Why is client certificate needed?
A client certificate ensures the server that it is communicating with a legitimate user. Contrary to Server certificates (SSL certificates), Client certificates are used to validate the identity of a client (user). The user, in this case, might be a website user or an email user.
Is SSL client side?
Did you know that SSL can be used for both client authentication as well as server authentication? It can also be used to authenticate the client (i.e. your visitor’s web browser), provided it has its own certificate.
What is a client side certificate?
A client side certificate is a certificate you use to establish your server to the client. This is the best way for the server to “know” exactly who is connecting to it. It works a lot like having a username and a password on your server but without having to interact with the user.
How does client certificate authentication work in SSL?
Client Certificate Authentication is a mutual certificate based authentication, where the client provides its Client Certificate to the Server to prove its identity. This happens as a part of the SSL Handshake (it is optional). What is a client certificate?
Can you use SSL without a server side certificate?
SSL/TLS can also be used without certificates at all, i.e. not even at the server side. In this case authentication is done with other methods, like a secret key pre-shared between client and server (PSK). These methods are rarely used and browsers don’t support these.
Do you need a certificate to use HTTPS?
Generally, most web servers running HTTPS do not require the client to have a certificate. If the server requires the client to authenticate, this is often done through credentials (e.g. username and password).
How is a certificate sent to a client?
The client will then present the client certificate list to the user so that they can select a certificate to be sent to the Server. On the Client the Client Certificates must have a Private Key. If absent, then the certificate is ignored.