Cisco PIX 500 Series Security Appliances

Document ID: 15246

Contents

Introduction
Prerequisites
      Requirements
      Components Used
      Conventions
Network Diagram
Send a Ping Through the PIX
      PIX/ASA Software Versions 7.x
      PIX Software Versions 5.0.1 Through 6.3.3
      PIX Software Versions 4.2(2) to 5.0.1
      PIX Software Versions 4.1(6) to 4.2(2)
Send Pings to the PIX's Own Interfaces
The traceroute Command Inbound Through the PIX
Make the Firewall Show Up in a Traceroute in ASA/PIX
      Example
Error Message - 313005
ICMP Message Types (RFC 792)
Information to Collect if You Open a Service Request
Related Information

Introduction

Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) pings and traceroute on the PIX Firewall are handled differently based on the version of PIX and ASA code.

Inbound ICMP through the PIX/ASA is denied by default. Outbound ICMP is permitted, but the incoming reply is denied by default.

Note: ASA/PIX does not support ICMP redirects, because it does not support asymmetric routing.

Prerequisites

Requirements

There are no specific prerequisites for this document.

Components Used

The information in this document is based on these software and hardware versions:

• PIX software versions 4.1(6) and later

• Cisco ASA 5500 Series Security Appliance that runs 7.x and later versions

The information in this document was created from the devices in a specific lab environment. All of the devices used in this document started with a cleared (default) configuration. If your network is live, make sure that you understand the potential impact of any command.

Conventions

Refer to the Cisco Technical Tips Conventions for more information on document conventions.

Network Diagram

Note:  The IP addressing schemes used in this configuration are not legally routable on the Internet. They are RFC 1918 addresses which have been used in a lab environment.

Send a Ping Through the PIX

PIX/ASA Software Versions 7.x

Pings Inbound

Pings initiated from the outside, or another low security interface of the PIX, are denied be default. The pings can be allowed by the use of static and access lists or access lists alone. In this example, one server on the inside of the PIX is made accessible to external pings. A static translation is created between the inside address (10.1.1.5) and the outside address (192.168.1.5).

pix(config)#static (inside,outside) 192.168.1.5 10.1.1.5 netmask 255.255.255.255
pix(config)#access-list 101 permit icmp any host 192.168.1.5 echo
pix(config)#access-group 101 in interface outside

Pings Outbound

There are two options in PIX 7.x that allow inside users to ping hosts on the outside. The first option is to setup a specific rule for each type of echo message.

For example:

access-list 101 permit icmp any any echo-reply
access-list 101 permit icmp any any source-quench 
access-list 101 permit icmp any any unreachable  
access-list 101 permit icmp any any time-exceeded
access-group 101 in interface outside

This allows only these return messages through the firewall when an inside user pings to an outside host. The other types of ICMP status messages might be hostile and the firewall blocks all other ICMP messages.

Another option is to configure ICMP inspection. This allows a trusted IP address to traverse the firewall and allows replies back to the trusted address only. This way, hosts on all inside interfaces can ping hosts on the outside and the firewall allows the replies to return. This also gives you the advantage of monitoring the ICMP traffic that traverses the firewall. In this example, icmp inspection is added to the default global inspection policy.

For example:

policy-map global_policy
    class inspection_default
     inspect icmp

Pinging Another Interface

The inside interface of the PIX cannot be accessed from the outside, and vice-versa, unless the management-access is configured in global configuration mode. Once management-access is enabled, Telnet, SSH, or HTTP access must still be configured for the desired hosts.

pix(config)#management-access inside
pix(config)#show running-config management-access
management-access inside

PIX Software Versions 5.0.1 Through 6.3.3

Inbound ICMP through the PIX is denied by default; outbound ICMP is permitted, but the incoming reply is denied by default.

Note: Version 6.3.3 is the most recent version of code available at the time of publication. For later versions, refer to the release notes for any possible changes.

Pings Inbound

Inbound ICMP can be permitted with either a conduit statement or an access-list statement, based on which you use on the PIX. Do not mix conduits and access lists.

This example shows how to permit ICMP of device 10.1.1.5 inside (static to 192.168.1.5) by all devices outside:

static (inside,outside) 192.168.1.5 10.1.1.5 netmask 255.255.255.255 0 0

!--- and either

conduit permit icmp 192.168.1.5 255.255.255.255 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 echo

!--- or

access-list 101 permit icmp any host 192.168.1.5 echo
access-group 101 in interface outside

Pings Outbound

Responses to outbound ICMP can be permitted with either a conduit statement or an access-list statement, based on which you use on the PIX. Do not mix conduits and access lists.

This example shows how to permit responses to ICMP requests initiated by device 10.1.1.5 inside (static to 192.168.1.5) from all devices outside:

static (inside,outside) 192.168.1.5 10.1.1.5 netmask 255.255.255.255 0 0

!--- and either

conduit permit icmp 192.168.1.5 255.255.255.255 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 echo-reply
conduit permit icmp 192.168.1.5 255.255.255.255 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 source-quench
conduit permit icmp 192.168.1.5 255.255.255.255 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 unreachable
conduit permit icmp 192.168.1.5 255.255.255.255 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 time-exceeded

!--- or 

access-list 101 permit icmp any host 192.168.1.5 echo-reply
access-list 101 permit icmp any host 192.168.1.5 source-quench
access-list 101 permit icmp any host 192.168.1.5 unreachable
access-list 101 permit icmp any host 192.168.1.5 time-exceeded
access-group 101 in interface outside

PIX Software Versions 4.2(2) to 5.0.1

Inbound ICMP through the PIX is denied by default. Outbound ICMP is permitted, but the incoming reply is denied by default.

Pings Inbound

Inbound ICMP can be permitted with a conduit statement.

This example shows how to permit ICMP of device 10.1.1.5 inside (static to 192.168.1.5) by all devices outside:

static (inside,outside) 192.168.1.5 10.1.1.5 netmask 255.255.255.255 0 0
conduit permit icmp 192.168.1.5 255.255.255.255 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 echo

Pings Outbound

Responses to outbound ICMP can be permitted with a conduit statement.

This example shows how to permit responses to ICMP requests initiated by device 10.1.1.5 inside (static to 192.168.1.5) from all devices outside:

static (inside,outside) 192.168.1.5 10.1.1.5 netmask 255.255.255.255 0 0
conduit permit icmp 192.168.1.5 255.255.255.255 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 echo-reply
conduit permit icmp 192.168.1.5 255.255.255.255 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 source-quench
conduit permit icmp 192.168.1.5 255.255.255.255 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 unreachable
conduit permit icmp 192.168.1.5 255.255.255.255 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 time-exceeded

PIX Software Versions 4.1(6) to 4.2(2)

Inbound ICMP through the PIX is denied by default. Outbound ICMP is permitted by default.

Pings Inbound

Inbound ICMP can be permitted with a conduit statement.

This example shows how to permit ICMP of device 10.1.1.5 inside (static to 192.168.1.5) by all devices outside:

static (inside), outside) 192.168.1.5 10.1.1.5
conduit 192.168.1.5 8 icmp 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0

!--- The 8 is for echo request; these are from RFC 792.

See the ICMP Message Types (RFC 792) section of this document for more information.

Pings Outbound

Outbound ICMP and responses are permitted by default.

Send Pings to the PIX's Own Interfaces

In PIX Software versions 4.1(6) to 5.2.1, ICMP traffic to the PIX's own interface is permitted. The PIX cannot be configured to not respond. You are not able to ping interfaces on the "far side" of the PIX in any version. Based on the network diagram in this document:

• You are not able to ping 10.1.1.1 from 10.1.1.5.

• You are not able to ping 192.168.1.1 from the outside.

• You are not be able to ping 192.168.1.1 from 10.1.1.5.

• You are not able to ping 10.1.1.1 from the outside.

In PIX Software versions 5.2.1, ICMP is still permitted by default, but PIX ping responses from its own interfaces can be disabled with the icmp command (that is, a "stealth PIX").

icmp permit|deny [host] src_addr [src_mask] [type] int_name

In this example, the PIX cannot send echo replies in response to echo requests:

icmp deny any echo outside

As with access lists, in the absence of permit statements, there is also an implicit deny of all other ICMP traffic.

This command permits pings from the network immediately outside the PIX:

icmp permit 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 echo outside

As with access lists, in the absence of permit statements, there is also an implicit deny of all other ICMP traffic.

The traceroute Command Inbound Through the PIX

Problem: The PIX Firewall hides all internal networks in the output of inbound traceroutes.

Resolution:

The PIX does not support the traceroute command. When a traceroute is issued from the outside, the PIX does not display its own interface IP address nor does it display the IP addresses of the inside networks. The destination address is displayed multiple times for each internal hop.

Traceroutes work only with static Network Address Translations (NATs) and not with Port Address Translation (PAT) IP addresses. For example, a client on the Internet with the address 209.165.202.130 performs a traceroute to a web server on the inside of the PIX with a public address of 209.165.201.25 and a private address of 10.1.3.25. There are two routers between the PIX and the internal web server. The traceroute output on the client machine appears this way:

Target IP address: 209.165.201.25 Source address: 209.165.202.130

 Tracing the route to 209.165.201.25 
  1 209.165.202.128 4 msec 3 msec 4 msec 
  2 209.165.201.25 3 msec 5 msec 0 msec 
  3 209.165.201.25 4 msec 6 msec 3 msec 
  4 209.165.201.25 3 msec 2 msec 2 msec 

In PIX version 6.3 and later, this behavior can be undone if the fixup protocol icmp error command is issued. When this feature is enabled, the PIX creates xlates for intermediate hops that send Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) error messages, based on the static NAT configuration. The PIX overwrites the packet with the translated IP addresses.

When NAT is enabled in PIX 7.0, the IP addresses of the PIX interfaces and the real IP addresses of the intermediate hops cannot be seen. However, in PIX 7.0, NAT is not essential and can be disabled with the no nat-control command. If the NAT rule is removed, the real IP address can be seen if it is a routeable one.

For more information, refer to the The traceroute Command Inbound Through the PIX section of The PIX and the traceroute Command.

Make the Firewall Show Up in a Traceroute in ASA/PIX

ciscoasa(config)#class-map class-default
ciscoasa(config)#match any


!--- This class-map exists by default.


ciscoasa(config)#policy-map global_policy


!--- This Policy-map exists by default.


ciscoasa(config-pmap)#class class-default


!--- Add another class-map to this policy.


ciscoasa(config-pmap-c)#set connection decrement-ttl


!--- Decrement the IP TTL field for packets traversing the firewall.
!--- By default, the TTL is not decrement hiding (somewhat) the firewall.


ciscoasa(config-pmap-c)#exit
ciscoasa(config-pmap)#exit
ciscoasa(config)#service-policy global_policy global


!--- This service-policy exists by default.

WARNING: Policy map global_policy is already configured as a service policy

ciscoasa(config)#icmp unreachable rate-limit 10 burst-size 5


!--- Adjust ICMP unreachable replies:
!--- The default is rate-limit 1 burst-size 1.
!--- The default will result in timeouts for the ASA hop:


ciscoasa(config)#access-list outside-in-acl remark Allow ICMP Type 11 for Windows tracert
ciscoasa(config)#access-list outside-in-acl extended permit icmp any any time-exceeded


!--- The access-list is for the far end of the ICMP traffic (in this case
!---the outside interface) needs to be modified in order to allow ICMP type 11 replies
!--- time-exceeded):

ciscoasa(config)#access-group outside-in-acl in interface outside


!--- Apply access-list to the outside interface.

ciscoasa(config)#

Example

Topology

Note: The IP address schemes used in this configuration are not legally routable on the Internet. They are RFC 1918 addresses which were used in a lab environment.

Before you apply the policy change:

C:\>tracert -d www.yahoo.com.

Tracing route to www.yahoo-ht3.akadns.net [192.168.93.52]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1     1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  172.16.2.1

!--- First shown hop is Router 1
     
  2     6 ms     6 ms     5 ms  192.168.100.101
(etc...)

After you apply the policy change:

C:\>tracert -d www.yahoo.com.

Tracing route to www.yahoo-ht3.akadns.net [192.168.93.52]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  172.16.2.254
  
!--- First shown hop is ASA

  2    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  172.16.2.1

!---  Router 1 is now second hop

  3     6 ms     6 ms     6 ms  192.168.100.101
 (etc...)

Error Message - 313005

Error Message

%PIX|ASA-4-313005: No matching connection for ICMP error message: 
icmp_msg_info on interface_name interface. Original IP payload: 
embedded_frame_info icmp_msg_info = icmp src src_interface_name:src_address dst 
dest_interface_name:dest_address (type icmp_type, code icmp_code) 
embedded_frame_info = prot src source_address/source_port dst 
dest_address/dest_port

Explanation

ICMP error packets are dropped by the security appliance because the ICMP error messages are not related to any session already established in the security appliance.

Recommended Action

If the cause is an attack, you can deny the host with ACLs.

ICMP Message Types (RFC 792)

Information to Collect if You Open a Service Request

Related Information

• RFC 792
• Documentation for PIX Firewall
• PIX Command Reference
• PIX Support Page
• Requests for Comments (RFCs)
• Technical Support & Documentation - Cisco Systems