Certificate Management

This section describes managing certificates with the FortiAuthenticator device.

FortiAuthenticator can act as a CA for the creation and signing of X.509 certificates, such as server certificates for HTTPS and SSH, and client certificates for HTTPS, SSL, and IPSEC VPN.

The FortiAuthenticator unit has several roles that involve certificates:

Certificate authority	The administrator generates CA certificates that can validate the user certificates generated on this FortiAuthenticator unit. The administrator can import other authorities’ CA certificates and Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs), as well as generate, sign, and revoke user certificates. See End entities on page 133 for more information.
SCEP server	A SCEP client can retrieve any of the local CA certificates (Local CAs on page 140), and can have its own user certificate signed by the FortiAuthenticator unit CA.
Remote LDAP Authentication	Acting as an LDAP client, the FortiAuthenticator unit authenticates users against an external LDAP server. It verifies the identity of the external LDAP server by using a trusted CA certificate, see Trusted CAs on page 147.
EAP Authentication	The FortiAuthenticator unit checks that the client’s certificate is signed by one of the configured authorized CA certificates, see Certificate authorities on page 140. The client certificate must also match one of the user certificates, see End entities on page 133.

Any changes made to certificates generate log entries that can be viewed at Logging > Log Access > Logs. See Logging on page 154.

This chapter includes the following sections:

l Policies l End entities l Certificate authorities l SCEP

Policies

The policies section includes global configuration settings which are applied across all certificate authorities and end-entity certificates created on the FortiAuthenticator device.

Certificate expiry

Certificate expiration settings can be configured in Certificate Management > Policies > Certificate Expiry.

 

The following settings can be configured:

Warn when a certificate is about to expire	Enable sending a warning message to an administrator before a certificate expires.
Send a warning e-mail	Enter the number of days before the certificate expires that the email will be sent.
Administrator’s e-mail	Enter the email address to which the expiry warning message will be sent.

Select OK to apply any configuration changes.

End entities

User and server certificates are required for mutual authentication on many HTTPS, SSL, and IPsec VPN network resources. You can create a user certificate on the FortiAuthenticator device, or import and sign a CSR. User certificates, client certificates, or local computer certificates are all the same type of certificate.

To view the user certificate list, go to Certificate Management > End Entities > Users. To view the server certificate list, go to Certificate Management > End Entities > Local Services.

The following information is available:

Create New		Create a new certificate.
Import		Select to import a certificate signed by a third-party CA for a previously generated CSR (see To import a local user certificate: on page 138 and To import a server certificate: on page 138) or to import a CSR to sign (see To import a CSR to sign: on page 138).
Revoke		Revoke the selected certificate. See To revoke a certificate: on page 139.
Delete		Delete the selected certificate.
Export Certificate		Save the selected certificate to your computer.
Export PKCS#12		Export the PKCS#12. This is only available for user certificates.
Search		Enter a search term in the search field, then press Enter to search the certificate list.
Filter		Select to filter the displayed certificates by status. The available selections are: All, Pending, Expired, Revoked, and Active.
Certificate ID		The certificate ID.
Subject		The certificate’s subject.
Issuer		The issuer of the certificate.
Status		The status of the certificate, either active, pending, or revoked.

Certificates can be created, imported, exported, revoked, and deleted as required. CSRs can be imported to sign, and the certificate detail information can also be viewed, see To view certificate details: on page 140.

To create a new certificate:

1. To create a new user certificate, go to Certificate Management > End Entities > Users. To create a new server certificate, go to Certificate Management > End Entities > Local Services.
2. Select Create New to open the Create New UserCertificate or Create New ServerCertificate
3. Configure the following settings:

 

Certificate ID	Enter a unique ID for the certificate.
Certificate Signing Options
Issuer	Select the issuer of the certificate, either Local CA or Third-party CA. Selecting Third-party CA generates a CSR that is to be signed by a third-party CA.
Local User (Optional)	If Local CA is selected as the issuer, you may select a local user from the drop-down list to whom the certificate will apply.This option is only available when creating a new user certificate.
Certificate authority	If Local CA is selected as the issuer, select one of the available CAs configured on the FortiAuthenticator unit from the drop-down list. The CA must be valid and current. If it is not you will have to create or import a CA certificate before continuing. See Certificate authorities on page 140.
Subject Information
Subject input method	Select the subject input method, either Fully distinguished name or Field-by-field.
Fully distinguished name	If the subject input method is Fully distinguished name, enter the full distinguished name of the subject. There should be no spaces between attributes.Valid DN attributes are DC, C, ST, L, O, OU, CN, and emailAddress. They are case-sensitive.
Field-by-field	If the subject input method is Field-by-field, enter the subject name in the Name (CN) field, and optionally enter the following fields: l  Department (OU) l Company (O) l City (L) l State/Province (ST) l  Country (C) (select from drop-down list) l E-mail address
Key and Signing Options
Validity period	Select the amount of time before this certificate expires. This option is only available when Issuer is set to Local CA. Select Set length of time to enter a specific number of days, or select Set an expiry date and enter the specific date on which the certificate expires.
Key type	The key type is set to RSA.
Key size	Select the key size from the drop-down list: 1024, 2048, or 4096 bits.
Hash algorithm	Select the hash algorithm from the drop-down list, either SHA-1 or SHA-256.

 

Subject Alternative Name	Subject Alternative Names (SAN) allow you to protect multiple host names with a single SSL certificate. SAN is part of the X.509 certificate standard. For example, SANs are used to protect multiple domain names such as www.example.com and www.example.net, in contrast to wildcard certificates that can only protect all first-level subdomains on one domain, such as *.example.com.
Email	Enter the email address of a user to map to this certificate.
User Principal Name (UPN)	Enter the UPN used to find the user’s account in Microsoft Active Directory. This will map the certificate to this specific user. The UPN is unique for the Windows Server domain. This is a form of one-to-one mapping.
Other Extensions	This option is only available when creating a new user certificate, and when Issuer is set to Local CA.
Add CRL Distribution Points extension	Select to add CRL distribution points extension to the certificate. Note: Once a certificate is issued with this extension, the server must be able to handle the CRL request at the specified location. A DNS domain name must be configured. If it has not been, select Edit DNS name to configure one. See DNS on page 31.
Use certificate for Smart Card logon	Select to use the certificate for smart card logon.
Advanced Options: Key Usages	Some certificates require the explicit presence of key usage attributes before the certificate can be accepted for use.
Digital Signature	a high-integrity signature that assures the recipient that a message was not altered in transit
Non Repudiation	an authentication that is deemed as genuine with high assurance
Key Encipherment	uses the public key to encrypt private or secret keys
Data Encipherment	uses the public key to encrypt data
Key Agreement	an interactive method for multiple parties to establish a cryptographic key, based on prior knowledge of a password
Certificate Sign	a message from an applicant to a certificate authority in order to apply for a digital identity certificate
CRL Sign	a Certificate Revocation List (CRL) Sign states a validity period for an issued certificate
Encipher Only	information will be converted into code only
Decipher Only	code will be converted into information only
Advanced Options: Extended Key Usages	Some certificates require the explicit presence of extended key usage attributes before the certificate can be accepted for use.

 

Server Authentication	authentication will only be granted when the user submits their credentials to the server
Client Authentication	authentication will be granted to the server by exchanging a client certificate
Code Signing	used to confirm the software author, and guarantees that the code has not been altered or corrupted through use of a cryptographic hash
Secure Email	a secure email sent over SSL encryption
OCSP Signing	Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) Signing sends a request to the server for certificate status information. The server will send back a response of “current”, “expired”, or “unknown”. OCSP permits a grace period to users or are expired, allowing them a limited time period to renew. This is usually used over CRL.
IPSec End System
IPSec Tunnel Termination	IPSec SAs (Security Associations) are terminated through deletion or by timing out
IPSec User
IPSec IKE Intermediate (end entity)	An intermediate certificate is a subordinate certificate issued by a trusted root specifically to issue end-entity certificates. The result is a certificate chain that begins at the trusted root CA, through the intermediate CA (or CAs) and ending with the SSL certificate issued to you.
Time Stamping
Microsoft Individual Code Signing	user submits information that is compared to an independent consumer database to validate their credentials
Microsoft Commercial Code Signing	user submits information that proves their identity as corporate representatives
Microsoft Trust List Signing	uses a Certificate Trust List (CTL), a list of hashes of certificates. The list is comprised of pre-authenticated items that were approved by a trusted signing entity
Microsoft/Netscape Server Gated Crypto	a defunct mechanism that stepped up 40-bit and 50-bit to 128-bit cipher suites with SSL
Microsoft Encrypted File System	the Encrypted File System (EFS) enables files to be transparently encrypted to protect confidential data
Microsoft EFS File Recovery	the certificate will be granted on the condition it has an EFS file recovery agent prepared
Smart Card Logon	the certificate will be granted on the condition that the user logs on to the network with a smart card
EAP over PPP/LAN	Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) will operate within either a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) or Local Area Network (LAN) framework
KDC Authentication	an Authentication Server (AS) forwards usernames to a key distribution center (KDC), which issues an encrypted, time stamped ticket back to the user

4. Select OK to create the new certificate.

To import a local user certificate:

1. Go to Certificate Management > End Entities > Users and select Import.
2. In the Import Signing Request orCertificate window, in the Type field, select Local certificate.
3. Select .. to locate the certificate file on your computer.
4. Select OK to import the certificate.

To import a server certificate:

1. to Certificate Management > End Entities > Local Services and select Import.
2. In the Import Certificate window, select .. to locate the certificate file on your computer.
3. Select OK to import the certificate.

To import a CSR to sign:

1. Go to Certificate Management > End Entities > Users and select Import.
2. In the Import Signing Request orCertificate window, in the Type field, select CSR to sign.
3. Configure the following settings:

Certificate ID	Enter a unique ID for the certificate.
CSR file (.csr, .req)	Select Browse… then locate the CSR file on your computer.
Certificate Signing Options
Certificate authority		Select one of the available CAs configured on the FortiAuthenticator from the         drop-      down     list. The CA must be valid and current. If it is not you will have to create or import a CA certificate before continuing. See Certificate authorities on page 140.
Validity period		Select the amount of time before this certificate expires. Select Set length of time to enter a specific number of days, or select Set an expiry date and enter the specific date on which the certificate expires
Hash algorithm		Select the hash algorithm from the drop-down list, either SHA-1 or SHA256.
Subject Alternative Name
Email		Enter the email address of a user to map to this certificate.
User Principal Name (UPN)		Enter the UPN used to find the user’s account in Microsoft Active Directory. This will map the certificate to this specific user. The UPN is unique the Windows Server domain. This is a form of one-to-one mapping.
Other Extensions
Add            CRL Distribution Points extension		Select to add CRL distribution points extension to the certificate. Note: Once a certificate is issued with this extension, the server must be able to handle the CRL request at the specified location. A DNS domain name must be configured. If it has not been, select Edit DNS name to configure one. See DNS on page 31.
Use certificate for Smart Card logon		Select to use the certificate for smart card logon. This option can only be selected concurrently with Add CRL Distribution Points extension.

4. Select OK to import the CSR.

To revoke a certificate:

1. Go to Certificate Management > End Entities > Users or to Certificate Management > End Entities > Local Services.
2. Select the certificate the will be revoked, then select Revoke. The Revoke UserCertificate or Revoke Server Certificate window opens.
3. Select a reason for revoking the certificate from the Reason code drop-down list. The reasons available are:

l Unspecified l Key has been compromised l CA has been compromised l Changes in affiliation l Superseded l Operation ceased l On Hold

 

Some of these reasons are security related (such as the key or CA being compromised), while others are more business related; a change in affiliation could be an employee leaving the company; Operation ceased could be a project that was cancelled.

4. Select OK to revoke the certificate.

To view certificate details:

From the certificate list, select a certificate ID to open the Certificate Detail Information window.

Select Edit next to the Certificate ID field to change the certificate ID. If any of this information is out of date or incorrect, you will not be able to use this certificate. If this is the case, delete the certificate and re-enter the information in a new certificate, see To create a new certificate: on page 134. Select Close to return to the certificate list.

Having trouble configuring your Fortinet hardware or have some questions you need answered? Check Out The Fortinet Guru Youtube Channel! Want someone else to deal with it for you? Get some consulting from Fortinet GURU!