Internet-facing zone's protection profile has no reconnaissance protection
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
Port scans and host sweeps are how an attacker maps what the firewall publishes before choosing a target. Without reconnaissance protection they go unblocked and, unless another log records them, unnoticed.
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.
- Configure TCP port scan, host sweep and UDP port scan protection in the profile, blocking the TCP scan and the host sweep as a minimum.
Command line
PAN-OS CLI
set network profiles zone-protection-profile <object-name> scan 8001 action block-ip track-by source duration 600set network profiles zone-protection-profile <object-name> scan 8002 action blockset network profiles zone-protection-profile <object-name> scan 8003 action alert
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 profiles zone-protection-profile <object-name>Values to fill in1
- <object-name>
- The object's name, as it appears on your firewall
Before you type it1
- Flood thresholds depend on what this link normally carries. Measure before you set them.
How to confirm the fix
- Reopen the profile's reconnaissance protection tab and confirm each scan type and its action.
Limits
- Reads whether any scan rule is configured, not which ones or their actions. Only zones inferred internet facing are examined, although the recommendation covers every zone.
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.
See it on your own firewall
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