All posts tagged Certification Authority

KEMP LoadMaster Load Balancer Certificate Format Invalid

When implementing a KEMP LoadMaster load balancer, one of the first configuration tasks performed is importing root and intermediate Certification Authority (CA) certificates. When doing this, it is not uncommon to encounter the following error message.

Certificate Format Invalid.

KEMP LoadMaster Load Balancer Certificate Invalid

To resolve this issue, .CER files must first be converted to .PEM format before being imported in to the LoadMaster. Using OpenSSL, .CER files can quickly be converted to .PEM with the following command.

openssl x509 -inform der -in example.cer -out example.pem

Optionally, .CER files can be converted to .PEM online here.

If the root and/or intermediate certificates are from an internal PKI, export the certificates using the Base-64 encoded x.509 (.CER) option. Certificates exported using this format can be imported directly in to the LoadMaster without first having to be converted to .PEM.

KEMP LoadMaster Load Balancer Certificate Format Invalid

Pro tip: When entering the Certificate Name, it is not necessary to enter a file extension. The name will be appended with .PEM automatically upon import.

KEMP LoadMaster Load Balancer Certificate Format Invalid

KEMP LoadMaster Load Balancer Certificate Format Invalid

Additional Resources

DirectAccess Deployment Guide for KEMP LoadMaster Load Balancers

Maximize Your Investment in Windows 10 with KEMP LoadMaster Load Balancers

DirectAccess and the FREE KEMP LoadMaster Load Balancer

Configure KEMP LoadMaster Load Balancer for DirectAccess Network Location Server (NLS)

Planning and Implementing DirectAccess Video Training Course on Pluralsight

Implementing DirectAccess with Windows Server 2016 Book

1 Comment
by Richard M. Hicks on May 10, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in ADC, application delivery controller, DirectAccess, High Availability, Kemp, Load Balancing, LoadMaster, SSL and TLS, troubleshooting, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016
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Posted by Richard M. Hicks on May 10, 2017

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2017/05/10/kemp-loadmaster-load-balancer-certificate-format-invalid/

Troubleshooting DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Error Code 0x90320

A Windows 7 or Windows 8.x/10 client may fail to establish a DirectAccess connection using the IP-HTTPS IPv6 transition technology. When troubleshooting this issue, running ipconfig.exe shows that the media state for the tunnel adapter iphttpsinterface is Media disconnected.

Troubleshooting DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Error Code 0x90320

Running the Get-NetIPHttpsState PowerShell command on Windows 8.x/10 clients or the netsh interface httpstunnel show interface command on Windows 7 clients returns an error code of 0x90320, with an interface status Failed to connect to the IPHTTPS server; waiting to reconnect.

Troubleshooting DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Error Code 0x90320

Error code 0x90320 translates to SEC_I_INCOMPLETE_CREDENTIALS, indicating the client was unable to authenticate to the DirectAccess server during the TLS handshake when establishing the IP-HTTPS IPv6 transition tunnel. This occurs when the DirectAccess server or an Application Delivery Controller (ADC) is configured to perform client certificate authentication for IP-HTTPS connections. The client may fail to authenticate if it does not have a valid certificate issued by the organization’s internal certification authority (CA) or if the DirectAccess server or ADC is configured to perform IP-HTTPS client authentication incorrectly.

To resolve this issue, ensure that a valid certificate is installed on the DirectAccess client. In addition, ensure that the DirectAccess server or ADC is configured to use the correct CA when authenticating clients establishing IP-HTTPS connections.

Additional Information

DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Preauthentication 

DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Preauthentication using Citrix NetScaler

DirectAccess SSL Offload and IP-HTTPS preauthentication using Citrix NetScaler 

DirectAccess IP-HTTPS preauthentication using F5 BIG-IP 

2 Comments
by Richard M. Hicks on March 20, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in ADC, application delivery controller, DirectAccess, IP-HTTPS, IPv6, IPv6 Transition, Netscaler, PowerShell, Remote Access, Security, SSL and TLS, troubleshooting, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016
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Posted by Richard M. Hicks on March 20, 2017

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2017/03/20/troubleshooting-directaccess-ip-https-error-code-0x90320/

DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Preauthentication using F5 BIG-IP

Note: For information about configuring the Citrix NetScaler to perform IP-HTTPS preauthentication, click here. For information about configuring Windows Server 2012 R2 to perform IP-HTTPS preauthentication natively, click here.

Introduction

DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Preauthentication using F5 BIG-IPRecently I wrote about security challenges with DirectAccess and the IP-HTTPS IPv6 transition technology. Specifically, IP-HTTPS transition tunnel connections are not authenticated by the DirectAccess server, only the client. This allows an unauthorized device to obtain an IPv6 address on the DirectAccess client network. With it, an attacker can perform network reconnaissance using ICMPv6 and potentially launch a variety of Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks. For more details, click here.

Note: DirectAccess IPsec data connections not at risk. Data is never exposed at any time with the default configuration.

Mitigation

To mitigate these issues, it is recommended that an Application Delivery Controller (ADC) be used to terminate SSL connections and enforce client certificate authentication. Doing this will ensure that only authorized connections will be accepted by the DirectAccess server. In addition, there are some scalability and performance benefits to implementing this configuration when supporting Windows 7 clients.

Important Considerations

Performing IP-HTTPS preauthentication on the F5 BIG-IP is formally unsupported by Microsoft. In addition, terminating IP-HTTPS on the F5 appliance breaks OTP authentication.

F5 BIG-IP Configuration

To configure the F5 BIG-IP to perform SSL offload for DirectAccess IP-HTTPS, follow the guidance documented here. In addition, to configure the F5 BIG-IP to perform preauthentication for DirectAccess clients, when creating the client SSL profile, click Custom above the Client Authentication section and choose Require from the Client Certificate drop-down list and Always from the Frequency drop-down list. In addition, choose your internal PKI’s root Certification Authority (CA) certificate from the Trusted Certificate Authorities drop-down list and from the Advertised Certificate Authorities drop-down list.

DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Preauthentication using F5 BIG-IP

Summary

Enabling client certificate authentication for IP-HTTPS connections ensures that only authorized DirectAccess clients can establish a connection to the DirectAccess server and obtain an IPv6 address. It also prevents an unauthorized user from performing network reconnaissance or launching IPv6 Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks.

7 Comments
by Richard M. Hicks on May 23, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in ADC, application delivery controller, DirectAccess, Encryption, F5, IP-HTTPS, IPv6, IPv6 Transition, Load Balancing, Remote Access, Security, SSL and TLS, Windows 7, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016
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Posted by Richard M. Hicks on May 23, 2016

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2016/05/23/directaccess-ip-https-preauthentication-using-f5-big-ip/

DirectAccess and Multi-SAN SSL Certificates for IP-HTTPS

Introduction

When preparing a DirectAccess server, an SSL certificate is required for the IP-HTTPS IPv6 transition technology. This certificate is often issued by a public Certification Authority (CA), but it can also be issued an organization’s internal Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).

SSL Certificate

Commonly an SSL certificate is issued for a single hostname, or subject. As long as the hostname matches the subject, everything works fine.

DirectAccess and Multi-SAN SSL Certificates for IP-HTTPS

Multi-SAN SSL Certificate

To ease the management burden of using multiple certificates, or reduce the expense associated with using a wildcard certificate, organizations can request a multi-SAN (Subject Alternative Name) certificate, which matches more than one subject. The additional subjects are included in the Subject Alternative Name field on the SSL certificate.

DirectAccess and Multi-SAN SSL Certificates for IP-HTTPS
A single multi-SAN certificate can be installed on multiple hosts and will work without issue as long as the hostname matches one of the SAN entries.

DirectAccess and Multi-SAN Certificates

When implementing DirectAccess in a multisite configuration, each entry point in the organization will have a unique public hostname. Instinctively, using a multi-SAN SSL certificate in this scenario would seem ideal.

Unfortunately, support for multi-SAN SSL certificates with DirectAccess is limited. To use a multi-SAN certificate for DirectAccess IP-HTTPS, the public hostname must match the name listed in the Subject field. In the example above, the subject is da.richardhicks.net, with SAN entries for da-west.richardhicks.net and da-east.richardhicks.net.

In this scenario, only the public name da.richardhicks.net is supported for use with DirectAccess. It will not work for any of the SAN entries. For example, attempting to configure DirectAccess to use this certificate with the public hostname da-west.richardhicks.net will fail with the following error message.

The subject name of certificate CN=[certificate subject name] is invalid.
Select a certificate with a valid subject name.

DirectAccess and Multi-SAN SSL Certificates for IP-HTTPS

Attempting to work around this issue by using the Set-DAServer PowerShell cmdlet also fails to recognize the SSL certificate correctly.

DirectAccess and Multi-SAN SSL Certificates for IP-HTTPS

Summary

Using a multi-SAN SSL certificate for the DirectAccess IP-HTTPS IPv6 transition technology is only supported when the public hostname matches the subject name of the certificate. Configuring DirectAccess with a public hostname listed in the SAN list is not supported. For multisite DirectAccess deployments, individual certificates must be issued for each entry point. Alternatively, a wildcard certificate can be used.

4 Comments
by Richard M. Hicks on March 28, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in DirectAccess, IP-HTTPS, IPv6, IPv6 Transition, Remote Access, SSL and TLS, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on March 28, 2016

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2016/03/28/directaccess-and-multi-san-ssl-certificates-for-ip-https/

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