---
title: CA certificate identifier is outdated
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Datadog Security > Code Security > Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  Security > IaC Security Rules > CA certificate identifier is outdated
---

# CA certificate identifier is outdated

{% callout %}
# Important note for users on the following Datadog sites: app.ddog-gov.com

{% alert level="danger" %}
This product is not supported for your selected [Datadog site](https://docs.datadoghq.com/getting_started/site.md). ().
{% /alert %}

{% /callout %}

## Metadata{% #metadata %}

**Id:** `5eccd62d-8b4d-46d3-83ea-1879f3cbd3ce`

**Cloud Provider:** AWS

**Platform:** Ansible

**Severity:** Medium

**Category:** Encryption

#### Learn More{% #learn-more %}

- [Provider Reference](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/amazon/aws/rds_instance_module.html#parameter-ca_certificate_identifier)

### Description{% #description %}

RDS instances must specify a CA certificate identifier so the database uses a known AWS CA for TLS connections and avoids broken or insecure certificate chains during CA rotations. For Ansible RDS resources (modules `amazon.aws.rds_instance` and `rds_instance`), the `ca_certificate_identifier` property must be defined and set to `rds-ca-2019`. Resources missing this property or specifying a different value are flagged. Update the value if AWS publishes a newer CA identifier.

Secure Ansible task example:

```yaml
- name: create RDS instance with CA
  amazon.aws.rds_instance:
    db_instance_identifier: my-db
    engine: mysql
    instance_class: db.t3.medium
    allocated_storage: 20
    username: admin
    password: secret
    ca_certificate_identifier: rds-ca-2019
```

## Compliant Code Examples{% #compliant-code-examples %}

```yaml
- name: create minimal aurora instance in default VPC and default subnet group
  amazon.aws.rds_instance:
    engine: aurora
    db_instance_identifier: ansible-test-aurora-db-instance
    instance_type: db.t2.small
    password: '{{ password }}'
    username: '{{ username }}'
    cluster_id: ansible-test-cluster
    ca_certificate_identifier: rds-ca-2019
- name: Create a DB instance using the default AWS KMS encryption key
  amazon.aws.rds_instance:
    id: test-encrypted-db
    state: present
    engine: mariadb
    storage_encrypted: true
    db_instance_class: db.t2.medium
    username: '{{ username }}'
    password: '{{ password }}'
    allocated_storage: '{{ allocated_storage }}'
    ca_certificate_identifier: rds-ca-2019
```

## Non-Compliant Code Examples{% #non-compliant-code-examples %}

```yaml
---
- name: create minimal aurora instance in default VPC and default subnet group
  amazon.aws.rds_instance:
    engine: aurora
    db_instance_identifier: ansible-test-aurora-db-instance
    instance_type: db.t2.small
    password: "{{ password }}"
    username: "{{ username }}"
    cluster_id: ansible-test-cluster
    ca_certificate_identifier: rds-ca-2015
- name: create a DB instance using the default AWS KMS encryption key
  amazon.aws.rds_instance:
    id: test-encrypted-db
    state: present
    engine: mariadb
    storage_encrypted: True
    db_instance_class: db.t2.medium
    username: "{{ username }}"
    password: "{{ password }}"
    allocated_storage: "{{ allocated_storage }}"
```