802.1X WLAN with no RADIUS server
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
No client can authenticate on the WLAN, or it falls back to a list nobody configured on purpose.
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.
- Define the RADIUS servers and group: radius server NAME > address ipv4 A auth-port 1812 acct-port 1813 > key; aaa group server radius GROUP > server name NAME.
- Point the method list at the group: aaa authentication dot1x {list} group GROUP; and the WLAN at the list: wlan {wlan} > security dot1x authentication-list {list}.
- Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Configuration Best Practices, section Security settings: WPA3, Enterprise.
Command line
Cisco Catalyst 9800 IOS XE CLI
configure terminalradius server <server-name>address ipv4 <aaa-server> auth-port 1812 acct-port 1813key <key>exitaaa group server radius <server-group>server name <server-name>exitaaa authentication dot1x <method-list> group <server-group>wlan <wlan-profile> <wlan-id> <ssid>shutdownsecurity dot1x authentication-list <method-list>no shutdownendwrite memory
An example. Values in angle brackets are yours to supply; a finding on your own export fills in the names it read. Typed in configuration mode; write memory saves it, with no separate commit. Read every line first.
Read it back
show wlan name <wlan-profile>show aaa servers
Values to fill in8
- <server-name>
- A name for the TACACS+ server
- <aaa-server>
- The TACACS+ server address
- <key>
- The TACACS+ shared key
- <server-group>
- A name for the TACACS+ server group
- <method-list>
- The 802.1X method list name
- <wlan-profile>
- The WLAN profile name
- <wlan-id>
- The WLAN id
- <ssid>
- The SSID
Before you type it2
- Written from the Cisco Catalyst 9800 configuration guide for IOS XE 17 and not run on a controller: read each line before you paste it.
- The WLAN stops serving clients between shutdown and no shutdown: change it in a maintenance window.
How to confirm the fix
- show wlan name {wlan} names the authentication list; test aaa group GROUP USER PASSWORD new-code answers from the RADIUS server.
Limits
- A group the method list names but the configuration does not hold is counted as not read, never as a pass.
Compliance references
No benchmark recommendation is mapped to this control in this version.
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