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Terraform

Terraform AWS SES Credentials: A Complete Guide

By Filip on 11/12/2024

Learn how to securely manage AWS SES credentials in Terraform by creating dedicated IAM users and leveraging the `aws_ses_identity_policy` resource for granular permissions.

Terraform AWS SES Credentials: A Complete Guide

Table of Contents

Introduction

This guide provides a step-by-step approach to configuring AWS Simple Email Service (SES) using Terraform, enabling you to send emails programmatically. We'll cover creating the necessary IAM resources, generating SMTP credentials, verifying your domain, and configuring your email client.

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Create an IAM user: You'll need an IAM user with permissions to send emails via SES.

    resource "aws_iam_user" "ses_user" {
  name = "ses_user"
}

  2. Attach an IAM policy to the user: This policy will grant access to SES actions. You can use the AmazonSESFullAccess managed policy or create a custom one.

    resource "aws_iam_user_policy_attachment" "ses_policy_attachment" {
  user      = aws_iam_user.ses_user.name
  policy_arn = "arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonSESFullAccess"
}

  3. Generate SMTP credentials: Use the aws_iam_access_key resource to create an access key for the IAM user. Then, use a data source like aws_ses_smtp_credentials (from the thoughtbot/terraform-aws-ses-smtp-credentials module) to convert these into SMTP credentials.

    resource "aws_iam_access_key" "ses_access_key" {
  user = aws_iam_user.ses_user.name
}

data "aws_ses_smtp_credentials" "credentials" {
  user_name = aws_iam_user.ses_user.name
  access_key_id     = aws_iam_access_key.ses_access_key.id
  secret_access_key = aws_iam_access_key.ses_access_key.secret
}

  4. Verify your domain or email address: Before sending emails, you need to verify your domain or email address with SES. Use the aws_ses_domain_identity resource for domain verification.

    resource "aws_ses_domain_identity" "example" {
  domain = "example.com"
}

  5. Configure your email client: Use the generated SMTP credentials (username and password) from step 3 to configure your email client or application.

Important Notes:

  • Security: Store your SMTP credentials securely. Avoid hardcoding them in your code. Use environment variables or a secrets management solution.
  • Rotation: Regularly rotate your IAM access keys and SMTP credentials for enhanced security.
  • Testing: Use SES's sandbox environment for testing before moving to production.
  • Limitations: SES has sending limits. Make sure you're aware of them and request increases if needed.

Code Example

This Terraform code provisions resources on AWS to enable sending emails via Simple Email Service (SES). It creates an IAM user with necessary permissions, generates SMTP credentials, and guides through domain verification. The code utilizes a module for converting access keys to SMTP credentials and outputs the generated credentials for use with email clients. Remember to replace placeholders with actual values and handle credentials securely.

This code example demonstrates how to set up an IAM user with SES access, generate SMTP credentials, verify a domain, and configure an email client.

Important: Replace placeholders like example.com with your actual values.

# Configure the AWS Provider
terraform {
  required_providers {
    aws = {
      source  = "hashicorp/aws"
      version = "~> 4.0"
    }
  }
}

# Configure the AWS Region
provider "aws" {
  region = "us-east-1" # Replace with your desired region
}

# Create an IAM user for SES
resource "aws_iam_user" "ses_user" {
  name = "ses_user"
}

# Attach the AmazonSESFullAccess policy to the user
resource "aws_iam_user_policy_attachment" "ses_policy_attachment" {
  user      = aws_iam_user.ses_user.name
  policy_arn = "arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonSESFullAccess"
}

# Generate an access key for the IAM user
resource "aws_iam_access_key" "ses_access_key" {
  user = aws_iam_user.ses_user.name
}

# Use the thoughtbot/terraform-aws-ses-smtp-credentials module
# to convert the access key to SMTP credentials
module "ses_smtp_credentials" {
  source  = "thoughtbot/terraform-aws-ses-smtp-credentials"
  version = "~> 0.1"

  user_name = aws_iam_user.ses_user.name
  access_key_id     = aws_iam_access_key.ses_access_key.id
  secret_access_key = aws_iam_access_key.ses_access_key.secret
}

# Verify your domain with SES
resource "aws_ses_domain_identity" "example" {
  domain = "example.com" # Replace with your domain
}

# Output the generated SMTP credentials
output "smtp_credentials" {
  value = {
    username = module.ses_smtp_credentials.username
    password = module.ses_smtp_credentials.password
  }
  sensitive = true # Mark the output as sensitive
}

To use the generated credentials:

  1. Run terraform apply to create the resources.
  2. Retrieve the sensitive output values: terraform output -json smtp_credentials | jq '.password,.username'
  3. Configure your email client or application with the obtained SMTP credentials.

Remember:

  • Security: Store the output credentials securely using environment variables or a secrets management solution.
  • Rotation: Regularly rotate your IAM access keys and SMTP credentials.
  • Testing: Use the SES sandbox environment for testing before moving to production.
  • Limits: Be aware of SES sending limits and request increases if needed.

Additional Notes

IAM and Permissions:

  • Instead of using the AmazonSESFullAccess managed policy, it's best practice to create a custom IAM policy with only the specific SES actions your application requires. This enhances security by following the least privilege principle.
  • Consider using IAM Roles instead of IAM Users for applications running on EC2 instances or within other AWS services. This eliminates the need to manage long-term access keys.

SMTP Credentials:

  • The thoughtbot/terraform-aws-ses-smtp-credentials module simplifies the process of generating SMTP credentials. Ensure you're using a trusted and up-to-date module.
  • Never hardcode SMTP credentials in your code or configuration files. Use environment variables, secrets management solutions like AWS Secrets Manager, or secure parameter stores.

Domain Verification and Email Sending:

  • Domain verification is crucial for improving email deliverability and reputation. Consider also setting up SPF and DKIM records for your domain in SES.
  • When sending emails, use a reputable "From" email address that aligns with your verified domain. This helps avoid emails being flagged as spam.
  • Implement error handling in your email sending logic to gracefully handle issues like bounces, complaints, and sending limits.
  • Monitor your SES sending reputation through the Amazon SES console. Address any issues promptly to maintain good deliverability rates.

Terraform Best Practices:

  • Use Terraform workspaces or separate environments to manage different stages of your application (e.g., development, staging, production).
  • Enable Terraform Cloud or a similar solution for remote state management, collaboration, and automated deployments.
  • Format your Terraform code consistently and use comments to improve readability and maintainability.

Additional Considerations:

  • Explore SES features like email templates, sending statistics, and event notifications to enhance your email sending workflow.
  • Consider using a dedicated email sending service or library in your application code to simplify email composition, handling attachments, and managing sending limits.
  • Stay updated on SES pricing and sending limits to avoid unexpected costs or disruptions.

Summary

This guide outlines how to configure AWS Simple Email Service (SES) using Terraform to send emails from your applications.

Steps:

  1. IAM User Creation: Create a dedicated IAM user with permissions to interact with SES.
  2. Policy Attachment: Grant the IAM user access to SES actions, either using the AmazonSESFullAccess managed policy or a custom policy.
  3. SMTP Credential Generation:
    • Generate an access key for the IAM user.
    • Utilize the aws_ses_smtp_credentials data source (from the thoughtbot/terraform-aws-ses-smtp-credentials module) to convert the access key into usable SMTP credentials.
  4. Domain/Email Verification: Verify your domain or email address with SES to comply with their sending policies. This can be achieved using the aws_ses_domain_identity resource.
  5. Email Client Configuration: Configure your chosen email client or application using the generated SMTP credentials (username and password).

Security and Best Practices:

  • Secure Credential Storage: Never hardcode SMTP credentials. Utilize environment variables or a dedicated secrets management solution.
  • Credential Rotation: Regularly rotate IAM access keys and corresponding SMTP credentials to enhance security.
  • Sandbox Testing: Leverage SES's sandbox environment for testing purposes before deploying to a production environment.
  • Sending Limits: Be aware of SES sending limits and request increases if your application requires them.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can effectively set up and manage AWS SES using Terraform, enabling secure and efficient email sending from your applications. Remember to prioritize security by protecting your SMTP credentials, rotating them regularly, and adhering to best practices for IAM and SES configuration. By leveraging Terraform's infrastructure-as-code capabilities, you can automate the process, ensuring consistency and repeatability in your SES setup. Always refer to the official AWS documentation and Terraform provider documentation for the most up-to-date information and best practices.

References

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