#501·openvpn

Proposal: Make client-side authentication methods optional

Author: jkroepkeCreated Feb 18, 2024Updated Aug 12, 2026
Labelsenhancement

Hi,

I would like to discuss about mandatory client-side authentication methods, such as --cert/--key, --pkcs12, or --auth-user-pass

Currently, I had something in my find to fully delegate the authentication to WEBAUTH protocol.

WEBAUTH does not require client certificates and username/pass authentication is done via web browser. That also make auth-user-pass obsolete.

Running a OpenVPN server with

verify-client-cert none
username-as-common-name
auth-user-pass-optional

works fine, but from client side, it's an requirement to configure client certificates or auth-user-pass.

A configuration without client-side authentication methods produces an config error:

Options error: No client-side authentication method is specified. You must use either --cert/--key, --pkcs12, or --auth-user-pass

which I would like to eliminate.

In such cases, I prefer tls-crypt-v2 or tls-crypt options as initial authentication as additional security layer.


The current workaround is one pair of client certificates which I have to use at each client.