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    Generate a Certificate
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    4. Obtain and Import Certificates
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    Next-Generation Firewall

    Generate a Certificate

    Table of Contents

    Generate a Certificate

    Learn how to generate certificates to authenticate client, servers, users, and devices.
    Palo Alto Networks firewalls and Panorama use certificates to authenticate clients, servers, users, and devices in several applications, including SSL/TLS decryption, Authentication Portal, GlobalProtect™, site-to-site IPSec VPN, and web interface access to the firewall or Panorama. Generate certificates for each usage: for details, see Keys and Certificates.
    To generate a certificate, first create a self-signed root CA certificate or import one (Import a Certificate and Private Key) to sign it. To use the Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) to verify certificate revocation status, configure an OCSP responder before generating the certificate.

    Generate Certificate (Strata Cloud Manager)

    1. Log in to Strata Cloud Manager.
    2. Select ManageConfigurationNGFW and Prisma AccessObjectsCertificate ManagementConfigurationNGFW and Prisma AccessObjectsCertificate Management.
    3. In the Custom Certificates pane, click Generate.
    4. Enter a Certificate Name. The name is case-sensitive and can have up to 63 characters. It must be unique and use only letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores.
    5. For Common Name, enter the FQDN (recommended) or IP address of the interface where you will configure the service that uses this certificate.
    6. For Signed By, select the root CA certificate that will issue the certificate.
    7. Configure the Cryptographic Settings.
      1. Select a key generation Algorithm: RSA (default) or Elliptic Curve DSA (ECDSA). ECDSA is recommended for client browsers and operating systems that support it.
        • RSA (default)
        • Elliptic Curve DSA (ECDSA)
          ECDSA is recommended for client browsers and operating systems that support it.
        • (PAN-OS 12.1 only) ML-DSA
        • (PAN-OS 12.1 only) SLH-DSA
        Hardware security modules (HSMs) cannot be used to store private ECDSA keys used for SSL Forward Proxy or SSL Inbound Inspection.
      2. (PAN-OS 12.1 only) For SLH-DSA only, select Algorithm Parameters for the hash-based signature scheme.
        The parameters reflect the hashing algorithm (sha or SHAKE), NIST security level (128 bits, 192 bits, or 256 bits of security), and the digital signature size of the scheme.
      3. Select the Number of Bits to define the certificate key length.
        Higher numbers are more secure but require more processing time.
        SLH-DSA bits are preselected based on the selected Algorithm Parameters.
        • For RSA, select 512 bits, 1024 bits, 2048 bits, 3072 bits, or 4096 bits.
          If the NGFW is in FIPS-CC mode, the RSA keys generated must be either 2048 or 3027 bits.
        • For ECDSA, select either 256 bits or 4096 bits.
        • (PAN-OS 12.1 only) For ML-DSA, select 10496 bits, 15616 bits, or 20736 bits.
      4. Select a Digest algorithm.
        From most to least secure, the options are: sha512, sha384, sha256 (default), sha1, and md5.
        • For RSA, select md5, sha1, sha256, sha384, or sha512.
          If the NGFW is in FIPS-CC mode, you must select sha256, sha384, or sha512.
        • For Elliptic Curve DSA, select either sha256 or sha384.
        • (PAN-OS 12.1 only) For ML-DSA and SLH-DSA, select sha256, sha384, or sha512.
        Client certificates that are used when requesting firewall services that rely on TLSv1.2 (such as administrator access to the web interface) cannot have sha512 as a digest algorithm. The client certificates must use a lower digest algorithm (such as sha384) or you must limit the Max Version to TLSv1.1 when you configure SSL/TLS service profiles for the firewall services.
      5. For Expiration, enter the number of days (default is 365) for which the certificate is valid.
    8. (Optional) Add Certificate Attributes to uniquely identify the firewall and the service that will use the certificate.
      If you add a Host Name (DNS name) attribute, match it to the Common Name, because the hostname populates the Subject Alternate Name (SAN) field of the certificate and some browsers require the SAN to specify the domains the certificate protects; in addition, the Host Name matching the Common Name is mandatory for GlobalProtect.
    9. (Optional) Select an OCSP Responder.
    10. Save the certificate.
      The certificate displays in the Custom Certificates list.

    Generate Certificate (PAN-OS and Panorama)

    1. Select DeviceCertificate ManagementCertificates, then Device Certificates (PAN-OS 11.2 and earlier) or Custom Certificates (PAN-OS 12.1.0 and later).
    2. If the firewall has more than one virtual system (vsys), select a Location (vsys or Shared) for the certificate.
    3. Click Generate.
    4. Select Local (default) as the Certificate Type unless you want to deploy SCEP certificates to GlobalProtect endpoints.
    5. Enter a Certificate Name. The name is case-sensitive and can have up to 63 characters on the firewall or up to 31 characters on Panorama. It must be unique and use only letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores.
    6. In the Common Name field, enter the FQDN (recommended) or IP address of the interface where you will configure the service that will use this certificate.
    7. If the firewall has more than one vsys and you want the certificate to be available to every vsys, select the Shared check box.
    8. In the Signed By field, select the root CA certificate that will issue the certificate.
    9. (Optional) Select whether to Block Private Key Export.
      Enable this setting to prevent the private key from being exported when you export the certificate.
      If you enable this setting, you must manually import the associated private key if you import the certificate to Panorama or to other firewalls. For firewalls managed by Panorama, the private key is required to successfully push configuration changes to managed firewalls that you imported the certificate to.
    10. (Optional) Select an OCSP Responder.
    11. Select a key generation Algorithm: RSA (default) or Elliptic Curve DSA (ECDSA). ECDSA is recommended for client browsers and operating systems that support it.
      • RSA (default)
      • Elliptic Curve DSA (ECDSA)
        ECDSA is recommended for client browsers and operating systems that support it.
      • (PAN-OS 12.1 only) ML-DSA
      • (PAN-OS 12.1 only) SLH-DSA
      Hardware security modules (HSMs) cannot be used to store private ECDSA keys used for SSL Forward Proxy or SSL Inbound Inspection.
    12. (PAN-OS 12.1 only) For SLH-DSA only, select Algorithm Parameters for the hash-based signature scheme.
      The parameters reflect the hashing algorithm (sha or SHAKE), NIST security level (128 bits, 192 bits, or 256 bits of security), and the digital signature size of the scheme.
    13. Select the Number of Bits to define the certificate key length.
      Higher numbers are more secure but require more processing time.
      SLH-DSA bits are preselected based on the selected Algorithm Parameters.
      • For RSA, select 512 bits, 1024 bits, 2048 bits, 3072 bits, or 4096 bits.
        If the NGFW is in FIPS-CC mode, the RSA keys generated must be either 2048 or 3027 bits.
      • For ECDSA, select either 256 bits or 4096 bits.
      • (PAN-OS 12.1 only) For ML-DSA, select 10496 bits, 15616 bits, or 20736 bits.
    14. Select a Digest algorithm.
      From most to least secure, the options are: sha512, sha384, sha256 (default), sha1, and md5.
      • For RSA, select md5, sha1, sha256, sha384, or sha512.
        If the NGFW is in FIPS-CC mode, you must select sha256, sha384, or sha512.
      • For Elliptic Curve DSA, select either sha256 or sha384.
      • (PAN-OS 12.1 only) For ML-DSA and SLH-DSA, select sha256, sha384, or sha512.
      Client certificates that are used when requesting firewall services that rely on TLSv1.2 (such as administrator access to the web interface) cannot have sha512 as a digest algorithm. The client certificates must use a lower digest algorithm (such as sha384) or you must limit the Max Version to TLSv1.1 when you configure SSL/TLS service profiles for the firewall services.
    15. For Expiration, enter the number of days (default is 365) for which the certificate is valid.
    16. (Optional) Add the Certificate Attributes to uniquely identify the firewall and the service that will use the certificate.
      If you add a Host Name (DNS name) attribute, match it to the Common Name, because the hostname populates the Subject Alternate Name (SAN) field of the certificate and some browsers require the SAN to specify the domains the certificate protects; in addition, the Host Name matching the Common Name is mandatory for GlobalProtect.
    17. Click Generate and, in the Device Certificates page, click the certificate Name.
      Regardless of the time zone on the firewall, it always displays the corresponding Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) for certificate validity and expiration dates and times.
    18. Select the check boxes that correspond to the intended use of the certificate on the firewall.
      For example, if the firewall will use this certificate to secure forwarding of syslogs to an external syslog server, select the Certificate for Secure Syslog check box.
    19. Click OK and Commit.

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