Dynamic references in CloudFormation to secure strings are very handy, providing a simple way to keep secrets (such as passwords) secure. However, SSM Secure String Parameters are only supported in a limited set of places and Elastic Beanstalk environment variables are not one of them (feature request for adding support). Therefore, if you want to use SSM Secure Strings with a Beanstalk application some extra work is necessary.
There are a few ways to access SSM Secure Strings from a Beanstalk application. One approach is to modify the application to get the secure string itself. But that can be quite a bit of extra work, or even impossible if the application can’t be modified. Another approach is to use an ebextension to pre-process the environment variable values provided in CloudFormation to resolve SSM secure string dynamic references. That way, the application continues to use environment variables removing the need to modify it.
To implement this approach of adding support for SSM Secure String dynamic references in Beanstalk environment variables values, first add this ebextension to your Elastic Beanstalk deployment archive:
---
packages:
yum:
bash: []
curl: []
jq: []
perl: []
files:
/opt/elasticbeanstalk/hooks/restartappserver/pre/00_resolve_ssm_environment_variables.sh:
mode: "000700"
owner: root
group: root
content: |
#!/usr/bin/env bash
/usr/local/bin/resolve_ssm_environment_variables.sh
/opt/elasticbeanstalk/hooks/appdeploy/pre/00_resolve_ssm_environment_variables.sh:
mode: "000700"
owner: root
group: root
content: |
#!/usr/bin/env bash
/usr/local/bin/resolve_ssm_environment_variables.sh
/opt/elasticbeanstalk/hooks/configdeploy/pre/00_resolve_ssm_environment_variables.sh:
mode: "000700"
owner: root
group: root
content: |
#!/usr/bin/env bash
/usr/local/bin/resolve_ssm_environment_variables.sh
/usr/local/bin/resolve_ssm_environment_variables.sh:
mode: "000700"
owner: root
group: root
content: |
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -Eeuo pipefail
# Resolve SSM parameter references in the elasticbeanstalk option_settings environment variables.
# SSM parameter references must take the same form used in CloudFormation, see https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/dynamic-references.html#dynamic-references-ssm-secure-strings
# supported forms are:
# {{resolve:ssm-secure-env:path:version}}
# {{resolve:ssm-secure-env:path}}
# {{resolve:ssm-env:path:version}}
# {{resolve:ssm-env:path}}
# where "path" is the SSM parameter path and "version" is the parameter version.
if [[ -z "${AWS_DEFAULT_REGION:-}" ]]; then
# not set so get from configuration
AWS_DEFAULT_REGION="$(aws configure get region)" || :
fi
if [[ -z "${AWS_DEFAULT_REGION:-}" ]]; then
# not set so get from metadata
AWS_DEFAULT_REGION="$(curl -s http://169.254.169.254/latest/dynamic/instance-identity/document | jq -r .region)" || :
fi
if [[ -z "${AWS_DEFAULT_REGION:-}" ]]; then
echo "Could not determine region." 1>&2
exit 1
fi
export AWS_DEFAULT_REGION
readonly CONTAINER_CONFIG_FILE="${1:-/opt/elasticbeanstalk/deploy/configuration/containerconfiguration}"
readonly TEMP_CONTAINER_CONFIG_FILE="$(mktemp)"
i=0
for envvar in $(jq -r ".optionsettings[\"aws:elasticbeanstalk:application:environment\"][]" "${CONTAINER_CONFIG_FILE}"); do
envvar="$(echo "${envvar}" | perl -p \
-e 's|{{resolve:ssm(?:-secure)-env:([a-zA-Z0-9_.-/]+?):(\d+?)}}|qx(aws ssm get-parameter-history --name "$1" --with-decryption --query Parameters[?Version==\\\x60$2\\\x60].Value --output text) or die("Failed to get SSM parameter named \"$1\" with version \"$2\"")|eg;' \
-e 's|{{resolve:ssm(?:-secure)-env:([a-zA-Z0-9_.-/]+?)}}|qx(aws ssm get-parameter --name "$1" --with-decryption --query Parameter.Value --output text) or die("Failed to get SSM parameter named \"$1\"")|eg;')"
export envvar
jq ".optionsettings[\"aws:elasticbeanstalk:application:environment\"][${i}]=env.envvar" < "${CONTAINER_CONFIG_FILE}" > "${TEMP_CONTAINER_CONFIG_FILE}"
cp "${TEMP_CONTAINER_CONFIG_FILE}" "${CONTAINER_CONFIG_FILE}"
rm "${TEMP_CONTAINER_CONFIG_FILE}"
((i++)) || :
done
Then use dynamic references in your Beanstalk environment variables in one of these forms:
{{resolve:ssm-secure-env:path:version}}{{resolve:ssm-secure-env:path}}{{resolve:ssm-env:path:version}}{{resolve:ssm-env:path}}
For example, a fragment of the CloudFormation (in yaml) might look like this:
---
AWSTemplateFormatVersion: '2010-09-09'
Resoures:
BeanstalkEnvironment:
Type: AWS::ElasticBeanstalk::Environment
Properties:
OptionSettings:
-
Namespace: "aws:elasticbeanstalk:application:environment"
OptionName: SPRING_DATASOURCE_PASSWORD
Value: !Sub "{{resolve:ssm-secure-env:/my/parameter:42}}"
