Authentication server profile is referenced by nothing
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
An unused directory binding is housekeeping rather than exposure, which is why this is low. It is worth a line because a profile left behind after a migration can still hold server details and credentials, and it is easy to miss in an audit.
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.
- Delete the profile if the directory it points at is retired.
- If it is kept deliberately, record why, because the next reviewer will ask.
- Disable or rotate the service account it binds with if the profile is removed.
Command line
PAN-OS CLI, standalone firewall, vsys1
set vsys vsys1 authentication-profile <profile-name> method ldap server-profile <object-name>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
- <object-name>
- The object's name, as it appears on your firewall
- <profile-name>
- Which profile to change. A firewall carries several of each kind.
Before you type it1
- Attach this profile to something that uses it, or remove the profile.
How to confirm the fix
- Confirm no authentication profile references it before deleting.
- Confirm authentication still works everywhere after the removal.
Limits
- Usage is counted inside this configuration only. A profile referenced from a Panorama template that was not uploaded reads as unused 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-065Authentication binding points at something that does not exist
- 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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