Chapter 8: System Management > Configuring LDAP authentication

Configuring LDAP authentication

You can configure administrator authentication against an LDAP server.

Before you begin:

After you have completed the LDAP server configuration and enabled it, you can select it when you create an administrator user on the System > Admin > Administrators page. On that page, you specify the username but not the password. You also specify the SPP assignment, trusted host list, and access profile for that user.

If LDAP is enabled, when a user logs in, an authentication request is made to the remote LDAP server. If authentication succeeds, and the user has a configuration on the System > Admin > Administrators page, the SPP assignment, trusted host list, and access profile are applied. If the user does not have a configuration on the System > Admin > Administrators page, these assignments are obtained from the Default Access Strategy settings described in Table 79.

To configure an LDAP server:
  1. Go to System > Authentication > LDAP.
  2. Complete the configuration as described in Table 79.
  3. Save the configuration.

Figure  138:  LDAP server configuration page

 Table 79:   LDAP server configuration guidelines

Settings Guidelines
Enable Unique name. No spaces or special characters.
LDAP Server Name/IP IP address of the LDAP server.
Port LDAP port. Usually, this is 389.
Common Name Identifier Common name (cn) attribute for the LDAP record. For example: cn or uid.
Distinguished Name Distinguished name (dn) attribute for the LDAP record. The dn uniquely identifies a user in the LDAP directory. For example:

cn=John%20Doe,dc=example,dc=com

 

Most likely, you must work with your LDAP administrator to know the appropriate DN to use for FortiADC access. The LDAP administrator might need to provision a special group.

Test Connectivity
Test Connectivity Select to test connectivity using a test username and password specified next. Click the Test button after you have saved the configuration.
User DN User DN for the connectivity test.
Password Corresponding password.
Default Access Strategy for remote LDAP user
System Admin If enabled, the user is regarded as a system administrator with access to all SPPs.
Service Protection Profile If this administrator is not a system administrator, select the profile that this account manages.
Trusted Hosts Source IP address and netmask from which the administrator is allowed to log in. For multiple addresses, separate each entry with a space. You can specify up to three trusted areas. They can be single hosts, subnets, or a mixture.

Configuring trusted hosts hardens the security of the system. In addition to knowing the password, an administrator can connect only from the computer or subnets you specify.

Trusted host definitions apply both to the web UI and to the CLI when accessed through Telnet, SSH, or the CLI console widget. Local console access is not affected by trusted hosts, as the local console is by definition not remote, and does not occur through the network.

If ping is enabled, the address you specify here is also a source IP address to which the system will respond when it receives a ping or traceroute signal.

To allow logins only from one computer, enter only its IP address and 32- or 128-bit netmask:192.0.2.2/322001:0db8:85a3:::8a2e:0370:7334/128

To allow login attempts from any IP address (not recommended), enter:0.0.0.0/0.0.0.0.

Caution: If you restrict trusted hosts, do so for all administrator accounts. Failure to do so means that all accounts are still exposed to the risk of brute force login attacks. This is because if you leave even one administrator account unrestricted (i.e. 0.0.0.0/0), the system must allow login attempts on all network interfaces where remote administrative protocols are enabled, and wait until after a login attempt has been received in order to check that user name’s trusted hosts list.

Tip: If you allow login from the Internet, set a longer and more complex password, and enable only secure administrative access protocols. We also recommend that you restrict trusted hosts to IPs in your administrator’s geographical area.

Tip: For improved security, restrict all trusted host addresses to single IP addresses of computer(s) from which only this administrator will log in.
Default Access Profile Select a user-defined or predefined profile. The predefined profile named super_admin_prof is a special access profile used by the admin account. However, selecting this access profile will not confer all permissions of the admin account. For example, the new administrator would not be able to reset lost administrator passwords.

Note: This option does not appear for the admin administrator account, which by definition always uses the super_admin_prof access profile.

config system authentication LDAP
  set state {enable|disable}
  set server <ip>
  set port <port>
  set cnid <cn>
  set dn <dn>
  set is-system-admin {yes|no}
  set dft-domain <SPP>
  set dft-accprofile <profile>
  set dft-trusted-hosts <CIDR list>
end

 

If you initially set is-system-admin to no, but later change your mind, you must first change dft-domain to SPP-0 and commit it; then configure the system admin setting. For example:

config system authentication LDAP

set dft-domain SPP-0

end

config system authentication LDAP

set is-system-admin yes

end