A system and method for authenticating a layer 7 client application (application layer) based on a layer 2 (data link layer) or a layer 3 (network layer) authentication is provided. A request to authenticate to a network is received from a communication device. The request to authenticate to the network is for a layer 2 or layer 3 authentication. The communication device is authenticated to the network based on having the necessary credentials.A request is received to authenticate a layer 7 client application running on the communication device. The layer 7 client application running on the communication device requires a layer 7 authentication. The layer 7 client application running on the communication device is authenticated based on the layer 2 or layer 3 authentication.