FortiManager runs without high availability
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
If the only FortiManager fails, the FortiGates keep running their policy but no change can be made or installed centrally until it is rebuilt from a backup.
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.
- Where central management must stay available, add a second FortiManager of the same model and release: config system ha, set mode a-p, config peer, edit 1, set ip and set serial-number of the peer, next, end, end.
- Where a single FortiManager is a deliberate choice, keep a tested scheduled backup instead.
Command line
FortiOS CLI
config system haset mode a-pconfig peeredit 1set ip <peer-address>set serial-number <peer-serial>nextendend
An example. Values in angle brackets are yours to supply; a finding on your own export fills in the names it read. FortiOS saves a change when you type next or end, with no separate commit. Read every line first.
Read it back
get system hadiagnose ha status
Values to fill in2
- <peer-address>
- The server's address
- <peer-serial>
- The serial number of the device to assign
Before you type it2
- Needs a second unit of the same model and license, configured as secondary.
- Secrets are never generated here. Set the key yourself, on both ends.
How to confirm the fix
- get system ha shows the mode and peers; diagnose ha status shows the cluster's configured state.
Limits
- A single FortiManager is often a deliberate choice: this is reported as context, not as a defect.
Compliance references
No benchmark recommendation is mapped to this control in this version.
See it on your own firewall
One complete analysis of one firewall costs nothing. A card is required and nothing is charged.