Features Introduced
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Features Introduced

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Features Introduced

Learn about the exciting new features introduced in the GlobalProtect™ App 6.2 release.

Features Introduced in GlobalProtect App 6.2.3

The following new feature is introduced in GlobalProtect app 6.2.3.

Embedded Browser Framework Upgrade

Learn about WebView2.
Starting with GlobalProtect 6.2.3, the embedded browser framework for SAML authentication has been upgraded to Microsoft Edge WebView2 (Windows) and WebKit (macOS). This provides a consistent experience between the embedded browser and the GlobalProtect client. WebView2 is also compatible with FIDO2-based authentication methods. For more information, see the Microsoft Edge WebView2 documentation.
By default, tenants using SAML authentication are configured to utilize the embedded WebView2 (Windows) or WebKit (macOS) instead of relying on the system's default browser. With this enhancement, there's no need for end users to configure a SAML landing page, eliminating the necessity to manually close the browser. This streamlines the authentication process.
In a Microsoft entra-joined environment with SSO enabled, users are not required to enter their credentials in order to authenticate to Prisma Access using GlobalProtect. This seamless experience is true whether the user is logging in to their environment for the first time or whether they have logged in before. If there is an error during the authentication, it is displayed in the embedded browser. This authentication process works across all device states.
In a non entra-joined environment with SSO enabled, users must enter their credentials during the initial login. On subsequent logins, the credentials are auto-filled as long as the SAML identity provider (IdP) session is active and has not timed out.

Features Introduced in GlobalProtect App 6.2.1 and 6.2.2

  • If your Prisma Access tenant is IP Optimization enabled (available starting in Prisma Access 5.0.1), the minimum required GlobalProtect app versions are 6.1.4 and later, 6.2.3 and later, or 6.3 and later.
  • Starting from GlobalProtect Linux version 6.2.1, you can use the command-line interface (CLI) to connect to the GlobalProtect app when it is configured with SAML authentication with default browser. Previously, the only way to connect to the GlobalProtect app configured with SAML authentication and the default browser was through the GUI version of the app. GlobalProtect app Linux version 6.2.1 is supported on Fedora Linux 40, as well as other Linux Platforms such as Ubuntu and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

Features Introduced in GlobalProtect App 6.2.0

The following new features are introduced in GlobalProtect app 6.2.0.

Conditional Connect Method for GlobalProtect

Learn how to have the GlobalProtect app dynamically change the connect method.
To improve the user experience with GlobalProtect, you can now use the Conditional Connect setting to have GlobalProtect dynamically change the connect method based on whether the user is on the internal network or working from a remote location. This is useful in environments where you require your users to connect to GlobalProtect at all times when in the office (Always On mode), but don’t require them to connect to GlobalProtect when they are away from the office except when they need access to your private apps.
With Conditional Connect, GlobalProtect uses internal host detection (IHD) to determine whether the user is on the internal network and then sets the connect method accordingly.
To configure this feature, you must deploy the conditional-connect setting to the endpoint transparently to the Windows Registry or macOS plist. For the feature to work, you must also enable internal host detection and configure the endpoints to use the On-demand connect method.

Enhanced Split Tunnel Configuration

Host a split tunnel configuration file on a local web server for expanded support for domains, access routes and applications that you can update dynamically.
With Enhanced Split Tunnel you can manage the list domains, access routes, and applications that you want to include or exclude from the GlobalProtect tunnel using a split-tunnel configuration file that you host locally in your environment. This allows you to modify your split-tunnel settings without having to modify the configuration on the GlobalProtect gateway. In addition, this feature increases the number of included and excluded split-tunnel access routes and domains that you can define from 200 to 1,000. To use this capability, create the XML file and host it on a web server that your GlobalProtect endpoints can reach. To secure the XML file, you must sign it and then enable mutual TLS on the server hosting the split-tunnel configuration file. You can push the public key certificate from the portal configuration to the endpoint. The endpoint needs the certificate to authenticate to the web server.

Prisma Access Explicit Proxy Connectivity in GlobalProtect for Always-On Internet Security

Learn about using GlobalProtect for explicit proxy in Prisma Access
Prisma Access now supports explicit proxy connectivity for GlobalProtect 6.2. This protects users with always-on internet security while providing on-demand access to private apps through a third-party VPN, GlobalProtect with Prisma Access, or an on-premises NGFW. This capability enables you to:
  • Easily replace 3rd-party proxy solutions
  • Seamlessly coexist with 3rd-party VPN agents
  • Secure internet traffic using browser-based and non-browser-based apps
  • Simplify proxy deployments and enforce User-ID-based policy against all traffic
In addition to Tunnel mode, GlobalProtect Explicit Proxy supports two connectivity methods:
  • Proxy Mode
  • Tunnel and Proxy Mode
Proxy Mode
This connection method enables you to use a 3rd-party VPN agent while still using Prisma Access as a secure web gateway for consistent and superior internet and SaaS security.
Tunnel and Proxy mode
This mode enables you to secure access to the internet and SaaS applications through proxy mode and to secure access to private apps through tunnel mode. Whether or not the GlobalProtect tunnel for private app access is enabled, access to the internet remains secure through the proxy.
Users can access private apps through Prisma Access:
Or through an on-premises firewall:
If you don't require support for explicit proxy or 3rd-party VPNs from the GlobalProtect app, you can continue to deploy GlobalProtect in Tunnel Mode and use the split tunnel functionality to define what traffic you want to secure with Prisma Access, and which traffic can bypass the tunnel.

Host Information Profile (HIP) Exceptions for Patch Management

Exempt specific security patches from being reported as missing from the endpoint HIP report.
You can now configure the GlobalProtect app to exempt specific security patches from being reported as missing from the endpoint HIP report to prevent the endpoint from failing the HIP check in cases where patch updates happen frequently (for example some companies update their patches multiple times a day with threat updates). When you enable this feature, you can specify specific patches to exclude from the HIP report and the duration for which you want to exclude them. For certain patches, you might want to exclude them from the HIP report permanently if you don’t require them in your environment. For other patches, such as those that get updated frequently by the vendor, you might just want to exclude for a day or less to ensure that end users aren’t getting blocked from accessing the resources they need whenever a patch update happens, but you also want to verify that they’re patching their devices regularly.

Host Information Profile (HIP) Process Remediation

Enable a HIP remediation script whenever a GlobalProtect endpoint fails one or more process checks.
You can now enable a HIP remediation script whenever a GlobalProtect endpoint fails one or more process checks to help the endpoint recover from a HIP check failures. For example, you can create a script that will run on the endpoint whenever the HIP check—such as a process check or a registry or plist check—fails. After the endpoint runs the remediation script, the GlobalProtect app resubmits the HIP report. Remediating the issue causing the HIP check failure in real time enables your users access to the resources they need without having to wait until the next hourly HIP check.
To use this feature, you must create a remediation script and deploy it to your endpoints using your Mobile Device Management (MDM) software. You then enable the new HIP Remediation Process Timeout setting to indicate the amount of time you want to give the remediation process to complete. After the remediation timeout elapses, the GlobalProtect app resubmits the HIP report.

Support for Native Certificate Store for Linux Endpoints

Support for Native Certificate Store for Linux Endpoints
GlobalProtect app installed on Linux endpoints can now use certificates from the certificate store for:
  • Client certificate authentication to the portal and gateway
  • GlobalProtect app log reporting
Previously the GlobalProtect app used the client certificates installed using the GlobalProtect CLI command, which is available only in the /opt/paloaltonetworks/globalprotect/file directory on Linux endpoints.
You must place the certificate in the native store location of the Linux endpoints for the app to use the certificate.
The following are the cert store locations for various Linux platforms:
  • Ubuntu:
    • Cert: /etc/ssl/certs
    • Key: /etc/ssl/private
  • Fedora:
    • Cert: /etc/ssl/certs
    • Key: /etc/ssl/private
  • Red Hat
    • Cert: /etc/pki/tls/certs
    • Key: /etc/pki/tls/private
The supported formats are:
  • .pem
  • .p12

Extend User Session for GlobalProtect Users

Offer users the ability to extend their current GlobalProtect session so that their current session doesn't terminate at a critical moment.
In hybrid workplace environments where workers are moving between home and office work environments and collaborating with colleagues across the globe, the work day no longer conforms to a 9 to 5 schedule. This means that the session timeouts and expiring login lifetimes might interrupt workers in the middle of an important task. To accommodate this shift in how we work, GlobalProtect can now offer users the ability to extend their current session so that their connection doesn’t terminate at a critical moment. If you enable Allow User to Extend GlobalProtect User Session, the GlobalProtect app notifies the user when their session is about to expire and prompts them to extend the session. If the user opts to extend the session, the GlobalProtect app silently re-authenticates the user without tearing down the tunnel.