> Source: [sk110534](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk110534)

# sk110534 - Certificate authentication for Remote Access works only with an external CA on Locally Managed Spark Firewall

| Property | Value |
|----------|-------|
| Solution ID | sk110534 |
| Date Created | 2016-03-17 |
| Last Modified | 2022-07-24 |
| Technical Level | General |
| Products | Spark Firewall (Locally Managed) |
| Versions | R81.10.X |
| Platform | 6, 20, 400, 110, 1500, 1600, 1800, 910 |

## Symptoms

- Cannot connect with the Check Point Endpoint Security VPN client using certificate from Public-Key Cryptographic Standard file (PKCS#12 or PFX) as an authentication method if the appliance's internal CA was used for generating/signing such request.

## Solution

This is an expected behavior.   

Locally managed Quantum Spark / SMB appliances do not support internal certificate administration. Refer to [sk110533](https://supportcenter.checkpoint.com/supportcenter/portal?eventSubmit_doGoviewsolutiondetails=&solutionid=sk110533&partition=General&product=2012).

The appliance should be running **R80.20.X** (Quantum Spark) or **R77.20.75 B2270** or higher (SMB)

**To use an external CA:**

1. In the appliance WebUI, go to **VPN** \> **Trusted CAs**.
2. Import the external root CA \[or the sub CA that generated/signed the '.p12' or '.pfx' file\] to the firewall's trusted CAs.
3. In the VPN endpoint client side, select the authentication method as 'Certificate - P12' or 'Certificate - CAPI' and use the '.p12' or '.pfx' file generated/signed by the external CA that you imported.

**Restrictions:**

* No Active Directory (AD) servers should be configured on the appliance.
* Remote access permissions for RADIUS users should be disabled on the 'Authentication Server' page.

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