Applies to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5

13 Certificate Store #

Certificates play an important role in the authentication of companies and individuals. Usually certificates are administered by the application itself. In some cases, it makes sense to share certificates between applications. The certificate store is a common ground for Firefox, Evolution, and NetworkManager. This chapter explains some details.

The certificate store is a common database for Firefox, Evolution, and NetworkManager at the moment. Other applications that use certificates are not covered but may be in the future. If you have such an application, you can continue to use its private, separate configuration.

13.1 Activating Certificate Store #

The configuration is mostly done in the background. To activate it, proceed as follows:

Decide if you want to activate the certificate store globally (for every user on your system) or specifically to a certain user:
- For every user. Use the file /etc/profile.local
- For a specific user. Use the file ~/.bashrc
Open the file from the previous step and insert the following line:
```
export NSS_USE_SHARED_DB=1
```
Save the file
Log out of and log in to your desktop.

All the certificates are stored under $HOME/.local/var/pki/nssdb/.

13.2 Importing Certificates #

To import a certificate into the certificate store, do the following:

Start Firefox.
Open the dialog from Edit › Preferences. Change to Advanced › Encryption and click View Certificates.
Import your certificate depending on your type: use Servers to import server certificate, People to identify other, and Your Certificates to identify yourself.