6.8.1 Ensure External AAA Server is set

Information

At least one external Authentication server should be configured.

Rationale:

RADIUS and TACACS+ are centralized Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) services.

Both protocols provide services to Authenticate users on routers, switches and other systems. Juniper devices support both RADIUS and TACACS+ Authentication and you should configure at least one External Authentication Server of either type as configured under [edit system authentication-order].

For resilience it is generally recommended to configure multiple AAA Servers, which can be of the same type (both TACACS+ or both RADIUS) or can be mixed (one RADIUS and one TACACS+) as required so long as both are configured in [edit system authentication-order].

The External AAA Servers used must support Multi-Factor/Two Factor Authentication (MFA/2FA) methods as discussed in Recommendation 6.6.14 Ensure Multi-Factor is used with External AAA.

The secure configuration of the External AAA Services for features such as account lockout, password aging, complexity or MFA support are beyond the scope of this Benchmark to test but are essential to the secure operation of your network environment.

Impact:

Ensure that External AAA Servers are tested prior to deploying in a live environment.

It is generally recommended to configure a single 'Rescue' or 'Emergency' account locally under the [edit system login] hierarchy to provide access in the event of a AAA failure or mis-configuration prior to deploying External AAA.

Solution

Configure at least one External Authentication Server using the following commands under the [edit system] hierarchy; For RADIUS

[edit system]
user@host#set radius-server <server ip> secret <shared secret> source-address <loopback IP>

For TACACS+

[edit system]
user@host#set tacplus-server <server ip> secret <shared secret> source-address <loopback IP>

NOTE - the source-address is generally set as the Loopback, but for some environments the Fxp0.0/out of band interface may be used, or another interface preferred.

Default Value:

No External AAA is used by default

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/3069

Item Details

Category: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION

References: 800-53|IA-2, 800-53|IA-5, CSCv7|16.2, CSCv7|16.5

Plugin: Juniper

Control ID: 79be7e1cc16f29b5d51243a954096c4a088e7553effa9e4ff44de2d81bc600e9