Users can disconnect the always-on GlobalProtect app
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
Any user can take the endpoint out of the tunnel at any time. Until they reconnect, its traffic is outside the security policy for remote users.
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 Allow User to Disable GlobalProtect App to Disallow, or to Allow with Ticket or Allow with Passcode (Network, GlobalProtect, Portals, the portal, Agent, the configuration, App). Commit.
Command line
PAN-OS CLI, standalone firewall, vsys1
set vsys vsys1 global-protect global-protect-portal <portal> client-config configs <agent-config> gp-app-config config agent-user-override value disabledAn 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 global-protect global-protect-portal <portal> client-config configs <agent-config>Values to fill in2
- <portal>
- The GlobalProtect portal that holds the agent configuration
- <agent-config>
- The agent configuration to change
Before you type it1
- Users who disconnect today for a reason (a captive portal, a slow link) will need another way, such as a ticket.
How to confirm the fix
- On an endpoint that receives this configuration, confirm the app no longer offers Disable, or asks for the ticket or passcode.
Limits
- Configurations that connect on demand are not judged: the user starts those connections anyway.
Compliance references
No benchmark recommendation is mapped to this control in this version.
More in Remote access VPN
- PAN-SEC-069GlobalProtect gateway is configured without a client certificate requirement
- PAN-SEC-111GlobalProtect presents a certificate that is expired, expiring or self-signed
- PAN-SEC-112GlobalProtect accepts a TLS version below 1.2
- PAN-SEC-153GlobalProtect agent connects only on demand
- PAN-SEC-168Two agent tunnel profiles draw from the same or overlapping addresses
- PAN-SEC-169An agent tunnel profile matches any user beside other profiles
- PAN-SEC-174Users can uninstall the GlobalProtect app
- PAN-SEC-175GlobalProtect users can continue past an invalid portal certificate
See it on your own firewall
One complete analysis of one firewall costs nothing and needs no card.