diff --git a/etcdmain/config.go b/etcdmain/config.go
index 614112923632..c96e2c0794a3 100644
--- a/etcdmain/config.go
+++ b/etcdmain/config.go
@@ -184,6 +184,7 @@ func newConfig() *config {
 	fs.StringVar(&cfg.PeerTLSInfo.TrustedCAFile, "peer-trusted-ca-file", "", "Path to the peer server TLS trusted CA file.")
 	fs.BoolVar(&cfg.PeerAutoTLS, "peer-auto-tls", false, "Peer TLS using generated certificates")
 	fs.StringVar(&cfg.PeerTLSInfo.CRLFile, "peer-crl-file", "", "Path to the peer certificate revocation list file.")
+	fs.StringVar(&cfg.PeerTLSInfo.RequireCN, "peer-require-cn", "", "CN required for inter peer authentication.")
 
 	// logging
 	fs.BoolVar(&cfg.Debug, "debug", false, "Enable debug-level logging for etcd.")
diff --git a/pkg/transport/listener.go b/pkg/transport/listener.go
index 33ba17fe12dd..cc6156d7be07 100644
--- a/pkg/transport/listener.go
+++ b/pkg/transport/listener.go
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import (
 	"crypto/x509"
 	"crypto/x509/pkix"
 	"encoding/pem"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"math/big"
 	"net"
@@ -76,6 +77,9 @@ type TLSInfo struct {
 	// parseFunc exists to simplify testing. Typically, parseFunc
 	// should be left nil. In that case, tls.X509KeyPair will be used.
 	parseFunc func([]byte, []byte) (tls.Certificate, error)
+
+	// RequireCN is a CN which must be provided by a client
+	RequireCN string
 }
 
 func (info TLSInfo) String() string {
@@ -174,6 +178,23 @@ func (info TLSInfo) baseConfig() (*tls.Config, error) {
 		MinVersion:   tls.VersionTLS12,
 		ServerName:   info.ServerName,
 	}
+
+	if info.RequireCN != "" {
+		cfg.VerifyPeerCertificate = func(rawCerts [][]byte, verifiedChains [][]*x509.Certificate) error {
+			if len(verifiedChains) != 0 {
+				chains := verifiedChains[0]
+				if len(chains) != 0 {
+					if info.RequireCN == chains[0].Subject.CommonName {
+						return nil
+					} else {
+						return fmt.Errorf("CommonName authentication failed (required: %s, client: %s)", info.RequireCN, chains[0].Subject.CommonName)
+					}
+				}
+			}
+			return errors.New("CommonName authentication failed")
+		}
+	}
+
 	// this only reloads certs when there's a client request
 	// TODO: support server-side refresh (e.g. inotify, SIGHUP), caching
 	cfg.GetCertificate = func(clientHello *tls.ClientHelloInfo) (*tls.Certificate, error) {