Authentication binding points at something 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
Authentication through this profile cannot succeed. Whatever depends on it, an administrator login, a GlobalProtect portal or a captive portal, either falls through to another method or denies everyone, and which of the two happens is not obvious from the profile itself.
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.
- Point the profile at a server profile that exists, or create the one it names.
- If the binding is left over from a decommissioned directory, delete the authentication profile too.
- Check what references this profile before changing it, because the fix moves who can log in.
Command line
PAN-OS CLI, standalone firewall, vsys1
set vsys vsys1 authentication-profile <profile-name> method ldap server-profile <server-profile>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 authentication-profile <profile-name>Values to fill in2
- <profile-name>
- Which profile to change. A firewall carries several of each kind.
- <server-profile>
- The server profile to use
Before you type it1
- Either define what is being named, or remove the reference to it.
How to confirm the fix
- Confirm the named server profile appears in the configuration after the change.
- Test a login through every service that uses this authentication profile.
Limits
- A profile defined in a Panorama template that was not uploaded would read as missing here.
Compliance references
No benchmark recommendation is mapped to this control in this version.
More in Identity and Authentication
- PAN-SEC-064LDAP server profile binds without transport security
- 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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