Define the GlobalProtect Client Authentication Configurations
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Define the GlobalProtect Client Authentication Configurations

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Define the GlobalProtect Client Authentication Configurations

Each GlobalProtect client authentication configuration specifies the settings that enable the user to authenticate with the GlobalProtect portal. You can customize the settings for each OS or you can configure the settings to apply to all endpoints. For example, you can configure Android users to use RADIUS authentication and Windows users to use LDAP authentication. You can also customize client authentication for users who access the portal from a web browser (to download the GlobalProtect app) or for third-party IPsec VPN (X-Auth) access to GlobalProtect gateways.
  1. Specify how the portal authenticates users.
    You can configure the GlobalProtect portal to authenticate users through a local user database or an external authentication service, such as LDAP, Kerberos, TACACS+, SAML, or RADIUS (including OTP). If you have not yet set up the authentication profiles and/or certificate profiles, see GlobalProtect User Authentication for instructions.
    On the GlobalProtect Portal Configuration dialog (NetworkGlobalProtectPortals<portal-config>), select Authentication to Add a new Client Authentication configuration with the following settings:
    • Enter a Name to identify the client authentication configuration.
    • Specify the endpoints to which you want to deploy this configuration. To apply this configuration to all endpoints, accept the default OS of Any. To apply this configuration to endpoints running a specific operating system, select an OS such as Android. Alternatively, you can apply this configuration to endpoints that connect to a Clientless VPN portal from a web Browser.
    • To enable users to authenticate to the portal or gateway using their user credentials, select or add an Authentication Profile.
      • If you want to require users to authenticate to the portal or gateway using both user credentials AND a client certificate, both the Authentication Profile and Certificate Profile are required.
      • If you want to allow users to authenticate to the portal or gateway using either user credentials OR a client certificate, and you select a Certificate Profile for user authentication, the Authentication Profile is optional.
      • If you want to allow users to authenticate to the portal or gateway using either user credentials OR a client certificate, but you do not select a Certificate Profile for user authentication (or you set the Certificate Profile to None), the Authentication Profile is required.
    • (Optional) Enter a custom Username Label for GlobalProtect portal login (for example, Email Address (username@domain).
    • (Optional) Enter a custom Password Label for GlobalProtect portal login (for example, Passcode for two-factor, token-based authentication).
    • (Optional) Enter an Authentication Message to help end users understand which credentials to use when logging in. The message can be up to 256 characters in length (default is Enter login credentials).
    • Select one of the following options to define whether users can authenticate to the portal using credentials and/or client certificates:
      • To require users to authenticate to the portal using both user credentials AND a client certificate, set the Allow Authentication with User Credentials OR Client Certificate option to No (User Credentials AND Client Certificate Required) (default).
      • To allow users to authenticate to the portal using either user credentials OR a client certificate, set the Allow Authentication with User Credentials OR Client Certificate option to Yes (User Credentials OR Client Certificate Required).
        When you set this option to Yes, the GlobalProtect portal first searches the endpoint for a client certificate. If the endpoint does not have a client certificate or you do not configure a certificate profile for your client authentication configuration, the end user must then authenticate to the portal using his or her user credentials.
  2. Arrange the client authentication configurations with OS-specific configurations at the top of the list, and configurations that apply to Any OS at the bottom of the list (NetworkGlobalProtectPortals<portal-config>Authentication). As with security rule evaluation, the portal looks for a match starting from the top of the list. When it finds a match, it delivers the corresponding configuration to the app.
    • To move a client authentication configuration up on the list of configurations, select the configuration and click Move Up.
    • To move a client authentication configuration down on the list of configurations, select the configuration and click Move Down.
  3. (Optional) To enable two-factor authentication using an authentication profile and a certificate profile, configure both in this portal configuration.
    The portal must authenticate the endpoint by using both methods before the user can gain access.
    (Chrome only) If you configure the portal to use client certificates and LDAP for two-factor authentication, Chromebooks that run Chrome OS 47 or later versions encounter excessive prompts to select the client certificate. To prevent excessive prompts, configure a policy to specify the client certificate in the Google Admin console and then deploy that policy to your managed Chromebooks:
    1. Log in to the Google Admin console and select Device managementChrome managementUser settings.
    2. In the Client Certificates section, enter the following URL pattern to Automatically Select Client Certificate for These Sites:
      {"pattern": "https://[*.]","filter":{}}
    3. Click Save. The Google Admin console deploys the policy to all devices within a few minutes.
    On the GlobalProtect Portal Configuration dialog (NetworkGlobalProtectPortals<portal-config>), select Authentication to choose the Certificate Profile to authenticate users based on a client certificate or smart card.
    The Common Name (CN) and, if applicable, the Subject Alternative Name (SAN) fields of the certificate must exactly match the IP address or FQDN of the interface where you configure the portal or HTTPS connections to the portal will fail.
  4. Save the portal configuration.
    1. Click OK to save your configuration.
    2. Commit the changes.