Hello everyone! I’m working with Nginx Proxy Manager and need to configure NTLM authentication for a couple of my services. I’ve got the NTLM and GeoIP modules installed, but I’m struggling to get NTLM passthrough working properly.
The issue is that whenever I try to add custom configuration settings, my proxy host goes offline immediately. I believe I need to add the NTLM directive to the right location block, but I can’t seem to get the syntax correct.
Basically, I need to enable NTLM authentication for two specific domains: my email server (mail.company.local) and my gateway service (gateway.company.local). Has anyone successfully configured NTLM passthrough in NPM before? What’s the correct way to add this in the custom configuration section without breaking the proxy host?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Hit the same NTLM issues with NPM recently. Fixed it by adding proxy_pass_header Authorization; to the proxy host config - without it, NPM strips the NTLM tokens during proxy pass. Also check if you’re doing SSL termination at NPM. NTLM breaks when your backend expects the original protocol but gets decrypted traffic instead. I had to configure my backend service to accept HTTP from the proxy while keeping HTTPS external. Exchange servers are picky about header changes. Test with curl first to see if it’s a config syntax problem or actual NTLM flow issue before making your NPM setup more complicated.
ntlm can be tricky with npm. try adding proxy_buffering off; with your connection headers. also bump up your upstream timeout - mine failed because the ntlm handshake kept timing out. check your logs first though, they’ll usually show what’s breaking when the host drops.
Been there with NTLM headaches. Manual nginx configs are a pain and one syntax error kills everything.
I quit wrestling with NPM after wasting too many hours debugging this stuff. Now I automate the auth flow instead of patching proxy configs.
Build a workflow that handles NTLM handshake before it hits your services. Create conditional routes that check auth status and forward requests. Way cleaner than making the proxy layer work with Windows auth.
You get proper error handling and logging. When stuff breaks, you see exactly what happened instead of watching your proxy host vanish.
For mail and gateway services, build separate auth flows for each domain. Route traffic by host header and handle NTLM upstream.
More reliable than fighting nginx directives. Check out https://latenode.com
I encountered similar issues with NTLM configuration in Nginx Proxy Manager. The key is to ensure that persistent connections are enabled, as NPM’s default settings can cause conflicts. For the specific location, I found success by adding these configurations: proxy_set_header Connection "";, proxy_http_version 1.1;, and proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;. It’s crucial to input these settings in the Advanced tab under Custom Nginx Configuration, not the general proxy host settings. Additionally, verify that your backend services correctly process NTLM headers, which can often be overlooked and lead to extensive troubleshooting. I suggest starting with one domain to address any syntax issues early on.