Building Trusted TLS in Kubernetes Without InsecureSkipVerify Using cert-manager and trust-manager
The original post from the OTUS blog describes a practical approach to replacing insecure TLS configurations in a Kubernetes cluster. The environment uses Talos as the operating system, Cilium for networking, and Linstor for storage. While pods can already communicate and persist data, most internal traffic still relies on self-signed certificates that no party trusts by default.
The solution centers on three core components. First, cert-manager provisions an internal CA using a bootstrap self-signed issuer to create the CA certificate itself. A subsequent ClusterIssuer named internal-ca then signs workload certificates, storing them in Secrets with automatic renewal. Second, trust-manager extracts only the public portion of the CA and distributes it cluster-wide as ConfigMaps via a Bundle resource, enabling workloads to verify certificates without receiving private keys.
For external exposure, a separate ACME issuer connected to Let's Encrypt automates certificate issuance. When Gateway API is present, cert-manager temporarily creates an HTTPRoute for HTTP-01 challenges and cleans it up afterward. The article also addresses the kubelet serving certificate, which defaults to a self-signed value that the API server often skips verifying.
Enabling serverTLSBootstrap in Talos allows the kubelet to request a properly signed certificate via the Kubernetes CSR API. The kubelet-serving-cert-approver controller then inspects each request against the corresponding Node object, approving only those whose SANs match the node's name and addresses. This replaces the common --kubelet-insecure-tls behavior.
The post emphasizes that these insecure patterns can persist undetected because Kubernetes provides no explicit warnings. API server logs and kubectl commands continue to function while half the control-plane traffic bypasses certificate validation. Implementing the described issuers, trust distribution, and CSR approver creates a consistent trust model that works across any Kubernetes distribution, with only one Talos-specific line required for kubelet certificate rotation.
Related articles
OAuth Authorization Server Built Without Storing User Profiles
The article details the evolution of an OAuth Authorization Server that deliberately avoids storing user profiles, relying instead on external identity providers for authentication. It addresses three core constraints: hundreds of dynamically created isolated APIs, a public SPA client without a BFF, and the inability of resources to query the AS on every request. The design separates concerns so the AS handles only clients, tenants, grants, audiences, scopes, keys, sessions, and token issuance while the Main API owns profiles and roles. Tokens are managed securely inside a Service Worker using a custom FedCM grant, eliminating races across tabs and reducing XSS exposure. The approach minimizes blast radius, simplifies compliance, and keeps the AS replaceable without affecting product domain logic.
Why a 202-Character License Key Uses ECDSA P-256 Instead of Ed25519 or RSA
A developer building offline license verification for a .NET desktop application evaluated Ed25519, RSA, and ECDSA P-256 before selecting the last option. The decision was driven by the requirement for zero external dependencies, keys short enough for manual entry from email, and support for key rotation without breaking existing licenses. Although Ed25519 offers faster verification and a smaller public key, it is absent from System.Security.Cryptography in both .NET 8 and .NET 10, with API approval only targeted for version 11. RSA-2048 produces signatures too long for practical use, resulting in a 571-character Base32 string that users would find cumbersome. ECDSA P-256 with SHA-256 delivers a fixed 64-byte signature that becomes a manageable 202-character key when encoded in Base32, while remaining fully available in the runtime. The article also covers performance measurements, the risks of ECDSA nonce generation, and the deliberate choice of the IEEE P1363 signature format to guarantee fixed-length output.
Pilcrow Publishes Free Comprehensive Guide on Web Authentication
Author Pilcrow has released a detailed, ad-free handbook covering authentication and authorization practices for web applications. The resource draws on personal experience and includes practical examples in JavaScript and Go. It examines password-based methods, email verification, multi-factor authentication, passwordless flows, and passkeys while highlighting associated risks and usability trade-offs. The book also provides in-depth guidance on session management, token security, expiration policies, and email address handling as account identifiers. Recommendations emphasize choosing methods that match application security requirements and user expectations. Additional context is given on OWASP resources and community support channels.
redb 3.4.0 Adds Replay Checkpoints, Shared Runtime Layer and Declarative Secrets Handling for .NET Ecosystem
redb 3.4.0 delivers operational improvements for the .NET integration platform that includes typed storage over Postgres, MSSQL and SQLite, the redb.Route engine modeled after Apache Camel, the Tsak runtime with dashboard and clustering, and redb.Identity for OIDC and OAuth 2.1. The release focuses on post-deployment resilience with replay checkpoints that capture message state at named points inside routes, allowing safe re-execution of downstream steps without duplicating side effects. A shared runtime layer moves framework assemblies into a separate Libs/shared directory so that individual DLLs can be replaced without rebuilding or redeploying the entire Tsak or Identity packages. Secrets are now declared with a [Sensitive] attribute on endpoint options, ensuring URIs containing passwords or keys are sanitized before they reach logs, metrics or health checks. Additional controls include role-based access to management APIs, persistent audit trails and cryptographic signing of dynamically loaded modules. All Pro features remain free on the entire 3.x line with no licensing server required.