Zone protection profile enables no protection
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 profile that enables nothing is a profile in name only. Any zone it is attached to reads as protected in a review and receives no flood or reconnaissance mitigation at all, which is worse than an unattached profile because it stops the gap being noticed.
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.
- Enable the flood types that match the zone, starting with SYN, UDP and ICMP.
- Set activate and maximum rates from measured traffic rather than from a template.
- Add reconnaissance protection for port and host sweeps.
Command line
PAN-OS CLI
set network profiles zone-protection-profile <object-name> flood tcp-syn enable yesset network profiles zone-protection-profile <object-name> flood tcp-syn red alarm-rate <alarm-rate>
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 network profiles zone-protection-profile <object-name>Values to fill in2
- <object-name>
- The object's name, as it appears on your firewall
- <alarm-rate>
- The connections per second at which to alarm
Before you type it1
- Flood thresholds depend on what this link normally carries. Measure before you set them.
How to confirm the fix
- Confirm the profile shows the enabled protections after the change.
- Confirm the rates do not trip under normal traffic volumes.
Limits
- Appropriate thresholds depend on the traffic each zone carries and cannot be derived from a configuration file.
- Whether a zone has any profile attached is reported under Interfaces and Segmentation, which reads the zone rather than the profile.
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.