Sign inTry Free

Connect to SingleStore using TLS/SSL

On this page

Most client connections are TLS/SSL by default, even if no parameters are specified.

The options available that ensure a TLS/SSL connection are:

  • Using the client side flag, such as --ssl-mode=REQUIRED in MySQL/Singlestore clients.

  • Using a user created with REQUIRE SSL (enforces on the server side).

You can provide a client certificate and client key while connecting using --ssl-cert and --ssl-key options. This client certificate gets verified by the CA set using the variable ssl-ca-for-client-cert. This should be set in memsql.cnf.

The VERIFY_CA option is not required to use TLS/SSL. However, it can be used to prevent sophisticated man-in-the-middle attacks where a would-be attacker can impersonate a server when SSL is disabled or create a secure connection by impersonating a server using an illegitimate server certificate. If this is a concern, then use offline CA files in any SSL connection (not only Singlestore).

Refer to SSL Secure Connections for more information.

Refer to The SingleStore JDBC Driver for details on how to connect using JDBC.

Generating Client Certificates for SingleStore mTLS Connections

The following instructions can be used to create a client certificate/key pair signed by the CA. These files can then be used with SingleStore’s --ssl-cert and --ssl-key options for secure mutual TLS (mTLS) authentication.

If you already have a CA certificate from your organization or another trusted source, you can skip the "Create a Certificate Authority" section below and use your existing CA to sign the client certificate. The generated CA certificates can be used for local testing.

The CA certificate (ca-cert.pem) must also be trusted by the SingleStore cluster configuration for client authentication.

Prerequisites

OpenSSL must be installed (for example for Ubuntu/Debian).

sudo apt-get install openssl -y

Create a Certificate Authority (CA)

  1. Generate a CA private key as follows:

    openssl genrsa -out ca-key.pem 4096

  2. Generate a CA certificate as follows:

    openssl req -x509 -new -nodes -key ca-key.pem -sha256 -days 3650 -out ca-cert.pem \ 
-subj
"/C=US/ST=CA/L=SanFrancisco/O=ExampleOrg/OU=IT/CN=Example-CA"

You now have:

  • ca-key.pem: The private key for your CA.

  • ca-cert.pem: The public CA certificate.

Keep the CA key (ca-key.pem) private and secure.

Create the Client Certificate and Key

  1. Generate the client private key and certificate signing request (CSR) as follows:

    openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout client-key.pem -out client-req.pem \ 
-subj
"/C=US/ST=CA/L=SanFrancisco/O=ExampleOrg/OU=Client/CN=client.example.com"

  2. Create a client certificate signed by the CA. The following command uses the CA’s certificate and key to sign the client’s certificate.

    openssl x509 -req -in client-req.pem -CA ca-cert.pem -CAkey ca-key.pem \  
-CAcreateserial -out client-cert.pem -days 365 -sha256

You now have:

  • client-key.pem: Client private key.

  • client-cert.pem: Client certificate signed by the CA.

Verify the Certificates

You can confirm that the client certificate is properly signed by the CA by using the below command:

openssl verify -CAfile ca-cert.pem client-cert.pem

The resulting output should be:

client-cert.pem: OK

Using the Certificates

When connecting to SingleStore with mTLS, specify the client certificate and key. Ensure the server is configured with server cert and key before using the following command.

mysql -u user \
--ssl-ca=/path/to/ca.pem \
--tls-version=TLSv1.2 \
--ssl-cert=/path/to/client-cert.pem \    	
--ssl-key=/path/to/client-key.pem

Last modified: October 30, 2025

Was this article helpful?

On this page

Was this article helpful?

Verification instructions

Note: You must install cosign to verify the authenticity of the SingleStore file.

Use the following steps to verify the authenticity of singlestoredb-server, singlestoredb-toolbox, singlestoredb-studio, and singlestore-client SingleStore files that have been downloaded.

You may perform the following steps on any computer that can run cosign, such as the main deployment host of the cluster.

  1. (Optional) Run the following command to view the associated signature files.

    curl undefined

  2. Download the signature file from the SingleStore release server.

    • Option 1: Click the Download Signature button next to the SingleStore file.

    • Option 2: Copy and paste the following URL into the address bar of your browser and save the signature file.

    • Option 3: Run the following command to download the signature file.

      curl -O undefined

  3. After the signature file has been downloaded, run the following command to verify the authenticity of the SingleStore file.

    echo -n undefined |
        cosign verify-blob --certificate-oidc-issuer https://oidc.eks.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/id/CCDCDBA1379A5596AB5B2E46DCA385BC \
          --certificate-identity https://kubernetes.io/namespaces/freya-production/serviceaccounts/job-worker \
          --bundle undefined \
          --new-bundle-format -
    Verified OK

Try Out This Notebook to See What’s Possible in SingleStore

Get access to other groundbreaking datasets and engage with our community for expert advice.

Sign UpLog In