How to use this image

All examples in this guide use the public image. If you’ve mirrored the repository for your own use (for example, to your Docker Hub namespace), update your commands to reference the mirrored image instead of the public one.

For example:

• Public image: dhi.io/hyperledger-fabric-ca:<tag>
• Mirrored image: <your-namespace>/dhi-hyperledger-fabric-ca:<tag>

For the examples, you must first use docker login dhi.io to authenticate to the registry to pull the images.

What's included in this Hyperledger Fabric CA Hardened image

Hyperledger Fabric CA is a Certificate Authority for managing identities and certificates in Hyperledger Fabric blockchain networks. This hardened image includes two essential utilities: fabric-ca-server for operating a Certificate Authority that issues X.509 certificates and manages the public key infrastructure (PKI), and fabric-ca-client for identity enrollment, certificate renewal, registration of new identities, revocation of compromised certificates, and retrieval of CA information. The hardened image provides the same functionality as upstream Hyperledger Fabric CA but runs with Docker Hardened Image security guarantees.

These tools are primarily used for identity lifecycle management throughout the network. They enable administrators to bootstrap a CA server, enroll admin and user identities, register new network participants, renew certificates before expiration, revoke compromised credentials, and manage the complete identity infrastructure required for secure Fabric network operations.

Using Hyperledger Fabric CA

Run commands using docker run with Hyperledger Fabric CA. Replace <tag> with the desired version.

docker run --rm dhi.io/hyperledger-fabric-ca:<tag> fabric-ca-server version

Check the client version:

docker run --rm dhi.io/hyperledger-fabric-ca:<tag> fabric-ca-client version

To use Fabric CA Server, mount directories for persistent storage of certificates and configurations. For example, initialize and start a CA server:

# Initialize the CA server (generates default config)
docker run --rm \
  -v $(pwd)/fabric-ca:/etc/hyperledger/fabric-ca-server \
  dhi.io/hyperledger-fabric-ca:<tag> \
  fabric-ca-server init -b admin:adminpw

# Start the CA server
docker run -d \
  -p 7054:7054 \
  -v $(pwd)/fabric-ca:/etc/hyperledger/fabric-ca-server \
  --name fabric-ca-server \
  dhi.io/hyperledger-fabric-ca:<tag> \
  fabric-ca-server start -b admin:adminpw

This command initializes the CA with a bootstrap admin user (admin:adminpw) and starts the server on port 7054. The configuration and certificate database are persisted in the fabric-ca directory on your host. For production use, customize the configuration file and use environment variables or the -config flag to specify a custom configuration path.

Non-hardened images vs Docker Hardened Images

Key differences

Hardened image debugging

Docker Hardened Images for Hyperledger Fabric CA do not include a shell or package manager to minimize the attack surface and reduce image size. This means you cannot use docker exec to access a shell inside a running container. However, Docker provides alternative debugging methods that work seamlessly with hardened images.

The recommended approach is to use Docker Debug⁠, which attaches an ephemeral debug container with a shell and common debugging tools to your running container. This allows you to inspect the container's filesystem, processes, and network configuration without modifying the production image.

For Hyperledger Fabric CA specifically, you can also debug by examining the CA database, certificates, and logs generated by the server. Mount volumes to persist these outputs and inspect them on your host system. Additionally, enable verbose logging with the --log-level debug flag when starting the server.

Using Docker Debug

Attach a debug shell to a running Hyperledger Fabric CA container:

docker debug <container-name>

This opens a shell in the debug container where you can inspect the filesystem, check running processes with ps, or examine network connections with netstat.

Using Docker Image Mount

Mount the container's filesystem to your host for inspection:

docker image mount dhi.io/hyperledger-fabric-ca:<tag> /mnt/inspect
ls -la /mnt/inspect/usr/local/bin/

Examining CA artifacts

Since the CA generates certificates, keys, and maintains a database, debug by inspecting these artifacts:

# Start CA server with mounted volume
docker run -d \
  -p 7054:7054 \
  -v $(pwd)/fabric-ca:/etc/hyperledger/fabric-ca-server \
  --name fabric-ca-server \
  dhi.io/hyperledger-fabric-ca:<tag> \
  fabric-ca-server start -b admin:adminpw --log-level debug

# Inspect the CA certificate on your host
openssl x509 -in fabric-ca/ca-cert.pem -text -noout | head -20

# Check the server logs
docker logs fabric-ca-server

# Inspect the certificate database
ls -la fabric-ca/fabric-ca-server.db

Image variants

Docker Hardened Images come in different variants depending on their intended use.

• Runtime variants are designed to run your application in production. These images are intended to be used either directly or as the FROM image in the final stage of a multi-stage build. These images typically:

  • Run as the nonroot user
  • Do not include a shell or a package manager
  • Contain only the minimal set of libraries needed to run the app

• Build-time variants typically include dev in the variant name and are intended for use in the first stage of a multi-stage Dockerfile. These images typically:

  • Run as the root user
  • Include a shell and package manager
  • Are used to build or compile applications

• FIPS variants include fips in the variant name and tag. They come in both runtime and build-time variants. These variants use cryptographic modules that have been validated under FIPS 140, a U.S. government standard for secure cryptographic operations. For example, usage of MD5 fails in FIPS variants.

Hyperledger Fabric CA FIPS Mode: This image uses GODEBUG=fips140=on mode, which enables FIPS-aware cryptography while allowing fallback to non-FIPS functions when necessary. This mode is chosen because Fabric CA may interact with legacy certificates or cryptographic operations that are not strictly FIPS-compliant. For maximum FIPS assurance, ensure all certificates and cryptographic operations use FIPS-approved algorithms.

Migrate to a Docker Hardened Image

To migrate your application to a Docker Hardened Image, you must update your Dockerfile. At minimum, you must update the base image in your existing Dockerfile to a Docker Hardened Image. This and a few other common changes are listed in the following table of migration notes.

The following steps outline the general migration process.

1. Find hardened images for your app.

   A hardened image may have several variants. Inspect the image tags and find the image variant that meets your needs.

2. Update the base image in your Dockerfile.

   Update the base image in your application's Dockerfile to the hardened image you found in the previous step. For framework images, this is typically going to be an image tagged as dev because it has the tools needed to install packages and dependencies.

3. For multi-stage Dockerfiles, update the runtime image in your Dockerfile.

   To ensure that your final image is as minimal as possible, you should use a multi-stage build. All stages in your Dockerfile should use a hardened image. While intermediary stages will typically use images tagged as dev, your final runtime stage should use a non-dev image variant.

4. Install additional packages

   Docker Hardened Images contain minimal packages in order to reduce the potential attack surface. You may need to install additional packages in your Dockerfile. Inspect the image variants to identify which packages are already installed.

   Only images tagged as dev typically have package managers. You should use a multi-stage Dockerfile to install the packages. Install the packages in the build stage that uses a dev image. Then, if needed, copy any necessary artifacts to the runtime stage that uses a non-dev image.

   For Alpine-based images, you can use apk to install packages. For Debian-based images, you can use apt-get to install packages.

Troubleshooting migration

The following are common issues that you may encounter during migration.

General debugging

The hardened images intended for runtime don't contain a shell nor any tools for debugging. The recommended method for debugging applications built with Docker Hardened Images is to use Docker Debug⁠ to attach to these containers. Docker Debug provides a shell, common debugging tools, and lets you install other tools in an ephemeral, writable layer that only exists during the debugging session.

Permissions

By default image variants intended for runtime, run as the nonroot user. Ensure that necessary files and directories are accessible to the nonroot user. You may need to copy files to different directories or change permissions so your application running as the nonroot user can access them.

Privileged ports

No shell

By default, image variants intended for runtime don't contain a shell. Use dev images in build stages to run shell commands and then copy any necessary artifacts into the runtime stage. In addition, use Docker Debug to debug containers with no shell.

Entry point

Docker Hardened Images may have different entry points than images such as Docker Official Images. Use docker inspect to inspect entry points for Docker Hardened Images and update your Dockerfile if necessary.