IPsec security associations

IPsec security associations (SAs) are synchronized between HA members to ensure seamless failover and continuity of VPN tunnels.

DHCP leases

DHCP lease information is synchronized between HA members to maintain consistent IP address assignments and prevent disruptions when failover occurs.

When FortiGate performs SSL/SSH full inspection and detects an invalid certificate, there are three valid actions it can take:

Allow & Warning: This action allows the session but generates a warning.

Block & Warning: This action blocks the session and generates a warning.

Block: This action blocks the session without generating a warning.

Actions such as "Trust & Allow" or just "Allow" without additional configurations are not applicable in the context of handling invalid certificates.

References:

FortiOS 7.4.1 Administration Guide: Configuring SSL/SSH inspection profile

The certificate warning errors occur because the SSL inspection profile is configured to use a private CA certificate that is not recognized by the browser as being signed by a trusted CA. For the browser to trust the FortiGate's re-signed certificates, the CA certificate used by FortiGate for SSL inspection must be installed in the browser's trusted certificate store. Until the browser recognizes the certificate authority (CA) as trusted, it will continue to display warning errors when accessing HTTPS websites.

References:

FortiOS 7.4.1 Administration Guide: SSL/SSH Inspection Configuration

Both interfaces must have directly connected routes on the routing table

In NAT mode, each interface must have a corresponding entry in the routing table, typically as a directly connected route, to route traffic between them effectively.

Both interfaces must have IP addresses assigned

In NAT mode, each interface must have an IP address to participate in routing and NAT operations. The IP addresses allow the FortiGate to forward traffic between different network segments.

Advanced mode allows for configuration as an LDAP client and supports group filtering directly on the FortiGate, as well as nested or inherited groups.

When a firewall policy is created in FortiGate integrated with FortiAnalyzer and FortiManager, a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) is added to the policy to support logging and management​.

The SSL VPN http-request-header-timeout timer is used to mitigate denial of service (DoS) attacks by limiting the amount of time the FortiGate waits for the client to send an HTTP request header after a connection is established. This helps reduce the attack surface by preventing potential attacks that exploit prolonged connection times without fully completing requests.

FGCP elects the primary FortiGate device

FGCP is responsible for electing the primary (active) device in a FortiGate HA (High Availability) cluster, ensuring proper role assignment between the primary and secondary devices.

FGCP runs only over the heartbeat links

FGCP runs over the dedicated heartbeat links between FortiGate devices in the HA cluster, ensuring synchronization and communication between the devices for failover and redundancy purposes.

Based on the system performance output provided, the memory usage on the FortiGate device is at 90%, which is above the green threshold (82%) but below the red threshold (88%). Given this high memory usage, the FortiGate device will enter "conserve mode" to prevent further resource exhaustion. In conserve mode:

B. FortiGate has entered conserve mode: When the memory usage reaches or exceeds certain thresholds (in this case, the green and red thresholds), the FortiGate enters conserve mode to protect itself from running out of memory entirely. This mode limits some functionalities to reduce memory usage and avoid a potential system crash.

D. Administrators can access FortiGate only through the console port: During conserve mode, administrative access might be restricted, and administrators may only be able to connect to the device via the console port. This restriction is in place to ensure that the FortiGate can be managed directly, even under low resource conditions.

The other options are not correct:

A. FortiGate will start sending all files to FortiSandbox for inspection: This is unrelated to memory usage and conserve mode.

C. Administrators cannot change the configuration: While access may be limited, configuration changes can still be made via the console port.

References

FortiOS 7.4.1 Administration Guide - Monitoring System Resources and Performance, page 325.

FortiOS 7.4.1 Administration Guide - Conserve Mode, page 330.

Automation stitches on FortiGate can have one or more triggers, which are conditions or events that activate the automation stitch. The trigger defines when the automation stitch should execute the defined actions. Actions within a stitch can be executed sequentially or in parallel, depending on the configuration.

References:

FortiOS 7.4.1 Administration Guide: Automation Stitches

The IPS sensor configuration shows that:

The Microsoft.Windows.iSCSI.Target.DoS signature is set to "Monitor" with packet logging enabled, meaning that while traffic matching this signature will be allowed, it will also be logged for further analysis.

The generic Windows filter is set to "Block," meaning that all other attacks matching this filter will be blocked. However, the sensor will not reset connections or log packets unless specified.

Therefore, the sensor will allow attackers matching the specific DoS signature while blocking other attacks against Windows.

References:

FortiOS 7.4.1 Administration Guide: IPS Configuration

Based on the application sensor configuration and the filter details:

D. Apple FaceTime will be blocked, based on the Excessive-Bandwidth filter configuration: The "Excessive-Bandwidth" filter is set to block, which includes "FaceTime" under its application signature. As a result, FaceTime will be blocked regardless of the "Apple" filter configuration because the "Excessive-Bandwidth" filter takes precedence due to its block action setting.

The other options are not correct:

A. Apple FaceTime will be allowed, based on the Video/Audio category configuration: The Video/Audio category is not relevant because FaceTime is specifically included in the Excessive-Bandwidth filter, which blocks it.

B. Apple FaceTime will be allowed, based on the Apple filter configuration: Although the Apple filter is set to monitor, the block action of the Excessive-Bandwidth filter will override this.

C. Apple FaceTime will be allowed only if the Apple filter in Application and Filter Overrides is set to Allow: The allow setting for the Apple filter is irrelevant in this context, as the block action in the Excessive-Bandwidth filter will prevail.

References

FortiOS 7.4.1 Administration Guide - Application Control and Filtering, page 978.

FortiOS 7.4.1 Administration Guide - Application Sensor Configuration, page 982.

The application control engine on a FortiGate next-generation firewall is responsible for identifying and managing application traffic. It allows administrators to set policies based on application types, regardless of the port or protocol being used.

FortiGate's application control can differentiate between parent and child applications and allows administrators to configure distinct actions for each. For example, it can identify Facebook (parent application) and specific functions within it (child applications) like Facebook video or chat, enabling more granular control over application traffic.

In flow-based inspection mode, FortiGate buffers the file, but also simultaneously transmits it to the client.

Flow-based inspection allows real-time scanning of files as they are being transmitted, with minimal impact on performance.

In proxy-based inspection mode antivirus scanning buffers the whole file for scanning, before sending it to the client.

Proxy-based inspection mode holds the file completely, scans it for threats, and only sends the file to the client if no threats are detected.

A- The debug flow is for ICMP traffic.

B. A firewall policy allowed the connection.

C. A new traffic session was created.

D. The default route is required to receive a reply.

The debug flow is for ICMP traffic.

The output shows "proto=1," which indicates that the protocol is ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol).

A new traffic session was created.

The message "allocate a new session-00003dd5" confirms that a new session was created for this traffic.

To adjust the inactivity timeout for GUI sessions, the administrator should increase the admintimeout value in the global settings. This parameter controls how long an administrator's session can remain idle before it times out and disconnects. This is configured globally and affects all administrators, including those with the "NOC_Access" profile.

For SSL VPN to function correctly between two FortiGate devices, the following settings are required:

B. The server FortiGate requires a CA certificate to verify the client FortiGate certificate: The server FortiGate must have a Certificate Authority (CA) certificate installed to authenticate and verify the certificate presented by the client FortiGate device.

C. The client FortiGate requires a client certificate signed by the CA on the server FortiGate: The client FortiGate must have a client certificate that is signed by the same CA that the server FortiGate uses for verification. This ensures a secure SSL VPN connection between the two devices.

The other options are not directly necessary for establishing SSL VPN:

A. The client FortiGate requires the SSL VPN tunnel interface type to connect SSL VPN: This is incorrect as SSL VPN does not require a specific tunnel interface type; it typically uses an SSL VPN client profile.

D. The client FortiGate requires a manually added route to remote subnets: While routing may be necessary, it is not specifically required for the SSL VPN functionality between two FortiGates.

References

FortiOS 7.4.1 Administration Guide - Configuring SSL VPN, page 1203.

FortiOS 7.4.1 Administration Guide - SSL VPN Authentication, page 1210.

To bring Phase 1 up, the following changes can be made:

A. On HQ-FortiGate, disable Diffie-Helman group 2: This is incorrect because Diffie-Hellman group 2 is already selected on both devices. Disabling it would not help.

B. On Remote-FortiGate, set port2 as Interface: This is incorrect as both sides should be consistent in their interface settings for the IPsec tunnel, and the interface is correctly set to port1 on both FortiGates in the IPsec configuration.

C. On both FortiGate devices, set Dead Peer Detection to On Demand: This is a valid option. Setting Dead Peer Detection (DPD) to "On Demand" helps maintain the IPsec connection by checking if the peer is still available, which can help in some cases where the connection fails due to timeouts.

D. On HQ-FortiGate, set IKE mode to Main (ID protection): This is also a valid option because the Remote-FortiGate is already set to Main mode (ID protection). Ensuring that both ends use the same mode is crucial for successful phase 1 negotiation.

Thus, the correct answers are:C. On both FortiGate devices, set Dead Peer Detection to On Demand.D. On HQ-FortiGate, set IKE mode to Main (ID protection).

To consolidate the two separate firewall policies for Sales and Engineering departments accessing the same web server, you can create an Interface Group that includes both port1 (Sales) and port2 (Engineering). Once the Interface Group is created, you can use this group as a single incoming interface in a single firewall policy. This approach reduces the number of policies, making management more efficient.

References:

FortiOS 7.4.1 Administration Guide: Firewall Policy Configuration

The Fortinet Single Sign-On (FSSO) Collector Agent supports three primary methods for Active Directory (AD) polling to collect user information:

WinSecLog: Monitors Windows Security Event Logs for login events.

WMI: Uses Windows Management Instrumentation to poll user login sessions.

NetAPI: Utilizes the Netlogon API to query domain controllers for user session data.

These methods allow the FortiGate to gather user logon information and enforce user-based policies effectively.

References:

FortiOS 7.4.1 Administration Guide: FSSO Configuration

When full SSL inspection is enabled, FortiGate intercepts HTTPS traffic, decrypts it for inspection, and re-encrypts it using its own SSL certificate before forwarding it to the browser. If the browser does not trust the SSL certificate being used by FortiGate for re-encryption, it will display certificate warning errors. To resolve this, the certificate used by FortiGate for SSL inspection must be installed and trusted in the browser's certificate store.