Global Protect Client 1.2.0

[kuntzelectroplating]

We are using a self-signed certificate on our PAN. The Global Protect clients before the latest version were fine with it. Now I am getting invalid certificate errors connecting with the latest client. What has changed with this new client?

Thanks

[gwesson · Accepted solution]

In GlobalProtect version 1.1.7 (and all subsequent versions, including 1.2.0) we have implemented strict certificate chain checking. This is an enhanced security measure to ensure the clients trust the portal and gateway certificates when connecting. Here is the information from the 1.1.7 release notes:

GlobalProtect 1.1.7 implements enhanced checks for CA Server Certificates chain-of-trust. This change will cause some existing configurations to become invalid and may result in remote users receiving an error when connecting to the portal, or will not be able to connect if the certificate issue is present on the gateway. Before deploying the GlobalProtect Agent 1.1.7 to users, ensure that the Portal and all Gateway server certificates are valid and that the certificate Common Name (CN) fields match the FQDN or IP address of the portal and/or gateway that uses the certificate.

The SSL certificate that you use for the GlobalProtect portal/gateway should have a Common Name (CN) that matches what you configured in the portal settings. For example, if your certificate has the CN of gp.example.com, ensure that your portal configuration lists the gateway as gp.example.com and does not use an IP address and vice versa, otherwise when the GlobalProtect Agent tries to connect it will generate an error specifying that the certificate CN does not match.

Additionally, when the certificate is created, the Subject Alternative Name (SAN) must be exactly the same as the certificate's CN. If the certificate uses the CN of the DNS name, ensure that the SAN also uses the DNS name and not the IP address. A mismatch will cause the GlobalProtect Agent to recognize that the SAN is not the same as the CN and will also produce the certificate error.

If your certificates are generated by a public certificate authority, then this will be done correctly and you should not have any issues.

Refer to the following tech note for details on configuring server certificates: https://live.paloaltonetworks.com/docs/DOC-2020

[kuntzelectroplating]

Thank you...that's what I needed to know.

Cheers,

[oschuler]

Dear gwesson,

Thank you for the interesting details. The setup works for us if we use the same DNS name for the gateway as we have for the portal. But we want to have multiple gateways:

Portal is configured on gp.example.com (assume IP 100.1.1.1)

Gateway 1 is configured on another IP address (but same ISP as Portal): gp1.example.com (IP 100.1.1.2)

Gateway 2 is configured on another IPS interface with the IP 200.2.2.2 (no DNS name)

The portal certificate is issued for "gp.example.com" and signed by an internal "firewall issuing CA" which is installed on the PA firewall (including priv key).

Gateway 1 is issued for "gp1.example.com" and signed by the same CA as the portal.

Gateway 2 has no DNS name and is issued for "200.2.2.2" and signed by the same CA as the portal.

With this setup we get the error message attached. How can we achieve the setup above with no error message? To my understanding it must be possible to have multiple gateways configured in one portal... Or is it a constraint that at least one of the gateways need to be identical to the portal?

Thank you,

Oliver

[gwesson]

Hi Oliver,

The name has to match the portal, but you can do that by using the Host Name field in the certificate. Just recreate the certs for each of your portals, and in the Host Name field type gp.example.com in addition to the IP or the gp1.example.com name. That should allow the check to pass correctly.

Regards,

Greg

[oschuler]

Oh, I see. It works now. Thank you Greg.

[bradenmcg]

Greg,

Does this mean that wildcard certs will no longer work with GlobalProtect?  Or does one of the SAN entries simply have to match the CN (*.example.com)?

[ShaunD]

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