Microsoft Deprecates Legacy VPN Protocols

It’s long overdue, but Microsoft has finally announced the formal deprecation of the Point-to-Point Tunnel Protocol (PPTP) and the Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) in Windows Server Routing and Remote Access (RRAS) Servers. Both protocols have long since been replaced with more secure alternatives such as the Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) and Internet Key Exchange version 2 (IKEV2). However, many organizations have RRAS servers configured using these legacy protocols to support ad-hoc, on-demand access for non-managed users and devices.

Deprecated Protocols

There are a few reasons why Microsoft has deprecated these legacy protocols. Consider the following.

PPTP

It’s been widely known for many years that PPTP is broken and terribly insecure. Using this VPN protocol today is tremendously risky.

L2TP

L2TP is still considered secure, for the most part. However, it has been replaced with IKEv2, which is more secure and efficient.

Future Support

Although Microsoft made the announcement recently, the protocols will still be included in Windows Server 2025 when released later this year. However, Microsoft may remove these protocols from future Windows Server releases.

Always On VPN

Those who have deployed Microsoft Always On VPN are likely already using modern, secure VPN protocols, so this deprecation announcement won’t impact them. Although PPTP and L2TP are technically supported with Always On VPN, they are not commonly configured.

Recommendations

Administrators using Windows Server RRAS for VPN access using PPTP are encouraged to migrate to another protocol immediately. Those continuing to use L2TP should consider migrating soon.

Additional Information

Always On VPN Protocol Recommendations for Windows Server RRAS

Leave a comment
by Richard M. Hicks on October 11, 2024  •  Permalink
Posted in administration, Always On VPN, AOVPN, Deployment, end of life, Enterprise, enterprise mobility, EOL, IKEv2, L2TP, Microsoft, Mobility, Operational Support, PPTP, Remote Access, routing, routing and remote access service, RRAS, Security, SSTP, TLS, VPN, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2025
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on October 11, 2024

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2024/10/11/microsoft-deprecates-legacy-vpn-protocols/

Always On VPN Security Updates October 2024

Microsoft has released the October 2024 security updates, and numerous issues may impact Always On VPN administrators. Although many CVEs affect Always On VPN-related services that are Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerabilities, none are critical this cycle.

RRAS Updates

This month, Microsoft has provided 12 updates for the Windows Server Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS), commonly deployed to support Always On VPN deployments. Most of these CVEs involve overflow vulnerabilities (heap and stack), input validation weaknesses, and buffer over-read and overflow vulnerabilities. All are rated important, and there are no known exploits currently.

CVE-2024-38212

CVE-2024-38261

CVE-2024-38265

CVE-2024-43453

CVE-2024-43549

CVE-2024-43564

CVE-2024-43589

CVE-2024-43592

CVE-2024-43593

CVE-2024-43607

CVE-2024-43608

CVE-2024-43611

Related Updates

In addition to the updates above, Microsoft also released fixes for security vulnerabilities in various related services that are important to Always On VPN administrators.

Windows Network Address Translation (NAT)

The following CVEs address denial of service vulnerabilities in the Network Address Translation (NAT) service.

CVE-2024-43562

CVE-2024-43565

Certificate Services

Always On VPN administrators will also find updates for CVEs affecting various certificate services-related components.

CVE-2024-43545 – OCSP Denial of Service Vulnerability

CVE-2024-43541 – Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP) Denial of Service Vulnerability

CVE-2024-43544 – Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP) Denial of Service Vulnerability

Recommendations

Always On VPN administrators are encouraged to update systems as soon as possible. However, since none of the CVEs is rated Critical, updates can be applied during standard update windows.

Additional Information

Microsoft October 2024 Security Updates

Leave a comment
by Richard M. Hicks on October 8, 2024  •  Permalink
Posted in Active Directory Certificate Services, AD CS, Always On VPN, AOVPN, Certificate Authentication, Certificate Authority, Certificate Services, certificates, CVE, Enterprise, enterprise mobility, Hotfix, Mobility, NDES, Network Device Enrollment Service, Network Device Enrollment Services, PKI, Remote Access, routing and remote access service, RRAS, SCEP, Security, Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol, Update, Vulnerability, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2025
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on October 8, 2024

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2024/10/08/always-on-vpn-security-updates-october-2024/

DirectAccess Fails on Windows 11 24H2

Microsoft recently released Windows 11 24H2. Not long after the release there have been numerous reports of DirectAccess failing after performing an in-place upgrade from previous versions of Windows 11. New installations of Windows 11 24H2 experience the same problem.

Update 10/8/2024: Microsoft is aware of the issue and an internal bug report has been filed.

Testing

After downloading and configuring a Windows 11 24H2 test client I was able to quickly reproduce the issue. While previous versions of Windows 11 can connect to my test DirectAccess server without issue, the Windows 11 24H2 client fails.

Troubleshooting

Looking at the DirectAccess status indicator in the UI the DirectAccess connection remains ‘Connecting’ perpetually. Further investigation indicates an IP-HTTPS interface error. Running the command netsh.exe interface httpstunnel show interface reveals an error code 0x57 (invalid parameter) with the following error message.

Failed to connect to the IPHTTPS server. Waiting to reconnect.

Workaround

Currently there is no known root cause for this issue and there is no available workaround. Administrators should delay upgrading to Windows 11 24H2 if DirectAccess is deployed in the organization. I will continue to investigate and post additional information as I learn more. Stay tuned!

Additional Information

Troubleshooting DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Error Code 0x800b0109

Troubleshooting DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Error Code 0x90320

Troubleshooting DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Error 0x80090326

Troubleshooting DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Error 0x2af9

Microsoft DirectAccess Now Formally Deprecated

5 Comments
by Richard M. Hicks on October 7, 2024  •  Permalink
Posted in DirectAccess, Enterprise, enterprise mobility, Infrastructure, IP-HTTPS, Microsoft, Mobility, network connectivity status indicator, Reddit, Remote Access, TLS, transition technology, troubleshooting, Windows 11
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on October 7, 2024

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2024/10/07/directaccess-fails-on-windows-11-24h2/

« Older Posts