Deploy Server Certificates to the GlobalProtect Components
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Deploy Server Certificates to the GlobalProtect Components

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Deploy Server Certificates to the GlobalProtect Components

Best practices for deploying server certificates to the GlobalProtect components include importing certificates from a well-known CA, creating a root CA certificate for self-signed certificates, using SCEP for certificate requests, and assigning certificates to SSL/TLS service profiles.
The GlobalProtect components must have valid certificates to establish connection using SSL/TLS. The connection fails if you have invalid or expired certificates.
The following table shows the best practice steps for deploying SSL/TLS certificates to the GlobalProtect components:

Import a Server Certificate From a Well-known, Third-party CA

Use a server certificate from a well-known, third-party CA for the GlobalProtect portal. This practice ensures that the end users are able to establish an HTTPS connection without seeing warnings about untrusted certificates.
The CN and, if applicable, the SAN fields of the certificate must match the FQDN or IP address of the interface where you plan to configure the portal or the device check-in interface on a third-party mobile endpoint management system. Wildcard matches are supported.
Before you import a certificate, make sure the certificate and key files are accessible from your management system and that you have the passphrase to decrypt the private key.
  1. Select
    Device
    Certificate Management
    Certificates
    Device Certificates
    and
    Import
    a new certificate.
  2. Use the
    Local
    certificate type (default).
  3. Enter a
    Certificate Name
    .
  4. Enter the path and name to the
    Certificate File
    received from the CA, or
    Browse
    to find the file.
  5. Set the
    File Format
    to
    Encrypted Private Key and Certificate (PKCS12)
    .
  6. Enter the path and name to the PKCS#12 file in the
    Key File
    field or
    Browse
    to find it.
  7. Enter and re-enter the
    Passphrase
    that was used to encrypt the private key.
  8. Click
    OK
    to import the certificate and key.

Create Root CA Certificate for Issuing Self-signed Certificates for GlobalProtect Components

Create the Root CA certificate on the portal and use it to issue server certificates for the gateways and, optionally, for clients.
Before deploying self-signed certificates, you must create the root CA certificate that signs the certificates for the GlobalProtect components:
  1. Select
    Device
    Certificate Management
    Certificates
    Device Certificates
    and
    Generate
    a new certificate.
  2. Use the
    Local
    certificate type (default).
  3. Enter a
    Certificate Name
    , such as GlobalProtect_CA. The certificate name cannot contain spaces.
  4. Do not select a value in the
    Signed By
    field. Without a selection for
    Signed By
    , the certificate is self-signed.
  5. Enable the
    Certificate Authority
    option.
  6. Click
    OK
    to generate the certificate.

Use Root CA on the Portal to Generate a Self-signed Server Certificate

Generate server certificates for each gateway you plan to deploy and optionally for the management interface of the third-party mobile endpoint management system (if this interface is where the gateways retrieve HIP reports).
In the gateway server certificates, the values in the CN and SAN fields must be identical. If the values differ, the GlobalProtect agent detects the mismatch and does not trust the certificate. Self-signed certificates contain a SAN field only if you add a
Host Name
attribute.
Alternatively, you can use Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP) to request a server certificate from your enterprise CA.
  1. Select
    Device
    Certificate Management
    Certificates
    Device Certificates
    and
    Generate
    a new certificate.
  2. Use the
    Local
    certificate type (default).
  3. Enter a
    Certificate Name
    . This name cannot contain spaces.
  4. In the
    Common Name
    field, enter the FQDN (
    recommended
    ) or IP address of the interface where you plan to configure the gateway.
  5. In the
    Signed By
    field, select the GlobalProtect_CA you created.
  6. In the Certificate Attributes area,
    Add
    and define the attributes that uniquely identify the gateway. Keep in mind that if you add a
    Host Name
    attribute (which populates the SAN field of the certificate), it must be the same as the value you defined for the
    Common Name
    .
  7. Configure cryptographic settings for the server certificate, including the encryption
    Algorithm
    , key length (
    Number of Bits
    ),
    Digest
    algorithm, and
    Expiration
    (days).
  8. Click
    OK
    to generate the certificate.

Use Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP) to Request a Server Certificate From Your Enterprise CA

Configure separate SCEP profiles for each portal and gateway you plan to deploy. Then use the specific SCEP profile to generate the server certificate for each GlobalProtect component.
In portal and gateway server certificates, the value of the CN field must include the FQDN (
recommended
) or IP address of the interface where you plan to configure the portal or gateway and must be identical to the SAN field.
To comply with the U.S. Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS), you must also enable mutual SSL authentication between the SCEP server and the GlobalProtect portal. (FIPS-CC operation is indicated on the firewall login page and in its status bar.)
After you commit the configuration, the portal attempts to request a CA certificate using the settings in the SCEP profile. If successful, the firewall hosting the portal saves the CA certificate and displays it in the list of
Device Certificates
.
  1. Configure a SCEP Profile for each GlobalProtect portal or gateway:
    1. Enter a
      Name
      that identifies the SCEP profile and the component to which you deploy the server certificate. 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
      ) Configure a
      SCEP Challenge
      , which is a response mechanism between the PKI and portal for each certificate request. Use either a
      Fixed
      challenge password that you obtain from the SCEP server or a
      Dynamic
      password where the portal-client submits a username and OTP of your choice to the SCEP Server. For a Dynamic SCEP challenge, this can be the credentials of the PKI administrator.
    3. 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/
      ).
    4. Enter a string (up to 255 characters in length) in the
      CA-IDENT Name
      field to identify the SCEP server.
    5. Enter the
      Subject
      name to use in the certificates generated by the SCEP server. The subject must include a common name (CN) key in the format
      CN=
      <
      value
      >
      where
      <
      value
      >
      is the FQDN or IP address of the portal or gateway.
    6. Select the
      Subject Alternative Name Type
      . To enter the email name in a certificate’s subject or Subject Alternative Name extension, select
      RFC 822 Name
      . You can also enter the
      DNS Name
      to use to evaluate certificates, or the
      Uniform Resource Identifier
      to identify the resource from which the client will obtain the certificate.
    7. Configure additional cryptographic settings, including the key length (
      Number of Bits
      ), and
      Digest
      algorithm for the certificate signing request.
    8. Configure the permitted uses of the certificate, either for signing (
      Use as digital signature
      ) or encryption (
      Use for key encipherment
      ).
    9. 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.
    10. Enable mutual SSL authentication between the SCEP server and the GlobalProtect portal.
    11. Click
      OK
      and then
      Commit
      the configuration.
  2. Select
    Device
    Certificate Management
    Certificates
    Device Certificates
    and then click
    Generate
    .
  3. Enter a
    Certificate Name
    . This name cannot contain spaces.
  4. Select the
    SCEP Profile
    to use to automate the process of issuing a server certificate that is signed by the enterprise CA to a portal or gateway, and then click
    OK
    to generate the certificate. The GlobalProtect portal uses the settings in the SCEP profile to submit a CSR to your enterprise PKI.

Assign Server Certificate You Imported or Generated to an SSL/TLS Service Profile

  1. Select
    Device
    Certificate Management
    SSL/TLS Service Profile
    and
    Add
    a new SSL/TLS service profile.
  2. Enter a
    Name
    to identify the profile, and select the server
    Certificate
    you imported or generated.
  3. Define the range of SSL/TLS versions (
    Min Version
    to
    Max Version
    ) for communication between GlobalProtect components.
    The
    Max Version
    supported is
    TLSv1.2
    .
    To provide the strongest security, set the
    Min Version
    to
    TLSv1.2
    .
  4. Click
    OK
    to save the SSL/TLS service profile.
  5. Commit
    the changes.

Deploy the Self-signed Server Certificates

  • Export the self-signed server certificates issued by the root CA on the portal and import them onto the gateways.
  • Be sure to issue a unique server certificate for each gateway.
  • If specifying self-signed certificates, you must distribute the Root CA certificate to the end clients in the portal client configurations.
  1. Export the certificate from the portal:
    1. Select
      Device
      Certificate Management
      Certificates
      Device Certificates
      .
    2. Select the gateway certificate you want to deploy, and then click
      Export Certificate
      .
    3. Set the
      File Format
      to
      Encrypted Private Key and Certificate (PKCS12)
      .
    4. Enter and confirm a
      Passphrase
      to encrypt the private key.
    5. Click
      OK
      to download the PKCS12 file to a location of your choice.
  2. Import the certificate on the gateway:
    1. Select
      Device
      Certificate Management
      Certificates
      Device Certificates
      and
      Import
      the certificate.
    2. Enter a
      Certificate Name
      .
    3. Browse
      to find and select the
      Certificate File
      you downloaded in the previous step.
    4. Set the
      File Format
      to
      Encrypted Private Key and Certificate (PKCS12)
      .
    5. Enter and confirm the
      Passphrase
      you used to encrypt the private key when you exported it from the portal.
    6. Click
      OK
      to import the certificate and key.
    7. Commit
      the changes for the gateway.

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