Red Hat Summit Red Hat SummitSupportConsoleDevelopersStart a trialContact

Chapter 13. Configuring applications for a single sign-on

Single sign-on (SSO) is an authentication scheme which allows you to log into multiple systems through a single log-in procedure. You can configure browsers and email clients to use Kerberos tickets, SSL certifications, or tokens as a means of authenticating users.

The configuration of different applications may vary. This chapter shows how to configure SSO authentication schema for the Mozilla Thunderbird email client and Mozilla Firefox web browser as the examples.

13.1. Prerequisites
Copy link

  • You have installed the following applications:

    • Mozilla Firefox version 88
    • Mozilla Thunderbird version 78

You can configure Firefox to use Kerberos for single sign-on (SSO) to intranet sites and other protected websites. To do so, you first have to configure Firefox to send Kerberos credentials to the appropriate Key Distribution Center (KDC).

Note

Even after configuring Firefox to pass Kerberos credentials, you still need a valid Kerberos ticket. To generate a Kerberos ticket, use the kinit command and supply the user password for the user on the KDC. 

[jsmith@host ~] $ kinit
Password for jsmith@EXAMPLE.COM:
Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

Procedure

  1. In the address bar of Firefox, type about:config to display the list of current configuration options.
  2. In the Filter field, type negotiate to restrict the list of options.
  3. Double-click the network.negotiate-auth.trusted-uris entry.

  4. Enter the name of the domain against which to authenticate, including the preceding period (.). If you want to add multiple domains, enter them in a comma separated list.

    Figure 13.1. Manual Firefox Configuration

    kerberos firefox
    View larger image
    kerberos firefox

13.3. Viewing certificates in Firefox
Copy link

You can view stored certificates in Mozilla Firefox to verify authentication settings.

Procedure

  1. In Mozilla Firefox, open the Firefox menu and select Preferences.

    Firefox preferences
    View larger image
    Firefox preferences

  2. In the left panel, select the Privacy & Security section.

    Privacy & security
    View larger image
    Privacy & security
  3. Scroll down to the Certificates section.

  4. Click View Certificates to open the Certificate Manager.

    firefox view certificates
    View larger image
    firefox view certificates

13.4. Importing CA certificates in Firefox
Copy link

You can import certificates into Mozilla Firefox to establish trust with websites, servers, or applications that use those certificate for secure connection.

Prerequisites

  • You have a CA certificate on your device.

Procedure

  1. Open Certificate Manager.

  2. Select the Authorities tab and click Import.

    Figure 13.2. Importing the CA Certificate in Firefox

    firefox import certificates
    View larger image
    firefox import certificates
  3. Select the downloaded CA certificate from your device.

You can change how Mozilla Firefox trusts a certificate.

Prerequisites

  1. You have successfully imported a certificate.

Procedure

  1. Open Certificate Manager.
  2. Under the Authorities tab, select the appropriate certificate and click Edit Trust.

  3. Edit the certificate trust settings.

    Figure 13.3. Editing the Certificate Trust Settings in Firefox

    firefox editing certificate
    View larger image
    firefox editing certificate

You can import personal certificates for authentication to websites and services.

Prerequisites

  1. You have a personal certificate stored on your device.

Procedure

  1. Open Certificate Manager.

  2. Select the Your Certificates tab and click Import.

    Figure 13.4. Importing a Personal Certificate for Authentication in Firefox

    firefox import custom certificate
    View larger image
    firefox import custom certificate
  3. Import the appropriate certificate from your computer.

13.7. Viewing certificates in Thunderbird
Copy link

You can view certificates in the Mozilla Thunderbird to manage security settings for email client.

Procedure

  1. In Thunderbird, open the main menu and select Preferences.

    Figure 13.5. Selecting Preferences from menu

    Privacy & Security
    View larger image
    Privacy & Security

  2. In the left panel, select the Privacy & Security section.

    Figure 13.6. Selecting security section

    Privacy & Security
    View larger image
    Privacy & Security
  3. Scroll down to the Certificates section.

  4. Click Manage Certificates to open the Certificate Manager.

    Figure 13.7. Opening Certificate Manager

    Privacy & Security
    View larger image
    Privacy & Security

13.8. Importing certificates in Thunderbird
Copy link

You can import certificates in the Mozilla Thunderbird email client.

Prerequisites

  • You have a CA certificate stored on your device.

Procedure

  1. Open Certificate Manager.

  2. Select the Authorities tab and click Import.

    Figure 13.8. Importing the CA certificate in Thunderbird

    thunderbird import cert
    View larger image
    thunderbird import cert
  3. Select the downloaded CA certificate.

You can edit certificate trust settings in the Mozilla Thunderbird email client.

Prerequisites

  • You have successfully imported a certificate.

Procedure

  1. Open Certificate Manager.
  2. Under the Authorities tab, select the appropriate certificate and click Edit Trust.

  3. Edit the certificate trust settings.

    Figure 13.9. Editing the certificate trust settings in Thunderbird

    thunderbird edit cert
    View larger image
    thunderbird edit cert

You can import certificates for personal authentication in the Mozilla Thunderbird email client.

Prerequisites

  1. You have a personal certificate stored on your device.

Procedure

  1. Open Certificate Manager.

  2. Under the Your Certificates tab, click Import.

    Figure 13.10. Importing a personal certificate for authentication in Thunderbird

    thunderbird import custom cert
    View larger image
    thunderbird import custom cert
  3. Import the required certificate from your computer.
  4. Close the Certificate Manager.

  5. Open the main menu and select Account Settings.

    Figure 13.11. Selecting Account Settings from menu

    thunderbird account settings
    View larger image
    thunderbird account settings

  6. Select End-To-End Encryption in the left panel under your account email address.

    Selecting End-To-End Encryption section.

    thunderbird end to end
    View larger image
    thunderbird end to end
  7. Under S/MIME section, click the first Select button to choose your personal certificate to use for signing messages.

  8. Under S/MIME section, click the second Select button to choose your personal certificate for encrypting and decrypting messages.

    Choosing certificate for signing and encryption/decryption.

    thunderbird select personal cert
    View larger image
    thunderbird select personal cert
Note

If you forgot to import valid certificate, you can open Certificate Manager directly using the Manage S/MIME certificate option.

Back to top
Red Hat logoGithubredditYoutubeTwitter

Learn

Try, buy, & sell

Communities

About Red Hat Documentation

We help Red Hat users innovate and achieve their goals with our products and services with content they can trust. Explore our recent updates.

Making open source more inclusive

Red Hat is committed to replacing problematic language in our code, documentation, and web properties. For more details, see the Red Hat Blog.

About Red Hat

We deliver hardened solutions that make it easier for enterprises to work across platforms and environments, from the core datacenter to the network edge.

Theme

© 2025 Red Hat