Management services enabled on an interface in an internet-facing zone
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 management profile on a data interface puts the firewall's own web interface, SSH or SNMP on that interface's address. On an interface in a zone named as internet-facing, that places the management plane, and any published vulnerability in it, on an address the internet may reach, subject to the permitted IP list and any upstream filtering.
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.
- Remove the management profile from this interface, or replace it with one that enables ping only.
- Manage the firewall through the dedicated management port or an interface in a zone only administrators reach.
Command line
PAN-OS CLI
set network interface <interface-path> interface-management-profile <ping-only-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 network interface <interface-path>Values to fill in2
- <interface-path>
- The interface's path down to its layer3 block, for example ethernet ethernet1/1 layer3, or ethernet ethernet1/1 layer3 units ethernet1/1.10 for a subinterface
- <ping-only-profile>
- A management profile that enables ping only, or none
Before you type it1
- Confirm your own session is not using the service you are turning off.
How to confirm the fix
- Confirm no administrator or monitoring system reaches the firewall through this interface before removing the profile.
- Keep a console or out-of-band path open while making the change.
Limits
- The zone is judged internet facing from its name only. A zone called something else that faces the internet is not examined.
Compliance references
No benchmark recommendation is mapped to this control in this version.
More in Interfaces and Segmentation
- PAN-SEC-027Interface management profile has no permitted IP restriction
- PAN-SEC-044Zone has interfaces and no zone protection profile
- PAN-SEC-045Addressed interface belongs to no security zone
- PAN-SEC-105User-ID is enabled on an internet-facing zone
- ISE-SEC-014Custom SGACL permits all traffic
- ISE-SEC-015Enforced egress matrix cell permits all traffic
- ISE-SEC-016SXP connection without a password
See it on your own firewall
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