Anti-spyware profile sinkholes DNS queries to no address
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
The sinkhole action redirects a malicious domain lookup to an address the profile names. With no address named, the redirection has nowhere to point, so the action is set and the lookup is not sent anywhere an engineer can see.
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.
- Set the sinkhole IPv4 address, and the IPv6 address where the estate carries IPv6.
- The Palo Alto hosted sinkhole works, and so does an unused address inside the estate, which keeps the traffic local and easier to log.
- Allow and log traffic to that address in the security policy, so the host that made the lookup is identifiable.
Command line
PAN-OS CLI, standalone firewall, vsys1
set vsys vsys1 profiles spyware <profile> botnet-domains sinkhole ipv4-address <sinkhole-ipv4>set vsys vsys1 profiles spyware <profile> botnet-domains sinkhole ipv6-address <sinkhole-ipv6>
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 profiles spyware <profile> botnet-domains sinkholeValues to fill in3
- <profile>
- Which profile to change. A firewall carries several of each kind.
- <sinkhole-ipv4>
- The IPv4 address to sinkhole to. Palo Alto publishes a default; a network that routes it somewhere observable is making a choice.
- <sinkhole-ipv6>
- The IPv6 address to sinkhole to.
Before you type it1
- The address has to route somewhere you can observe, or the sinkhole tells you nothing.
How to confirm the fix
- Reopen the profile's DNS policies and confirm a sinkhole address is set.
- Resolve a known test domain from an internal host and confirm the answer is the sinkhole address.
Limits
- A configuration export does not show which subscriptions are licensed or active, and the DNS security categories require one.
Compliance references
CIS Palo Alto Firewall 11 Benchmark v1.2.0
Covers part of the recommendation
Where a control aligns with a recommendation of the CIS Palo Alto Firewall 11 Benchmark v1.2.0, that recommendation is cited as a reference. Only that version was checked. A reference is not a certification.
More in Security Profiles
- PAN-SEC-043Profile group is missing part of the recommended baseline
- PAN-SEC-085URL filtering profile alerts on or allows a high-risk category
- PAN-SEC-086WildFire analysis profile forwards a narrowed set of file types or one direction
- PAN-SEC-087Anti-spyware profile has DNS lists and nothing set to sinkhole
- PAN-SEC-099Vulnerability protection profile does not block critical or high severity
- PAN-SEC-100Anti-spyware profile does not block every severity
- PAN-SEC-133WildFire file size limit is below the documented default
- PAN-SEC-135WildFire session information is not all sent
See it on your own firewall
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