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Palo Alto NGFW lab 14 of 30

Decryption: SSL forward proxy and inbound inspection

Make encrypted traffic visible: build a root CA with a subordinate forward-trust CA and a separate forward-untrust CA, trust the internet's public root, decrypt outbound HTTPS while exempting banking, and inspect inbound HTTPS to the published server with its own key. Prove each decision from the client's view of the certificate chain and from the decryption log.

Run this lab

It needs Lite: its 4 nodes are set to 5 vCPU and 7,680 MB in total. That fits the free demo too.

In your workspace: Shared, then Palo Alto NGFW PAN-OS 11 guided labs, then 14 - Decryption - SSL forward proxy and inbound inspection

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Level
Advanced
Time
About 60 minutes
Nodes need
5 vCPU, 7,680 MB
Smallest plan
Lite

The scenario

Most of Calder's web traffic is HTTPS. Without decryption the firewall sees only the server name: no file blocking, no data filtering, no App-ID inside the tunnel. The security team approves decryption with conditions:

  • Outbound HTTPS is decrypted with a forward-trust CA that the clients trust, signed by Calder Root CA.
  • Banking sites are never decrypted (privacy and regulation).
  • If a website's certificate is untrusted, users must see a warning, not a silently "fixed" certificate.
  • Inbound HTTPS to the published server (https://203.0.113.20, which is web01) is inspected using web01's own certificate and key.

The internet sites use certificates from "Lab Public Root CA" (http://www.example.com/lab-root-ca.crt). Logins: FW1 admin / Lab-Access-1.

Before you start. Start all the nodes. The firewall takes 6-8 minutes to boot and comes up with this lab's starting configuration already loaded. Wait until the FW1 console shows FW1 login:, then log in as admin / Lab-Access-1. Until the management plane is ready it answers Login incorrect, even with the right password. The Linux hosts are ready within seconds.

What you’ll practise

  • Explain SSL forward proxy, inbound inspection and no-decrypt, and the certificates each needs
  • Create a root CA, a subordinate forward-trust CA and a forward-untrust CA
  • Configure the firewall's trusted root store and a decryption profile
  • Write decryption rules with a no-decrypt exception by URL category
  • Import a server key pair for inbound inspection and verify with the decryption log

The tasks

  1. The certificates
  2. Trust the root on Client-PC
  3. A decryption profile
  4. Decryption policy with a banking exception
  5. See the forward-untrust certificate
  6. Inbound inspection for the published server
  7. Read the decryption log

The Lab Tasks pane has the scenario, these tasks, the checks to run, hints and the full solution.

Topology and devices

The network as it opens in EVE-NG, drawn from the lab’s own canvas, and the image each node runs.

Topology of Decryption - SSL forward proxy and inbound inspection4 nodes and 3 networks, 7 links. Every link is listed as text below the diagram.FW1Client-PCweb01InternetInsideOutsideDMZeth0ethernet1/3eth0mgmtethernet1/2eth0ethernet1/1
4 nodes and 3 networks, with the interface names each link uses. On a narrow screen, scroll the diagram sideways.
Every link, as text
  • FW1 mgmt to Inside (network)
  • FW1 ethernet1/1 to Outside (network)
  • FW1 ethernet1/2 to Inside (network)
  • FW1 ethernet1/3 to DMZ (network)
  • Client-PC eth0 to Inside (network)
  • web01 eth0 to DMZ (network)
  • Internet eth0 to Outside (network)
Nodes in Decryption: SSL forward proxy and inbound inspection, with the image each runs and the vCPU and RAM it’s set to
NodeDeviceImage in Add NodeSet to
FW1Palo Alto Networks VM-Series (PAN-OS)paloalto-11.2.52 vCPU, 5,632 MB
Client-PCEVE-NG GUI server (Docker)eve-gui-server:latest1 vCPU, 1,024 MB
web01EVE-NG GUI server (Docker)eve-gui-server:latest1 vCPU, 512 MB
InternetEVE-NG GUI server (Docker)eve-gui-server:latest1 vCPU, 512 MB

How to open this lab

  1. Sign in to your workspace at lab.cloudlabbox.com.

  2. In File Manager, open Shared, then the folder Palo Alto NGFW PAN-OS 11 guided labs.

  3. Open 14 - Decryption - SSL forward proxy and inbound inspection and start its nodes, then open Lab Tasks for the scenario and the steps.

The lab is read-only. You can start the nodes and configure the devices, but changes to the topology can’t be saved. To change it, rebuild it in your own folder.

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CloudLabBox is independent of Palo Alto Networks and Cisco. The lab follows exam topics and isn’t vendor training material; vendor names identify the exams and the images in the workspace.