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Use JWTs to verify requests to API gateways on Kubernetes

This topic describes how to use JSON web tokens (JWT) to verify requests to API gateways deployed to Kubernetes-orchestrated containers. If your API gateway is deployed to virtual machines, refer to Use JWTs to verify requests to API gateways on VMs.

Enterprise

This feature is available in Consul Enterprise.

Overview

You can configure API gateways to use JWTs to verify incoming requests so that you can stop unverified traffic at the gateway. You can configure JWT verification at different levels:

  • Listener defaults: Define basic defaults in a GatewayPolicy resource to apply them to all routes attached to a listener.
  • HTTP route-specific settings: You can define JWT authentication settings for specific HTTP routes. Route-specific JWT settings override default listener configurations.
  • Listener overrides: Define override settings in a GatewayPolicy resource that take precedence over default and route-specific configurations. Use override settings to set enforceable policies for listeners.

Complete the following steps to use JWTs to verify requests:

  1. Define a JWTProvider that specifies the JWT provider and claims used to verify requests to the gateway.
  2. Define a GatewayPolicy that specifies default and override settings for API gateway listeners and attach it to the gateway.
  3. Define a RouteAuthFilter that specifies route-specific JWT verification settings.
  4. Reference the RouteAuthFilter from the HTTPRoute.
  5. Apply the configurations.

Requirements

  • Consul v1.17+
  • Consul on Kubernetes CLI or Helm chart v1.3.0+
  • JWT details, such as claims and provider

Define a JWTProvider

Create a JWTProvider CRD that defines the JWT provider to verify claims against.

In the following example, the JWTProvider CRD contains a local JWKS. In production environments, use a production-grade JWKs endpoint instead.

jwt-provider.yaml
apiVersion: consul.hashicorp.com/v1alpha1
kind: JWTProvider
metadata:
  name: local
spec:
  issuer: local
  jsonWebKeySet:
    local:
      jwks: "<JWKS-Key>"

For more information about the fields you can configure in this CRD, refer to JWTProvider configuration reference.

Define a GatewayPolicy

Create a GatewayPolicy CRD that defines default and override settings for JWT verification.

The following examples configure a Gateway and the GatewayPolicy being attached to it so that every request coming through the listener must meet these conditions:

  • The request must be signed by the local provider
  • The request must have a claim of role with a value of user unless the HTTPRoute attached to the listener overrides it
gateway.yaml
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: Gateway
metadata:
  name: api-gateway
spec:
  gatewayClassName: consul
  listeners:
    - protocol: HTTP
      port: 30002
      name: listener-one

For more information about the fields you can configure, refer to GatewayPolicy configuration reference.

Define a RouteAuthFilter

Create an RouteAuthFilter CRD that defines overrides for the default JWT verification configured in the GatewayPolicy.

  • kind: Must be set to RouteAuthFilter
  • metadata.name: Specifies a name for the filter.
  • metadata.namespace: Specifies the Consul namespace the filter applies to.
  • spec.jwt.providers: Specifies a list of providers and claims used to verify requests to the gateway. The override settings take precedence over the default and route-specific JWT verification settings.

In the following example, the RouteAuthFilter overrides default settings set in the GatewayPolicy so that every request coming through the listener must meet these conditions:

  • The request must be signed by the local provider
  • The request must have a role claim
  • The value of the claim must be admin
route-auth-filter.yaml
apiVersion: consul.hashicorp.com/v1alpha1
kind: RouteAuthFilter
metadata:
  name: auth-filter
spec:
  jwt:
    providers:
    - name: local
      verifyClaims:
      - path:
          - role
        value: admin

For more information about the fields you can configure, refer to RouteAuthFilter configuration reference.

Attach the auth filter to your HTTP routes

In the filters field of your HTTPRoute configuration, define the filter behavior that results from JWT verification.

  • type: extensionRef: Declare list of extension references.
  • extensionRef.group: Specifies the resource group. Unless you have created a custom group, this should be set to gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1beta1.
  • extensionRef.kind: Specifies the type of extension reference to attach to the route. Must be RouteAuthFilter
  • extensionRef.name: Specifies the name of the auth filter.

The following example configures an HTTPRoute so that every request to api-gateway-fqdn:3002/admin must meet these conditions:

  • The request be signed by the local provider.
  • The request must have a role claim.
  • The value of the claim must be admin.

Every other request must be signed by the local provider and have a claim of role with a value of user, as defined in the GatewayPolicy.

http-route.yaml
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: http-route
spec:
  parentRefs:
    - name: api-gateway
  rules:
    - matches:
        - path:
            type: PathPrefix
            value: /admin
      filters:
        - type: ExtensionRef
          extensionRef:
            group: consul.hashicorp.com
            kind: RouteAuthFilter
            name: auth-filter
      backendRefs:
        - kind: Service
          name: admin
          port: 8080
    - matches:
        - path:
            type: PathPrefix
            value: /
      backendRefs:
        - kind: Service
          name: user-service
          port: 8081
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