and API endpoints. The Conjur CLI is not required for working with the Conjur REST API, as users can also use other tools, such as curl, Postman, or web browsers, to send HTTP requests to the Conjur REST API. The Conjur CLI does implement the Conjur REST API for managing Conjur resources, such as roles, policies, secrets, and audit records. The Conjur CLI provides a set of commands that correspond to the Conjur REST API endpoints and allow users to perform various operations on the Conjur resources.

 Dual accounts is a password management method that uses two accounts with identical privileges to access a system, database, or application. One account is active and the other is inactive at any given time. The active account remains untouched during password rotation, while the inactive account has its password changed after a grace period. This way, the application can always use the active account without experiencing any delays or errors due to password expiration or change. The advantage of using dual accounts is that it ensures business continuity and seamless access to the target resource, especially for high load and critical applications. References: Manage Dual Accounts, Configure dual accounts

Conjur is a secrets management solution that securely stores and manages secrets and credentials used by applications, DevOps tools, and other systems. Conjur provides a REST API that enables users to perform various operations on Conjur objects, such as secrets, policies, roles, and resources. The API endpoint for each Conjur object is composed of the base URL of the Conjur server, followed by the object type and identifier. For example, the API endpoint for a secret named db-password in the dev/my-app policy is:

https:// /secrets/dev/my-app/db-password

To discover secrets inside of Conjur, the API endpoint that can be used is Resources. Resources are Conjur objects that have permissions and annotations associated with them, such as secrets, hosts, groups, and layers. The Resources API endpoint allows users to list, search, and filter resources based on various criteria, such as kind, owner, policy, and annotation. For example, the following API request will return a list of all secrets owned by the user alice:

https:// /resources?kind=variable&owner=user:alice

The Resources API endpoint can help users to discover secrets inside of Conjur by providing information such as the name, ID, policy, owner, and annotations of each secret. Users can also use the Resources API endpoint to check the permissions and audit records of each secret, and to retrieve the secret value if they have the read permission.

References = Conjur API; Resources API; Secrets API

This is the correct answer because the SynchronizerReplication.config file contains the configuration settings for the Vault Conjur Synchronizer service (Synchronizer) to sync secrets from the CyberArk Vault to the Conjur database. The SYNCALLPROPERTIES parameter specifies whether to sync all the properties of the accounts in the Vault or only the password property. By default, the SYNCALLPROPERTIES parameter is set to false, which means that only the password property is synced. To sync all the properties, such as the address and the user, the SYNCALLPROPERTIES parameter needs to be set to true. This answer is based on the CyberArk Secrets Manager documentation1 and the CyberArk Secrets Manager training course2.

The other options are not correct because they do not configure the Synchronizer to properly sync all properties. Modifying VaultConjurSynchronizer.exe.config, uncommenting SYNCALLPROPERTIES and updating its value to true is not a valid option, as this file does not contain the SYNCALLPROPERTIES parameter. The VaultConjurSynchronizer.exe.config file contains the configuration settings for the Synchronizer service, such as the log level, the log path, and the service name. The SYNCALLPROPERTIES parameter is only found in the SynchronizerReplication.config file.

Modifying Vault.ini, uncommenting SYNCALLPROPERTIES and updating its value to true is not a valid option, as this file does not contain the SYNCALLPROPERTIES parameter. The Vault.ini file contains the configuration settings for the CyberArk Central Credential Provider (CCP) to connect to the Vault server and provide credentials to the applications. The SYNCALLPROPERTIES parameter is not related to the CCP configuration or functionality.

In the Conjur UI under Cluster > Synchronizer > Config, changing SYNCALLPROPERTIES and updating its value to true is not a valid option, as this section does not exist in the Conjur UI. The Conjur UI does not have a Cluster, Synchronizer, or Config section. The Conjur UI has a Cluster Config section under Settings, but this section is used to configure the Conjur cluster settings, such as the master IP address, the follower IP address, and the seed fetcher IP address. The SYNCALLPROPERTIES parameter is not related to the Conjur cluster configuration or functionality.

The error message indicates that the authenticator webservice is not enabled on the Conjur server. To enable the authenticator, you need to modify the conjur.conf file in the /opt/conjur/etc directory and add the authenticator webservice ID to the CONJUR_AUTHENTICATORS environment variable. For example, if the authenticator webservice ID is authn-k8s/prd-cluster-01, you need to add it to the existing value of CONJUR_AUTHENTICATORS, separated by a comma. Then, you need to restart the Conjur service for the changes to take effect. This will enable the authenticator on the Conjur server and allow the Kubernetes application to authenticate to the Follower load balancer. References: Enable the Authenticator Webservice, Configure the Authenticator Webservice

The most likely cause for this issue is A. The application ID or Application Provider does not have the correct permissions on the safe. The CyberArk Central Credential Provider (CCP) is a web service that enables applications to retrieve secrets from the CyberArk Vault using REST API calls. The CCP requires an application ID or an Application Provider to authenticate and authorize the application before returning the requested secret. The application ID or Application Provider must have the Retrieve and List permissions on the safe where the secret is stored, otherwise the CCP will not be able to find the matching secret and will return an error.

To resolve this issue, you should verify that the application ID or Application Provider has the correct permissions on the safe, and that the safe name and object name are correctly specified in the REST API call. You can use the CyberArk Privileged Access Security Web Access (PVWA) or the PrivateArk Client to check and modify the permissions on the safe. You can also use the CyberArk REST API Tester or a tool like Postman to test the REST API call and see the response from the CCP. For more information, refer to the following resources:

• Credential Providers - Centralized Credential Management | CyberArk, Section “Central Credential Provider”
• Credential Provider - CyberArk, Section “Using the Credential Provider”
• How to Build Your Secrets Management REST API’s into Postman, Section “How to Build Your Secrets Management REST API’s into Postman”

This is the correct answer because the Vault.ini file on the CP machine contains the configuration settings for the CP to connect to the Vault server. The Address parameter specifies the IP address or hostname of the Vault server that the CP will use to communicate with the Vault. In the event of a failover of the Vault server from the primary to the DR, the CP needs to update the Address parameter with the IP address of the DR Vault server in order to continue being able to refresh its cache. The cache is a local storage of credentials that the CP retrieves from the Vault and provides to the applications. The cache is refreshed periodically based on the RefreshInterval parameter in the Vault.ini file. This answer is based on the CyberArk Secrets Manager documentation1 and the CyberArk Secrets Manager training course2.

The other options are not correct because they do not ensure that the CP will continue being able to refresh its cache in the event of a failover of the Vault server from the primary to the DR. Adding the DR Vault IP address to the Address parameter in the main_appprovider.conf.. file in the AppProviderConf safe is not a valid option, as this file does not contain the Address parameter. The main_appprovider.conf file contains the configuration settings for the basic provider, such as the AppProviderVaultParmsFile, the AppProviderPort, and the AppProviderCacheMode. The Address parameter is only found in the Vault.ini file on the CP machine.

In the Password Vault Web Access (PVWA) UI, adding the IP address of the DR Vault in the Disaster Recovery section under Applications > Options is not a valid option, as this section does not exist in the PVWA UI. The PVWA UI does not have a Disaster Recovery section under Applications > Options. The PVWA UI has a Disaster Recovery section under Administration > Options, but this section is used to configure the DR Vault settings, such as the DR Vault IP address, the DR Vault user, and the DR Vault password. These settings are not related to the CP configuration or cache refresh.

In the Conjur UI, adding the IP address of the DR Vault in the Disaster Recovery section under Cluster Config > Credential Provider > Options is not a valid option, as this section does not exist in the Conjur UI. The Conjur UI does not have a Cluster Config, Credential Provider, or Options section. The Conjur UI has a Cluster Config section under Settings, but this section is used to configure the Conjur cluster settings, such as the master IP address, the follower IP address, and the seed fetcher IP address. These settings are not related to the CP configuration or cache refresh.

B. Review the log file ‘CreateEnv.log’ and investigate any error messages it contains.

This is the best option because the CreateEnv.log file records the steps and results of creating the CP environment in the Vault during the installation. The CP environment includes the safe, the provider user, the application user, and the application identity. If any errors occurred when creating the CP environment, they will be logged in this file and may indicate a problem with the Vault connection, the credential file, the permissions, or the configuration. Reviewing the log file can help to identify and resolve the root cause of the errors and ensure the CP environment is properly set up.

Continuing configuring the application to use the CP without further action is not a good option because it may lead to unexpected or inconsistent behavior of the CP or the application. The errors that occurred when creating the CP environment may affect the security, availability, or integrity of the credentials or the application. Ignoring the errors may also make it harder to troubleshoot or fix them later.

Running setup.exe again and selecting ‘Recreate Vault Environment’ is not a good option because it may overwrite or delete the existing CP environment and cause more errors or conflicts. Recreating the Vault environment should only be done after reviewing the log file and understanding the cause of the errors. Moreover, recreating the Vault environment may require more privileges than creating it for the first time, as some objects may be already in use or locked.

Reviewing the PVWA logs to determine which REST API call used during the installation failed is not a good option because it may not provide enough information or context to understand or resolve the errors. The PVWA logs may show the HTTP status codes or messages of the REST API calls, but they may not show the details or parameters of the calls or the responses. The PVWA logs may also contain other unrelated or irrelevant entries that may confuse or distract from the errors. The CreateEnv.log file is a more specific and reliable source of information for the errors that occurred when creating the CP environment.

According to the CyberArk Sentry Secrets Manager documentation1, the steps to failback to the primary site after a manual failover to the disaster recovery site are as follows:

• On the DR site, stop the Conjur Leader node using the command docker stop .
• On the primary site, generate a seed for the new Leader node using the command evoke seed leader . This will create a file named .tar in the current directory.
• On the primary site, copy the Leader seed file to the new Leader server using the command scp .tar :.tar
• On the new Leader server, create a new container using the same name as the one you just stopped, and load the Leader seed file using the command docker run --name -d --restart=always -v /var/log/conjur:/var/log/conjur -v /opt/conjur/backup:/opt/conjur/backup -p "443:443" -p "5432:5432" -p "1999:1999" cyberark/conjur:latest seed fetch .tar
• On the new Leader server, configure the Conjur Leader node using the command evoke configure leader -h -p <admin-password>
• On the new Leader server, reconfigure the Vault Conjur Synchronizer to point to the new Conjur Leader using the command evoke vault sync set
• On the DR site, generate a seed for the new Standby node using the command evoke seed standby . This will create a file named .tar in the current directory.
• On the DR site, copy the Standby seed file to the new Standby server using the command scp .tar :.tar
• On the new Standby server, create a new container using the same name as the one you just stopped, and load the Standby seed file using the command docker run --name -d --restart=always -v /var/log/conjur:/var/log/conjur -v /opt/conjur/backup:/opt/conjur/backup -p "443:443" -p "5432:5432" -p "1999:1999" cyberark/conjur:latest seed fetch .tar
• On the new Standby server, re-enroll the node to the cluster using the command evoke cluster enroll

The other options are not correct, as they are either unnecessary or incorrect. Contacting CyberArk for a new license file is not required, as the license is valid for both sites. Reconfiguring the Vault Conjur Synchronizer to point to the new Conjur Leader is a step that should be done on the new Leader server, not on the DR site. Triggering autofailover to promote the Standby in Site A to Leader is not possible, as the Standby node is not aware of the manual failover and will not accept the promotion request.

The correct answer is A. The certificate does not contain the Follower hostname as a Subject Alternative Name (SAN). Generate a new certificate for the Follower.

A possible explanation is:

A Follower is a read-only node that replicates data from the Leader node in a Secrets Manager cluster. A Follower can serve requests from clients and applications that need to retrieve secrets or perform other read-only operations. To connect to a Follower with a REST call, the client or application needs to use the server certificate that was generated for the Follower during the installation process. The server certificate is used to establish a secure and trusted connection between the client or application and the Follower.

However, if the server certificate does not contain the Follower hostname as a Subject Alternative Name (SAN), the connection will fail with an SSL connection refused error. This is because the SAN is an extension of the X.509 certificate standard that allows the certificate to specify multiple hostnames or IP addresses that the certificate is valid for. If the Follower hostname is not included in the SAN, the client or application will not be able to verify the identity of the Follower, and will reject the connection.

To fix this problem, a new server certificate needs to be generated for the Follower, with the Follower hostname added to the SAN. The new certificate can be generated using the openssl command or another tool that supports the SAN extension. The new certificate also needs to be signed by the same certificate authority (CA) that signed the original certificate, and the CA certificate needs to be trusted by the client or application. The new certificate then needs to be copied to the Follower node and configured in the nginx.conf file. The Follower node also needs to be restarted for the changes to take effect.

References = Secrets Manager Cluster Installation; Secrets Manager Cluster Configuration; Subject Alternative Name - Wikipedia

To upgrade an HA Conjur cluster, you need to follow these steps:

• Stop and rename the Conjur Leader container and then start the new Leader. This step ensures that you have a backup of the old Leader container in case something goes wrong with the upgrade. You also need to specify the hostname and master-altnames parameters when starting the new Leader container to match the load balancer and the cluster nodes.
• Restore the Leader from backup. This step restores the data and configuration from the old Leader to the new Leader. You need to use the evoke restore command with the backup file name and the account name as arguments.
• Redeploy to the Standbys. This step upgrades the Standbys to the same version as the Leader. You need to stop and rename the old Standby containers and then start the new Standby containers with the evoke configure standby command. You also need to specify the hostname of the Leader and the Standby as arguments.
• Enroll the Leader and Standbys into the auto-failover cluster. This step enables the auto-failover feature for the cluster, which allows the Standbys to automatically take over the role of the Leader in case of a failure. You need to use the evoke cluster enroll command on the Leader and the evoke cluster join command on the Standbys. You also need to provide the hostname and password of the Leader as arguments.

References: You can find more information about the upgrade process in the following resources:

• Upgrade Conjur
• Configure the Conjur cluster
• Conjur architecture and deployment reference
• Breathe Easy with a Self-Healing Conjur Cluster