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    PfSense Active Directory Admin authentication via RADIUS

    General pfSense Questions
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    • R
      rcampbell
      last edited by

      Thanks for the link James, but I'm really trying to do the same thing with RADIUS.  Someone must have set this up before with RADIUS I'm sure.

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      • J
        jamesonp
        last edited by

        @rcampbell:

        Thanks for the link James, but I'm really trying to do the same thing with RADIUS.  Someone must have set this up before with RADIUS I'm sure.

        Just out of curiosity sake, why RADIUS?

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        • R
          rcampbell
          last edited by

          I've used LDAP for years on many different types of setups so I know how it works.  I had heard of RADIUS but only started using it about two years ago, and I'm converted.  Now, whenever there is a something that has a choice between LDAP or RADIUS, I go RADIUS.  Once you have a RADIUS server setup I find it easier to work with and there is more you can do with it.

          In my opinion RADIUS is a simpler, cleaner and more extensible solution overall.

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          • R
            rcampbell
            last edited by

            I think this might be an existing bug based on this post:

            https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=65586.0

            I also tried creating a user and group in pfSense of the same name to match the ones in AD as suggested in the link, but the same occurs… user athenticates but belongs to no groups.

            Is there anyone who has this working?

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            • C
              cmb
              last edited by

              RADIUS works there. You have to be on 2.2.5, and have to return groups in Class attribute.
              https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/2.2.5_New_Features_and_Changes#User_Management.2FAuthentication

              LDAP is the best option for AD, because it's always there with no additional services, and it doesn't require storing passwords in a reversible encryption (though if you require RADIUS for other purposes, that doesn't matter).

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              • G
                GomezAddams
                last edited by

                @cmb:

                RADIUS works there. You have to be on 2.2.5, and have to return groups in Class attribute.
                https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/2.2.5_New_Features_and_Changes#User_Management.2FAuthentication

                LDAP is the best option for AD, because it's always there with no additional services, and it doesn't require storing passwords in a reversible encryption (though if you require RADIUS for other purposes, that doesn't matter).

                RADIUS does not require reversible encryption. We use RADIUS for admin access to our Cisco network equipment, and our AD does not store passwords with reversible encryption. The RADIUS encrypts the client's user id and password with the shared secret and sends it to the RADIUS server. The RADIUS server does the normal windows authentication test.

                I'm by no means sure, but I don't think there is any way to get Microsoft's NPS (network policy server - their RADIUS server) to send the group membership in an authentication request reply. I've never seen such an option.

                Try this: make group membership a requirement of the associated NPS policy on the NPS server. Don't put any tests on the pfsense side.

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                • C
                  cmb
                  last edited by

                  Yeah thanks for the correction, that's only for CHAP.

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                  • F
                    FisherKing
                    last edited by

                    @rcampbell:

                    I think this might be an existing bug based on this post:

                    https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=65586.0

                    I also tried creating a user and group in pfSense of the same name to match the ones in AD as suggested in the link, but the same occurs… user athenticates but belongs to no groups.

                    Is there anyone who has this working?

                    I realize this thread is old - but I recently had the same issue and this thread was one of 3 that showed up in my search, so I thought I'd post what I learned.

                    I was able to resolve this by changing the Search scope - Level: value (Under System => User Manager => Servers => LDAP Server Settings => Edit or Create LDAP server) from "One Level" to "Entire Subtree".

                    I didn't need to create a "dummy" user. Once the search level was changed and the group was created on both AD and pfSense, it worked.

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                    • R
                      rcampbell
                      last edited by

                      Its been a while since I've looked at this post, so I've missed some replies…

                      Thanks PJ2 but you're setting up LDAP where this thread is about setting up RADIUS.

                      RADIUS is finally working correctly now in 2.3.1
                      https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php?title=2.3.1_New_Features_and_Changes#User_Manager

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                      • R
                        rcampbell
                        last edited by

                        I created a how-to to set it up here:

                        https://community.spiceworks.com/how_to/128944-pfsense-admin-logins-via-radius-using-active-directory-accounts

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