Always On VPN Traffic Filters and IPv6

Always On VPN Windows Server RRAS Service Does Not Start

Using Traffic Filters with Always On VPN provides administrators the option to configure a true Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solution for their field-based users and devices. By enabling traffic filtering, network access over the Always On VPN connection can be controlled using fine-grained policies. Traffic Filter rules can be configured to restrict access based source and destination IP addresses, protocols, and source and destination ports. Administrators can further restrict access based on the application generating the traffic.

IPv6

While testing these features recently, I learned that the Microsoft Endpoint Manager (formerly Intune) user interface does not appear to support IPv6 when configuring traffic filter rules. As you can see here, the UI explicitly asks for an IPv4 address and complains when entering an IPv6 address in the address field, as shown here.

Interestingly, it is possible to add IPv6 addresses in XML, as follows.

<TrafficFilter>
   <App>
      <Id>Microsoft.RemoteDesktop_8wekyb3d8bbwe</Id>
   </App>
   <Protocol>6</Protocol>
   <RemotePortRanges>3389</RemotePortRanges>
   <RemoteAddressRanges>2001:470:f109::/48</RemoteAddressRanges>
</TrafficFilter>

Connection Failure

Unfortunately, after loading the XML on a test client, the Always On VPN connection fails with the following error message.

“Can’t connect to <ConnectionName>. Catastrophic failure.”

In addition, the Application event log records an event ID 20227 from the RasClient source with the following error.

“The user <UserName> dialed a connection name <ConnectionName> which has failed. The error code returned on failure is -2147418113.”

Workaround

At this time, the only known workaround is to update the configuration on the RRAS server to use IPv4 addressing for VPN clients.

Summary

Unfortunately, IPv6 is still a second-class citizen when it comes to Always On VPN. Although enabling IPv6 works well in most common deployment scenarios, the Microsoft Endpoint Manager management console often fails to accept IPv6 entries in IP address fields. In addition, some advanced features such as traffic filtering are incompatible with IPv6.

Additional Information

Windows 10 Always On VPN and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)

Windows 10 Always On VPN Windows Server RRAS Service Does Not Start

Always On VPN Updates for RRAS and IKEv2

Always On VPN Updates for RRAS and IKEv2

Many users have reported connection stability issues using Windows Server 2019 Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) and the IKEv2 VPN protocol. Specifically, there have been reports of random disconnects for which the connection cannot be re-established for an extended period. At the same time, other VPN connections may work without issue.

KB5003703

Microsoft has identified an issue in RRAS where the RemoteAccess service enters DoS protection mode, limiting incoming IKEv2 connection attempts. They released an update on June 15 (OS Build 17763.2028) that addresses this issue. Previously, the only workaround was to restart the IKEEXT service, which was highly disruptive if performed during peak hours.

No More Files

In addition, this update includes another Always On VPN-related fix for Windows 10 1809 clients. An Always On VPN user tunnel connection may fail, with an error message stating, “There are no more files.” The problem can occur after an existing user’s certificate is automatically renewed.

Additional Information

Microsoft Update June 15, 2021 KB5003703 (OS Build 17763.2028)

Always On VPN Class-Based Default Route and Intune

`Always On VPN Class-Based Default Route and IntuneIn a recent post, I described how to configure routing for Windows 10 Always On VPN clients. In that article, I shared guidance for disabling the class-based default route in favor of defining specific routes for the VPN client. While this is easy enough to do when you use custom XML (deployed via PowerShell, SCCM, or Intune), there is a known limitation when using the native Intune UI that could present some challenges.

Updated 11/9/2024 to include update information for a workaround using Intune Remediation.

Intune VPN Profile Configuration

Defining specific routes is easy to do in Intune using the native VPN configuration profile. In the Configuration settings expand Split Tunneling and click Enable. The administrator can then add routes by entering their Destination prefix and Prefix size, as shown here.

Always On VPN Class-Based Default Route and Intune

Class-Based Default Route

The limitation with using Intune to configure routes is that there is currently no option to disable the class-based default route as there is with custom XML. This means the routes shown in the example above will be added to the client, but the class-based route will also be added automatically, as shown here (class-based default route highlighted with the arrow).

Always On VPN Class-Based Default Route and Intune

Considerations

In most cases, the inclusion of the class-based default route along with the administrator-defined routes will not be a problem. However, in some scenarios, it could yield unexpected results. Specifically, Always On VPN clients may have unintended access to some networks over the VPN tunnel. This is most significant for the Always On VPN device tunnel, where it is common to limit access to only specific resources using individual host routes.

Workaround

As a workaround, administrators can use Intune Remediations to disable the class-based default route post-deployment. Sample detection and remediation scripts for the user and device tunnel can be found here.

https://github.com/richardhicks/endpointmanager/blob/main/Detect-DeviceDisableClassBasedDefaultRoute.ps1

https://github.com/richardhicks/endpointmanager/blob/main/Remediate-DeviceDisableClassBasedDefaultRoute.ps1

https://github.com/richardhicks/endpointmanager/blob/main/Detect-UserDisableClassBasedDefaultRoute.ps1

https://github.com/richardhicks/endpointmanager/blob/main/Remediate-UserDisableClassBasedDefaultRoute.ps1

Additional Information

Deploying Windows 10 Always On VPN with Intune and Custom XML

Deploying Windows 10 Always On VPN Device Tunnel with Intune and Custom XML

Windows 10 Always On VPN Routing Configuration

Windows 10 Always On VPN Device Tunnel Operation and Best Practices