ConfigBot for ServiceNow Certificate-Based Login in ServiceNow.

Overview

ServiceNow supports Certificate-Based Authentication (CBA), allowing users to securely log in using a client certificate instead of a username and password. This authentication method enhances security by eliminating credential-based logins and reducing the risks associated with password management.
With Certificate-Based Authentication, users can seamlessly access their ServiceNow instance using a trusted client certificate, providing a secure and efficient login experience.

1. Enter your Username and Password and click on the submit button to login.  

2. Navigate towards the "Home screen" and click on the " Admin" and then select Admin Dashboard option. 

3. Inside the Admin dashboard, click on the Instances option and then click at Add New Instance button.

4. To add an Instance for Certification based login inside your company, please follow these steps.

A. Select your company and Instance Type

B. Enter your company instance host address (URL)

C. Enter your Instance ID

D. Within the Preferred Authentication Type, select the Login with Certificate option.

E. Two new fields will appear: Root Public Certificate and Root Private/Key Certificate.

You have two options to add the certificates. If certificates have already been generated, you can enter their details manually. Alternatively, click Generate Certificate to automatically generate and populate both fields. In this example, select Generate Certificate.

F. Once the certificate is generated, it will be downloaded to your folder as a Root Certificate. Please note that this is a one-time process, and you must have Company Admin access to add or update certificates for your instance. Once completed, click Submit to add the instance.

G. Now click at Edit Instance button of the newly added instance, and navigate towards the allowed users tab.

H. Click at Add new Allowed Users button, inside the new user select your user, desired company and instance, then add ServiceNow username for that user.

I. Once completed, you can either enter the existing certificate details manually or click Generate Certificate to automatically generate and populate both fields. In this example, select Generate Certificate.

J. Once the certificate is generated, it will be downloaded to your folder as a Client Certificate. Click Submit to add the user to the new instance.

5. Once the certificate setup is completed in ConfigBot, navigate to your ServiceNow instance and follow the steps below to upload the Instance and User Certificates

For Root Certificate

A. Navigate to Certificate Based Authentication > CA Certificate Chain.
B. Upload the Root CA public certificate.
C. Click Submit to save the certificate.

Note: System takes time to publish the certificate. Please track the Publish Status field until it is updated to Active/Published.

For Mapping Client Certificates to Users.

A.Navigate to Certificate Based Authentication > User to Certificates Mapping
B.Upload the user's public client certificate.
C.Click Submit to complete the mapping.

Note: Each user must have a unique client certificate. A client certificate cannot be shared between multiple users.

6. Now lets navigate back to ConfigBot to confirm the changes, navigate inside any module and click at Add New Iteration button.
7. Select the newly added instance and the user for which the certificate was added, once done click at submit button to add new iteration

8. Click the Hamburger Menu and select Generate Workbook. You will see that the Login With Certificate checkbox is already selected. This means you will not need to enter your password each time you process an iteration.
9. Click at the select all options and then click at confirm and start button to process your execution

10. Once the execution is completed, you can verify that the workbook has been successfully generated, confirming that the certificate-based authentication process was completed successfully.

Updated on: 08/24/2026