Two Factor Authentication (2FA) for Linux Logon and SSH Access
miniOrange Two Factor Authentication (2FA) SSH Module provides a secure way to login into the linux servers that enhance the security and makes the brute force attacks more difficult. Two Factor Authentication (2FA) on top of SSH Access, adds an extra layer of security to increase the identity assurance and reduce risk and exposure. miniOrange Two Factor Authentication (2FA) module can be installed on Linux operating systems to add Two-Factor authentication on the top of local and Remote login.
miniOrange supports following methods for Linux Two Factor Authentication (2FA):
The miniOrange Linux 2FA module has been well tested on the following Linux distributions.
(If you have other than the following mentioned distributions please Contact us)
Ubuntu
RHEL based systems (e.g. Red Hat, CentOS)
Connect with External Source of Users
miniOrange provides user authentication from various external sources, which can be Directories (like ADFS, Microsoft Active Directory, Azure AD, OpenLDAP, Google, AWS Cognito etc), Identity Providers (like Shibboleth, Ping, Okta, OneLogin, KeyCloak), Databases (like MySQL, Maria DB, PostgreSQL) and many more.
Video Setup Guide
Get Free Installation Help - Book a Slot
miniOrange offers free help through a consultation call with our System Engineers to Install or Setup Two-Factor Authentication for Linux solution in your environment with 30 days trial.
For this, you need to just send us an email at idpsupport@xecurify.com to book a slot and we'll help you setting it up in no time.
Step by step guide to enable Two Factor Authentication (2FA) on SSH access (Linux)
In Choose Application Type click on Create App button in Desktop application type.
Click on Linux/Unix.
Click on download the 2FA Module link to download the module.
2. Install and Configure MO-SSH Module
Install the following extensions which are required to proceed for further configuration.
curl, jq & python
Download the “mo-ssh” file.
Open your Linux terminal and make sure you are the root user.
Execute the following command to install “mo-ssh” module.
# bash mo-ssh install < path > e.g. # bash mo-ssh install /usr/local/bin
Enter the miniOrange account credentials.
Proceed for the following steps once you have successfully logged in.
Execute the below command to enable the Two Factor Authentication (2FA) for the users.
‹path of mo-ssh file› enable ‹local_username› ‹miniOrange_email› e.g. # /usr/local/bin enable ec2-user ec2user@xecurify.com
Two Factor Authentication (2fa) is now enabled for the user. You can now test your 2fa setup.
In case you have set OTP over SMS 2FA method. Enter the otp that you will recieve on your phone number. Please enter the otp.
After entering the correct otp the test authentication will be successful.
In case you have set Google Authenticator 2FA method. You will need to enter the token number.
Enter the token number from google authenticator app. The test authentication will be successful.
Execute the below command to restart the sshd service.
$ service sshd restart
3. Configure Two Factor Authentication (2FA) for Linux
Login into your End-User Dashboard using Active Directory Credentials.
Select Configure 2FA from left panel.
Browse through the Second factor options and choose an appropriate method to be used by the particular End-User during login.
In this guide, we have selected the method "OTP OVER SMS". You can explore the guide to setup other methods here.
Click on configure/reconfigure "OTP OVER SMS".
Enter you phone number along with the necessary country code and click on SAVE below. After the Phone details are saved successfully, click on the Save button on the top bar to set this as your 2FA method.
To use a particular method of 2FA, we configure that method first and then select the method and click on SAVE.
Currently used method is denoted by green color.
Click Here to configure the 2FA method from miniOrange Admin dashboard.
Click here for step by step guide to configure 2FA methods for end-users.
4. Test your Linux 2FA Setup
Initiate SSH into your system and enter your username. It will prompt for the two factor authentication (2fa) verification.
If you have set OTP over SMS 2FA method. Enter the otp will recieve on your phone number.
After entering the correct otp the authentication will be successful.
If you have set Google Authenticator 2FA method. You will need to enter the token number.
Enter the token number from google authenticator app. The authentication will be successful.
Execute the below command to uninstall the module. # < path > mo-ssh uninstall e.g. # /usr/local/bin/mo-ssh uninstall
The module is uninstalled successfully.
5. Configure Your User Directory (Optional)
miniOrange provides user authentication from various external sources, which can be Directories (like ADFS, Microsoft Active Directory, Azure AD, OpenLDAP, Google, AWS Cognito etc), Identity Providers (like Okta, Shibboleth, Ping, OneLogin, KeyCloak), Databases (like MySQL, Maria DB, PostgreSQL) and many more. You can configure your existing directory/user store or add users in miniOrange.
Here, fill the user details without the password and then click on the Create User button.
After successful user creation a notification message "An end user is added successfully" will be displayed at the top of the dashboard.
Click on On Boarding Status tab. Check the email, with the registered e-mail id and select action Send Activation Mail with Password Reset Link from Select Action dropdown list and then click on Apply button.
Now, Open your email id. Open the mail you get from miniOrange and then click on the link to set your account password.
On the next screen, enter the password and confirm password and then click on the Single Sign-On (SSO) reset password button.
Now, you can log in into miniOrange account by entering your credentials.
2. Bulk Upload Users in miniOrange via Uploading CSV File.
Navigate to Users >> User List. Click on Add User button.
In Bulk User Registration Download sample csv format from our console and edit this csv file according to the instructions.
To bulk upload users, choose the file make sure it is in comma separated .csv file format then click on Upload.
After uploading the csv file successfully, you will see a success message with a link.
Click on that link you will see list of users to send activation mail. Select users to send activation mail and click on Send Activation Mail. An activation mail will be sent to the selected users.
Click on User Stores >> Add User Store in the left menu of the dashboard.
Select User Store type as AD/LDAP.
STORE LDAP CONFIGURATION IN MINIORANGE: Choose this option if you want to keep your configuration in miniOrange. If active directory is behind a firewall, you will need to open the firewall to allow incoming requests to your AD.
STORE LDAP CONFIGURATION ON PREMISE: Choose this option if you want to keep your configuration in your premise and only allow access to AD inside premises. You will have to download and install miniOrange gateway in your premise.
Enter LDAP Display Name and LDAP Identifier name.
Select Directory Type as Active Directory.
Enter the LDAP Server URL or IP Address against LDAP Server URL field.
Click on Test Connection button to verify if you have made a successful connection with your LDAP server.
In Active Directory, go to the properties of user containers/OU's and search for Distinguished Name attribute.
Enter the valid Bind account Password.
Click on Test Bind Account Credentials button to verify your LDAP Bind credentials for LDAP connection.
Search Base is the location in the directory where the search for a user begins. You will get this from the same place you got your Distinguished name.
Select a suitable Search filter from the drop down menu. To use custom Search Filter select "Custom Search Filter" option and customize it accordingly.
You can also configure following options while setting up AD. Enable Activate LDAP in order to authenticate users from AD/LDAP. Click on the Save button to add user store.
Here's the list of the attributes and what it does when we enable it. You can enable/disable accordingly.
Attribute
Description
Activate LDAP
All user authentications will be done with LDAP credentials if you Activate it
Sync users in miniOrange
Users will be created in miniOrange after authentication with LDAP
Backup Authentication
If LDAP credentials fail then user will be authenticated through miniOrange
Allow users to change password
This allows your users to change their password. It updates the new credentials in your LDAP server
Enable administrator login
On enabling this, your miniOrange Administrator login authenticates using your LDAP server
Show IdP to users
If you enable this option, this IdP will be visible to users
Send Configured Attributes
If you enable this option, then only the attributes configured below will be sent in attributes at the time of login
Click on Save. After this, it will show you the list of User stores. Click on Test Configuration to check whether you have enter valid details. For that, it will ask for username and password.
On Successful connection with LDAP Server, a success message is shown.
Click on Test Attribute Mapping.
Enter a valid Username. Then, click on Test. Mapped Attributes corresponding to the user are fetched.
After successful Attribute Mapping Configuration, go back to the ldap configuration and enable Activate LDAP in order to authenticate users from AD/LDAP.
Enable the "Enable User Auto Registration" option and click Save.
(Optional) To send a welcome email to all the end users that will be imported, enable the "Enable sending Welcome Emails after user registration" option and click Save.
From the Left-Side menu of the dashboard select Provisioning.
In Setup Provisioning tab select Active Directory in the Select Application Drop Down.
Toggle the Import Users tab, click on Save button.
On the same section, switch to Import Users section.
Select Active Directory from the dropdown and click on the Import Users tab, to import all the users from Active Directory to miniOrange.
You can view all the Users you have imports by selecting Users >> User List from Left Panel.
All the imported users will be auto registered.
These groups will be helpful in adding multiple 2FA policies on the applications.
miniOrange integrates with various external user sources such as directories, identity providers, and etc.
