All posts tagged AOVPN

Always On VPN Windows 11 Status Indicator

Viewing the status of an Always On VPN connection has been challenging since the introduction of this technology. To see if an Always On VPN connection is active, users must proactively click on the network status icon in the system tray to view the current connection status. Optionally, users can use the Settings application in Windows and select the Network & Internet tab to view the Always On VPN connection status. Further, there were no options to see VPN status in the system tray natively if the user is using a consumer VPN such as Proton VPN.

New Status Indicator

Always On VPN administrators will be happy to hear that Microsoft recently introduced a new VPN status indicator for Windows 11. Beginning with the July 2023 cumulative update (KB5028185), users will begin to see a new network status icon (a small shield) on the network connectivity indicator on the system tray in Windows. Microsoft calls this new feature “glanceable VPN“.

Source: https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2023/05/23/announcing-new-windows-11-innovation-with-features-for-secure-efficient-it-management-and-intuitive-user-experience/

Consumer VPN

While this new VPN status indicator is helpful for Always On VPN deployments, it is not limited to Always On VPN. The VPN status indicator will also display the lock icon in the system tray when the device is connected to any recognized VPN. The new VPN status indicator will include third-party enterprise VPN clients as well as some consumer VPNs.

Additional Information

Windows 11 July 2023 Update KB5028185

Always On VPN Device Tunnel Status Indicator

2 Comments
by Richard M. Hicks on July 20, 2023  •  Permalink
Posted in administration, Always On VPN, AOVPN, Enterprise, enterprise mobility, Microsoft, Mobility, NCSI, network connectivity status indicator, Operational Support, Remote Access, Security, Security Update, Update, user tunnel, VPN, Windows 11
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on July 20, 2023

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2023/07/20/always-on-vpn-windows-11-status-indicator/

Always On VPN July 2023 Security Updates

Hello, Always On VPN administrators! It’s the second Tuesday of the month, so you know what that means. Yes, it’s Patch Tuesday! This month’s security updates include several fixes for vulnerabilities potentially affecting Microsoft Always On VPN deployments.

RRAS Vulnerabilities

Microsoft’s July 2023 security updates include fixes affecting Windows Servers with the Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) role installed. Security vulnerabilities CVE-2023-35365, CVE-2023-35366, and CVE-2023-35367 are all Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerabilities with a Critical security rating and a CVSS score of 9.8. These security vulnerabilities in Windows Server RRAS are particularly troublesome due to the nature of the workload. RRAS servers are, by design, exposed to the public Internet. Although there are no known exploits in the wild at this time, this attack requires no special privileges other than network access. Administrators running Windows Server with RRAS installed are encouraged to update as soon as possible.

AD CS Vulnerabilities

Most Always On VPN implementations leverage enterprise PKI certificates for user and device authentication. Administrators commonly deploy Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) to support this. This month there are two security vulnerabilities in AD CS marked as Important. CVE-2023-35350 and CVE-2023-35351 address RCE vulnerabilities that exploit a race condition on the server. However, AD CS servers are not exposed to untrusted networks. In addition, attackers would require administrative rights on the server to exploit these vulnerabilities.

Network Load Balancing

Finally, of importance to Always On VPN administrators using Windows Network Load Balancing (NLB) to provide load balancing for their RRAS servers, there is a vulnerability in the NLB service. CVE-2023-33163 addresses an RCE vulnerability in NLB identified as Important.

Additional Information

Microsoft July 2023 Security Updates

Windows Server 2022 KB5028171 (Build 20348.1850)

Windows Server 2019 KB5028168 (Build 17763.4645)

Windows Server 2016 KB 5028169 (Build 14393.6085)

Windows 11 22H2 KB8028185 (Build 22621.1992)

Windows 11 21H2 KB5028182 (Build 22000.2176)

Leave a comment
by Richard M. Hicks on July 11, 2023  •  Permalink
Posted in Active Directory, Active Directory Certificate Services, AD CS, administration, Always On VPN, AOVPN, Certificate Services, certificates, CVE, Deployment, Device Management, Enterprise, enterprise mobility, Hotfix, Infrastructure, Load Balancing, Microsoft, Mobility, Operational Support, PKI, public key infrastructure, Remote Access, routing and remote access service, RRAS, Security, Security Update, Update, VPN, Vulnerability, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2022
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on July 11, 2023

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2023/07/11/always-on-vpn-july-2023-security-updates/

Azure Conditional Access Certificates with SID Information Now Available

I recently wrote about changes to certificate-based authentication affecting Always On VPN implementations. These changes were introduced by Microsoft’s security update KB5014754. When the update is installed on domain controllers and enterprise Certification Authorities (CAs), administrators can perform strong user mapping for certificates used for Active Directory authentication. However, when first introduced, the update came with some serious limitations that prevented administrators from enabling full enforcement mode for certificate mapping.

Limitations

When KB5014754 is installed on an enterprise issuing CA, a new certificate extension (1.3.6.1.4.1.311.25.2) is added to the issued certificate that includes the principal’s (user or device) Security Identifier (SID). However, this only occurs when an online template is used. An online template is one with the subject name built from Active Directory information. The SID is not embedded in certificates issued using an offline template. Offline templates are templates where the subject name is supplied in the request. There are two scenarios where this causes problems for Always On VPN.

Microsoft Intune

Certificates delivered with Microsoft Intune via the Intune Certificate Connector use an offline template. This applies to certificates using PKCS or SCEP. Today, the SID is not embedded by issuing CAs using offline templates.

Azure Conditional Access

The short-lived certificate issued by Azure when Conditional Access is configured for Always On VPN did not include the SID. However, that recently changed.

Recent Updates

Today we can scratch Azure Conditional Access off the list of limitations for Always On VPN. Microsoft recently introduced support for the new SID extension in Azure Conditional Access certificates, as shown here.

Now when an Azure Conditional Access certificate is issued to an on-premises user or device account that is synced with Azure Active Directory, Azure Conditional Access will include the SID information in the issued short-lived certificate.

Intune

Unfortunately, we’re still waiting for Microsoft to address the limitation with certificates delivered using Microsoft Intune. Hopefully we’ll see an update for that later this year.  

Additional Information

Certificate-Based Authentication Changes and Always On VPN

Microsoft KB5014754

Digital Certificates and TPM

Microsoft Intune Certificate Connector Service Account and PKCS

3 Comments
by Richard M. Hicks on July 11, 2023  •  Permalink
Posted in AADJ, Active Directory, administration, Always On VPN, AOVPN, authentication, Azure, Azure Active Directory, Azure AD, Azure AD Join, Azure Conditional Access, Azure MFA, Azure VPN, Certificate Connector for Intune, certificates, cloud, Conditional Access, Deployment, Device Management, Endpoint Manager, Enterprise, enterprise mobility, HAADJ, Hybrid Azure AD Join, Infrastructure, InTune, Intune Certificate Connector, Intune PFX Connector, MDM, MEM, MEMCM, MFA, Microsoft, Microsoft Endpoint Manager, Microsoft Intune, Mobile Device Management, Mobility, Multifactor Authentiction, NDES, Network Device Enrollment Service, Network Device Enrollment Services, NPS, Operational Support, PFX Connector, PKCS, PKI, public cloud, public key infrastructure, Remote Access, SCEP, Security, Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol, systems management, Update, user tunnel, VPN, Windows 10, Windows 11
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on July 11, 2023

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2023/07/11/azure-conditional-access-certificates-with-sid-information-now-available/

« Older Posts
Newer Posts »