Enable X-Auth Support for strongSwan Endpoints
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Enable Authentication Using an Authentication Profile

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Enable X-Auth Support for strongSwan Endpoints

Enable X-Auth Support for strongSwan endpoints by setting up an authentication profile and configuring the IPSec tunnel and connection settings.
The following workflow shows how to enable authentication for strongSwan clients using an authentication profile. The authentication profile specifies which server profile to use when authenticating strongSwan clients.
  1. Set up the IPsec tunnel that the GlobalProtect gateway will use for communicating with a strongSwan client.
    Extended authentication (X-Auth) is not supported for Prisma Access deployments.
    1. Select
      Network
      GlobalProtect
      Gateways
      .
    2. Select an existing gateway or
      Add
      a new one.
    3. On the
      Authentication
      tab of the GlobalProtect Gateway Configuration dialog, select the
      Authentication Profile
      you want to use.
    4. Select
      Agent
      Tunnel Settings
      to enable
      Tunnel Mode
      and specify the following settings to set up the tunnel:
      • Select the check box to
        Enable X-Auth Support
        .
      • Enter a
        Group Name
        and
        Group Password
        if they are not yet configured.
      • Click
        OK
        to save these tunnel settings.
  2. Verify that the default connection settings in the
    conn %default
    section of the IPsec tunnel configuration file (
    ipsec.conf
    ) are correctly defined for the strongSwan client.
    The
    ipsec.conf
    file is usually found in the
    /etc
    folder.
    The configurations in this procedure are tested and verified for the following releases:
    • Ubuntu 14.0.4 with strongSwan 5.1.2 and CentOS 6.5 with strongSwan 5.1.3 for PAN-OS 6.1.
    • Ubuntu 14.0.4 with strongSwan 5.2.1 for PAN-OS 7.0.
    The configurations in this procedure can be used for reference if you are using a different version of strongSwan. Refer to the strongSwan wiki for more information.
    In the
    conn %default
    section of the
    ipsec.conf
    file, configure the following recommended settings:
    ikelifetime=20m reauth=yes rekey=yes keylife=10m rekeymargin=3m rekeyfuzz=0% keyingtries=1 type=tunnel
  3. Modify the strongSwan client’s IPsec configuration file (
    ipsec.conf
    ) and the IPsec password file (
    ipsec.secrets
    ) to use recommended settings.
    The
    ipsec.secrets
    file is usually found in the
    /etc
    folder.
    Use the strongSwan client username as the certificate’s common name.
    Configure the following recommended settings in the
    ipsec.conf
    file:
    conn <connection name> keyexchange=ikev1 ikelifetime=1440m keylife=60m aggressive=yes ike=aes-sha1-modp1024,aes256 esp=aes-sha1 xauth=client left=<strongSwan/Linux-client-IP-address> leftid=@#<hex of Group Name configured in the GlobalProtect gateway> leftsourceip=%modeconfig leftauth=psk rightauth=psk leftauth2=xauth right=<gateway-IP-address> rightsubnet=0.0.0.0/0 xauth_identity=<LDAP username> auto=add
    Configure the following recommended settings in the
    ipsec.secrets
    file:
    : PSK <Group Password configured in the gateway> <username> : XAUTH “<user password>”
  4. Start strongSwan IPsec services and connect to the IPsec tunnel that you want the strongSwan client to use when authenticating to the GlobalProtect gateway.
    • Ubuntu:
      ipsec start ipsec up <name>
    • CentOS:
      strongSwan start strongswan up <name>
  5. Verify that the tunnel is set up correctly and the VPN connection is established to both the strongSwan client and the GlobalProtect gateway.
    1. Verify the detailed status information on a specific connection (by naming the connection) or verify the status information for all connections from the strongSwan client:
      • Ubuntu:
        ipsec statusall [<connection name>]
      • CentOS:
        strongswan statusall [<connection name>]
    2. Select
      Network
      GlobalProtect
      Gateways
      . In the
      Info
      column, select
      Remote Users
      for the gateway configured for the connection to the strongSwan client. The strongSwan client should be listed under
      Current Users
      .

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