Configure Splunk forwarding to use the default certificate

The default root certificate that ships with Splunk software is the same root certificate in every download. Splunk software uses these certificates by default. You do not need to configure them unless they have been removed or corrupted.

Default certificates are not considered highly secure. Anyone who has downloaded Splunk Enterprise has server certificates signed by the same root certificate and are able to authenticate to your certificates. To ensure that no one can easily snoop on your traffic or wrongfully send data to your indexers, replace the default certificates with certificates that you sign.

The default certificates expire three years after their generation and you must then create and configure new certificates using one of the methods described in Appendix A of this manual.

To configure your forwarders to use certificates that you have signed with your own root certificate authority (CA) or through a third-party CA, see Configure Splunk forwarding to use your own certificates.

Procedure for configuring Splunk forwarders to use the default certificates that come with Splunk software

• Configure the indexer to use the default certificates that ship with Splunk software
• Configure the forwarder to use the default certificates that ship with Splunk software

Set up the indexer to use the default server certificate

1. In the $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local/inputs.conf configuration file (or the appropriate directory of any app you are using to distribute your forwarding configuration), set up the following stanzas:

   [splunktcp-ssl:9997]
   disabled = 0
   
   [SSL]
   serverCert = Absolute path to the certificate. The default certificate is $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/auth/server.pem
   sslPassword = password
   requireClientCert=false (There is no need validate the default server certificate)
   

2. (Not required on Windows) In the $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local/server.conf file, add the following:

   [sslConfig]
   
   sslRootCAPath = /opt/splunk/etc/auth/cacert.pem
   

3. Restart the splunkd process on the indexer:
   $SPLUNK_HOME/bin/splunk restart splunkd

Configure the forwarder

Set up your forwarder to use the same default certificates as your indexer and configure the forwarder to send data to the configured listening port.

1. Define the following stanzas in the $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local/outputs.conf configuration file (or in the appropriate directory of any app you are using to distribute your forwarding configuration):

   [tcpout:group1]
   
   server = 10.1.12.112:9997
   
   clientCert = $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/auth/server.pem
   
   sslPassword = password
   
   sslVerifyServerCert = false
   

2. In the $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local/server.conf file, add the following:
   Linux:

   [sslConfig]
   
   sslRootCAPath = /opt/splunkforwarder/etc/auth/cacert.pem
   

   Windows:

   [sslConfig]
   
   caCertFile = cacert.pem
   caPath = $SPLUNK_HOME\etc\auth
   

3. Restart the forwarder:

   # $SPLUNK_HOME/bin/splunk restart splunkd

Next steps

Check the connection between the forwarder and the indexer to confirm that the configuration works. See "Validate your configuration" for more information.