KB40127 - Obtaining/converting the PCS device certificate for use with the Pulse Secure client on Linux

One of the pre-requisites outlined in KB40126 for using the Pulse Secure CLI client on Linux is that the device certificate from the PCS server needs to be converted to DER format and distributed to Linux clients.  The conversion can be done on the Linux client using an OpenSSL command from a Terminal session or with an online conversion tool available on the Web that can be used on Windows or Linux clients via a browser.  Both methods are outlined below.

 

The PCS device certificate needs to be changed from PEM to DER format and saved on the Linux machine for use with the Pulse Secure client.  The certificate is required in the command to launch Pulse.

Follow the steps below to download the device certificate from the PCS appliance and convert it from PEM to DER format for distribution to Linux users.
 

1. Navigate to System > Configuration > Certificates > Device Certificates 
2. Select the device certificate that is applied to the port that Linux users will be signing in with.
3. Click on the download link to save the certificate.  (The certificate will be saved as a *.crt file.)
4. The certificate can be converted to DER format on a Linux machine using the following OpenSSL command:

openssl x509 -in <Input Certificate File> -outform der -out <Output Certificate File>

For example, if the device certificate is named vpn.pulsesecure.net.crt and is located in /home/Downloads then the command would be: 

openssl x509 -in /home/Downloads/vpn.pulsesecure.net.crt -outform der -out /home/Downloads/vpn.pulsesecure.net.der

Alternatively, the device certificate can be converted to DER format using this online SSL converter.



Click "Choose File" and browse for and select the device certificate then click Convert Certificate.

5.   Distribute the certificate to Linux users.