"Empty client certificate chain" error stops inter-node handshake using wildcard certs

Anil_Kumar_2003 · June 3, 2022, 3:12am

Hi Team,

I need help securing ES inter-node communication.

Environment Details:
ES version: 7.14.1, cluster with 2 nodes (reduced size to get to the root cause)
Java: openjdk-16.0.2
OS: Ubuntu 20.02
JVM options: all default

Problem Statement:
Self signed pkcs12 truststore (say elastic.p12) generated by Elasticsearch utility, works fine for the inter-node communication but with another pkcs12 truststore (say wild.p12) which has third party CA certs, Wildcard client certs and keys. The handshake fails with "Empty client certificate chain" on Master node logs and "bad certificate" on the non-Master node logs. Same wild.p12 is copied on both nodes.

Here are some observations:

ES configuration is good as its working with elastic.p12. Just switching elastic.p12 with wild.p12 recreates the issue in Problem statement.
Wild.p12 is configured for securing http and transport both. When browser communicates with ES, browser shows site as secured and certificates are good but same Wild.p12 does not work for inter-node handshake.
When I downgrade the Java version to 11.0.9 then internode authentication works fine with wild.p12. Any higher major version, it recreates the issue in Problem Statement.
Turned on ssl debugging using JVM flags. I see non-Master node is sending an empty "certificate_list" to Master node for verification (only for Java version after 11.0.9) This empty list causes "Empty client certificate chain" error on master node.

Most of the observations are pointing to Java but I did not find any help online. Is there any JVM flag or any Elasticsearch config missing? Any suggestion is appreciated, please help.

Configurations for both nodes

######## Master node Configuration

cluster.initial_master_nodes:
  - ubuntu1.ful365.com
cluster.name: elasticsearch
discovery.seed_hosts:
  - ubuntu1.ful365.com
http.port: 9200
network.host: 0.0.0.0
node.data: true
node.ingest: true
node.master: true
node.max_local_storage_nodes: 1
node.name: ubuntu1

transport.tcp.port: 9300
xpack.security.enabled: true
xpack.security.http.ssl.enabled: true
xpack.security.http.ssl.keystore.type: PKCS12
xpack.security.http.ssl.keystore.path: wild.p12
xpack.security.http.ssl.keystore.password: xxxxxxxxxx
xpack.security.http.ssl.truststore.path: wild.p12
xpack.security.http.ssl.truststore.password: xxxxxxxxxx

xpack.security.transport.ssl.enabled: true
xpack.security.transport.ssl.verification_mode: certificate
xpack.security.transport.ssl.client_authentication: required
xpack.security.transport.ssl.keystore.type: PKCS12
xpack.security.transport.ssl.keystore.path: wild.p12
xpack.security.transport.ssl.keystore.password: xxxxxxxxxx
xpack.security.transport.ssl.truststore.type: PKCS12
xpack.security.transport.ssl.truststore.path: wild.p12
xpack.security.transport.ssl.truststore.password: xxxxxxxxxx
xpack.security.authc.api_key.enabled: true




########### Non-Master node Configuration has only following differences from Master node config.

node.master: false
node.name: ubuntu2

Master node exception:

[2022-06-02T19:20:19,192][WARN ][o.e.t.TcpTransport       ] [ubuntu1] exception caught on transport layer [Netty4TcpChannel{localAddress=/192.168.1.129:9300, remoteAddress=/192.168.1.108:40834, profile=default}], closing connection
io.netty.handler.codec.DecoderException: javax.net.ssl.SSLHandshakeException: Empty client certificate chain
	at io.netty.handler.codec.ByteToMessageDecoder.callDecode(ByteToMessageDecoder.java:471) ~[netty-codec-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.handler.codec.ByteToMessageDecoder.channelRead(ByteToMessageDecoder.java:276) ~[netty-codec-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.AbstractChannelHandlerContext.invokeChannelRead(AbstractChannelHandlerContext.java:379) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.AbstractChannelHandlerContext.invokeChannelRead(AbstractChannelHandlerContext.java:365) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.AbstractChannelHandlerContext.fireChannelRead(AbstractChannelHandlerContext.java:357) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.DefaultChannelPipeline$HeadContext.channelRead(DefaultChannelPipeline.java:1410) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.AbstractChannelHandlerContext.invokeChannelRead(AbstractChannelHandlerContext.java:379) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.AbstractChannelHandlerContext.invokeChannelRead(AbstractChannelHandlerContext.java:365) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.DefaultChannelPipeline.fireChannelRead(DefaultChannelPipeline.java:919) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.nio.AbstractNioByteChannel$NioByteUnsafe.read(AbstractNioByteChannel.java:163) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.nio.NioEventLoop.processSelectedKey(NioEventLoop.java:714) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.nio.NioEventLoop.processSelectedKeysPlain(NioEventLoop.java:615) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.nio.NioEventLoop.processSelectedKeys(NioEventLoop.java:578) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.nio.NioEventLoop.run(NioEventLoop.java:493) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.util.concurrent.SingleThreadEventExecutor$4.run(SingleThreadEventExecutor.java:989) [netty-common-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.util.internal.ThreadExecutorMap$2.run(ThreadExecutorMap.java:74) [netty-common-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:831) [?:?]
Caused by: javax.net.ssl.SSLHandshakeException: Empty client certificate chain
	at sun.security.ssl.Alert.createSSLException(Alert.java:131) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.Alert.createSSLException(Alert.java:117) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.TransportContext.fatal(TransportContext.java:356) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.TransportContext.fatal(TransportContext.java:312) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.TransportContext.fatal(TransportContext.java:303) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.CertificateMessage$T13CertificateConsumer.onConsumeCertificate(CertificateMessage.java:1194) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.CertificateMessage$T13CertificateConsumer.consume(CertificateMessage.java:1181) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.SSLHandshake.consume(SSLHandshake.java:396) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.HandshakeContext.dispatch(HandshakeContext.java:480) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.SSLEngineImpl$DelegatedTask$DelegatedAction.run(SSLEngineImpl.java:1267) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.SSLEngineImpl$DelegatedTask$DelegatedAction.run(SSLEngineImpl.java:1254) ~[?:?]
	at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(AccessController.java:691) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.SSLEngineImpl$DelegatedTask.run(SSLEngineImpl.java:1199) ~[?:?]
	at io.netty.handler.ssl.SslHandler.runAllDelegatedTasks(SslHandler.java:1542) ~[netty-handler-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.handler.ssl.SslHandler.runDelegatedTasks(SslHandler.java:1556) ~[netty-handler-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.handler.ssl.SslHandler.unwrap(SslHandler.java:1440) ~[netty-handler-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.handler.ssl.SslHandler.decodeJdkCompatible(SslHandler.java:1267) ~[netty-handler-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.handler.ssl.SslHandler.decode(SslHandler.java:1314) ~[netty-handler-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.handler.codec.ByteToMessageDecoder.decodeRemovalReentryProtection(ByteToMessageDecoder.java:501) ~[netty-codec-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.handler.codec.ByteToMessageDecoder.callDecode(ByteToMessageDecoder.java:440) ~[netty-codec-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	... 16 more
[2022-06-02T19:20:19,989][WARN ][o.e.t.TcpTransport       ] [ubuntu1] exception caught on transport layer [Netty4TcpChannel{localAddress=/192.168.1.129:9300, remoteAddress=/192.168.1.108:40836, profile=default}], closing connection
io.netty.handler.codec.DecoderException: javax.net.ssl.SSLHandshakeException: Empty client certificate chain
	at io.netty.handler.codec.ByteToMessageDecoder.callDecode(ByteToMessageDecoder.java:471) ~[netty-codec-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.handler.codec.ByteToMessageDecoder.channelRead(ByteToMessageDecoder.java:276) ~[netty-codec-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.AbstractChannelHandlerContext.invokeChannelRead(AbstractChannelHandlerContext.java:379) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.AbstractChannelHandlerContext.invokeChannelRead(AbstractChannelHandlerContext.java:365) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.AbstractChannelHandlerContext.fireChannelRead(AbstractChannelHandlerContext.java:357) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.DefaultChannelPipeline$HeadContext.channelRead(DefaultChannelPipeline.java:1410) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.AbstractChannelHandlerContext.invokeChannelRead(AbstractChannelHandlerContext.java:379) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.AbstractChannelHandlerContext.invokeChannelRead(AbstractChannelHandlerContext.java:365) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.DefaultChannelPipeline.fireChannelRead(DefaultChannelPipeline.java:919) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.nio.AbstractNioByteChannel$NioByteUnsafe.read(AbstractNioByteChannel.java:163) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.nio.NioEventLoop.processSelectedKey(NioEventLoop.java:714) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.nio.NioEventLoop.processSelectedKeysPlain(NioEventLoop.java:615) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.nio.NioEventLoop.processSelectedKeys(NioEventLoop.java:578) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.channel.nio.NioEventLoop.run(NioEventLoop.java:493) [netty-transport-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.util.concurrent.SingleThreadEventExecutor$4.run(SingleThreadEventExecutor.java:989) [netty-common-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.util.internal.ThreadExecutorMap$2.run(ThreadExecutorMap.java:74) [netty-common-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:831) [?:?]
Caused by: javax.net.ssl.SSLHandshakeException: Empty client certificate chain
	at sun.security.ssl.Alert.createSSLException(Alert.java:131) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.Alert.createSSLException(Alert.java:117) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.TransportContext.fatal(TransportContext.java:356) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.TransportContext.fatal(TransportContext.java:312) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.TransportContext.fatal(TransportContext.java:303) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.CertificateMessage$T13CertificateConsumer.onConsumeCertificate(CertificateMessage.java:1194) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.CertificateMessage$T13CertificateConsumer.consume(CertificateMessage.java:1181) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.SSLHandshake.consume(SSLHandshake.java:396) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.HandshakeContext.dispatch(HandshakeContext.java:480) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.SSLEngineImpl$DelegatedTask$DelegatedAction.run(SSLEngineImpl.java:1267) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.SSLEngineImpl$DelegatedTask$DelegatedAction.run(SSLEngineImpl.java:1254) ~[?:?]
	at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(AccessController.java:691) ~[?:?]
	at sun.security.ssl.SSLEngineImpl$DelegatedTask.run(SSLEngineImpl.java:1199) ~[?:?]
	at io.netty.handler.ssl.SslHandler.runAllDelegatedTasks(SslHandler.java:1542) ~[netty-handler-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.handler.ssl.SslHandler.runDelegatedTasks(SslHandler.java:1556) ~[netty-handler-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.handler.ssl.SslHandler.unwrap(SslHandler.java:1440) ~[netty-handler-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.handler.ssl.SslHandler.decodeJdkCompatible(SslHandler.java:1267) ~[netty-handler-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.handler.ssl.SslHandler.decode(SslHandler.java:1314) ~[netty-handler-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.handler.codec.ByteToMessageDecoder.decodeRemovalReentryProtection(ByteToMessageDecoder.java:501) ~[netty-codec-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	at io.netty.handler.codec.ByteToMessageDecoder.callDecode(ByteToMessageDecoder.java:440) ~[netty-codec-4.1.49.Final.jar:4.1.49.Final]
	... 16 more

Anil_Kumar_2003 · June 4, 2022, 6:02am

I checked the Elasticsearch and JVM compatibility matrix.
Java 1.8 and 11 are only recommended versions.
We will downgrade to Java v11.0.9.

system · July 2, 2022, 6:03am

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"Empty client certificate chain" error stops inter-node handshake using wildcard certs

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