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ise-posture-audit

Cisco ISE posture and policy audit - authorization rules, posture compliance, profiling gaps, TrustSec SGT matrix, active session health

personAuthor: jakexiaohubgithub
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ISE Posture and Policy Audit

When to Use

  • Periodic ISE policy compliance audit (SOC2, PCI-DSS, NIST 800-53, HIPAA)
  • Pre-deployment review before onboarding new endpoint types
  • Post-incident review to identify policy gaps that allowed lateral movement
  • TrustSec segmentation validation
  • Profiling accuracy assessment after network changes
  • Quarterly access control hygiene check

How to Call the ISE MCP Tools

All ISE tools are called via mcp-call with the ISE MCP server command:

ISE_BASE=$ISE_BASE USERNAME=$ISE_USERNAME PASSWORD=$ISE_PASSWORD python3 $MCP_CALL "python3 -u $ISE_MCP_SCRIPT" TOOL_NAME '{"param":"value"}'

Audit Procedure

Step 1: Clear Cache and Establish Baseline

Start every audit with a fresh cache to ensure current data:

ISE_BASE=$ISE_BASE USERNAME=$ISE_USERNAME PASSWORD=$ISE_PASSWORD python3 $MCP_CALL "python3 -u $ISE_MCP_SCRIPT" clear_cache '{}'

Verify connectivity and cache state:

ISE_BASE=$ISE_BASE USERNAME=$ISE_USERNAME PASSWORD=$ISE_PASSWORD python3 $MCP_CALL "python3 -u $ISE_MCP_SCRIPT" get_cache_stats '{}'

Step 2: Authorization Policy Review

Pull all policy sets, then drill into authorization rules:

ISE_BASE=$ISE_BASE USERNAME=$ISE_USERNAME PASSWORD=$ISE_PASSWORD python3 $MCP_CALL "python3 -u $ISE_MCP_SCRIPT" network_access_policy_set '{}'

ISE_BASE=$ISE_BASE USERNAME=$ISE_USERNAME PASSWORD=$ISE_PASSWORD python3 $MCP_CALL "python3 -u $ISE_MCP_SCRIPT" network_access_authorization_rules '{}'

ISE_BASE=$ISE_BASE USERNAME=$ISE_USERNAME PASSWORD=$ISE_PASSWORD python3 $MCP_CALL "python3 -u $ISE_MCP_SCRIPT" network_access_authentication_rules '{}'

ISE_BASE=$ISE_BASE USERNAME=$ISE_USERNAME PASSWORD=$ISE_PASSWORD python3 $MCP_CALL "python3 -u $ISE_MCP_SCRIPT" network_access_conditions '{}'

Authorization Policy Checks:

| Check | What to Look For | Severity If Found | |-------|-----------------|-------------------| | Default Allow | Default rule granting PermitAccess or DenyAccess without conditions | CRITICAL | | Overly permissive rules | AuthZ rules with no posture condition and full network access | CRITICAL | | Stale rules | Rules referencing deleted/unused identity groups or conditions | HIGH | | Rule ordering | Permissive rules ranked above restrictive rules (shadowing) | HIGH | | Missing posture check | AuthZ rules that grant access without posture assessment | MEDIUM | | Duplicate conditions | Multiple rules with identical match criteria | LOW |

Step 3: Posture Compliance Assessment

Review endpoints and identity groups to identify posture gaps:

ISE_BASE=$ISE_BASE USERNAME=$ISE_USERNAME PASSWORD=$ISE_PASSWORD python3 $MCP_CALL "python3 -u $ISE_MCP_SCRIPT" endpoints '{}'

ISE_BASE=$ISE_BASE USERNAME=$ISE_USERNAME PASSWORD=$ISE_PASSWORD python3 $MCP_CALL "python3 -u $ISE_MCP_SCRIPT" identity_groups '{}'

Posture Compliance Checks:

| Check | What to Look For | Severity If Found | |-------|-----------------|-------------------| | Endpoints bypassing posture | Endpoints with full access but no posture assessment recorded | CRITICAL | | Non-compliant endpoints on network | Endpoints marked non-compliant but not quarantined | CRITICAL | | Missing posture policy for endpoint type | Endpoint categories (BYOD, IoT, contractor) without posture rules | HIGH | | Posture reassessment interval | No periodic reassessment configured (one-time posture only) | MEDIUM | | Unknown endpoints with access | Endpoints in "Unknown" group with network access beyond guest | HIGH |

Step 4: Profiling Coverage Analysis

Assess how well ISE is profiling connected endpoints:

ISE_BASE=$ISE_BASE USERNAME=$ISE_USERNAME PASSWORD=$ISE_PASSWORD python3 $MCP_CALL "python3 -u $ISE_MCP_SCRIPT" profiler_profiles '{}'

Cross-reference with the endpoint list from Step 3.

Profiling Checks:

| Check | What to Look For | Severity If Found | |-------|-----------------|-------------------| | Unknown endpoint ratio | More than 10% of endpoints profiled as "Unknown" | HIGH | | Unmatched profiles | Custom profiles with zero matched endpoints (dead profiles) | LOW | | Missing critical profiles | No profiles for known device types on the network (printers, phones, cameras) | MEDIUM | | Profile certainty | Endpoints with low certainty factor (< 20) receiving production access | HIGH | | Profiling probe coverage | Insufficient probe types enabled for accurate classification | MEDIUM |

Step 5: TrustSec SGT Matrix Analysis

Review Security Group Tags and their access control:

ISE_BASE=$ISE_BASE USERNAME=$ISE_USERNAME PASSWORD=$ISE_PASSWORD python3 $MCP_CALL "python3 -u $ISE_MCP_SCRIPT" trustsec_sgts '{}'

ISE_BASE=$ISE_BASE USERNAME=$ISE_USERNAME PASSWORD=$ISE_PASSWORD python3 $MCP_CALL "python3 -u $ISE_MCP_SCRIPT" trustsec_sgacls '{}'

ISE_BASE=$ISE_BASE USERNAME=$ISE_USERNAME PASSWORD=$ISE_PASSWORD python3 $MCP_CALL "python3 -u $ISE_MCP_SCRIPT" trustsec_egress_matrix_cell '{}'

TrustSec Checks:

| Check | What to Look For | Severity If Found | |-------|-----------------|-------------------| | Permit-all SGACLs | SGACLs with permit ip (no restrictions between segments) | CRITICAL | | Missing matrix cells | SGT-to-SGT pairs with no defined policy (defaults to permit or deny?) | HIGH | | Unused SGTs | SGTs defined but assigned to zero endpoints | LOW | | Overly broad SGTs | Single SGT assigned to endpoints with different trust levels | HIGH | | No deny logging | SGACLs with deny rules but no log keyword | MEDIUM | | Flat segmentation | Fewer than 3 SGTs defined (minimal micro-segmentation) | HIGH |

Step 6: Active Session Health

Review current active sessions for anomalies:

ISE_BASE=$ISE_BASE USERNAME=$ISE_USERNAME PASSWORD=$ISE_PASSWORD python3 $MCP_CALL "python3 -u $ISE_MCP_SCRIPT" active_sessions '{}'

Session Health Checks:

| Check | What to Look For | Severity If Found | |-------|-----------------|-------------------| | Long-lived sessions | Sessions active for > 24 hours without reauthentication | MEDIUM | | Failed auth spikes | Multiple failed authentications from same MAC/IP in short window | HIGH | | Guest on production VLAN | Guest-profiled endpoints on non-guest VLANs | CRITICAL | | Multiple MACs per port | More than expected endpoints on a single switchport (hub or rogue AP) | HIGH | | Auth method mismatch | Endpoints using MAB when 802.1X is expected for that device type | MEDIUM |

Severity Rating Criteria

CRITICAL -- Immediate risk of unauthorized access or data exfiltration:

  • Default permit-all authorization rules
  • Non-compliant endpoints with unrestricted access
  • Guest endpoints on production VLANs
  • Permit-all SGACLs between untrusted and trusted segments

HIGH -- Significant policy gap that could be exploited:

  • Unknown endpoints with production access
  • Missing TrustSec matrix entries
  • Stale or shadowed authorization rules
  • Low-certainty profiling with production access

MEDIUM -- Policy weakness that should be addressed this cycle:

  • Missing posture reassessment
  • Auth method mismatches
  • Insufficient profiling probes
  • Long-lived sessions without reauth

LOW -- Housekeeping and hygiene items:

  • Unused SGTs or dead profiles
  • Duplicate authorization conditions
  • Minor documentation gaps

Audit Report Format

ISE Posture Audit Report
ISE Deployment: $ISE_BASE
Audit Date: YYYY-MM-DD

CRITICAL FINDINGS (Immediate Action Required):
  1. [C-001] Default AuthZ rule grants PermitAccess — all unmatched endpoints get full access
  2. [C-002] 14 endpoints marked non-compliant but not quarantined
  3. [C-003] SGACL "Permit_All" applied to IoT-to-Server matrix cell

HIGH FINDINGS (Address This Week):
  4. [H-001] 23% of endpoints profiled as "Unknown" — profiling gap
  5. [H-002] SGT "Employees" assigned to both corporate laptops and contractor devices
  6. [H-003] 3 authorization rules shadowed by permissive rule at rank 1

MEDIUM FINDINGS (Address This Month):
  7. [M-001] No posture reassessment configured — one-time check only
  8. [M-002] 47 sessions active > 24h without reauthentication
  9. [M-003] 12 endpoints using MAB instead of expected 802.1X

LOW / INFORMATIONAL:
  10. [L-001] 5 unused SGTs: "Test_SGT", "Legacy_Printers", etc.
  11. [L-002] 3 profiler profiles with zero matched endpoints

Summary: 3 Critical | 3 High | 3 Medium | 2 Low

Policy Sets Reviewed: N
Authorization Rules Reviewed: N
Endpoints Analyzed: N
SGTs Evaluated: N
Active Sessions Checked: N

Integration with Other Skills

  • Use pyats-security to verify device-side 802.1X configuration matches ISE policy (RADIUS server config, dot1x port settings, CoPP for RADIUS traffic)
  • Use gait-session-tracking to record the full audit in the GAIT immutable audit trail
  • Use markmap-viz to visualize the ISE policy hierarchy (Policy Sets > AuthZ Rules > Conditions > Results)
  • Use ise-incident-response when a CRITICAL finding requires immediate endpoint investigation
  • Use servicenow-change-workflow to create Change Requests for ISE policy remediation

GAIT Audit Trail

After completing the audit, record the session in GAIT:

python3 $MCP_CALL "python3 -u $GAIT_MCP_SCRIPT" gait_record_turn '{"input":{"role":"assistant","content":"ISE posture audit completed. ISE: $ISE_BASE. Findings: 3 CRITICAL, 3 HIGH, 3 MEDIUM, 2 LOW. Critical items: default permit-all AuthZ rule, 14 non-compliant endpoints not quarantined, permit-all SGACL on IoT-to-Server cell.","artifacts":[]}}'

Markmap Visualization

Generate a policy hierarchy mind map for the audit report:

python3 $MCP_CALL "node $MARKMAP_MCP_SCRIPT" markmap_customize '{"markdown_content":"# ISE Policy Audit\n## CRITICAL\n### Default AuthZ permits all\n### Non-compliant endpoints active\n### Permit-all SGACL\n## HIGH\n### 23% Unknown endpoints\n### SGT overlap (employees + contractors)\n### Shadowed AuthZ rules\n## MEDIUM\n### No posture reassessment\n### Long-lived sessions\n### MAB instead of 802.1X\n## LOW\n### Unused SGTs\n### Dead profiler profiles","theme":"dark"}'