I got complains from a customer who wasn’t able to configure 3DES or AES encryption for a VPN tunnel. Sounds familiar with a problem I had a couple of weeks ago. So I gave the customer the advice to upgrade and activate the VPN-3DES-AES feature. He tried but that didn’t solve this problem.

I remotely logged in and checked the software he was using. I noticed he was using the image asa832-npe-k8.bin. Problem found!!!

NPE stands for No Payload Encryption. For export to some countries, payload encryption cannot be enabled on the Cisco ASA 5500 series. For version 8.3(2), you can now install a No Payload Encryption image (asa832-npe-k8.bin).

Features that are disabled in the No Payload Encryption image include:

• Unified Communications;
• Strong encryption for VPN (DES encryption is still available for VPN);
• VPN load balancing (note that the CLI is still present; the feature will not function, however)
• Downloading of the dynamic database for the Botnet Traffic Filer (Static black and whitelists are still supported. Note that the CLI is still present; the feature will not function, however);
• Management protocols requiring strong encryption, including SSL, SSHv2, and SNMPv3. You can, however, use SSL or SNMPv3 using base encryption (DES). Also, SSHv1 and SNMPv1 and v2 are still available;

If you attempt to install a Strong Encryption (3DES/AES) license, you see the following warning:

WARNING: Strong encryption types have been disabled in this image; the VPN-3DES-AES license option has been ignored.

I replaced the software image with the regular image and the problem was solved.

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

René Jorissen

Co-owner and Solution Specialist at 4IP Solutions

René Jorissen works as Solution Specialist for 4IP in the Netherlands. Network Infrastructures are the primary focus. René works with equipment of multiple vendors, like Cisco, Aruba Networks, FortiNet, HP Networking, Juniper Networks, RSA SecurID, AeroHive, Microsoft and many more. René is Aruba Certified Edge Expert (ACEX #26), Aruba Certified Mobility Expert (ACMX #438), Aruba Certified ClearPass Expert (ACCX #725), Aruba Certified Design Expert (ACDX #760), CCNP R&S, FCNSP and Certified Ethical Hacker (CEF) certified. You can follow René on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Latest posts by René Jorissen (see all)

• MacOS Big Sur and SSLKEYFILELOG - November 23, 2021
• ClearPass, Azure AD, SSO and Object ID - August 12, 2021
• ClearPass – custom MPSK - July 20, 2021