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    SSL/TLS + User Auth = no client export packages

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved OpenVPN
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    • J
      Joschide
      last edited by

      @johnpoz:

      I don't have any issues with this..  running 2.2.4

      You sure your picking the correct instance in the client export drop down for the one you set to tls+user auth?

      Yes I only have one created.  Could certain options cause this to happen?

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      • johnpozJ
        johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
        last edited by

        do you actually have a user created..  I just switched mine from tls auth to tls+user and see packages just fine to export.  Exported the package and all the stuff is in there.

        An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
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        • J
          Joschide
          last edited by

          I'm using an LDAP server on my LAN to authenticate user.  Do I still need to create a user in pfSense?

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          • J
            Joschide
            last edited by

            @Joschide:

            I'm using an LDAP server on my LAN to authenticate user.  Do I still need to create a user in pfSense?

            I'd like to add authentication functions correctly from diagnostics and from client.

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            • johnpozJ
              johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
              last edited by

              well if you don't have a user, not sure how the export package could give you anything to download.  Might a bit of an issue when trying to use an authserver??  I would have to test that..

              An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
              If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
              Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
              SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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              • J
                Joschide
                last edited by

                @johnpoz:

                well if you don't have a user, not sure how the export package could give you anything to download.  Might a bit of an issue when trying to use an authserver??  I would have to test that..

                A package is available and works correctly if I only use User Auth.  It disappears when I change server mode to ssl/tls + user auth…

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                • johnpozJ
                  johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                  last edited by

                  Ok I just setup an external auth server radius and one for ldap and then change one of my openvpn instances from tls to tls+user auth And sure looks like packages are there to download picking either the radius or the ldap server in the openvpn setup.

                  And also there if I use local database for the vpn instance.

                  externalauthexport.png
                  externalauthexport.png_thumb
                  andtherewhenlocalaswell.png
                  andtherewhenlocalaswell.png_thumb

                  An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                  If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                  Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                  SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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                  • jimpJ
                    jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                    last edited by

                    If you use SSL/TLS + User Auth with an external auth server, you need to manually make user certs under System > Cert Manager.

                    It will offer the certs under the same CA there for download, ideally make one cert per user with the cn the same as their username.

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                    • J
                      Joschide
                      last edited by

                      @jimp:

                      If you use SSL/TLS + User Auth with an external auth server, you need to manually make user certs under System > Cert Manager.

                      It will offer the certs under the same CA there for download, ideally make one cert per user with the cn the same as their username.

                      Ah okay.  That worked.  Thanks.  So the cert used for SSL/TLS + User Auth is tied to a user and that user cert has to be added in pfSense.  Is this common practice when using external auth server?  Or do most forgo the cert to avoid having to create a user Cert in pfSense for each user with openVPN access (could be hundreds)?

                      Thank you for your time,
                      Joschi

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                      • johnpozJ
                        johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                        last edited by

                        What other cert would it use??  You could use a common cert that you give to ALL users.. That seems like what your after.. But not a very good idea.

                        certs.png
                        certs.png_thumb

                        An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                        If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                        Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
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                        • jimpJ
                          jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                          last edited by

                          @Joschide:

                          So the cert used for SSL/TLS + User Auth is tied to a user and that user cert has to be added in pfSense.

                          Usually, yes. Though the specifics are up to the site policies/procedures.

                          @Joschide:

                          Is this common practice when using external auth server?  Or do most forgo the cert to avoid having to create a user Cert in pfSense for each user with openVPN access (could be hundreds)?

                          It depends on the site/admin. Some prefer to only have user auth with an external LDAP/RADIUS server and forego using certs at all.

                          Using one cert for everyone is a very bad practice, I don't know of anyone serious doing that in production.

                          Those who are very strict about security generate their own certs on a central CA structure not handled on the firewall and wouldn't use the export package – but that's your classic security vs convenience tradeoff.

                          The best balance for external auth is to make the individual user certs, make the cert CN match the username, and also check the option on the server for strict CN matching (that way user A can't use user B's certificate to login using their own credentials, or vice versa).

                          Remember: Upvote with the 👍 button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

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                          • J
                            Joschide
                            last edited by

                            @jimp:

                            @Joschide:

                            So the cert used for SSL/TLS + User Auth is tied to a user and that user cert has to be added in pfSense.

                            Usually, yes. Though the specifics are up to the site policies/procedures.

                            @Joschide:

                            Is this common practice when using external auth server?  Or do most forgo the cert to avoid having to create a user Cert in pfSense for each user with openVPN access (could be hundreds)?

                            It depends on the site/admin. Some prefer to only have user auth with an external LDAP/RADIUS server and forego using certs at all.

                            Using one cert for everyone is a very bad practice, I don't know of anyone serious doing that in production.

                            Those who are very strict about security generate their own certs on a central CA structure not handled on the firewall and wouldn't use the export package – but that's your classic security vs convenience tradeoff.

                            The best balance for external auth is to make the individual user certs, make the cert CN match the username, and also check the option on the server for strict CN matching (that way user A can't use user B's certificate to login using their own credentials, or vice versa).

                            Thank you for your time and expertise.  I do appreciate the explanation.  8)

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                            • DerelictD
                              Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                              last edited by

                              What would be great would be for OpenVPN to grab the users public key out of the LDAP directory so it wouldn't need a user in pfSense at all.

                              But you'd need another system (could be offline) that had the users public and private keys in order to use client export.

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                              • J
                                Joschide
                                last edited by

                                @Derelict:

                                What would be great would be for OpenVPN to grab the users public key out of the LDAP directory so it wouldn't need a user in pfSense at all.

                                But you'd need another system (could be offline) that had the users public and private keys in order to use client export.

                                That would be nice!

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                                • jimpJ
                                  jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                                  last edited by

                                  Unfortunately LDAP schemas vary widely so it would be tough to pull something like that off. Not sure I like the idea of fetching a client's private keys via LDAP either, but as long as LDAP is using SSL itself it may not be too bad. The problem then becomes finding a way to query the LDAP server in such a way that it can get a list of all users with certs/keys available. Gets ugly fast…

                                  Remember: Upvote with the 👍 button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

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