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To provision an ESP32-S3 with a certificate signing request (CSR), the device creates a key pair, keeps the private key, and sends the PEM CSR to AWS IoT Core using the fleet provisioning MQTT API. AWS returns a pending certificate and an ownership token; the device then calls RegisterThing with that token and a provisioning template to register the thing and apply its certificate and policy resources. Subscribe to each request’s accepted and rejected response topics before publishing, and complete registration within the token’s one-hour lifetime.
The overall sequence is straightforward, but two decisions shape the security model: how the device first authenticates to AWS, and who signs the CSR. The steps below cover those choices and the implementation checks that matter on an ESP32-S3.
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Choose how the device will authenticate for provisioning
Fleet provisioning needs a bootstrap identity before a device has its permanent certificate. AWS IoT Core documents two approaches. Choose one before building the firmware because each requires a different authorization and onboarding workflow.
| Approach | Bootstrap trust | What it means for onboarding |
|---|---|---|
| Provisioning by claim | A temporary claim credential supplied to the device | Supports automated onboarding, but protecting the claim credential and tightly limiting its permissions are central security requirements. |
| Provisioning by trusted user | An authorized user initiates the provisioning claim | Uses a controlled, authenticated user workflow rather than relying on a shared device claim credential. |
In the claim-based workflow, the claim credential is for onboarding; the device obtains a permanent per-device identity for later access. AWS documents a five-minute window in that workflow for obtaining the permanent certificate and private key after connecting with the temporary claim credential. This is separate from the one-hour ownership-token limit in the CSR registration flow.
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Prepare the fleet provisioning template
Create a fleet provisioning template that accepts the values needed to identify and provision a device. At minimum, plan for a unique thing name and a CSR string. In its resources, declare the IoT thing, the certificate, and an IoT policy. The certificate resource can use a reference to the CSR parameter as its CertificateSigningRequest value.
- Make the thing name unique and ensure the device submits the matching template parameter.
- Set the certificate resource’s intended status in the template; the certificate returned by
CreateCertificateFromCsris initiallyPENDING_ACTIVATION. - Define the final device policy around the device’s actual application topics and required actions. Avoid treating a broad provisioning permission as an application policy.
The template is not just a naming step: its resources determine how the device’s certificate, thing, and policy are associated during registration. Validate the template against the provisioning workflow and the permissions your devices actually need.
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Create the key pair and CSR on the ESP32-S3
- Generate the device key pair. Use the cryptographic implementation selected for the project and keep the private key under device control. The CSR workflow lets the device submit a signing request without sending its private key to AWS.
- Build a PEM-encoded CSR. Include the identity information your provisioning design expects, and retain the resulting CSR until the AWS request has been made.
- Submit only the CSR. Send the PEM CSR in the
CreateCertificateFromCsrMQTT request. Do not include the private key.
There is no single ESP-IDF CSR-generation API or key-storage configuration established for every ESP32-S3 project. Select and validate the cryptographic library and storage arrangement for the exact firmware build rather than assuming an example for another release or configuration applies.
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Without an AWS IoT certificate provider configured for the account, AWS IoT uses AWS-managed signing for the CSR. If the account is configured with a certificate provider, the CSR can instead be routed to a customer-managed Lambda-backed signing path, such as one integrated with a private CA or other PKI. Confirm the account’s configured signer before relying on a particular certificate issuer or trust chain.
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Follow the MQTT request-response sequence
Fleet provisioning uses request and response topics over the same MQTT connection. For every provisioning request, subscribe to its corresponding /accepted and /rejected response topics before publishing. The firmware must handle either outcome; publishing successfully is not confirmation that the operation succeeded.
- Connect using the selected bootstrap identity. Establish the MQTT connection over TLS with credentials authorized for the intended provisioning flow.
- Subscribe to both response outcomes for
CreateCertificateFromCsr. Wait until the subscriptions are active before publishing the request with the PEM CSR. - Handle the response. On acceptance, retain the returned certificate data and ownership token securely for the next step. On rejection, record a useful diagnostic and follow the failure path for the returned error instead of proceeding to registration.
- Subscribe to both response outcomes for
RegisterThing. Publish the registration request with the template name, matching template parameters, and ownership token. - Confirm registration before treating the device as provisioned. Handle the accepted or rejected response and record the resulting device state so the firmware can recover cleanly after interruptions.
Register the thing before the ownership token expires
The ownership token returned by CreateCertificateFromCsr expires after one hour. AWS documents that the certificate is deleted if it has not been activated and attached to a thing or policy before the token expires. Treat the interval as a hard deadline, not as a retry window that can be extended.
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- Keep the create-certificate and register-thing steps in one bounded provisioning workflow.
- If registration fails for a recoverable reason, retry while the original token remains valid.
- If the token has expired, restart certificate creation and registration with a new CSR request rather than reusing the expired token.
- Do not mark the device provisioned until the registration response confirms the operation succeeded.
Protect transport, bootstrap credentials, and device permissions
ESP-IDF recommends TLS for cloud communications. Use TLS for the device’s AWS IoT connection, and plan the bootstrap and final policies around the exact provisioning operations and application topics the firmware uses.
- Limit bootstrap permissions to the required fleet provisioning actions and response flow.
- Limit the final device policy to that device’s application needs instead of carrying broad onboarding permissions forward without review.
- Protect any claim credential as a high-impact bootstrap secret, especially where it is shared across a fleet.
- Keep the private key on the device in the CSR workflow; handle the returned certificate and ownership token as provisioning credentials.
A complete policy document or ESP-IDF TLS configuration depends on the project’s topic design, credential setup, and chosen software versions. Derive those settings from the actual firmware and template rather than copying a generic policy into production.
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Pin the ESP-IDF and AWS IoT SDK versions
Espressif’s esp-aws-iot repository lists ESP32-S3 as a supported platform. Its README also notes that the fleet_provisioning_with_csr example depends on corePKCS11 and has release-specific compatibility caveats. Repository support alone does not establish that a particular board, ESP-IDF release, or example has been built and tested together.
Quick Recap
- Pin the ESP-IDF version,
esp-aws-iotrevision, and relevant component or submodule revisions in the project. - Check the example’s dependency and release compatibility against those exact revisions before adapting it.
- Build and validate on the target ESP32-S3 hardware using the project’s actual TLS, key-storage, and provisioning configuration.
- Keep the version set with the firmware release so a later dependency update does not silently change the provisioning path.
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