A version of Consul compliant with FIPS 140-2 is available to Enterprise users. Learn about where to find FIPS-compliant versions of Consul, as well as usage restrictions and technical details.
A version of Consul compliant with FIPS 140-2 is available to Enterprise users. Learn about where to find FIPS-compliant versions of Consul, its usage restrictions, technical details, and Leidos validation.
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# FIPS 140-2
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## Using FIPS 140-2 Consul Enterprise
FIPS 140-2 builds of Consul Enterprise behave in the same way as non-FIPS builds. There are no restrictions on Consul algorithms and ensuring that Consul remains in a FIPS-compliant mode of operation is your responsibility. To maintain FIPS-compliant operation, you must [ensure that TLS is enabled](/consul/tutorials/security/tls-encryption-secure) so that communication is encrypted. Consul products surface some helpful warnings where settings are insecure.
FIPS 140-2 builds of Consul Enterprise behave in the same way as non-FIPS builds. There are no restrictions on Consul algorithms and ensuring that Consul remains in a FIPS-compliant mode of operation is your responsibility. To maintain FIPS-compliant operation, you must [ensure that TLS is enabled](/consul/tutorials/archive/tls-encryption-secure) so that communication is encrypted. Consul products surface some helpful warnings where settings are insecure.
Encryption is disabled in Consul Enterprise by default. As a result, Consul may transmit sensitive control plane information. You must ensure that gossip encryption and mTLS is enabled for all agents when running Consul with FIPS-compliant settings. In addition, be aware that TLS v1.3 does not work with FIPS 140-2, as HKDF is not a certified primitive.
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We do not support in-place migrations from non-FIPS builds of Consul to FIPS builds of Consul, regardless of version. A fresh cluster installation is required to support FIPS 140-2. You cannot upgrade directly to a FIPS-compliant build.
#### TLS restrictions
Consul Enterprise's FIPS modifications include restrictions to supported TLS cipher suites and key information. Only the following cipher suites are allowed:
- `TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256`
@ -125,7 +126,7 @@ Similarly, on a FIPS Windows binary, run `go tool nm` on the binary to get a sym
On both Linux and Windows non-FIPS builds, the search output yields no results.
### Leidos validation
## Leidos validation
In April 2024, Leidos certified the integration of FIPS 140-2 cryptographic module [BoringCrypto Cert. #4407](https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/Cryptographic-Module-Validation-Program/Certificate/4407) in the following Consul releases:
boruszak
6 months ago