Configuring RBAC with CasC for controllers

Configure global Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) by adding the rbac.yaml file to the configuration bundle. Additionally, the authorizationStrategy attribute must be added to the jenkins.yaml file.

Prerequisites

The following software and plugins must be installed to use RBAC with CasC:

If using CloudBees CI 2.249.3.1 - 2.303.3.3: CloudBees CasC API (Deprecated) plugin, version 1.2 - 1.41
If using CloudBees CI 2.319.1.5 or later: CloudBees CasC Client plugin, version 1.44 or later
Configuration as Code plugin
CloudBees CasC Items API plugin

Required setup

Define groups and roles at the controller-level using the Configuration as Code rbac.yaml file.

Variable resolution: To use variables within the RBAC configuration file (rbac.yaml), configure variable resolution for items within a CasC bundle. For more information, refer to Configuring variable resolution for the RBAC configurations in a CasC bundle
Controller authorization strategy: To apply RBAC settings (rbac.yaml) to a controller using CasC, the controller’s authorization strategy must not be inherited from operations center. For more information, see Configuring the controller authorization strategy.
User management: Users need to be created in your CloudBees CI system either by an identity provider (like LDAP) or manually. The examples below assume the users exist.
Item management: To apply RBAC groups and/or roles to items, the CasC configuration bundle must include an items.yaml file with the defined items. For more information, refer to Creating items with CasC for controllers.

Configuring variable resolution for the RBAC configurations in a CasC bundle

CasC variable resolution refers to the ability to use variables within configuration files (such as rbac.yaml) to insert and substitute values during the creation of roles and groups in CloudBees CI. This feature allows administrators or non-administrators to manage configurations by using placeholders that can be replaced with actual values at runtime.

Variable resolution can be enabled or disabled for administrators and non-administrators, with the non-administrator setting being dependent on the administrator setting.

To configure variable resolution for items in a bundle by doing one of the following:

Configure the cascItemsConfiguration value in the jenkins.yaml file.
Enable the Enable or disable variable resolution for CasC administrator on the System Configuration page in the UI.

Variable resolution can also be configured for items imported from the items.yaml file. For more information, refer to Configure variable resolution for items in a CasC bundle.

Configure the `jenkins.yaml` file to handle variable resolution in the `rbac.yaml` file

Set variable resolutions for items in a bundle by configuring the cascItemsConfiguration value in the jenkins.yaml file.

unclassified:
  cascItemsConfiguration:
    variableInterpolationEnabledForAdmin: true (1)
    variableInterpolationEnabledForNonAdmin: true (2)▼

1	Set the `variableInterpolationEnabledForAdmin` value to `true` to allow administrators to use the variable resolution for items in the `rbac.yaml` file. The value is set to `false` by default.
2	Set the `variableInterpolationEnabledForNonAdmin` value to `true` to allow non-administrators to use the variable resolution for items in the `rbac.yaml` file. The value is set to `false` by default.

The variableInterpolationEnabledForNonAdmin setting is ignored if the variable resolution is not allowed (false) for administrators. For example:

If variableInterpolationEnabledForAdmin is false for administrators, then the variable resolution is also not allowed for non-administrators even if variableInterpolationEnabledForNonAdmin is set to true.
If variableInterpolationEnabledForAdmin is true for administrators, then variable resolution is allowed for non-administrators if variableInterpolationEnabledForNonAdmin is also set to true.

Configure the variable resolution in the controller

To enable variable resolution in controllers, configure the CasC Variable Resolution Configuration setting on the System configuration page.

To configure the variable resolution in the controller:

Navigate to CasC Variable Resolution Configuration.

Figure 1. Enable variable resolution

Select one of the following:

Enable or disable variable resolution for CasC administrator: This allows administrators to use the variable resolution for RBAC configurations imported from the rbac.yaml files. This setting is disabled by default.

Enable or disable variable resolution for non-administrator: This allows non-administrators to use the variable resolution for RBAC configuations imported from the rbac.yaml files. This setting is disabled by default.

The Enable or disable variable resolution for non-administrator setting is ignored if the variable resolution is not allowed (disabled) for administrators. For example:

If Enable or disable variable resolution for CasC administrator is disabled, then the variable resolution is also not allowed for non-administrators even if Enable or disable variable resolution for non-administrator is selected.
If Enable or disable variable resolution for CasC administrator is enabled, then variable resolution is allowed for non-administrators if Enable or disable variable resolution for non-administrator is also selected.

Select Save.

Escapte variable expressions

To prevent exposure of variable resolution values and potentially leaking secrets, the rbac.yaml file in a CasC bundle can escape variable expressions.

In the example below, the rbac.yaml contains a group with a display name ${ADMINISTRATORS_GROUP_NAME} and a role permission with the display name ${ADMINISTER_PERMISSION}.

removeStrategy:
  rbac: "sync"

groups:
  - name: "${ADMINISTRATORS_GROUP_NAME}"
    members:
      users:
        - "me@myorg.com"
    roles:
      - name: "administer"
        grantedAt: "current"
        propagates: "false"
roles:
  - name: "administer"
    filterable: "false"
    permissions:
      - "${ADMINISTER_PERMISSION}"▼

The varibles.yaml contains variables names variables ADMINISTRATORS_GROUP_NAME: Administrators and ADMINISTER_PERMISSION: hudson.model.Hudson.Administer.

variables:
  - ADMINISTRATORS_GROUP_NAME: Administrators
  - ADMINISTER_PERMISSION: hudson.model.Hudson.Administer▼

When the variable resolution setting is enabled in the UI or the jenkins.yaml file, CasC removes the circumflex (^) character and treats the following $ as plain text. In the UI, the first folder name is displayed without ^ character. For the second folder’s display name, the variable is substituted with its value.

Figure 2. Folder name without the ^ character when the variable resolution is enabled

When the variable resolution setting is disabled, CasC treats the displayName values as plain text in both cases. In the UI, the folder names displays all the characters of the configured strings including the circumflex (^).

Figure 3. Folder name with all characters displayed when the variable resolution is disabled

Configuring the controller authorization strategy

To apply RBAC settings (rbac.yaml) to an individual controller using Configuration as Code, the controller’s authorization strategy must not be inherited from the operations center.

If groups and roles are defined in the operations center or if RBAC is only used with the items.yaml file, you do not need to opt out of inheriting the operations center’s authorization strategy.

To configure the controller authorization strategy:

Ensure you are signed in to the operations center as a user with the Administer permission.
From the operations center dashboard, in the left pane, select Manage Jenkins.
Select Configure Global Security.
Scroll down to Client controller security and select Allow client controllers to opt-out.
Select Save.

For more information on how to customize the authorization strategy for an individual controller, refer to Configuring SSO in the operations center.
From the operations center dashboard, select the down arrow to the right of your controller’s name, and then select Configure.

Figure 4. Controller dropdown menu
Scroll down to Security Setting Enforcement and select either Enforce Authentication only or Opt out of all security enforcement.

For more information on how to customize the authorization strategy for an individual controller, refer to Configuring options for individual controllers.

Exporting RBAC configurations

You can export Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) configurations from an existing controller. For more information, refer to Exporting a CasC configuration.

The exported file should be used as a starting point, as it may require modifications and adjustments to make it production-ready.

Example CasC configuration bundle with items

Example bundle.yaml file

id: "remove-bundle"
version: "1"
apiVersion: "1"
description: "CasC bundle with removeStrategy in descriptor"
allowCapExceptions: true
availabilityPattern: "folder1/.*"
parent: "bundle-global"
jcasc:
  - "jenkins.yaml"
jcascMergeStrategy: "errorOnConflict"
plugins:
  - "plugins.yaml"
catalog:
  - "plugin-catalog.yaml"
itemRemoveStrategy:
  items: "remove-all"
  rbac: "sync"
rbacRemoveStrategy: "sync"
items:
  - "items.yaml"
rbac:
  - "rbac.yaml"
variables:
  - "variables.yaml"▼

Example jenkins.yaml file

jenkins:
  systemMessage: "Controller configured using CloudBees CasC"
  numExecutors: 0
  securityRealm:
    ldap:
      configurations:
      - displayNameAttributeName: "cn"
        groupMembershipStrategy:
          fromGroupSearch:
            filter: "member={0}"
        groupSearchBase: "ou=Groups"
        inhibitInferRootDN: false
        managerDN: "cn=admin,dc=example,dc=org"
        managerPasswordSecret: ${LDAP_MANAGER_PASSWORD}
        rootDN: "dc=example,dc=org"
        server: "ldap://ldap-openldap:389"
        userSearchBase: "ou=People"
      disableMailAddressResolver: false
      groupIdStrategy: "caseInsensitive"
      userIdStrategy: "caseInsensitive"
  authorizationStrategy: "cloudBeesRoleBasedAccessControl"(1)
globalCloudBeesPipelineTemplateCatalog:(2)
  catalogs:
  - branchOrTag: "main"
    scm:
      git:
        credentialsId: "credentials-id"
        id: "cf504eg3-4y5d-34w2-97b1-2q7xt2nm9731"(3)
        remote: "git@github.com:company/project-alpha.git"
    updateInterval: "1d"▼

1	Required to use CloudBees RBAC configured using CasC.
2	Required if using CasC to create a job based on a Pipeline Template Catalog.
3	Required property that defines the unique ID for the SCM repository where the Pipeline Template Catalog is stored.

Example plugins.yaml file

plugins:
  # In CloudBees Assurance Program (CAP)
  - id: "bitbucket-branch-source"
  - id: "branch-api"
  - id: "cloudbees-casc-client"
  - id: "cloudbees-casc-items-api"
  - id: "cloudbees-casc-items-commons"
  - id: "cloudbees-casc-items-controller"
  - id: "cloudbees-template"
  - id: "cloudbees-workflow-template"
  - id: "configuration-as-code"
  - id: "git"
  - id: "github-branch-source"
  - id: "infradna-backup"
  - id: "support-core"
  - id: "workflow-multibranch"
  # Not in CAP (see plugin-catalog.yaml)
  - id: "manage-permission"▼

Example plugin-catalog.yaml file

type: "plugin-catalog"
version: "1"(1)
name: "my-plugin-catalog"
displayName: "My Plugin Catalog"
configurations:
  - description: "Extensions to CAP"
    includePlugins:
      manage-permission:(2)
        version: 1.0.1(3)
      #my-custom-plugin:
        #url: http://www.example.org/jenkins-plugins/my-custom-plugin-1.2.3.hpi
    beekeeperExceptions:
      support-core:
        version: "2.70"▼

1	`version` (required) - must currently have the value 1, which defines the current metadata format for the plugin catalog.
2	Add the `manage-permission` plugin to enable the Overall/Manage permission.
3	Replace 1.0.1 with the most recent version.

Example items.yaml file

If a CloudBees CI GitHub Organization is used to configure a repository from a GitHub Enterprise server and you add the server to the Configure System screen, API endpoint is a required field. You must verify that the apiUri property is configured in the items.yaml file. If the GitHub server is not an enterprise server, you can optionally remove the apiUri property from the items.yaml file.

removeStrategy:
  items: "none"
  rbac: "sync"

items:
  - kind: "folder"
    name: project-${team_group}
    displayName: "Project Alpha"
    description: "Project Alpha is going to change the world!"
    properties:
      - folderCredentialsProperty:
          folderCredentials:
            - credentials:
                - usernamePassword:
                    password: ${secret_location}
                    scope: GLOBAL
                    description: description
                    id: test-id
                    usernameSecret: false
                    username: test-user
              domain: {}
    groups:
      - name: "Project Alpha Developers"
        members:
          external_groups:
            - ldap-project-${team_group}
        roles:
          - name: "developer"
    items:(1)
      - kind: "folder"
        name: "project-alpha-tests"
        displayName: "Project Alpha Tests"
        items:
          - kind: "folder"
            name: "test-1"
          - kind: "folder"
            name: "test-2"
  - kind: "folder"
    name: "project-beta"
    displayName: "Project Beta"
    description: "Secret project! Only Admins can see this!"
    filteredRoles:(2)
      - "developer"
      - "browser"▼

1	Items can be nested within other items, enabling users to create a folder structure.
2	Roles can be filtered, for example to allow only administrators to view certain projects.

removeStrategy:
  items: "none"
  rbac: "sync"

items:(1)
  - kind: "folder"
    name: project-${team_group}
    displayName: "Project Alpha"
    description: "Project Alpha is going to change the world!"
    groups:
      - name: "Project Alpha Developers"
        members:
          external_groups:
            - ldap-project-${team_group}
        roles:
          - name: "developer"
    items:
      - kind: "folder"
        name: "project-alpha-tests"
        displayName: "Project Alpha Tests"
        items:
          - kind: "folder"
            name: "test-1"
          - kind: "folder"
            name: "test-2"
    properties:
      - envVars:
          vars:
            FOO: "BAR"
            BAR: "BAZ"
      - folderLibraries:
          libraries:
            - libraryConfiguration:
                implicit: false
                allowVersionOverride: true
                retriever:
                  modernSCM:
                    scm:
                      github:
                        traits:
                          - gitHubBranchDiscovery:
                              strategyId: 1
                          - gitHubPullRequestDiscovery:
                              strategyId: 1
                          - gitHubForkDiscovery:
                              trust:
                                gitHubTrustEveryone: {}
                              strategyId: 1
                        repoOwner: "company"
                        id: "library-id"
                        repository: "project-alpha"
                        configuredByUrl: true
                        repositoryUrl: "https://github.com/company/project-alpha"
                name: "my-library"
                includeInChangesets: true
      - folderCredentialsProperty:
          folderCredentials:
            - credentials:
                - usernamePassword:
                    password: ${secret_location}
                    scope: GLOBAL
                    description: description
                    id: test-id
                    usernameSecret: false
                    username: test-user
              domain: {}
      - itemRestrictions:
          allowedTypes:
            - "org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.job.WorkflowJob"
            - "hudson.matrix.MatrixProject"
            - "hudson.model.FreeStyleProject"
            - "com.cloudbees.hudson.plugins.modeling.impl.jobTemplate.JobTemplate"
            - "com.cloudbees.hudson.plugins.folder.Folder"
            - "com.cloudbees.hudson.plugins.modeling.impl.builder.BuilderTemplate"
            - "com.cloudbees.hudson.plugins.modeling.impl.auxiliary.AuxModel"
            - "org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.multibranch.WorkflowMultiBranchProject"
            - "com.cloudbees.hudson.plugins.modeling.impl.publisher.PublisherTemplate"
            - "com.cloudbees.hudson.plugins.modeling.impl.folder.FolderTemplate"
            - "com.infradna.hudson.plugins.backup.BackupProject"
          filter: true
    items:
      - kind: "freeStyle"
        name: "project-alpha-freestyle"
        displayName: "Freestyle job in the Project Alpha folder"
  - kind: "folder"
    name: "project-beta"
    displayName: "Project Beta"
    description: "Secret project! Only Admins can see this!"
    filteredRoles:(2)
      - "developer"
      - "browser"▼

1	Items can be nested within other items, enabling users to create a folder structure.
2	Roles can be filtered, for example to allow only administrators to view certain projects.

removeStrategy:
  items: "none"
  rbac: "sync"

items:
  - kind: "freeStyle"
    name: "project-alpha-freestyle"
    displayName: "Project Alpha Freestyle"
    description: "This is Project Alpha's Freestyle job!"
    disabled: false
    scm:
      gitSCM:
        extensions:
          - checkoutOption:
              timeout: 4
        gitTool: git
        userRemoteConfigs:
          - userRemoteConfig:
              name: "developer-a"
              credentialsId: "credentials-id"
              url: "git@github.com:company/project-alpha.git"
        browser:
          githubWeb:
            repoUrl: "https://github.com/company/project-alpha"
        doGenerateSubmoduleConfigurations: false
        branches:
          - branchSpec:
              name: "*/main"
    buildDiscarder:
      logRotator:
        artifactDaysToKeep: 3
        daysToKeep: 1
        numToKeep: 2
        artifactNumToKeep: 4
    scmCheckoutStrategy:
      standard: { }
    builders:
      - shell:
          command: "pwd"▼

removeStrategy:
  items: "none"
  rbac: "sync"

items:
  - kind: "pipeline"
    name: "project-beta-pipeline-job"
    displayName: "Project Beta Pipeline job"
    description: "This is Project Beta's Pipeline job!"
    definition:
      cpsScmFlowDefinition:
        scriptPath: "Jenkinsfile"
        scm:
          gitSCM:
            gitTool: "git"
            userRemoteConfigs:
              - userRemoteConfig:
                  name: "developer-b"
                  credentialsId: "credentials-id"
                  url: "git@github.com:company/project-beta.git"
            extensions:
              - checkoutOption:
                  timeout: 2
              - cloneOption:
                  reference: "/workspace/git"
                  noTags: false
                  honorRefspec: false
                  shallow: true
                  timeout: 5
            branches:
              - branchSpec:
                  name: "*/main"▼

removeStrategy:
  items: "none"
  rbac: "sync"

items:
  - kind: "multibranch"
      name: "project-beta-multibranch-pipeline"
      displayName: "Project Beta Multibranch Pipeline"
      description: "This is Project Beta's Multibranch Pipeline job!"
      orphanedItemStrategy:
        defaultOrphanedItemStrategy:
          pruneDeadBranches: true
          daysToKeep: 3
          numToKeep: 4
      projectFactory:
        workflowBranchProjectFactory:
          scriptPath: "Jenkinsfile"
    sourcesList:
      - branchSource:
          source:
            github:
              traits:
                - gitHubBranchDiscovery:
                    strategyId: 1
                - gitHubPullRequestDiscovery:
                    strategyId: 1
                - gitHubForkDiscovery:
                    trust:
                      gitHubTrustEveryone: {}
                    strategyId: 1
                - headWildcardFilter:
                    excludes: "feature/*"
                    includes: "*"
                - gitHubSshCheckout:
                    credentialsId: "github-ssh"
              repoOwner: "company"
              id: "scm-source-id"
              repository: "project-alpha"
              configuredByUrl: true
              repositoryUrl: "https://github.com/company/project-beta"
          strategy:
            allBranchesSame: {}▼

removeStrategy:
  items: "none"
  rbac: "sync"

items:
  - kind: "organizationFolder"
    name: "project-alpha-github-org"
    displayName: "Project Alpha GitHub Organization job"
    description: "This is Project Alpha's Github Organization job!"
    navigators:
      - github:
          traits:
            - checkoutOptionTrait:
                extension:
                  checkoutOption:
                    timeout: 5
            - cloneOptionTrait:
                extension:
                  cloneOption:
                    reference: main
                    noTags: false
                    honorRefspec: false
                    shallow: true
                    timeout: 6
          repoOwner: "company"
    projectFactories:
      - customMultiBranchProjectFactory:
          factory:
            customBranchProjectFactory:
              marker: ".my-marker-file"
              definition:
                cpsScmFlowDefinition:
                  scriptPath: "pipelines/default/Jenkinsfile"
                  scm:
                    gitSCM:
                      extensions:
                        - checkoutOption:
                            timeout: 4
                      gitTool: "git"
                      userRemoteConfigs:
                        - userRemoteConfig:
                            name: "admin-a"
                            credentialsId: "credentials-id"
                            url: "git@github.com:company/project-alpha.git"
                      browser:
                        githubWeb:
                          repoUrl: "git@github.com:company/project-alpha"
                      branches:
                        - branchSpec:
                            name: "*/main"
                  lightweight: false▼

removeStrategy:
  items: "none"
  rbac: "sync"

items:
  - kind: "organizationFolder"
    name: "project-beta-bitbucket-org"
    displayName: "Project Beta Bitbucket Organization job"
    description: "This is Project Beta's Bitbucket Organization job!"
    navigators:
      - bitbucket:
          traits:
            - bitbucketBranchDiscovery:
                strategyId: 1
            - bitbucketPullRequestDiscovery:
                strategyId: 1
            - bitbucketForkDiscovery:
                trust:
                  bitbucketTrustTeam: {}
                strategyId: 1
          repoOwner: "company"
    projectFactories:
      - workflowMultiBranchProjectFactory:
          scriptPath: "Jenkinsfile"▼

removeStrategy:
  items: "none"
  rbac: "sync"

items:
  - kind: "cloudbeesTemplatedJob"
    name: "job-template-alpha"
    model: "folder1/template"(1)
    attributes:(2)
      - value: job-template-alpha(3)
        key: name
      - value: the description
        key: description
      - value: pwd
        key: command▼

1	The full path to the template.
2	Attributes defined in the CloudBees job template.
3	The name of the new instance you are creating based on the template.

removeStrategy:
  items: "none"
  rbac: "sync"

items:
  - kind: "cloudbeesTemplatedJob"
    name: "my-new-job"
    catalog: "project-alpha-pipeline-template-catalog"(1)
    model: "template-alpha"(2)
    attributes:(3)
      - value: template-alpha(4)
        key: name
      - value: the description
        key: description
      - value: pwd
        key: command▼

1	The name of the Pipeline Template Catalog that is defined in the `catalog.yaml` file.
2	The name of the template within the Pipeline Template Catalog.
3	Attributes defined in the CloudBees job template.
4	The name of the new job you are creating based on the template.

removeStrategy:
  items: "none"
  rbac: "sync"

items:
  - kind: backupAndRestore
    name: project-alpha-backup
    displayName: "Project Alpha backup"
    description: "This is Project Alpha's backup job!"
    buildersList:
      - backupBuilder:
          subjects:
            - buildRecordSubject:
                excludes: foo
            - jobConfigurationSubject:
                excludes: bar
            - systemConfigurationSubject:
                excludes: baz
                omitMasterKey: true
          format:
            zipFormat: {}
          exclusive: false
          store:
            s3Store:
              bucketName: bucket
              sse: true
              bucketFolder: bucketFolder
              credentialsId: testCredential
              region: us-east-1
          retentionPolicy:
            exponentialDecayRetentionPolicy: {}
          safeDelaySeconds: 42
    label: agent-for-backup
    triggers:
      - cron:
          spec: 0 0 * * *
    buildDiscarder:
      logRotator:
        numToKeep: 5▼

removeStrategy:
  items: "none"
  rbac: "sync"

items:
  - kind: backupAndRestore
    name: project-alpha-restore
    displayName: "Project Alpha restore"
    description: "This is Project Alpha's restore job!"
    buildersList:
      - restoreBuilder:
          ignoreConfirmationFile: false
          preserveJenkinsHome: true
          ignoreDigestCheck: true
          store:
            s3Store:
              bucketName: bucket
              sse: true
              bucketFolder: bucketFolder
              credentialsId: testCredential
              region: us-east-1
          restoreDirectory: /tmp
    label: agent-for-restore
    buildDiscarder:
      logRotator:
        numToKeep: 5▼

Example rbac.yaml file

removeStrategy:
  rbac: "SYNC"(1)

roles:
  - name: administer
    permissions:
      - hudson.model.Hudson.Administer
  - name: developer
    permissions:
      - hudson.model.Hudson.Read
      - hudson.model.Item.Read
      - hudson.model.Item.Create
      - hudson.model.Item.Configure
    filterable: "true"(2)
  - name: browser
    permissions:
    - hudson.model.Hudson.Read
    - hudson.model.Item.Read
    filterable: "true"
  - name: authenticated
    filterable: "true"
    permissions:
    - hudson.model.Hudson.Read

groups:
  - name: Administrators
    roles:
      - name: administer
        grantedAt: current(3)
    members:
      users:
        - admin
      external_groups:
        - ${external_admin_group}
  - name: Developers
    roles:(4) (5)
      - name: developer
    members:
      users:
        - developer
      internal_groups:
        - "some-other-group"
      external_groups:
        - "ldap-cb-developers"
  - name: Browsers
    roles:
      - name: browser
    members:
      users:
        - read▼

1	For security reasons, SYNC is here to remove groups/roles from CloudBees Continuous Integration when they are removed from this file.
2	If filterable is not included, the default value is “false”.
3	Other options that could be used here include: "child" or "grandchild".
4	If propagates is not included, the default value is "true".
5	If grantedAt is not included, the default value is "current".

Example variables.yaml file

  variables:
    - key: value
    - long_text: |-
        multiline string without
        quotes
    - another: text
    - team_name: Team Alpha
    - team_group: alpha
    - external_admin_group: ldap-cb-admins▼