Automate a command which requires random keystrokes

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1

Hello All,

I have a command that has to be automated/written into playbook that requires 15-20 random keystrokes.

The scenario is; I am using certutil to generate a key.

The certutil command when run manually on the shell, asks for few keystrokes to fill in a empty space between two vertical bar with keystrokes on the cmd. Some thing like |*********|.

How do i automate this using Ansible.

Play

`

  • name: Generating CSR
    command: certutil -R -k rsa -g 2048 -n cert -s “CN={{ ref_number }}, OU=MyOU, O=MyO, L=MyL, ST=MyST, C=MyC” -d {{ dir_path }} -f {{ pass_file }} -a -o {{ ansible_fqdn }}.csr
    `

Error

`
stderr: |2-

A random seed must be generated that will be used in the
creation of your key. One of the easiest ways to create a
random seed is to use the timing of keystrokes on a keyboard.

To begin, type keys on the keyboard until this progress meter
is full. DO NOT USE THE AUTOREPEAT FUNCTION ON YOUR KEYBOARD!

Continue typing until the progress meter is full:

Finished. Press enter to continue:
certutil: unable to generate key(s)
: PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR: Encountered end of file
stderr_lines:

  • ‘’
  • A random seed must be generated that will be used in the
  • creation of your key. One of the easiest ways to create a
  • random seed is to use the timing of keystrokes on a keyboard.
  • ‘’
  • To begin, type keys on the keyboard until this progress meter
  • is full. DO NOT USE THE AUTOREPEAT FUNCTION ON YOUR KEYBOARD!
  • ‘’
  • ‘’
  • ‘Continue typing until the progress meter is full:’
  • ‘’
  • ‘’
  • ‘| |’
  • ‘|’
  • ‘’
  • 'Finished. Press enter to continue: ’
  • ‘certutil: unable to generate key(s)’
  • ‘: PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR: Encountered end of file’
    `
2

Use the -z flag to supply certutil with a noise file. Unfortunately certutil will attempt to read as much data as possible from this file so you can’t point it directly at /dev/urandom, but if you don’t have anything suitably random to point it at you can easily create a noise file in a separate step:

`

  • name: Create noise file
    command: dd if=/dev/urandom of=/var/cache/noise count=1

  • name: Generate CSR
    command: certutil -R -k rsa -g 2048 -n cert -s “CN={{ ref_number }}, OU=MyOU, O=MyO, L=MyL, ST=MyST, C=MyC” -d {{ dir_path }} -f {{ pass_file }} -z /var/cache/noise -a -o {{ ansible_fqdn }}.csr

`