AWS elasticbeanstalk documentation change
Summary
Updated terminology from 'environment properties' to 'environment variables', added guidance for secrets management integration (Secrets Manager/SSM Parameter Store), and clarified Tomcat platform access methods for environment variables
Security assessment
Adds documentation about secure handling of sensitive data through integration with AWS Secrets Manager and SSM Parameter Store. While improving security practices, there's no explicit mention of addressing a specific vulnerability.
Diff
diff --git a/elasticbeanstalk/latest/dg/environments-cfg-softwaresettings.md b/elasticbeanstalk/latest/dg/environments-cfg-softwaresettings.md index 2764f352d..b40c44b35 100644 --- a/elasticbeanstalk/latest/dg/environments-cfg-softwaresettings.md +++ b/elasticbeanstalk/latest/dg/environments-cfg-softwaresettings.md @@ -7 +7 @@ Configure platform-specific settingsConfiguring environment properties (environm -# Environment properties and other software settings +# Environment variables and other software settings @@ -9 +9 @@ Configure platform-specific settingsConfiguring environment properties (environm -The **Configure updates, monitoring, and logging** configuration page lets you configure the software on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances that run your application. You can configure environment properties, AWS X-Ray debugging, instance log storing and streaming, and platform-specific settings. +The **Configure updates, monitoring, and logging** configuration page lets you configure the software on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances that run your application. You can configure environment variables, AWS X-Ray debugging, instance log storing and streaming, and platform-specific settings. @@ -89 +89 @@ For information about platform-specific options, and about getting environment p -You can use **environment properties** , (also known as _environment variables_), to pass secrets, endpoints, debug settings, and other information to your application. Environment properties help you run your application in multiple environments for different purposes, such as development, testing, staging, and production. +You can use **environment properties** , (also known as **environment variables**), to pass endpoints, debug settings, and other information to your application. Environment variables help you run your application in multiple environments for different purposes, such as development, testing, staging, and production. @@ -91 +91 @@ You can use **environment properties** , (also known as _environment variables_) -In addition, when you [add a database to your environment](./using-features.managing.db.html), Elastic Beanstalk sets environment properties, such as `RDS_HOSTNAME`, that you can read in your application code to construct a connection object or string. +In addition, when you [add a database to your environment](./using-features.managing.db.html), Elastic Beanstalk sets environment variables, such as `RDS_HOSTNAME`, that you can read in your application code to construct a connection object or string. @@ -93,5 +93 @@ In addition, when you [add a database to your environment](./using-features.mana -###### Environment variables - -In most cases, environment properties are passed to your application as _environment variables_ , but the behavior is platform dependent. For example, [the Java SE platform](./java-se-platform.html) sets environment variables that you retrieve with `System.getenv`, while [the Tomcat platform](./java-tomcat-platform.html) sets Java system properties that you retrieve with `System.getProperty`. In general, properties are _not_ visible if you connect to an instance and run `env`. - -###### To configure environment properties in the Elastic Beanstalk console +###### To configure environment variables in the Elastic Beanstalk console @@ -111 +107,3 @@ If you have many environments, use the search bar to filter the environment list - 5. Scroll down to **Environment properties**. + 5. Scroll down to **Runtime environment variables**. + + 6. Select **Add environment variable**. @@ -113 +111,3 @@ If you have many environments, use the search bar to filter the environment list - 6. Select **Add environment property**. + 7. For **Source** select **Plain text**. + +###### Note @@ -115 +115 @@ If you have many environments, use the search bar to filter the environment list - 7. Enter the property **Name** and **Value** pairs. +The **Secrets Manager** and **SSM Parameter Store** values in the drop-down are for configuring environment variables as secrets to store sensitive data, such as credentials and API keys. For more information, see [Using Elastic Beanstalk with AWS Secrets Manager and AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store](./AWSHowTo.secrets.html). @@ -117 +117 @@ If you have many environments, use the search bar to filter the environment list - 8. If you need to add more variables repeat **Step 6** and **Step 7**. + 8. Enter the **Environment variable name** and **Environment variable value** pairs. @@ -119 +119,3 @@ If you have many environments, use the search bar to filter the environment list - 9. To save the changes choose **Apply** at the bottom of the page. + 9. If you need to add more variables repeat **Step 6** through **Step 8**. + + 10. To save the changes choose **Apply** at the bottom of the page. @@ -230 +232,3 @@ In most cases, you access environment properties in your application code like a - * [Tomcat](./java-tomcat-platform.html#java-tomcat-options-properties) – `System.getProperty` + * [Tomcat](./java-tomcat-platform.html#java-tomcat-options-properties) – `System.getProperty` and `System.getenv` + +Tomcat platform versions released on or after [March 26, 2025](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticbeanstalk/latest/relnotes/release-2025-03-26-windows.html), can also use `System.getenv` to access plaintext environment variables. You can continue to use `System.getProperty` to access plaintext environment variables. However, [environment variables stored as secrets](./AWSHowTo.secrets.env-vars.html) are only available using `System.getenv`. @@ -233,0 +238,2 @@ In most cases, you access environment properties in your application code like a + String endpoint = System.getenv("API_ENDPOINT"); +