Does SSL inbound decryption requires client side certificates?

[Gerogef]

hi,

We are implementing NAT for ActiveSync and we would like to decrypt SSL, my question is if SSL inbound inspection model with mobile device and ActiveSync requires a Root or client certificates?

[kadak]

Hello Gerogef,

You would only require web-server's certificate to be loaded on PAN because for inbound decryption the firewall does not act as a proxy for the SSL session, so there is only one session between the client and the web server.  This configuration is similar to taking a capture of the SSL session and then manually decrypting it with the certificate's private key.  The firewall simply decrypts each packet and performs decryption, then the original packet received is transmitted to the host.

As PAN firewall need a copy of the internal server certificate and key, you can refer to the following document:

https://live.paloaltonetworks.com/docs/DOC-1223#comment-1093

Here is a good document that explains the difference between SSL-forward-proxy and SSL inbound inspection

Difference Between SSL Forward-Proxy and Inbound Inspection Decryption Mode

Hope that helps!

Thanks and regards,

Kunal Adak

[Gerogef]

got it!

another question: does NAT known how to handle SSL inbound decryption?