Edit external key store properties - AWS Key Management Service
Edit your external key store's properties

Edit external key store properties

You can edit selected properties of an existing external key store.

You can edit some properties while the external key store is connected or disconnected. For other properties, you must first disconnect your external key store from its external key store proxy. The connection state of the external key store must be DISCONNECTED. While your external key store is disconnected, you can manage the key store and its KMS keys, but you cannot create or use KMS keys in the external key store. To find the connection state of your external key store, use the DescribeCustomKeyStores operation or see the General configuration section on the detail page for the external key store.

Before updating the properties your external key store, AWS KMS sends a GetHealthStatus request to the external key store proxy using the new values. If the request succeeds, it indicates that you can connect and authenticate to an external key store proxy with the updated property values. If the request fails, the edit operation fails with an exception that identifies the error.

When the edit operation completes, the updated property values for your external key store appear in the AWS KMS console and the DescribeCustomKeyStores response. However, it can take up to five minutes for the changes to be fully effective.

If you edit your external key store in the AWS KMS console, you have the option to upload a JSON-based proxy configuration file that specifies the proxy URI path and proxy authentication credential. Some external key store proxies generate this file for you. For details, see the documentation for your external key store proxy or external key manager.

Warning

The updated property values must connect your external key store to a proxy for the same external key manager as the previous values, or for a backup or snapshot of the external key manager with the same cryptographic keys. If your external key store permanently loses its access to the external keys associated with its KMS keys, ciphertext encrypted under those external keys is unrecoverable. In particular, changing the proxy connectivity of an external key store can prevent AWS KMS from accessing your external keys.

Tip

Some external key managers provide a simpler method for editing external key store properties. For details, see your external key manager documentation.

You can change the following properties of an external key store.

Editable external key store properties Any connection state Require Disconnected state
Custom key store name

A required friendly name for a custom key store.

Important

Do not include confidential or sensitive information in this field. This field may be displayed in plaintext in CloudTrail logs and other output.

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Proxy authentication credential (XksProxyAuthenticationCredential)

(You must specify both the access key ID and the secret access key, even if you are changing only one element.)

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Proxy URI path (XksProxyUriPath) Green checkmark icon indicating success or completion.
Proxy connectivity (XksProxyConnectivity)

(You must also update the proxy URI endpoint. If you are changing to VPC endpoint service connectivity, you must specify a proxy VPC endpoint service name.)

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Proxy URI endpoint (XksProxyUriEndpoint)

If you change the proxy endpoint URI, you might also need to change the associated TLS certificate.

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Proxy VPC endpoint service name (XksProxyVpcEndpointServiceName)

(This field is required for VPC endpoint service connectivity)

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Edit your external key store's properties

You can edit your external key store's properties in the AWS KMS console or by using the UpdateCustomKeyStore operation.

When you edit an key store, you can change any or of the editable values. Some changes require that the external key store be disconnected from its external key store proxy.

If you are editing the proxy URI path or proxy authentication credential, you can enter the new values or upload an external key store proxy configuration file that includes the new values.

  1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/kms.

  2. To change the AWS Region, use the Region selector in the upper-right corner of the page.

  3. In the navigation pane, choose Custom key stores, External key stores.

  4. Choose the row of the external key store you want to edit.

  5. If necessary, disconnect the external key store from its external key store proxy. From the Key store actions menu, choose Disconnect.

  6. From the Key store actions menu, choose Edit.

  7. Change one or more of the editable external key store properties. You can also upload an external key store proxy configuration file with values for the proxy URI path and proxy authentication credential.You can use a proxy configuration file even if some values specified in the file haven't changed.

  8. Choose Update external key store.

  9. Review the warning, and if you decide to continue, confirm the warning, and then choose Update external key store.

    When the procedure is successful, a message describes the properties that you edited. When it is unsuccessful, an error message appears that describes the problem and provides help on how to fix it.

  10. If necessary, reconnect the external key store. From the Key store actions menu, choose Connect.

    You can leave the external key store disconnected. But while it is disconnected, you cannot create KMS keys in the external key store or use the KMS keys in the external key store in cryptographic operations.

To change the properties of an external key store, use the UpdateCustomKeyStore operation. You can change multiple properties of an external key store in the same operation. If the operation is successful, AWS KMS returns an HTTP 200 response and a JSON object with no properties.

Use the CustomKeyStoreId parameter to identify the external key store. Use the other parameters to change the properties. You cannot use a proxy configuration file with the UpdateCustomKeyStore operation. The proxy configuration file is supported only by the AWS KMS console. However, you can use the proxy configuration file to help you determine the correct parameter values for your external key store proxy.

The examples in this section use the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI), but you can use any supported programming language.

Before you begin, if necessary, disconnect the external key store from its external key store proxy. After updating, if necessary, you can reconnect the external key store to its external key store proxy. You can leave the external key store in the disconnected state, but you must reconnect it before you can create new KMS keys in the key store or use existing KMS keys in the key store for cryptographic operations.

Note

If you use AWS CLI version 1.0, run the following command before specifying a parameter with an HTTP or HTTPS value, such as the XksProxyUriEndpoint parameter.

aws configure set cli_follow_urlparam false

Otherwise, AWS CLI version 1.0 replaces the parameter value with the content found at that URI address, causing the following error:

Error parsing parameter '--xks-proxy-uri-endpoint': Unable to retrieve 
https:// : received non 200 status code of 404

Change the name of the external key store

The first example uses the UpdateCustomKeyStore operation to change the friendly name of the external key store to XksKeyStore. The command uses the CustomKeyStoreId parameter to identify the custom key store and the CustomKeyStoreName to specify the new name for the custom key store. Replace all example values with actual values for your external key store.

$ aws kms update-custom-key-store --custom-key-store-id cks-1234567890abcdef0 --new-custom-key-store-name XksKeyStore

Change the proxy authentication credential

The following example updates the proxy authentication credential that AWS KMS uses to authenticate to the external key store proxy. You can use a command like this one to update the credential if it is rotated on your proxy.

Update the credential on your external key store proxy first. Then use this feature to report the change to AWS KMS. (Your proxy will briefly support both the old and new credential so you have time to update your credential in AWS KMS.)

You must always specify both the access key ID and the secret access key in the credential, even if only one value is changed.

The first two commands set variables to hold the credential values. The UpdateCustomKeyStore operations uses the CustomKeyStoreId parameter to identify the external key store. It uses the XksProxyAuthenticationCredential parameter with its AccessKeyId and RawSecretAccessKey fields to specify the new credential. Replace all example values with actual values for your external key store.

$ accessKeyID=access key id
$ secretAccessKey=secret access key

$ aws kms update-custom-key-store --custom-key-store-id cks-1234567890abcdef0 \
        --xks-proxy-authentication-credential \ 
            AccessKeyId=$accessKeyId,RawSecretAccessKey=$secretAccessKey

Change the proxy URI path

The following example updates the proxy URI path (XksProxyUriPath). The combination of the proxy URI endpoint and the proxy URI path must be unique in the AWS account and Region. Replace all example values with actual values for your external key store.

$ aws kms update-custom-key-store --custom-key-store-id cks-1234567890abcdef0 \
            --xks-proxy-uri-path /kms/xks/v1

Change to VPC endpoint service connectivity

The following example uses the UpdateCustomKeyStore operation to change the external key store proxy connectivity type to VPC_ENDPOINT_SERVICE. To make this change, you must specify the required values for VPC endpoint service connectivity, including the VPC endpoint service name (XksProxyVpcEndpointServiceName) and a proxy URI endpoint (XksProxyUriEndpoint) value that includes the private DNS name for the VPC endpoint service. Replace all example values with actual values for your external key store.

$ aws kms update-custom-key-store --custom-key-store-id cks-1234567890abcdef0 \
            --xks-proxy-connectivity "VPC_ENDPOINT_SERVICE" \
            --xks-proxy-uri-endpoint https://myproxy-private.xks.example.com \
            --xks-proxy-vpc-endpoint-service-name com.amazonaws.vpce.us-east-1.vpce-svc-example

Change to public endpoint connectivity

The following example changes the external key store proxy connectivity type to PUBLIC_ENDPOINT. When you make this change, you must update the proxy URI endpoint (XksProxyUriEndpoint) value. Replace all example values with actual values for your external key store.

Note

VPC endpoint connectivity provides greater security than public endpoint connectivity. Before changing to public endpoint connectivity, consider other options, including locating your external key store proxy on premises and using the VPC only for communication. 

$ aws kms update-custom-key-store --custom-key-store-id cks-1234567890abcdef0 \
            --xks-proxy-connectivity "PUBLIC_ENDPOINT" \
            --xks-proxy-uri-endpoint https://myproxy.xks.example.com