Overview: SSL forward proxy client and server authentication

With the BIG-IP system's SSL forward proxy functionality, you can encrypt all traffic between a client and the BIG-IP system, by using one certificate, and to encrypt all traffic between the BIG-IP system and the server, by using a different certificate.

A client establishes a three-way handshake and SSL connection with the wildcard IP address of the BIG-IP system virtual server. The BIG-IP system then establishes a three-way handshake and SSL connection with the server, and receives and validates a server certificate (while maintaining the separate connection with the client). The BIG-IP system uses the server certificate to create a second unique server certificate to send to the client. The client receives the second server certificate from the BIG-IP system, but recognizes the certificate as originating directly from the server.

https://techdocs.f5.com/kb/en-us/products/big-ip_ltm/manuals/product/bigip-ssl-administration-11-6-0/13.html

SSL Forward Proxy Overview

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is an application-level protocol that provides encryption technology for the Internet. SSL, also called Transport Layer Security (TLS), ensures the secure transmission of data between a client and a server through a combination of privacy, authentication, confidentiality, and data integrity. SSL relies on certificates and private-public key exchange pairs for this level of security.

Server authentication guards against fraudulent transmissions by enabling a Web browser to validate the identity of a Web server. Confidentiality mechanisms ensure that communications are private. SSL enforces confidentiality by encrypting data to prevent unauthorized users from eavesdropping on electronic communications. Finally, message integrity ensures that the contents of a communication have not been tampered with.

SSL forward proxy is a transparent proxy; that is, it performs SSL encryption and decryption between the client and the server, but neither the server nor the client can detect its presence. SSL forward proxy ensures that it has the keys to encrypt and decrypt the payload:

For the server, SSL forward proxy acts as a client—Because SSL forward proxy generates the shared pre-master key, it determines the keys to encrypt and decrypt.
For the client, SSL forward proxy acts as a server—SSL forward proxy first authenticates the original server and replaces the public key in the original server certificate with a key that is known to it. It then generates a new certificate by replacing the original issuer of the certificate with its own identity and signs this new certificate with its own public key (provided as a part of the proxy profile configuration). When the client accepts such a certificate, it sends a shared pre-master key encrypted with the public key on the certificate. Because SSL forward proxy replaced the original key with its own key, it is able to receive the shared pre-master key. Decryption and encryption take place in each direction (client and server), and the keys are different for both encryption and decryption.

https://www.juniper.net/documentation/en_US/junos-space18.1/topics/concept/junos-space-ssl-forward-proxy-overview.html

SSL Forward Proxy

When you configure the firewall to decrypt SSL traffic going to external sites, it functions as an SSL forward proxy. Use an SSL Forward Proxy decryption policy to decrypt and inspect SSL/TLS traffic from internal users to the web. SSL Forward Proxy decryption prevents malware concealed as SSL encrypted traffic from being introduced into your corporate network by decrypting the traffic so that the firewall can apply decryption profiles and security policies and profiles to the traffic.

In SSL Forward Proxy decryption, the firewall is a man-in-the-middle between the internal client and the external server. The firewall uses certificates to transparently represent the client to the server and to transparently represent the server to the client, so that the client believes it is communicating directly with the server (even though the client session is with the firewall), and server believes it is communicating directly with the client (even though the server session is also with the firewall). The firewall uses certificates to establish itself as a trusted third party (man-in-the-middle) for the client-server session (for details on certificates, see Keys and Certificates for Decryption Policies).

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/8-1/pan-os-admin/decryption/decryption-concepts/ssl-forward-proxy

Difference Between SSL Forward-Proxy and Inbound Inspection Decryption Mode

When configuring SSL decryption policy in order to define SSL traffic eligible for decryption, you have to make a choice between 2 different types/modes:

SSL Forward-Proxy
SSL Inbound Inspection

In Forward-Proxy mode, PAN-OS will intercept the SSL traffic which is matching the policy and will be acting as a proxy (MITM) generating a new certificate for the accessed URL. This new certificate will be presented during SSL Handshake to the Client accessing website with SSL. This certificate will be signed with the self-signed CA certificate or another certificate specified

In Inbound Inspection mode, PAN-OS will not act as a proxy with SSL traffic matching the policy. PAN-OS will try to decrypt this SSL traffic 'on-the-fly' by eavesdropping the SSL handshake and using associated Certificate (Key Pair) configured in decryption policy

This decryption mode can only work if you have control on the targeted Web Server certificate to be allow to import Key Pair on Palo Alto Networks Device

https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClV8CAK

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Wednesday, March 31, 2021