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    Certificate manager and generating public keys

    General pfSense Questions
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    • S
      stats2909
      last edited by

      I take that back!

      The browser (Chrome) is still showing the red 'Not Secure' warning.

      but clicking into the certificate it is valid with a green tick :)

      Why would the browser not be green?  Other servers Ive got running are !

      So odd!

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      • S
        stats2909
        last edited by

        hmmmmm so its green when i use the IP address, not when i use the hostname….

        I feel like I'm making progress!

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        • DerelictD
          Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
          last edited by

          Did you put the hostname in the CN? Or in a SAN?

          The browser needs the CN and/or a SAN to match what it is told to connect to or it will throw an error.

          Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
          A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
          DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
          Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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          • johnpozJ
            johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
            last edited by

            The switch prob stupid and just put in whatever IP it has for the CN.. If it does not allow you to edit those - then when you sign the CSR in pfsense the the fqdn you want to use or multiples etc.. as FQDN sans and IP SANS for any IPs you might use to access the switch.

            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 2.7.2, 24.11

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            • S
              stats2909
              last edited by

              ;D  finally!!!

              That only took the entire day…. as you thought I'd not put all DNS options into the certificate.

              So.... I deleted the lot, from pfsense and the switch and started all over again.  Then it all worked fine, even the switch played nicely for some unknown reason.

              So I'll quit while I'm ahead and grab a beer!

              Thanks to you both for helping me!  Derelict, you're a star!

              If anyone else has the same issues - this is how I did ( well how Derelict instructed me :) )

              1. use pfsense cert manager to create a new sever certificate.... make sure to include the FQDN, hostname, IP address and any other way you'll access the web gui in the certificate

              2.

              Taken from Derelects post....

              Diagnostics > Edit File

              Put /tmp/switch.key in the path and paste the private key in the main text window, with the begin and end lines included, and save.

              Then Diagnostics > Command Prompt

              Execute this shell command:

              openssl rsa -in /tmp/switch.key -RSAPublicKey_out

              Try using that output (don't copy that first "writing" line) in the public key field.

              3. then save the p12 file from pfsense somwhere onto your machine - im not sure it matters where.  Then in Terminal   I navigated to the folder I'd saved that p12 file in and ran the following command openssl pkcs12 -in pfsensefile.p12 -nocerts -out private.key .  I hit enter on the first password/import prompt and entered my own password in the second

              4.  in the same terminal window run the following openssl rsa -in private.key -out privateRSA.key   use the password you entered in step 3.

              Then…..

              5. go into the switch and in the Import Certificates section paste the certificate data from the pfsense .cert file into the certificate box.  Put the output of step 2 into the Public key box and the output of step 4 found in the privateRSA.key file into the Private key box

              6. Hit apply and cross your fingers!

              Thanks again to Derelict and johnpoz, couldn't have done it without you!!!

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              • johnpozJ
                johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                last edited by

                Signing the CSR would of been much easier… That is for sure...

                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 2.7.2, 24.11

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                • DerelictD
                  Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                  last edited by

                  Yeah, and there's an export private key so not sure why you dorked with extracting the key from the pkcs12 bundle but glad it's working. :)

                  Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                  A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                  DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                  Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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                  • S
                    stats2909
                    last edited by

                    I was halfway though that when I noticed that accessing the gui via the IP gave a green url bar.

                    AS I couldn't really tell if I'd signed things properly - the switch was hardly forthcoming with info I checked the certificate the browser was seeing.

                    It turned out to be the one I'd created at the outset of the process… so felt I'd give that one final go starting fresh before going down the signing route.

                    (which i think would have been easiest all along lol)

                    Thanks again :)

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                    • S
                      stats2909
                      last edited by

                      @Derelict:

                      Yeah, and there's an export private key so not sure why you dorked with extracting the key from the pkcs12 bundle but glad it's working. :)

                      Pass…. Something about seeing the wood for the trees comes to mind, that and not really knowing what I'm doing!  ::)

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                      • 4
                        4o4rh
                        last edited by

                        sorry guys, can someone summarize the idiot proof version of these instructions please.

                        • i have created Root CA and Sub-Root CA
                        • I have created Server Certificates with the Sub-Root CA
                        • i have successfully set these up with openwrt & freenas devices
                        • i am struggling to get them working on my two netgear switches.
                        4 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • 4
                          4o4rh @4o4rh
                          last edited by

                          @gwaitsi as I had to do this again, and completely forgot how I did this last time, here are the instructions for 2021.

                          1. Save the device cert & key generated in pfsense locally

                          2. rename the device.crt to root.pem

                          3. convert the private key to rsa private key
                            openssl rsa -in device.key -out device_rsa.key

                          4. create a file called ssl_key.pem
                            a) copy the contents of device.crt into this file from
                            -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
                            MIIE2jCCA8KgAwIBAgIBHjAN.......
                            i1M5xmyTK0cyhwQ==
                            -----END CERTIFICATE-----
                            b) copy the contents of device_rsa.key into this file below the certificate from
                            -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
                            MIIE.....
                            ZBjv7j74PS4P7I=
                            -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----

                          5. From the netgear switch "Maintenance", "Update", "HTTP Firmware/File Update" select

                            • "X.509 Public Certificate PEM" and load the root.pem
                            • "X.509 Certificate Private Key PEM" and load the ssl_key.pem
                          6. From the netgear switch "Security", "Access", "HTTPS", "Admin Mode" - Enable.

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