LDAP server profile binds without transport security
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
When the profile is used, the bind sends the service account credential, where one is configured, and every user lookup sends a username. Without SSL or TLS they cross the network unencrypted, so anyone able to capture traffic between the firewall and the directory could read that password and use it with whatever rights the account holds.
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 SSL on the server profile and move the servers to port 636, or use StartTLS on 389.
- Enable server certificate verification so the encrypted session is also authenticated.
- Rotate the bind account password, because it has been exposed on every lookup so far.
Command line
PAN-OS CLI, standalone firewall, vsys1
set vsys vsys1 server-profile ldap <object-name> ssl yesset vsys vsys1 server-profile ldap <object-name> server <server-name> port 636
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 server-profile ldap <object-name>Values to fill in2
- <object-name>
- The object's name, as it appears on your firewall
- <server-name>
- The server entry's name
Before you type it1
- The firewall needs the directory's root certificate before it will bind over TLS.
How to confirm the fix
- Confirm the profile reports SSL enabled and the port matches.
- Confirm authentication still succeeds after the change, before the maintenance window closes.
Limits
- Whether the directory presents a certificate this firewall trusts is not recorded in the configuration file.
Compliance references
No benchmark recommendation is mapped to this control in this version.
More in Identity and Authentication
- PAN-SEC-065Authentication binding points at something that does not exist
- PAN-SEC-066Authentication server profile is referenced by nothing
- PAN-SEC-078Local user database account is enabled beside external authentication
- PAN-SEC-080Authentication sequence has a single member
- PAN-SEC-114LDAP server profile does not verify the server certificate
- PAN-SEC-115RADIUS server profile authenticates with PAP or CHAP
- PAN-SEC-129Authentication profile does not lock accounts after failed logins
- PAN-SEC-131User-ID agent probes clients with WMI
See it on your own firewall
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