Secure Linux Logins with Azure Entra ID: MFA, Hello, Device Compliance & SSO with Himmelblau

As organizations adopt Azure Entra ID and Intune to secure their fleets, Linux has often been left behind — especially for modern authentication requirements like MFA, Conditional Access, and device compliance. Traditional Linux frameworks (PAM, NSS) were never designed for cloud identity or Zero Trust.

Himmelblau is an open-source project that bridges this gap by integrating Linux systems directly with Entra ID. With Himmelblau, you can:

• Join Linux machines to Azure Entra ID, creating a device object in Entra ID to establish device identity and enable Conditional Access checks tied to trusted devices.
• Enroll Linux systems into Microsoft Intune (currently in beta), so they participate fully in compliance policies alongside Windows.
• Enforce MFA at the Linux login prompt, using your existing Entra ID Conditional Access configurations.
• Offer secure Hello for Business PIN authentication on Linux, providing end-users with a familiar, strong second factor that’s backed by hardware-bound credentials.
• Integrate Linux with SSO in Firefox and Chrome, allowing seamless access to Entra-protected web apps once the user is logged in.
• Manage Linux users and groups via Entra ID, with robust caching for reliable offline operation.
• Leverage TPM-backed certificates and secure key storage, so device credentials remain protected even if the system is compromised.

For many IT teams, this means finally bringing Linux endpoints under the same Zero Trust umbrella as Windows — without compromising user experience or compliance.

Get started:

• https://himmelblau-idm.org
• https://himmelblau-idm.org/landing.html
• https://github.com/himmelblau-idm/himmelblau

We’d love your feedback — especially from organizations managing hybrid fleets. What other Entra scenarios would you like to see better supported on Linux?