Configuration references an object that does not exist
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
A rule or group names an object that nothing in the analyzed configuration defines. On PAN-OS a reference that cannot resolve makes the commit fail or the rule behave differently from what its text says, and either way the policy a reviewer reads is not the policy in effect.
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.
- Create the missing objects, or remove the references that point at them.
- If the objects live in a Panorama scope, re-export with the device group included so the references resolve.
- Commit and confirm the validation passes cleanly.
Command line
PAN-OS CLI, standalone firewall, vsys1
set vsys vsys1 address <object-name> ip-netmask <address-value>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 vsys vsys1 address <object-name>Values to fill in2
- <object-name>
- The object's name, as it appears on your firewall
- <address-value>
- The address or range this name should mean
Before you type it1
- Either define what is being named, or remove the reference to it.
How to confirm the fix
- Run a configuration validate and confirm it reports no unresolved references.
Limits
- A firewall-only export cannot see objects defined in a Panorama device group, so a reference that resolves on the device can read as broken here.
Compliance references
No benchmark recommendation is mapped to this control in this version.
More in Objects
- PAN-SEC-015Duplicate address objects with the same value
- PAN-SEC-016Object is defined but never referenced
- PAN-SEC-017Address group is dangerously broad
- PAN-SEC-018Allow rule uses an object that resolves to the whole internet
- PAN-SEC-035Group has no members
- PAN-SEC-036Group contains itself through a chain of nested groups
- PAN-SEC-037One object name is defined at more than one scope
- PAN-SEC-038Policy field holds a literal address instead of a named object
See it on your own firewall
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