Set up a HashiCorp Vault connector

C1 provides identity governance and just-in-time provisioning for HashiCorp Vault. Integrate your HashiCorp Vault instance with C1 to run user access reviews (UARs), enable just-in-time access requests, and automatically provision and deprovision access.

Capabilities

Resource	Sync	Provision
Accounts
Authentication methods
Entities
Groups
Policies
Roles
Secrets

Gather HashiCorp Vault credentials

Configuring the connector requires you to pass in credentials generated in HashiCorp Vault. Gather these credentials before you move on.

The connector supports two authentication methods. Choose one:

• Vault Token — authenticate directly with a Vault token.
• AppRole — authenticate using a Role ID and Secret ID via the AppRole auth method. This is recommended for automated, machine-to-machine access.

Option 1: Look up your Vault token

1. Follow the Vault UI documentation to log into the Vault UI.

2. Click the user menu (person icon) and select Copy token.

3. Carefully save the token value.

Next, move on to the connector configuration instructions.

Option 2: Set up AppRole authentication

1. Follow the Vault UI documentation to log into the Vault UI, or use the Vault CLI.

2. Enable the AppRole auth method if it isn’t already enabled:

   vault auth enable approle
   
3. Create an AppRole role with the appropriate policies for the connector:

   vault write auth/approle/role/baton-connector \
       token_policies="<your-policy>" \
       token_ttl=1h \
       token_max_ttl=4h
   
4. Retrieve the Role ID for the role you just created:

   vault read auth/approle/role/baton-connector/role-id
   

   Carefully save the role_id value.

5. Generate a Secret ID for the role:

   vault write -f auth/approle/role/baton-connector/secret-id
   

   Carefully save the secret_id value.

Next, move on to the connector configuration instructions.

Configure the HashiCorp Vault connector

To complete this task, you’ll need:

• The Connector Administrator or Super Administrator role in C1
• Access to the set of HashiCorp Vault credentials generated by following the instructions above

Cloud-hosted

Follow these instructions to use a built-in, no-code connector hosted by C1.

Cloud-hosted connector not currently available.

Self-hosted

Follow these instructions to use the HashiCorp Vault connector, hosted and run in your own environment.

When running in service mode on Kubernetes, a self-hosted connector maintains an ongoing connection with C1, automatically syncing and uploading data at regular intervals. This data is immediately available in the C1 UI for access reviews and access requests.

Resources

• GitHub repository: Access the source code, report issues, or contribute to the project.

Step 1: Set up a new HashiCorp Vault connector

1. In C1, navigate to Integrations > Connectors > Add connector.

2. Search for Baton and click Add.

3. Choose how to set up the new HashiCorp Vault connector:

   • Add the connector to a currently unmanaged app (select from the list of apps that were discovered in your identity, SSO, or federation provider that aren’t yet managed with C1)

   • Add the connector to a managed app (select from the list of existing managed apps)

   • Create a new managed app

4. Set the owner for this connector. You can manage the connector yourself, or choose someone else from the list of C1 users. Setting multiple owners is allowed.

   If you choose someone else, C1 will notify the new connector owner by email that their help is needed to complete the setup process.

5. Click Next.

6. In the Settings area of the page, click Edit.

7. Click Rotate to generate a new Client ID and Secret.

   Carefully copy and save these credentials. We’ll use them in Step 2.

Step 2: Create Kubernetes configuration files

Create two Kubernetes manifest files for your HashiCorp Vault connector deployment:

Secrets configuration

# baton-hashicorp-vault-secrets.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: baton-hashicorp-vault-secrets
type: Opaque
stringData:
  # C1 credentials
  BATON_CLIENT_ID: <C1 client ID>
  BATON_CLIENT_SECRET: <C1 client secret>

  # HashiCorp Vault host (required)
  BATON_VAULT_HOST: <HashiCorp Vault address or host, such as http://127.0.0.1:8200>

  # Authentication — use one of the following two options, not both:

  # Option 1: Vault Token
  BATON_VAULT_TOKEN: <HashiCorp Vault token>

  # Option 2: AppRole (remove Option 1 if using this)
  # BATON_ROLE_ID: <AppRole role ID>
  # BATON_SECRET_ID: <AppRole secret ID>

  # Optional: Include if you want C1 to provision access using this connector
  BATON_PROVISIONING: true

See the connector’s README or run --help to see all available configuration flags and environment variables.

Deployment configuration

# baton-hashicorp-vault.yaml
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: baton-hashicorp-vault
  labels:
    app: baton-hashicorp-vault
spec:
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: baton-hashicorp-vault
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: baton-hashicorp-vault
        baton: true
        baton-app: hashicorp-vault
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: baton-hashicorp-vault
        image: ghcr.io/conductorone/baton-hashicorp-vault:latest
        imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
        env:
        - name: BATON_HOST_ID
          value: baton-hashicorp-vault
        envFrom:
        - secretRef:
            name: baton-hashicorp-vault-secrets

Step 3: Deploy the connector

1. Create a namespace in which to run C1 connectors (if desired), then apply the secret config and deployment config files.

2. Check that the connector data uploaded correctly. In C1, click Apps. On the Managed apps tab, locate and click the name of the application you added the HashiCorp Vault connector to. HashiCorp Vault data should be found on the Entitlements and Accounts tabs.

Your HashiCorp Vault connector is now pulling access data into C1.