Always On VPN SSTP Security Configuration

Always On VPN SSTP Security Configuration

When using Windows Server Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) to terminate Always On VPN client connections, administrators can leverage the Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) VPN protocol for client-based VPN connections. SSTP is a Microsoft proprietary VPN protocol that uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) to secure connections between the client and the VPN gateway. SSTP provides some crucial advantages over IKEv2 in terms of operational reliability. It uses the TCP port 443, the standard HTTPS port, which is universally available and ensures Always On VPN connectivity even behind highly restrictive firewalls.

TLS Certificate

When configuring SSTP, the first thing to consider is the certificate installed on the server. A certificate with an RSA key is most common, but for SSTP, provisioning a certificate with an ECDSA key is recommended for optimal security and performance. See the following two articles regarding SSTP certificate requirements and ECDSA Certificate Signing Request (CSR) creation.

Always On VPN SSL Certificate Requirements for SSTP

Always On VPN ECDSA SSL Certificate Request for SSTP

TLS Configuration

Much like IKEv2, the default TLS security settings for SSTP are less than optimal. However, SSTP can provide excellent security with some additional configuration.

TLS Protocols

There are several deprecated TLS protocols enabled by default in Windows Server. These include SSLv3.0, TLS 1.0, and TLS 1.1. They should be disabled to improve security for TLS. To do this, open an elevated PowerShell window on the VPN server and run the following commands.

New-Item -Path ‘HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\SSL 3.0\Server\’ -Force

New-ItemProperty -Path ‘HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\SSL 3.0\Server\’ -Name Enabled -PropertyType DWORD -Value ‘0’

New-Item -Path ‘HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.0\Server\’ -Force

New-ItemProperty -Path ‘HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.0\Server\’ -Name Enabled -PropertyType DWORD -Value ‘0’

New-Item -Path ‘HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.1\Server\’ -Force

New-ItemProperty -Path ‘HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.1\Server\’ -Name Enabled -PropertyType DWORD -Value ‘0’

Cipher Suites

Many weak TLS cipher suites and enabled by default in Windows Server. To further enhance security and performance, they can be optimized using a tool such as IIS Crypto. For example, consider prioritizing cipher suites that use ECDHE and GCM with ECDSA to improve security. Also, remove ciphers that use AES-256 to enhance scalability and performance.

Note: AES-256 does not provide any additional practical security over AES-128. Details here.

PowerShell Script

I have published a PowerShell script on GitHub that performs security hardening and TLS cipher suite optimization to streamline the configuration TLS on Windows Server RRAS servers. You can download the script here.

Validation Testing

After running the script and restarting the server, visit the SSL Labs Server Test site to validate the configuration. You should receive an “A” rating, as shown here.

Note: An “A” rating is not achievable on Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2 when using an RSA TLS certificate. A TLS certificate using ECDSA is required to receive an “A” rating on these platforms.

Additional Information

Always On VPN SSL/TLS Certificate Requirements for SSTP

Always On VPN ECDSA SSL Certificate Request for SSTP

Qualys SSL Labs Server Test Site

Always On VPN Protocol Recommendations for Windows Server RRAS

Microsoft SSTP Specification on MSDN

Always On VPN SSTP Certificate Binding Error

Always On VPN SSTP Certificate Binding ErrorWhen configuring a Windows Server with the Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) role to support Windows 10 Always On VPN connections, the administrator may encounter the following error message when installing or updating the TLS certificate used for Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) connections.

“The thumbprint (cert hash) of the certificate used for Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) is different than the certificate bound to the Web listener (HTTP.sys). Configure SSTP to use the default certificate or the certificate bound to SSL. You can configure web server applications to use the same certificate used by SSTP.”

Always On VPN SSTP Certificate Binding Error

IIS Binding

Most commonly this error can occur if an administrator mistakenly binds a TLS certificate directly in IIS. To resolve this problem, open the IIS management console (inetmgr.exe), navigate to the Default Web Site and click Bindings in the Actions section. Highlight the HTTPS binding and click Remove. Once complete, open an elevated command window and run the iisreset.exe command.

Always On VPN SSTP Certificate Binding Error

Netsh

In some instances, the administrator may find no certificate bindings in the IIS management console. However, a certificate binding may still be present. To confirm, open an elevated command window and run the following command.

netsh.exe http show sslcert

Always On VPN SSTP Certificate Binding Error

Remove existing certificate binding by running the following commands.

netsh.exe http delete sslcert ipport=0.0.0.0:443
netsh.exe http delete sslcert ipport=[::]:443

SSTP Configuration

When configuring SSTP in RRAS for Always On VPN, certificate assignment should always be performed using the Routing and Remote Access management console (rrasmgmt.msc). No changes are required to be made in the IIS management console for SSTP.

Additional Information

Windows 10 Always On VPN SSL Certificate Requirements for SSTP

Windows 10 Always On VPN SSTP Load Balancing with Citrix NetScaler ADC Load Balancer

Windows 10 Always On VPN SSTP Load Balancing with Kemp LoadMaster Load Balancer

Windows 10 Always On VPN SSTP Load Balancing with F5 BIG-IP Load Balancer

Always On VPN SSTP Load Balancing with Citrix NetScaler ADC

Always On VPN SSTP Load Balancing with Citrix NetScaler ADCOne of the many advantages of using Windows Server Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) as the VPN server to support Windows 10 Always On VPN connections is that it includes support for the Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP). SSTP is a TLS-based VPN protocol that is easy to configure and deploy and is very firewall friendly. This ensures consistent and reliable connectivity even behind restrictive firewalls. The Citrix ADC (formerly NetScaler) is a popular platform for load balancing Always On VPN connections. In this article I’ll describe how to configure load balancing on the Citrix ADC for RRAS VPN connections using the SSTP VPN protocol.

Special Note: In December 2019 a serious security vulnerability was discovered on the Citrix ADC that gives an unauthenticated attacker the ability to arbitrarily execute code on the appliance. As of this writing a fix is not available (due end of January 2020) but a temporary workaround can be found here.

Load Balancing SSTP

Previously I’ve written about some of the use cases and benefits of SSTP load balancing as well as the options for offloading TLS for SSTP VPN connections. Load balancing SSTP eliminates single points of failure and enables support for multiple RRAS VPN servers to increase scalability. It is generally recommended that the Citrix ADC be configured to pass through encrypted SSTP VPN connections. However, TLS offloading can be configured to improve performance and reduce resource utilization on VPN servers, if required.

Configuration

Load balancing SSTP on the Citrix ADC is straightforward and not unlike load balancing a common HTTPS web server. Below are specific settings and parameters required to load balance SSTP using the Citrix ADC.

Note: This article is not a comprehensive configuration guide for the Citrix ADC. It assumes the administrator is familiar with basic load balancing concepts and has experience configuring the Citrix ADC.

Service Settings

The load balancing service for SSTP VPN should be configured to use TCP port 443 and the SSL_BRIDGE protocol. If TLS offload is required, TCP port 80 and the HTTP protocol can be configured. Additional configuration is required on the RRAS server when TLS offload is enabled, however. Detailed information for configuring RRAS and SSTP for TLS offload can be found here.

Always On VPN SSTP Load Balancing with Citrix NetScaler ADC

Virtual Server Settings

The virtual server is configured to use TCP port 443. It is recommended to use SSLSESSION persistence.

Always On VPN SSTP Load Balancing with Citrix NetScaler ADC

The LEASTCONNECTION load balancing method is the recommend option for load balancing method.

Always On VPN SSTP Load Balancing with Citrix NetScaler ADC

Service Monitoring

Using the default TCP monitor (tcp-default) is not recommended for monitoring SSTP, as a simple TCP port check does not accurately reflect the health of the SSTP service running on the RRAS server. To more precisely monitor the SSTP service status, a new custom monitor must be created and bound to the load balancing services. Follow the steps below to configure a custom SSTP VPN monitor on the Citrix ADC.

  1. Open the Citrix ADC management console and expand Traffic Management.
  2. Select Monitors.
  3. Click Add.
  4. Enter a descriptive name in the Name field.
  5. Select HTTP form the Type drop-down list and click Select.
  6. Adjust the Interval and Response Time-out values according to your requirements.
  7. Enter 401 in the Response Codes field and click the “+” button.
  8. In the Response Codes field click the “x” next to 200.
  9. In the HTTP Request field enter HEAD /sra_{BA195980-CD49-458b-9E23-C84EE0ADCD75}/.
  10. Check the box next to Secure (not required if TLS offload is enabled).
  11. Select ns_default_ssl_profile_backend from the SSL profile drop-down list (not required if TLS offload is enabled).
  12. Click Create.

Always On VPN SSTP Load Balancing with Citrix NetScaler ADC

Once complete, bind the new service monitor to the load balancing services or service groups accordingly.

TLS Offload

It is generally recommended that TLS offload not be enabled for SSTP VPN. However, if TLS offload is desired, it is configured in much the same way as a common HTTPS web server. Specific guidance for enabling TLS offload on the Citrix ADC can be found here. Details for configuring RRAS and SSTP to support TLS offload can be found here.

Certificates

When enabling TLS offload for SSTP VPN connections it is recommended that the public SSL certificate be installed on the RRAS server, even though TLS processing will be handled on the Citrix ADC and HTTP will be used between the Citrix ADC and the RRAS server. If installing the public SSL certificate on the RRAS server is not an option, additional configuration will be required. Specifically, TLS offload for SSTP must be configured using the Enable-SSTPOffload.ps1 PowerShell script, which can be found here.

Once the script has been downloaded, open an elevated PowerShell command window and enter the following command.

.\Enable-SSTPOffload.ps1 -CertificateHash [SHA256 Certificate Hash of Public SSL Certificate] -Restart

Example:

.\Enable-SSTPOffload.ps1 -CertificateHash ‘C3AB8FF13720E8AD9047DD39466B3C8974E592C2FA383D4A3960714CAEF0C4F2’ -Restart

Re-Encryption

When offloading TLS for SSTP VPN connections, all traffic between the Citrix ADC and the RRAS server will be sent in the clear using HTTP. In some instances, TLS offload is required only for traffic inspection, not performance gain. In this scenario the Citrix ADC will be configured to terminate and then re-encrypt connections to the RRAS server. When terminating TLS on the Citrix ADC and re-encrypting connections to the RRAS server is required, the same certificate must be used on both the Citrix ADC and the RRAS server. Using different certificates on the RRAS server and the load balancer is not supported.

Additional Information

Windows 10 Always On VPN Load Balancing and SSL Offload

SSL Offload Configuration for Citrix ADC (NetScaler)

Windows 10 Always On VPN SSTP Load Balancing with Kemp LoadMaster

Windows 10 Always On VPN SSTP Load Balancing with F5 BIG-IP

Windows 10 Always On VPN Connects then Disconnects

Windows 10 Always On VPN SSL Certificate Requirements for SSTP