Contents

Issue

Firepower Management Center (FMC) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) report Cisco Smart Licensing HTTPS traffic as toos.cisco.com instead of tools.cisco.com.

This causes Cisco device licensing traffic (ASA, routers, switches) to be blocked by URL‑based or Security Intelligence policies, potentially resulting in license expiration.

The traffic itself is legitimate and destined to Cisco licensing infrastructure.

Environment

- Product Family: Cisco Secure Firewall

- Traffic Type: Cisco Smart Licensing (HTTPS / TCP 443)

- TLS Server Identity (TSID) feature enabled

Resolution

Symptoms

- FMC connection events or FTD system support trace show:

- Smart Licensing commands (for example, license smart renew auth) fail.

- URL filtering / Security Intelligence policies blocking toos.cisco.com.

- Packet capture confirms traffic is sent to Cisco licensing IPs (like tools1.cisco.com).

- Disabling TSID causes FMC to report tools.cisco.com.

Troubleshooting / Investigation Steps

Confirm Smart Licensing Traffic

On the Cisco device (example: ASA):

license smart renew auth

Capture Traffic on the Cisco Device (ASA Example)

capture LIC interface outside trace detail match tcp host <ASA_IP> any eq 443

show capture LIC

Export the capture and confirm destination IP resolves to Cisco licensing hosts:

tools1.cisco.com

Capture or Trace Traffic on FTD

Packet Capture (FTD CLI)

capture capin interface <inside> match tcp host <DEVICE_IP> any eq 443

capture capout interface <outside> match tcp host <DEVICE_IP> any eq 443

System Support Trace

system support trace

Look for log entries similar to:

url toos.cisco.com

Verify TSID Configuration in FMC

- Navigate to Access Control Policy

- Edit the applicable rule

- Check Advanced Settings

- Confirm TLS Server Identity Discovery (TSID) is enabled

Validate TSID Impact (Optional Test)

- Disable TSID on the rule

- Deploy policy

- Re‑run licensing attempt

Note - Expected behavior: FMC reports tools.cisco.com when TSID is disabled

Inspect Server Certificate (Optional)

From packet capture or browser tools, confirm:

- SAN list includes toos.cisco.com as the first entry

Resolution / Recommended Handling

No defect. Behavior is by design. Advise one of these options:

1.- Allow toos.cisco.com in URL filtering / Security Intelligence policies

2.- Permit Cisco Smart Licensing traffic by: URL category or Broader domain pattern

Cause

By‑design TSID behavior when TLS ClientHello does not contain SNI.

When TSID is enabled and SNI is missing, FMC determines the server identity using certificate attributes in this order:

1.- Common Name (CN)

2.- First Subject Alternative Name (SAN)

3.- Organizational Unit (OU)

Cisco Smart Licensing server certificates contain toos.cisco.com as the first SAN entry.

As a result, FMC reports toos.cisco.com even though:

- DNS resolution is correct

- The destination IP belongs to Cisco licensing infrastructure

- Traffic integrity is not affected

This impacts URL reporting and policy enforcement only.

Related Content

- TLS Server Identity Discovery