Deploy Client Certificates to the GlobalProtect Satellites Using SCEP
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Deploy Client Certificates to the GlobalProtect Satellites Using SCEP

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Deploy Client Certificates to the GlobalProtect Satellites Using SCEP

As an alternative method for deploying client certificates to satellites, you can configure your GlobalProtect portal to act as a Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP) client to a SCEP server in your enterprise PKI. SCEP operation is dynamic in that the enterprise PKI generates a certificate when the portal requests it and sends the certificate to the portal.
When the satellite device requests a connection to the portal or gateway, it also includes its serial number with the connection request. The portal submits a CSR to the SCEP server using the settings in the SCEP profile and automatically includes the serial number of the device in the subject of the client certificate. After receiving the client certificate from the enterprise PKI, the portal transparently deploys the client certificate to the satellite device. The satellite device then presents the client certificate to the portal or gateway for authentication.
  1. Create a SCEP profile.
    1. Select
      Device
      Certificate Management
      SCEP
      and then
      Add
      a new profile.
    2. Enter a
      Name
      to identify the SCEP profile.
    3. If this profile is for a firewall with multiple virtual systems capability, select a virtual system or
      Shared
      as the
      Location
      where the profile is available.
  2. (
    Optional
    ) To make the SCEP-based certificate generation more secure, configure a SCEP challenge-response mechanism between the PKI and portal for each certificate request.
    After you configure this mechanism, its operation is invisible, and no further input from you is necessary.
    To comply with the U.S. Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS), use a
    Dynamic
    SCEP challenge and specify a
    Server URL
    that uses HTTPS (see Step 7).
    Select one of the following options:
    • None
      —(Default) The SCEP server does not challenge the portal before it issues a certificate.
    • Fixed
      —Obtain the enrollment challenge password from the SCEP server (for example,
      http://10.200.101.1/CertSrv/mscep_admin/
      ) in the PKI infrastructure and then copy or enter the password into the Password field.
    • Dynamic
      —Enter the SCEP
      Server URL
      where the portal-client submits these credentials (for example,
      http://10.200.101.1/CertSrv/mscep_admin/
      ), and a username and OTP of your choice. The username and password can be the credentials of the PKI administrator.
  3. Specify the settings for the connection between the SCEP server and the portal to enable the portal to request and receive client certificates.
    To identify the satellite, the portal automatically includes the device serial number in the CSR request to the SCEP server. Because the SCEP profile requires a value in the
    Subject
    field, you can leave the default
    $USERNAME
    token even though the value is not used in client certificates for LSVPN.
    1. Configure the
      Server URL
      that the portal uses to reach the SCEP server in the PKI (for example,
      http://10.200.101.1/certsrv/mscep/
      ).
    2. Enter a string (up to 255 characters in length) in the
      CA-IDENT Name
      field to identify the SCEP server.
    3. Select the
      Subject Alternative Name Type
      :
      • RFC 822 Name
        —Enter the email name in a certificate’s subject or Subject Alternative Name extension.
      • DNS Name
        —Enter the DNS name used to evaluate certificates.
      • Uniform Resource Identifier
        —Enter the name of the resource from which the client will obtain the certificate.
      • None
        —Do not specify attributes for the certificate.
  4. (
    Optional
    ) Configure cryptographic settings for the certificate.
    • Select the key length (
      Number of Bits
      ) for the certificate. If the firewall is in FIPS-CC mode and the key generation algorithm is RSA. The RSA keys must be 2048 bits or larger.
    • Select the
      Digest for CSR
      which indicates the digest algorithm for the certificate signing request (CSR): SHA1, SHA256, SHA384, or SHA512.
  5. (
    Optional
    ) Configure the permitted uses of the certificate, either for signing or encryption.
    • To use this certificate for signing, select the
      Use as digital signature
      check box. This enables the endpoint use the private key in the certificate to validate a digital signature.
    • To use this certificate for encryption, select the
      Use for key encipherment
      check box. This enables the client use the private key in the certificate to encrypt data exchanged over the HTTPS connection established with the certificates issued by the SCEP server.
  6. (
    Optional
    ) To ensure that the portal is connecting to the correct SCEP server, enter the
    CA Certificate Fingerprint
    . Obtain this fingerprint from the SCEP server interface in the Thumbprint field.
    1. Enter the URL for the SCEP server’s administrative UI (for example,
      http://<hostname or IP>/CertSrv/mscep_admin/
      ).
    2. Copy the thumbprint and enter it in the
      CA Certificate Fingerprint
      field.
  7. Enable mutual SSL authentication between the SCEP server and the GlobalProtect portal. This is required to comply with the U.S. Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS).
    FIPS-CC operation is indicated on the firewall login page and in its status bar.
    Select the SCEP server’s root
    CA Certificate
    . Optionally, you can enable mutual SSL authentication between the SCEP server and the GlobalProtect portal by selecting a
    Client Certificate
    .
  8. Save and commit the configuration.
    1. Click
      OK
      to save the settings and close the SCEP configuration.
    2. Commit
      the configuration.
    The portal attempts to request a CA certificate using the settings in the SCEP profile and saves it to the firewall hosting the portal. If successful, the CA certificate is shown in
    Device
    Certificate Management
    Certificates
    .
  9. (
    Optional
    ) If after saving the SCEP profile, the portal fails to obtain the certificate, you can manually generate a certificate signing request (CSR) from the portal.
    1. Select
      Device
      Certificate Management
      Certificates
      Device Certificates
      and then click
      Generate
      .
    2. Enter a
      Certificate Name
      . This name cannot contain spaces.
    3. Select the
      SCEP Profile
      to use to submit a CSR to your enterprise PKI.
    4. Click
      OK
      to submit the request and generate the certificate.

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