net-kingdom/workplans/NK-WP-0001-sso-mfa-platform.md

---
id: NK-WP-0001
type: workplan
title: "SSO & MFA Platform — Keycloak + privacyIDEA on Kubernetes"
domain: netkingdom
status: active
owner: worsch
topic_slug: netkingdom
state_hub_workstream_id: 39263c4b-ef70-4053-b782-350834b7e1be
created: "2026-02-28"
updated: "2026-03-01"
---

# SSO & MFA Platform — Keycloak + privacyIDEA on Kubernetes

## Summary

Deploy a hardened SSO and MFA platform on Kubernetes: Keycloak as the
OIDC/SAML identity provider, privacyIDEA as the MFA/token engine,
integrated via the privacyIDEA Keycloak Provider. This is the foundational
security layer for the net-kingdom DevSecOps platform.

## Context

Synthesised from two AI protoplans (wiki/WorkplanOneChatgpt.md and
wiki/WorkplanOneGrok.md). Both sources converge on the same architecture;
this plan picks the most concrete and production-aligned choices from each:

- **Single-credential bootstrap** (Grok) — one master secret unlocks the
  vault; all other credentials are vault-managed and never typed manually.
- **Phase structure** (ChatGPT) — eight sequential phases reducing blast
  radius at each step.
- **Tooling choices** (both) — Keycloak Operator or codecentric Helm,
  gpappsoft privacyIDEA Helm, CloudNativePG for PostgreSQL, cert-manager
  for TLS, Traefik as ingress (K3s native, aligned with Railiance).
- **Custom Keycloak image** (both) — JAR baked into image via `kc.sh build`
  rather than `kubectl cp`; clean GitOps pattern.

## Decisions

All three pending decisions from the first session have been resolved
(2026-03-01, decided by Tegwick). Full rationale in `DECISIONS.md`.

| ID | Decision | Outcome |
|----|----------|---------|
| D1 | Vault backend | **KeePassXC pre-cluster → HashiCorp Vault in-cluster.** Bootstrap on KeePassXC before a cluster is available; transition to Vault once K3s is operational. |
| D2 | Identity source of truth | **Hybrid: Keycloak-internal + LDAP/Entra federation** for enterprise tier. Plus a **file-based bootstrap** user store for pre-Keycloak dev/test/sandbox systems. |
| D3 | GitOps tooling | **Plain Helm to start, upgrade to Flux when warranted.** Development philosophy: AI-first (TDD, API-first/headless, MCP layer, CLI tooling; UI is low-priority and lives in separate repos). |

## Architecture

```
                  Internet
                     │ TLS (cert-manager / Let's Encrypt)
              ┌──────┴──────┐
              │   Traefik   │  (K3s native ingress)
              └──┬───────┬──┘
                 │       │
         keycloak.…  pi.…   pi-account.…
                 │       │         │
          ┌──────┘  ┌────┘         │
          ▼         ▼              │
      [Keycloak]  [privacyIDEA]◄──┘  (self-service portal)
          │         │
          └────┬────┘
               ▼
          [PostgreSQL]  (CloudNativePG, namespace: databases)
               │
          [HashiCorp Vault]  ← single credential unlocks (in-cluster)
          [KeePassXC]        ← pre-cluster bootstrap / dev/test/sandbox
```

**Namespaces:** `sso` (Keycloak), `mfa` (privacyIDEA), `databases`

**Integration:** Keycloak runs the browser login flow; privacyIDEA provides
MFA via the privacyIDEA Keycloak Provider JAR (baked into custom image).

## Dependencies

- Depends on: `railiance/three-phoenix-ha-cluster` — full production
  deployment targets the ThreePhoenix K3s HA cluster. Development/staging
  can proceed on a single-node k3s instance.
- Depends on: `railiance/phase-0-operational-baseline` — cert-manager, TLS,
  backup strategy must be operational before going live.

## Tasks

### T01 — Phase 0: Vault & secret bootstrap (single-credential principle)

```task
id: NK-WP-0001-T01
state_hub_task_id: 7992528c-d533-44e5-bcce-f92aaa2b75b2
status: todo
priority: critical
```

**Decision D1 applies:** Two-phase vault strategy.

**Phase 0a — Pre-cluster KeePassXC bootstrap (do this first, before K8s):**

Create a KeePassXC `.kdbx` database as the initial secret store. Keep the
KeePassXC master password in a personal password manager. Generate and store
all bootstrap secrets inside KeePassXC:

- privacyIDEA: `SECRET_KEY` (64+ chars), `PI_PEPPER` (32+ chars),
  `PI_ENCFILE` content (`pi-manage create_enckey`).
- PostgreSQL: root + `keycloak` + `privacyidea` user passwords.
- Keycloak: admin bootstrap secret + DB password.
- TLS: ACME account key (if not delegated fully to cert-manager).
- Break-glass: admin credentials + offline recovery OTP seed.

Export an age-encrypted ops bundle (encrypted tar of all secret YAML
manifests). Store offsite.

**Phase 0b — HashiCorp Vault in-cluster (after T02, once K3s is running):**

Deploy HashiCorp Vault in the cluster (Helm chart). Migrate secrets from
KeePassXC into Vault. Enable K8s encryption-at-rest. Choose and implement
secret injection strategy: External Secrets Operator + Vault backend, or
Vault Agent Injector (ESO preferred for GitOps alignment). KeePassXC
remains the source of truth for dev/test/sandbox systems that do not connect
to the cluster Vault.

**Done when:** KeePassXC created and all secrets generated (0a). Vault
deployed in-cluster, secrets migrated, injection strategy operational (0b).
Encrypted ops bundle exported and stored offsite.

---

### T02 — Phase 1: K8s foundations (namespaces, NetworkPolicies, cert-manager)

```task
id: NK-WP-0001-T02
state_hub_task_id: 721ca6b2-0cf4-4008-a966-87b1563550fa
status: todo
priority: high
```

Create namespaces: `sso`, `mfa`, `databases`. Verify cert-manager is
installed and functional on the K3s cluster (Traefik ingress). Define and
apply NetworkPolicies to prevent lateral movement:

- Only ingress controller reaches Keycloak/privacyIDEA service ports.
- Only Keycloak pods call the privacyIDEA API.
- Only app pods/ingress reach Keycloak.
- DB pods reachable only from `sso` and `mfa` namespaces.

Verify StorageClass for PVCs.

**Done when:** namespaces exist, NetworkPolicies applied and tested (verify
denied paths), cert-manager issues a test certificate.

---

### T03 — Phase 2: PostgreSQL deployment (Keycloak + privacyIDEA DBs)

```task
id: NK-WP-0001-T03
state_hub_task_id: 7fa60004-deb2-4db5-a470-f95dda07f6ab
status: todo
priority: high
```

Deploy PostgreSQL via CloudNativePG operator (preferred: aligns with
ThreePhoenix HA posture) or Bitnami Helm chart as fallback. Create:

- Database `keycloak_db`, user `keycloak`
- Database `privacyidea_db`, user `privacyidea`

Store DB credentials as K8s Secrets injected from Vault (T01 Phase 0b must
be complete, or use placeholder K8s Secrets until Vault is live).
Configure automated DB backups to object storage (S3 or MinIO).
**Run a restore drill before proceeding** — a failed restore later is a
critical blocker.

**Done when:** both DBs live, credentials in K8s Secrets, backup running,
restore drill passed.

---

### T04 — Phase 3: Deploy privacyIDEA (MFA core)

```task
id: NK-WP-0001-T04
state_hub_task_id: 6ad1296a-a488-4031-b665-f77030e971ed
status: todo
priority: high
```

Deploy privacyIDEA via `gpappsoft/privacyidea` Helm chart (Artifact Hub) or
custom manifests (Deployment + Service + Ingress + PVC + Secrets). Key
Helm values:

```yaml
database:
  password: <from-vault>
privacyidea:
  config:
    SECRET_KEY: <from-vault>
    PI_PEPPER: <from-vault>
  encfile:
    enabled: true
    existingSecret: privacyidea-secrets
    key: PI_ENCFILE
  ingress:
    enabled: true
    hostname: pi.yourdomain.com
    tls: true
```

Create K8s Secrets: `privacyidea-config`, `privacyidea-enckey`,
`privacyidea-auditkeys`. Configure Ingress + TLS. Add rate-limiting and
WAF rules at Traefik level.

**Bootstrap (single-credential moment):**
1. `kubectl exec` into pod, run `pi-manage admin add pi-admin` — password
   comes from vault (only time a password is typed).
2. Immediately enroll MFA for `pi-admin` (TOTP or hardware token).
3. Create `trigger-admin` with `triggerchallenge` right only.
4. Apply policies: WebUI restricted to VPN/office IPs; MFA required for
   all admin actions.

**Done when:** privacyIDEA reachable at pi.yourdomain.com with valid TLS,
pi-admin enrolled with MFA, trigger-admin created, rate-limiting active.

---

### T05 — Phase 4: Deploy Keycloak (SSO core)

```task
id: NK-WP-0001-T05
state_hub_task_id: b9f73aa6-9035-4643-9905-64e73a29b298
status: todo
priority: high
```

Build a **custom Keycloak image** that includes the privacyIDEA Provider JAR:

```dockerfile
FROM quay.io/keycloak/keycloak:<version>
COPY PrivacyIDEA-Provider.jar /opt/keycloak/providers/
RUN /opt/keycloak/bin/kc.sh build
```

Deploy via plain Helm chart (official Keycloak Operator CRD-based or
codecentric KeycloakX Helm chart; **decision D3: plain Helm first, Flux
later**). Configure:

- DB: `keycloak_db` (credentials from Vault / K8s Secret)
- Ingress + TLS: `keycloak.yourdomain.com` (Traefik + cert-manager)
- Hostname strictness + proxy mode (Traefik forward headers)
- Metrics/logging (Prometheus annotations)
- Admin bootstrap secret from vault
- Realm import strategy: GitOps-friendly (realm JSON in git or CR)

**Done when:** Keycloak reachable with valid TLS, admin console accessible,
custom image with privacyIDEA JAR deployed and verified.

---

### T06 — Phase 5: Realm config & MFA authentication flow

```task
id: NK-WP-0001-T06
state_hub_task_id: 3b6379a4-a27b-4d25-82be-bc600879f036
status: todo
priority: medium
```

In Keycloak:

1. Create/configure realm. **Decision D2 applies:** identity source of truth
   is Keycloak-internal users. LDAP/AD and Entra federation is deferred to
   the enterprise tier (not in scope for this workplan phase).
2. Create Authentication Flow "privacyIDEA Browser":
   - Add privacyIDEA execution step (REQUIRED)
   - Config: privacyIDEA URL = `https://pi.yourdomain.com`, service account
     = `trigger-admin` (secret from K8s Secret)
   - Optional: bypass group (break-glass) with strict restrictions + alerts
3. Set this flow as the default browser flow.
4. Require MFA step-up for admin console and sensitive OIDC clients.

Test:
- Normal user: password → MFA OTP → session established
- Admin console: MFA required
- Failure modes: wrong OTP, token missing, privacyIDEA unreachable
- Break-glass: bypass works, alert fires

**Done when:** end-to-end auth works for normal and admin paths, all failure
modes handled gracefully.

---

### T07 — Phase 6: User management, policies & self-service portal

```task
id: NK-WP-0001-T07
state_hub_task_id: c7cf902a-b480-4545-a536-293070945206
status: todo
priority: medium
```

**Decision D2 applies:** identity source of truth is Keycloak-internal with
the privacyIDEA Keycloak resolver. Implement (not decide):

- Configure privacyIDEA 3.12+ Keycloak user resolver to align Keycloak
  users with privacyIDEA token ownership.
- LDAP/Entra federation: explicitly out of scope for this phase; tracked as
  an enterprise-tier extension point.

Define policies in privacyIDEA:
- Allowed token types: TOTP, hardware (YubiKey), passkey
- Enrollment rules (who can self-enroll, which token types)
- Admin rights separation: super-admin vs. helpdesk-admin

Enable self-service portal at `pi-account.yourdomain.com` for user token
enrollment/replacement.

Configure auditing and log shipping: privacyIDEA audit logs + Keycloak
events → centralized logging (ELK/Loki or equivalent). Token lifecycle
policies: enrollment, revocation, re-enrollment on device loss.

**Bootstrap user management (D2 extension — scope TBD):**
D2 also specifies a file-based lightweight user store for pre-Keycloak
systems (dev/test/sandbox that do not connect to the cluster). Users stored
as files in a secure subdirectory of the Linux home directory; auto-generates
two test users with `N` / `+testN` username and email suffixes. Test users
must not spill over into other systems; a mapping mechanism from sandbox
identities to production should be provided. This scope is not yet captured
in a task — see Open Questions.

**Done when:** policies documented and applied, self-service portal live,
audit logs flowing, Keycloak resolver configured.

---

### T08 — Phase 7: Backups, DR, break-glass & monitoring

```task
id: NK-WP-0001-T08
state_hub_task_id: 9cbd1d89-b5bf-491e-9d16-b1c7d57076fb
status: todo
priority: medium
```

**Backups:**
- DB backups: Keycloak + privacyIDEA (Velero or CloudNativePG scheduled
  backup to S3/MinIO). Test restore.
- privacyIDEA encryption/audit key Secrets: encrypted export, versioned.
- Keycloak realm exports: stored as JSON in git (GitOps-friendly).
- Vault unseal keys and root token: offline copy in KeePassXC.

**Disaster recovery drill** (mandatory before production):
1. Restore DB + keys into a fresh namespace.
2. Verify token validation still works — this catches key/secret mistakes.

**Break-glass procedure:**
- Disabled-by-default Keycloak admin path or group exemption.
- Break-glass credentials stored offline + vault. Alert (PagerDuty/webhook)
  on every use.

**Monitoring:**
- Prometheus scraping Keycloak + privacyIDEA metrics.
- Grafana dashboards: auth success/failure rates, MFA challenge latency,
  token count by type.
- Alert: privacyIDEA unreachable (blocks all logins).

**Final validation:**
- All external traffic: Ingress + HSTS + strict TLS.
- NetworkPolicies verified (no unintended open paths).
- End-to-end: app → Keycloak → privacyIDEA OTP → SSO session established.

**Done when:** DR drill passed, monitoring live, break-glass procedure
documented and tested, HSTS and NetworkPolicies verified.

---

## Deliverables Checklist

- [ ] KeePassXC vault created; all secrets generated and encrypted ops bundle exported
- [ ] HashiCorp Vault deployed in-cluster; secrets migrated from KeePassXC
- [ ] Secret injection strategy chosen and operational (ESO + Vault or Vault Agent)
- [ ] `sso`, `mfa`, `databases` namespaces + NetworkPolicies deployed
- [ ] TLS everywhere via cert-manager (Traefik ingress)
- [ ] PostgreSQL live; both DBs created; backup + restore tested
- [ ] privacyIDEA running at `pi.yourdomain.com`; pi-admin MFA enrolled;
      trigger-admin created with least-privilege rights
- [ ] Keycloak running from custom image including privacyIDEA Provider JAR
- [ ] Keycloak "privacyIDEA Browser" flow enforced as default
- [ ] Realm exported to git; admin secret from vault
- [ ] Self-service portal live; token lifecycle policies defined
- [ ] DR drill passed; monitoring live; break-glass documented and tested

## Open Questions

The three original pending decisions (D1 vault backend, D2 identity source
of truth, D3 GitOps tooling) have all been resolved. See `DECISIONS.md`.

Remaining open items:

1. **Secret injection strategy** — D1 resolves the vault backend (Vault
   in-cluster) but the concrete injection mechanism is still open: External
   Secrets Operator vs Vault Agent Injector. Should be decided and closed
   in T01 Phase 0b.

2. **File-based bootstrap user management (D2 extension)** — D2 specifies
   a lightweight file-based user store for pre-Keycloak environments. This
   is non-trivial scope (file format, test-user generation, isolation
   controls, production-mapping mechanism) and is not captured in any
   current task. Needs a decision: is this a task within this workplan, or
   a separate workplan/repo?

3. **AI-first / MCP layer (D3 extension)** — D3 establishes an AI-first
   development philosophy (TDD, API-first/headless, MCP layer, CLI
   tooling). This workplan currently covers only infrastructure deployment.
   Should Keycloak/privacyIDEA operations (user management, policy CRUD,
   token lifecycle) be wrapped in an MCP server or CLI? If so, this needs
   a new task or workplan.

4. **LDAP/Entra federation** — Explicitly deferred to the enterprise tier
   (D2). Track as an extension point when the time comes.

5. **Cluster target for dev/test** — D1 implies KeePassXC-based systems
   run independently of the cluster. The plan assumes single-node k3s for
   dev and ThreePhoenix for production. The sequencing between T01 Phase 0a
   (pre-cluster) and Phase 0b (in-cluster) should be confirmed once the
   Railiance cluster timeline is clearer.