Outbound NAT security implications

Started by firemywall, July 09, 2023, 11:08:11 PM

Previous topic - Next topic
My kids have a few Nintendo switches. To play online I need to implement uPNP or outbound NAT rules for connectivity.

I previously had the Nintendo's on their own vlan with uPNP which worked fine but I hated the hole in my firewall.

I found today if I enable hybrid outbound NAT rules and create an outbound rule for the Nintendo's with "static port" checked I get the same quality of connectivity for online gameplay (NAT B) as uPNP.

My question:
I'm assuming outbound NAT with static ports is much safer than uPNP. What are the security implications for these outbound NAT rules? Are there any? Would I be safe to have these rules not on a locked down VLAN? I've done some searching and I believe this would not open up any security holes like uPNP would but looking for advice.

Thanks




The threat model for an outbound policy that is too relaxed is a rogue device that phones home and creates a tunnel for unauthorised access.

No external source can exploit it directly. If you are reasonably sure about internal devices, uPNP is an acceptable risk

Bart...