Chapter 5: Certificate Based Authentication 2.0

In this lab you will be deploying a certificate to an enrolled Windows 10 virtual machine. This certificate will be generated by the built-in CA in Workspace ONE UEM.

We will later configure Workspace ONE Access to trust certificates issued by UEM and configure the Certificate (Cloud Deployment) authentication adapter.

Finally we will test everything on a Windows 10 vm to ensure we are able to have a seamless authentication experience.

Extra Material  is optional and will show you how to suppress the pop-up users see in Chrome and to automate this using UEM.

Part 1: WorkspaceOne UEM - Certificate Profile

  1. On your ControlCenter jumpbox
    1. Open Google Chrome
    2. Navigate to https://dw-livefire.awmdm.com
    3. Authenticate using :
      • Username your e-mail address
      • Password VMware1! (if you didn't change it from the default)
  1. In the Workspace ONE UEM Console
    • Navigate to Groups & Settings > All Settings > System > Enterprise Integration > Workspace ONE Access > Configuration
  1. In the Configuration page
    • Under Certificate select ENABLE (if not already enabled)
  1. In the Configuration page
    • Select EXPORT in the Certificates section on the Workspace ONE Access page
      • When prompted select Keep
      • Note this will download a .cer file (VidmAirWatchRootCertificate.cer)
      • Close the Settings window in the top right-corner, by selecting x
      • NOTE: You may have downloaded this certificate in a prior lab you can leverage this certificate.
  1. In the Workspace ONE UEM admin console
    • Navigate to Devices > Profiles & Resources > Profiles > ADD > Add Profile
  1. In the Add Profile window
    • Select Windows > Windows Desktop > User Profile
    • Under General
      • Next to Name: type W10 - SCEP - SSO .
  1. In the Add a New Windows Desktop Profile
    • In the General tab,
      • Scroll down to Smart Groups
        • Select  you Organization Group (This should be your e-mail address) with the world icon next to it.
  1. In the Add a New Windows Desktop Profile
    • In the LEFT MENU, navigate to the SCEP
    • Select CONFIGURE
  1. In the Add a New Windows Desktop Profile
    • Under SCEP, Set the following, next to:
      • Credential Source: AirWatch Certificate Authority
      • Certificate Template: Certificate (Cloud Deployment)
      • Key Location: Software
      • Select SAVE AND PUBLISH at the bottom right of the window
  1. On the View Device Assignment page
    • Confirm your device is showing
    • Select PUBLISH
Troubleshooting Tips

Should the certificate not get deployed please follow the steps below to force the certificate to be pushed.

  1. We have observed in certain scenarios the device is reporting WNS STATUS: DISCONNECTED when it should be WNS STATUS: CONNECTED. This can lead to a delay in the client certificate being deployed to the device. In the communication flow WNS (Windows Notification Services) are responsible for triggering a check in between the OMA-DM client and the Workspace ONE UEM Server. Network constraints can sometimes play a role and we recommend seeing Microsoft's guidelines:  https://via.vmw.com/w10WNS
  1. In the WorkspaceONE UEM Console navigate to Device > List View > Select the unique VM you are working on (Previously W10Client01).
    • Select the Profiles tab.
    • If you are getting a green tick the certificate ha been deployed and you can move to part 2 of the lab.
    • However if you are getting a grey tick it means the profile is pending install.
  1. Navigate to the Windows 10 VM and type access work into the search and click the Access work or School System settings
  1. Click on Connected to Workspace ONE MDM
    • Click on Info
  1. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Sync
    • This should trigger a manual check in with WorkspaceONE UEM and trigger the deployment of the certificate. Allow for a few minutes while this process takes place.
    • Double check in the WorkspaceONE UEM console to make sure that there is now a Green tick next to the W10 - SCEP - SSO profile.
  1. Should you require further troubleshooting check this registry key for installed profiles -

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\EnterpriseResourceManager\Tracked

You can also check the Certificate store in MMC under Personal > Certificates to ensure you have the client certificate installed.

Part 2 : Configure Workspace ONE Access

  1. On your ControlCenter server
    • In the Chrome browser
    • Navigate to your unique Workspace ONE Access tenant.
    • Authenticate using System Domain
      • username: Administrator
      • password: VMware1!
  1. In the Workspace ONE Access admin console
    • Navigate to Identity & Access Management > Authentication Methods.
    • Select the pencil icon next to Certificate (Cloud Deployment)
  1. In the Certificate (Cloud Deployment) page
    • Select the tickbox to Enable Certificate Adapter
    • Select Select File for the Root and Intermediate CA Certificates
    • Select the certificate we have downloaded from the UEM console earlier
    • Select Open
  1. In the Update Auth Adapter window
    • Select OK.
  • In the Certificate (Cloud Deployment) window
    • At the bottom of the page, select Save
  1. In the Workspace ONE Access Console
    • Navigate Identity Providers
    • Under Identity & Access Management, select on Built-in
  1. In the Built-In page
    • Navigate to the Authentication Methods area
    • Select the check box next to LivefireSync
      • Scroll down validate  that the checkbox next to Certificate (cloud deployment) is already enabled
    • In the Network area, select the checkbox next to ALL RANGES
    • Select Save at the bottom of the page.
  1. In the Workspace ONE Access console
    • Navigate to Identity & Access Management > Policies
    • Select default_access_policy_set
  1. Under Policies  \ default_access_policy_set
    • Select EDIT
  1. In the Edit Policy page
    • Select the second tab from the left column Configuration
    • Select All Ranges next to Web Browser in the Device Type Category
  1. In the Edit Policy Rule page, edit the following next to:
    • then the user may authenticate using * change to  : Certificate (Cloud Deployment)
    • if preceding method fails or is not applicable then  change to Password (Cloud Deployment),
    • then Select ADD FALLBACK METHOD
    • Select Password (Local Directory) as the third authentication option.
    • Select SAVE at the bottom of the window
  1. In the Edit Policy \ Configuration page
    • Select ADD POLICY RULE
  1. In the Add Policy Rule page, add the following next to :
    •  and user accessing content from : from the drop down select:-   Windows 10
    • then the user may authenticate using:  from the drop down select:-   Certificate (Cloud Deployment) 
    • If the preceding method fails or is not applicable, then : from the drop down select:- Password (cloud deployment)
    • Select +ADD FALLBACK METHOD
    • If the preceding method fails or is not applicable, then : from the drop down select:- Password (Local Deployment)
    • Select SAVE
  1. Select NEXT on the Edit Policy Page
  1. On the Edit Policy \ Summary page
    • Select SAVE .
      • You have now enabled Certificate (Cloud Deployment) as an authentication method on the default access policy.
      • Our next step is to ensure this implementation is working.

Part 3: Windows 10 Single Sign-On using Certificates

  1. On the Desktop of ControlCenter
    • Open your Remote Desktops folder
    • RDP to your Windows 10 Client  (W10Client01.RDP)
    • Authenticated using :
      • Username euc-livefire\administrator
      • Password VMware1!
  1. On your W10Client01
    • Open the Chrome Browser
    • Navigate to Your unique Workspace ONE Access Tenant
  1. On your W10Client01
    • You will within a second get a prompt from Chrome to confirm the use of the installed client certificate
    • Notice the URL has /cas which is the certificate authentication service that will validate that certificate.
  • Select OK to confirm the use of the certificate.

 

NOTE: If you do not see the Certificate pop-up window, instead you are directed to the normal Access authentication page. Go back to Part 1 in UEM and ensure the Certificate profile we have published has been installed on the device.

 

  1. You should now be authenticated to the Intelligent Hub on the Chrome browser.

This concludes the Certificate-Based authentication lab, allowing users to authentication to corporate resources securely from a managed Windows 10 device.

Extra Material: Suppress Pop-up on Chrome Part 1

In the flow above the user's experience is not ideal requiring the user to manually select the certificate from the prompt during authentication.

The various browsers handle the rules to auto-select certificates differently. In Chrome you can do this either through registry files or Chrome ADMX policies as per this article. https://www.chromium.org/administrators/policy-list-3#AutoSelectCertificateForUrls

In this lab we will show you both, first you will use the registry option and later we will use the ADMP policy option using UEM.  

Alternatively you can download the Chrome Policy templates here: http://dl.google.com/dl/edgedl/chrome/policy/policy_templates.zip

 

1. On the Controlcenter base navigate to the Remote Desktops folder on the desktop and RDP to W10Client01

2. On the W10Client01 click Start and type registry editory and click on the Registry Editor

3. Navigate to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies

Right click Policies and click New > Key. Then Type Google.

4. Right Click on the Google and click New > Key. Then type Chrome.

5. Right Click on Chrome and click New > Key. Then type AutoSelectCertificateForUrls

You should now have: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\AutoSelectCertificateForUrls

 

6. Right-Click in the white space inside the key AutoSelectCertificateForUrls and click New > String Value

7. Give the key the name 1

8. Right-click on the 1 and click Modify...

9. Fill in the Value data with the following replacing the highlighted text with the issuer value from your certificate. This is the certificate issuer name. When using UEM certificates this is the name of the Organization group from which the Certificate profile has been created.

{"pattern":"https://cas.vidmpreview.com","filter":{"ISSUER":{"CN":"emusk"}}}

Note: Some organizations may have multiple certificates issues by the same CA and will require more detail in that scenario reference link at the top of the lab

EXAMPE:

Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\AutoSelectCertificateForUrls\1 = "{"pattern":"https://www.example.com","filter":{"ISSUER":{"CN":"certificate issuer name", "L": "certificate issuer location", "O": "certificate issuer org", "OU": "certificate issuer org unit"}, "SUBJECT":{"CN":"certificate subject name", "L": "certificate subject location", "O": "certificate subject org", "OU": "certificate subject org unit"}}}"

10. Open Chrome on W10Client01 and browse to chrome://policy

You should now notice that you have a Chrome Policy AutoSelectCertificateForUrls. This is a sanity check to make sure that the Registry entry has been successfully created.

NOTE: if you do not see the policy. Click Reload policies in the top left at which point you should see the policy appear.

11. In the navigation bar type the Workspace ONE Access URL and hit enter. You will be authenticated and land on the Intelligent hub page.

You will notice a in the URL a redirect to cas.vidmpreview.com at which point the certificate gets presented and validated, however the user is not prompted to select the certificate.

Extra Material: Suppress Pop-up on Chrome Part 2

In this part we will look at how we can automate the process so our entire fleet of Windows 10 managed devices will get the chrome policy to auto-select the appropriate certificate for SSO in the Chrome browser.

We again have two options to realize this. One is to use the above registry option. Export the registry,  create a .bat file that installs the registry key and upload to UEM as Files/Actions part of Product Provisioning.

The second option and the one we will use (just to change it up:) is to configure ADMX template using CSP. We can do this using custom profiles as described here: https://code.vmware.com/en/samples/3329/windows-10---chrome-admx#

First we will deploy the ADMX policy as part of a custom profile, then we will create a policy that configures the "AutoSelectCertificateForURL"

  1. Open the Workspace ONE UEM admin console and navigate to Devices > Profiles & Resources > Profiles > ADD click Add Profile
  1. In the Add Profile window Select Windows > Windows Desktop and Device Profile
  1. In the General payload fill in the following:
    • Name : W10 - Chrome - ADMX
    • Smart Groups - Select the World Icon for your Organization Group {should be you e-mail address}
  1. On the left find Custom Settings payload and click CONFIGURE
  1. Open a new tab and navigate to https://code.vmware.com/en/samples/3329/windows-10---chrome-admx#code
    • Click on Browse Code and Drill down to the ChromADMXinstall.xml
    • Copy the entirety of the XML
  1. Navigate back to the Workspace ONE UEM Console and paste the XML into the Install Settings box of Custom Settings.
  1. Paste the below XML into the Remove Settings box of the Custom Settings payload.

<Delete><CmdID>1</CmdID><Item><Meta><Format>chr</Format><Type>text/plain</Type></Meta><Target><LocURI>./Vendor/MSFT/Policy/ConfigOperations/ADMXInstall/Chrome/Policy/ChromeAdmx</LocURI></Target><Data></Date></Item></Delete>

  1. Click SAVE AND PUBLISH and PUBLISH on the View Device Assignment window.
  1. Click ADD and Add Profile in the Profiles page.
  1. Select Windows > Windows Desktop > User Profile
  1. In the General payload set the following:
    • Name: W10 - Chrome - AutoSelect
    • Smart Groups: Select the World Icon for your Organization Group {should be you e-mail address}
  1. Go to the Custom Settings payload and click CONFIGURE
  1. Paste the following XML into the Install Settings section of Custom Settings. Replacing the CN value (Highlighted) with your OrganisationGroup name without punctuation. (Eg. ManfredVogalgmailcom) This is the Issuer value if you would like to double check on you W10Client01 certificate.

<Replace><CmdID>5</CmdID><Item><Target><LocURI>./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Chrome~Policy~googlechrome~ContentSettings/AutoSelectCertificateForUrls</LocURI></Target><Data><![CDATA[<enabled/><data id='AutoSelectCertificateForUrlsDesc' value='1&#xf000;{"pattern":"https://cas.vidmpreview.com","filter":{"ISSUER":{"CN":"ManfredVogalgmailcom"}}}'/>]]></Data></Item></Replace>

  1. Paste the following XML into the Remove Settings section of the Custom Settings.

<Delete><CmdID>5</CmdID><Item><Target><LocURI>./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Chrome~Policy~googlechrome~ContentSettings/AutoSelectCertificateForUrls</LocURI></Target><Data></Data></Item></Delete>

  1. Click SAVE AND PUBLISH and PUBLISH on the View Device Assignment window.
  1. On the W10Client01 VM close Chrome and Re-open it. Navigate to Chrome://policy you should see the AutoSelectCertificate policy there. Navigate to your unique WorkspaceONE Access URL you should not be prompted for a certificate but it should be a seemless single-sign-on experience.

This concludes the Certificate-Based Authentication on Windows 10 and the configuration of the end-points to auto-select the appropriate certificate for single-sign on.

Author: Simeon Frank

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