Understanding iOS Internal CA Root Certificates and Provisioning Profiles

As a developer working on an iOS app, you may have encountered situations where your app needs to connect to secure web services that use internal company Certificate Authorities (CAs). In such cases, manually accepting certificates from the domain can be a cumbersome process. Fortunately, there is a way to add the internal CA root certificate to the provisioning profile for development environments, eliminating the need for manual certificate acceptance.

What are Internal CA Root Certificates?

An internal CA root certificate is a self-signed certificate issued by an organization’s internal Certificate Authority. These certificates are typically used for testing and development purposes within an organization before deploying them to production environments.

Understanding Provisioning Profiles

A provisioning profile is a file that contains the necessary configuration data for your iOS app, including information about the signing certificates, bundle identifiers, and permissions required for the app. When you create a provisioning profile, you specify which users or teams will have access to it, as well as any certificates that need to be trusted by the device.

Adding Internal CA Root Certificates to Provisioning Profiles

To add an internal CA root certificate to a provisioning profile, follow these steps:

1. Create a new keychain entry for your internal CA root certificate.
   • Open Keychain Access (located in /Applications/Utilities).
   • Click on “Trust” and then select “Always Trust”.
2. Export the internal CA root certificate from the keychain.
   • Go to “File” > “Export” > “Export Selected Certificates…”
   • Select the internal CA root certificate and click “Export”.
3. Create a new .p12 file containing your internal CA root certificate.
   • Use a tool like OpenSSL to generate the .p12 file (e.g., openssl pkcs12 -inkey -keyout -nodes -out -cert).
4. Import the .p12 file into Xcode or create a new provisioning profile in the Xcode Organizer.

Trusting Internal CA Root Certificates on iOS Devices

To trust internal CA root certificates on an iOS device, follow these steps:

1. Open Keychain Access (located in /Applications/Utilities).
2. Locate the internal CA root certificate and click on it to select it.
3. Go to “Trust” > “Always Trust”.
4. Repeat this process for each device you want to trust.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with trusting internal CA root certificates, ensure that:

• The internal CA root certificate is correctly installed on the iOS device.
• The provisioning profile is properly configured and imported into Xcode or the Xcode Organizer.
• You have verified that the certificate chain includes a valid root CA.

Alternative Solutions

If adding an internal CA root certificate to the provisioning profile does not work, consider the following alternative solutions:

Option 1: Buying a Certificate

You can purchase a trusted certificate from a reputable Certificate Authority (CA) like GlobalSign or Comodo. These certificates typically come with a fee and require manual configuration on your device.

# Generating an SSL Certificate
## Using OpenSSL

```bash
# Create a new CA
openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -out ca.pem -keyout ca.key -days 3650

# Create a server certificate
openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -in ca.pem -out cert.pem -key key.pem -days 365

Installing the Certificate on Your Device

• Go to Settings > General > About.
• Tap “Certificates, Trust, and More…”
• Select the purchased certificate from the list of trusted CAs.

Option 2: Switching to ASI Framework

The ASI framework is a wrapper around the HTTPS networking functionality provided by iOS. It allows you to bypass certificate validation issues without modifying your app’s code. However, using ASI requires more configuration and may have security implications if not implemented correctly.

# Using ASI Framework

## Importing ASI Framework

```objc
#import <ASINetwork.h>

Configuring the ASI Client

ASIURLRequest *request = [ASIURLRequest requestWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"https://example.com"]];
ASISession *session = [[ASISession alloc] initWithHost:nil port:443];
[session setProxyRequestHandler:^id ASIHTTPRequestProxyRequestHandler *_ {
    // Manual certificate validation implementation
}];

Conclusion

Adding an internal CA root certificate to the provisioning profile is a convenient solution for development environments. By following these steps, you can ensure that your iOS app connects securely to services using self-signed certificates without requiring manual certificate acceptance.

If adding the internal CA root certificate to the provisioning profile fails, consider alternative solutions like buying a trusted certificate or switching to an ASI framework wrapper around HTTPS networking functionality. Remember to weigh the pros and cons of each solution before making an informed decision for your specific use case.

Last modified on 2024-06-22