No master passphrase
At a glance
Base severity
Area
Platform
Evidence level
Benchmark reference
Reads the export, not the device
ConfigProof reads a configuration export. This control is evaluated against the objects in that file, and it reports what the file says. It does not connect to the device and sees no traffic, so a finding here describes the configuration, not what the firewall is doing right now.
Why it matters
Without password encryption aes, VPN keys, RADIUS and TACACS+ keys are stored reversibly in the startup configuration and backups.
How to fix it
Web interface
The steps below are written for the web interface. A finding raised on your own export carries the same steps with your object names filled in.
- In ASDM: Configuration > Device Management > Advanced > Master Passphrase, set the passphrase and check Encrypt passwords. Apply and save.
- On the CLI: key config-key password-encryption (interactive), then password encryption aes, and write memory.
Command line
Cisco ASA CLI
configure terminalkey config-key password-encryptionpassword encryption aesendwrite memory
An example. Values in angle brackets are yours to supply; a finding on your own export fills in the names it read. Typed in configuration mode; write memory saves it, with no separate commit. Read every line first.
Read it back
show password encryptionBefore you type it4
- Written from the ASA 9.x command reference and not run on a device: read each line before you paste it.
- In multiple context mode, type it in the context it applies to (changeto context <name>).
- In multiple context mode, failover, clustering and resource classes are configured in the system execution space.
- The first command asks for the passphrase interactively; record it safely.
How to confirm the fix
- Run show password encryption.
Limits
- Record the passphrase safely: without it the stored secrets cannot be read back after a reload on new hardware.
Compliance references
CIS Cisco ASA 9.x Firewall Benchmark v1.1.0
Covers the whole recommendation
Where a control aligns with a recommendation of the CIS Cisco ASA 9.x Firewall Benchmark v1.1.0, that recommendation is cited as a reference. Only that version was checked. A reference is not a certification.
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