XG Firewall v18 MR-3

We've released a new build of XG Firewall v18 MR-3.

Enhancements in v18 MR-3

Security enhancements:

• Several security and hardening enhancements - including SSMK (secure storage master key) for the encryption of sensitive data. Refer KB-000040174 for more details.
  
• Granular option to enable/ disable captcha authentication from CLI
  

VPN Remote Access enhancements:

• Increase in SSL VPN connection capacity across entire firewall line up; 6x increase for 2U HW. KB-000039345 is being updated with enhanced capacity.
  
• Group support for Sophos Connect VPN client
  

Cloud - AWS/ Azure/ Nutanix enhancements:

• Support for newer AWS instances - C5/ M5 and T3 (#)
  
• Support for CloudFormation Templates removing the need to run installation wizard in some cases (#)
• Virtual WAN Zone on custom gateway for post deployment single arm usage
  
  • On single arm – single interface in AWS or Azure – admin can create multiple custom gateway and attached different zones to those gateways. This allows admin to create access and security rules for traffic going in to those zones.
• XG Firewall is now Nutanix AHV and Nutanix Flow Ready. XG Firewall has been validated to provide two modes of operation within Nutanix AHV infrastructure.

• Optimize cloud costs and improve security across multi-cloud environments with Cloud Optix. Automatic identification and risk-profiling of security and compliance risks across AWS, Azure and Google Cloud enables teams to fix security gaps and insecure deployments before they are compromised. Learn more.

(# available after a few days of release on community, once v18 MR-3 is available in the AWS marketplace)

Central management enhancements:

• XG running in an HA configuration (either A-A or A-P) can now be managed by Sophos Central. Each firewall must be separately joined to the same Sophos Central account, and if grouped, both HA devices must be added to the same group.
  
• Audit trail went live under the task queue
  

Central Firewall Reporting enhancements:

• Earlier this month, we have released Save, schedule, export & download reports. Refer community post here.

Issues Resolved:

• 34 field reported issues including RED & HA cluster issues (list below) 

Note: Upgrading from v17.5 MR13/ MR14/ MR14-1 to v18 MR-3 is now supported.

Check out our recent blog and video series on how to make the most of the many great new capabilities in XG Firewall v18 such as the Xstream Architecture, TLS Inspection, FastPath acceleration, Zero-day threat protection, NAT, and much more.

We also have a new Sophos Techvids site for XG Firewall v18.

Get it now!

As usual, this firmware update is no charge for all licensed XG Firewall customers. The firmware will be rolled-out automatically to all systems over the coming weeks but you can access the firmware anytime to do a manual update through Licensing Portal. You can refer this article for more information on How to upgrade the firmware.

For fresh installations (Installers & ISOs), please find the following files:

• Hardware Appliances: HW-18.0.3_MR-3-457.iso
• Software Appliances: SW-18.0.3_MR-3-457.iso
• HyperV: VI-18.0.3_MR-3.HYV-457.zip
• KVM: VI-18.0.3_MR-3.KVM-457.zip
• VMWare: VI-18.0.3_MR-3.VMW-457.zip
• Xen: VI-18.0.3_MR-3.XEN-457.zip

Things to know before upgrading

• Supported hardware appliances
• Important upgrade information

Issues Resolved in v18 MR-3 

• NC-58229 [Authentication] Sophos AV and Avira AV Pattern updates failing
• NC-51876 [Core Utils] Weak SSHv2 key exchange algorithms
• NC-58144 [DNS] XG self reporting its own lookups in ATP causing flood of events
• NC-54542 [Email] Email banner is added to incoming emails
• NC-59396 [Email] Blocked senders are able to send the mails
• NC-58159 [Firewall] Unable to ping the external IPs from auxiliary appliance console
• NC-58356 [Firewall] Direct proxy traffic doesn't work when RBVPN is configured.
• NC-58402 [Firewall] Firewall reboots randomly.
• NC-59399 [Firewall] ERROR(0x03): Failed to migrate config. Loading default.
• NC-60713 [Firewall] Userportal hotspot voucher config gets timeout
• NC-60848 [Firewall] HA cluster both nodes rebooting unexpectedly
• NC-59063 [Firmware Management] Remove expired CAs from SFOS
• NC-44455 [HA] System originated traffic is not flow from AUX when SNAT policy configured for system originated traffic
• NC-62850 [HA] Filesystem oddity in /conf
• NC-58295 [IPsec] Dropped due to TLS engine error: STREAM_INTERFACE_ERROR
• NC-58416 [IPsec] IKE SA Re keying won't be re-initiate itself after re-transmission time out of 5 attempts 
• NC-58499 [IPsec] Sophos Connect Client ”IP is supposed to be added in the “##ALL_IPSEC_RW “
• NC-58687 [IPsec] IPsec tunnel not getting reinitiated after PPPoE reconnect
• NC-58075 [Netflow/IPFIX] Netflow data not sending interface ID
• NC-55698 [nSXLd] Not able to add new domain in custom category
• NC-62029 [PPPoE] PPPoE link does not reconnect after disconnecting
• NC-57819 [RED] XG Site to Site RED Tunnel disconnects randomly also with MR10 and v18
• NC-60240 [RED] Interfaces page is blank after adding SD-RED60 with PoE selected
• NC-61509 [RED] RCA s2s red tunnel static routes disappear on FW update
• NC-62161 [RED] RED connection with device becomes unstable after upgrading to v18.0 MR1 from v17.5 MR12
• NC-59204 [SFM-SCFM] Task queue pending but never apply with XG86W appliance
• NC-60599 [SFM-SCFM] Task queue pending but never apply due to no proper encoding
• NC-62304 [SFM-SCFM] The notification e-mail sent from the XG displays the wrong Central Administrator
• NC-61956 [UI Framework] WebAdmin Console and User Portal not accessible because space in certificate name
• NC-62218 [UI Framework] Post-auth command injection via User Portal 1/2 (CVE-2020-17352)
• NC-62222 [UI Framework] Post-auth command injection via User Portal 2/2 (CVE-2020-17352)
• NC-58960 [Up2Date Client] HA: IPS service observed DEAD
• NC-59064 [Web] Appliance goes unresponsive : Awarrenhttp high memory consumption
• NC-60719 [WebInSnort] DPI engine causing website to intermittently load slowly

Making the most of your new XG Firewall features

Free Online Training

• Available for free for all XG Firewall customers, our delta training program will help you make the most of the new features in XG Firewall v18.
• This online program walks you through the key enhancements since v17.5 and takes about 90 minutes to complete.
  • Get started here!

Customer Resources and How-To Videos

• Also be sure to visit the Customer Resource Center for the latest How-To Videos and links to documentation, the community forums, training and other resources.

Take advantage of Partner and Sophos Professional Services

• To augment your local Sophos partner’s services, we offer services to help you getting up and running and make the most of your XG Firewall, including the latest capabilities in v18.
• While Sophos Professional Services can help with any task, here are the most common services they provide:
  • XG Firewall deployment and setup
  • XG Firewall v18 DPI, FastPath and SSL Engine Optimization
  • XG Firewall Health Checks

Here are some direct links to helpful resources:

• Customer Training Portal (free Delta Training)
• Sophos Support v18 Playlist on YouTube
• Customer Resource Center
• Community Forum Recommended Reads
• What’s New and Release Notes
• XG Firewall v18 Complete Documentation
• XG Firewall v18 CLI Guide
• XG Firewall v18 User Portal Guide

New to XG Firewall?

If you’re new to XG Firewall, see how it provides the world’s best network visibility, protection and response on the new XG Firewall website.