NTP server missing
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 NTP the device clock can drift, so log timestamps stop lining up with other systems and certificate validation can fail.
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.
- Configure a primary and a secondary NTP server under deviceconfig system.
- Use authenticated NTP where your infrastructure supports it.
Command line
PAN-OS CLI
set deviceconfig system ntp-servers primary-ntp-server ntp-server-address <server-address>set deviceconfig system ntp-servers secondary-ntp-server ntp-server-address <second-server-address>
An example. Values in angle brackets are yours to supply; a finding on your own export fills in the names it read. Nothing here commits. Review the candidate configuration, then commit it yourself.
Read it back
show deviceconfig system ntp-serversValues to fill in2
- <server-address>
- The server's address
- <second-server-address>
- A second server, so one outage is not an outage
Before you type it1
- Time affects every timestamp, so correlate this change with your log platform.
How to confirm the fix
- Confirm the device can reach the NTP servers through the management path.
Limits
- Panorama managed devices may receive NTP from a template.
Compliance references
CIS Palo Alto Firewall 11 Benchmark v1.2.0
Covers part of the recommendation
Where a control aligns with a recommendation of the CIS Palo Alto Firewall 11 Benchmark v1.2.0, that recommendation is cited as a reference. Only that version was checked. A reference is not a certification.
More in System and Metadata
- PAN-SEC-033Login banner missing
- PAN-SEC-101Antivirus updates are not installed hourly
- PAN-SEC-102Applications and threats updates are not installed daily
- PAN-SEC-103WildFire updates are not installed in real time
- PAN-SEC-130Update server identity is not verified
- PAN-SEC-160The device is configured with a single DNS server
- PAN-SW-001Software version is out of vendor support
- ISE-MGT-009Administration node runs an older patch than one installed
See it on your own firewall
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