Configured HA group is preemptive or shuts the passive link down
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
Preemption moves traffic back to the preferred member as soon as it returns, which fails over twice for one problem and can flap on a member that keeps failing. A passive link state of shutdown keeps the passive member's links down, so a failover waits for the links to come up.
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.
- Disable preemptive under the HA election settings unless there is a reason to return to one member.
- Set the passive link state to auto on an active/passive pair.
Command line
PAN-OS CLI
set deviceconfig high-availability group election-option preemptive noset deviceconfig high-availability group mode active-passive passive-link-state auto
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 deviceconfig high-availability groupBefore you type it2
- Apply this to both members of the pair.
- The passive link state line selects active/passive mode. Leave it out on an active/active pair.
How to confirm the fix
- Confirm the same settings on the peer, whose configuration is a separate file.
Limits
- A passive link state the file does not write is read as shutdown, PAN-OS's default. On a managed firewall's local export a template may write it, and that finding is not made there.
Compliance references
CIS Palo Alto Firewall 11 Benchmark v1.2.0
Covers the whole 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 High Availability
- PAN-SEC-060Configured HA group has no path monitoring
- PAN-SEC-061Configured HA group monitors no links
- PAN-SEC-062Configured HA control link has no backup
- PAN-SEC-063Configured HA group does not synchronize configuration
- ISE-MGT-005Primary Administration node has no secondary
- ISE-MGT-006Only one Policy Service node
See it on your own firewall
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