On the Security > Signing & Decryption Keys & Certificates screen, you can create and maintain certificates (and thus their respective key pairs) for the purpose of signing outgoing requests, responses, assertions, and access tokens, and for the purpose of decryption.

CAUTION:

For best security, we recommend using separate certificates for signing and decryption.

After creating your certificates, if they remain as self-signed certificates, you can optionally enable automatic certificate rotation (see Certificate rotation).

Creating a new certificate

  1. On the Signing & Decryption Keys & Certificates screen, click Create new.
  2. On the Create Certificate screen, enter the required information.

    For information about each field, refer to the following table.

    Field Description
    Common Name The common name (CN) identifying the certificate.
    Subject Alternative Names The additional DNS names or IP addresses that can be associated with the certificate.
    Organization The organization (O) or company name creating the certificate.
    Organizational Unit The specific unit within the organization (OU).
    City The city or other primary location (L) where the company operates.
    State The state (ST) or other political unit encompassing the location.
    Country The country (C) where the company is based.
    Validity (days) The time during which the certificate is valid.
    Cryptographic Provider The storage facility of the certificate.

    Applicable and visible only when PingFederate is integrated with an HSM in hybrid mode.

    • Select HSM to store the certificate in the HSM.
    • Select Local Trust Store to store the certificate in the local trust store managed by PingFederate.
    Key Algorithm A cryptographic formula used to generate a key. PingFederate uses either of two algorithms, RSA or EC.
    Key Size (bits) The number of bits used in the key. (RSA-1024, 2048 and 4096; and EC-256, 384 and 521.)
    Signature Algorithm The signing algorithm of the certificate. (RSA-SHA256, SHA384, and SHA512; and ECDSA-SHA256, SHA384, and SHA512.)
  3. When finished, click Next.
  4. On the Summary screen, review your configuration, amend as needed, and click Save.

Importing a certificate and its private key

  1. On the Signing & Decryption Keys & Certificates screen, click Import.
  2. On the Import Certificate screen, choose the applicable certificate file and enter its password.
    Note:

    If PingFederate is integrated with an HSM in hybrid mode, select the storage facility of the certificate from the Cryptographic Provider list.

    • Select HSM to store the certificate in the HSM.
    • Select Local Trust Store to store the certificate in the local trust store managed by PingFederate.
  3. On the Summary screen, review your configuration, amend as needed, and click Save.

Creating a certificate-authority signing request (CSR)

  1. On the Signing & Decryption Keys & Certificates screen, select Certificate Signing under Action for the certificate.
    Note:

    This selection is inactive if you have not yet saved a newly created or imported certificate. Click Save and then return to this screen to initiate the process.

    The selection is also inactive if a previously signed certificate has been revoked. Because the revocation may indicate that the private key has been compromised, the best practice is to import or create a replacement certificate for certificate signing.

  2. On the Certificate Signing screen, select the Generate CSR option.
  3. On the Generate CSR screen, click Export to save the CSR file, and then click Done.

    Once saved, you can submit this CSR file to a certificate authority (CA) for a CA-signed certificate.

Importing a certificate-authority response (CSR response)

  1. On the Signing & Decryption Keys & Certificates screen, select Certificate Signing under Action for the certificate.
  2. On the Certificate Signing screen, select the Import CSR Response option.
  3. On the Import CSR Response screen, choose the applicable CSR response file.
  4. On the Summary screen, review your configuration, and click Save.

Exporting a certificate

  1. On the Signing & Decryption Keys & Certificates screen, select Export under Action for the certificate.
  2. On the Export Certificate screen, select the export type.
    • Select Certificate Only to export the selected certificate without its private key. This is the default choice.
    • Select Certificate and Private Key to export the selected certificate with its private key.
      CAUTION:

      This export contains the private key of the certificate. You must also enter an encryption password.

      If the selected certificate is stored in an HSM, the Certificate and Private Key option does not apply.

  3. On the Export & Summary screen, click Export to save the certificate file, and then click Done.

Reviewing a certificate

  1. On the Signing & Decryption Keys & Certificates screen, select the certificate by its serial number.
  2. Review the selected certificate in the pop-up window.

    When finished, close the pop-up window.

Reviewing a certificate's usage

  1. On the Signing & Decryption Keys & Certificates screen, select Check Usage under Action for the certificate.

    If the certificate is not used by any configuration, the Check Usage option does not apply.

  2. Review the information in the pop-up window.

    When finished, close the pop-up window.

Removing a certificate

  1. On the Signing & Decryption Keys & Certificates screen, select Delete under Action for the certificate.

    To cancel the removal request, select Undelete under Action for the certificate.

  2. Click Save to confirm your action.