Security Rule Configuration Object

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Core Methods
3. Security Rule Model Attributes
4. Exceptions
5. Basic Configuration
6. Usage Examples
   • Creating Security Rules
   • Retrieving Security Rules
   • Updating Security Rules
   • Listing Security Rules
   • Filtering Responses
   • Controlling Pagination with max_limit
   • Moving Security Rules
   • Deleting Security Rules
7. Managing Configuration Changes
   • Performing Commits
   • Monitoring Jobs
8. Error Handling
9. Best Practices
10. Full Script Examples
11. Related Models

Overview

The SecurityRule class provides functionality to manage security rules in Palo Alto Networks' Strata Cloud Manager. This class inherits from BaseObject and provides methods for creating, retrieving, updating, and deleting security rules that control traffic flow between zones, applications, and users.

Core Methods

Method	Description	Parameters	Return Type
create()	Creates a new security rule	data: Dict[str, Any], rulebase: str	SecurityRuleResponseModel
get()	Retrieves a rule by ID	object_id: str, rulebase: str	SecurityRuleResponseModel
update()	Updates an existing rule	rule: SecurityRuleUpdateModel	SecurityRuleResponseModel
delete()	Deletes a rule	object_id: str, rulebase: str	None
list()	Lists rules with filtering	folder: str, rulebase: str	List[SecurityRuleResponseModel]
fetch()	Gets rule by name and container	name: str, folder: str	SecurityRuleResponseModel
move()	Moves rule within rulebase	rule_id: UUID, data: Dict[str, Any]	None

Security Rule Model Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
name	str	Yes	Name of rule (max 63 chars)
id	UUID	Yes*	Unique identifier (*response only)
action	SecurityRuleAction	Yes	Rule action (allow, deny, etc.)
from_	List[str]	Yes	Source zones
to_	List[str]	Yes	Destination zones
source	List[str]	Yes	Source addresses
destination	List[str]	Yes	Destination addresses
application	List[str]	Yes	Allowed applications
service	List[str]	Yes	Allowed services
category	List[str]	Yes	URL categories
profile_setting	SecurityRuleProfile	No	Security profile settings
log_setting	str	No	Log forwarding profile
description	str	No	Rule description
disabled	bool	No	Rule enabled/disabled status
tag	List[str]	No	Associated tags
folder	str	Yes**	Folder location (**one container required)
snippet	str	Yes**	Snippet location (**one container required)
device	str	Yes**	Device location (**one container required)

Exceptions

Exception	HTTP Code	Description
InvalidObjectError	400	Invalid rule data or format
MissingQueryParameterError	400	Missing required parameters
NameNotUniqueError	409	Rule name already exists
ObjectNotPresentError	404	Rule not found
ReferenceNotZeroError	409	Rule still referenced
AuthenticationError	401	Authentication failed
ServerError	500	Internal server error

Basic Configuration

The Security Rule service can be accessed using either the unified client interface (recommended) or the traditional service instantiation.

Unified Client Interface (Recommended)

from scm.client import ScmClient

# Initialize client
client = ScmClient(
    client_id="your_client_id",
    client_secret="your_client_secret",
    tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)

# Access the Security Rule service directly through the client
# No need to create a separate SecurityRule instance
rules = client.security_rule

Traditional Service Instantiation (Legacy)

from scm.client import Scm
from scm.config.security_services import SecurityRule

# Initialize client
client = Scm(
    client_id="your_client_id",
    client_secret="your_client_secret",
    tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)

# Initialize SecurityRule object explicitly
rules = SecurityRule(client)

Note

While both approaches work, the unified client interface is recommended for new development as it provides a more streamlined developer experience and ensures proper token refresh handling across all services.

Usage Examples

Creating Security Rules

from scm.client import ScmClient

# Initialize client
client = ScmClient(
   client_id="your_client_id",
   client_secret="your_client_secret",
   tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)

# Basic allow rule configuration
allow_rule = {
    "name": "allow-web",
    "folder": "Texas",
    "from_": ["trust"],
    "to_": ["untrust"],
    "source": ["internal-net"],
    "destination": ["any"],
    "application": ["web-browsing", "ssl"],
    "service": ["application-default"],
    "action": "allow",
    "log_end": True
}

# Create basic allow rule
basic_rule = client.security_rule.create(allow_rule, rulebase="pre")

# Security profile rule configuration
secure_rule = {
    "name": "secure-web",
    "folder": "Texas",
    "from_": ["trust"],
    "to_": ["untrust"],
    "source": ["internal-net"],
    "destination": ["any"],
    "application": ["web-browsing", "ssl"],
    "service": ["application-default"],
    "profile_setting": {
        "group": ["best-practice"]
    },
    "action": "allow",
    "log_start": False,
    "log_end": True
}

# Create rule with security profiles
profile_rule = client.security_rule.create(secure_rule, rulebase="pre")

Retrieving Security Rules

# Fetch by name and folder
rule = client.security_rule.fetch(
    name="allow-web",
    folder="Texas",
    rulebase="pre"
)
print(f"Found rule: {rule.name}")

# Get by ID
rule_by_id = client.security_rule.get(rule.id, rulebase="pre")
print(f"Retrieved rule: {rule_by_id.name}")
print(f"Applications: {rule_by_id.application}")

Updating Security Rules

# Fetch existing rule
existing_rule = client.security_rule.fetch(
    name="allow-web",
    folder="Texas",
    rulebase="pre"
)

# Update attributes
existing_rule.description = "Updated web access rule"
existing_rule.application = ["web-browsing", "ssl", "http2"]
existing_rule.profile_setting = {
    "group": ["strict-security"]
}

# Perform update
updated_rule = client.security_rule.update(existing_rule, rulebase="pre")

Listing Security Rules

# Pass filters directly into the list method
filtered_rules = client.security_rule.list(
    folder='Texas',
    rulebase='pre',
    action=['allow'],
    application=['web-browsing', 'ssl']
)

# Process results
for rule in filtered_rules:
    print(f"Name: {rule.name}")
    print(f"Action: {rule.action}")
    print(f"Applications: {rule.application}")

# Define filter parameters as a dictionary
list_params = {
    "folder": "Texas",
    "rulebase": "pre",
    "from_": ["trust"],
    "to_": ["untrust"],
    "tag": ["Production"]
}

# List with filters as kwargs
filtered_rules = client.security_rule.list(**list_params)

Filtering Responses

The list() method supports additional parameters to refine your query results even further. Alongside basic filters (like types, values, and tags), you can leverage the exact_match, exclude_folders, exclude_snippets, and exclude_devices parameters to control which objects are included or excluded after the initial API response is fetched.

Parameters:

• exact_match (bool): When True, only objects defined exactly in the specified container (folder, snippet, or device) are returned. Inherited or propagated objects are filtered out.
• exclude_folders (List[str]): Provide a list of folder names that you do not want included in the results.
• exclude_snippets (List[str]): Provide a list of snippet values to exclude from the results.
• exclude_devices (List[str]): Provide a list of device values to exclude from the results.

Examples:

# Only return security rules defined exactly in 'Texas'
exact_rules = client.security_rule.list(
   folder='Texas',
   rulebase='pre',
   exact_match=True
)

for rule in exact_rules:
   print(f"Exact match: {rule.name} in {rule.folder}")

# Exclude all security rules from the 'All' folder
no_all_rules = client.security_rule.list(
   folder='Texas',
   rulebase='pre',
   exclude_folders=['All']
)

for rule in no_all_rules:
   assert rule.folder != 'All'
   print(f"Filtered out 'All': {rule.name}")

# Exclude security rules that come from 'default' snippet
no_default_snippet = client.security_rule.list(
   folder='Texas',
   rulebase='pre',
   exclude_snippets=['default']
)

for rule in no_default_snippet:
   assert rule.snippet != 'default'
   print(f"Filtered out 'default' snippet: {rule.name}")

# Exclude security rules associated with 'DeviceA'
no_deviceA = client.security_rule.list(
   folder='Texas',
   rulebase='pre',
   exclude_devices=['DeviceA']
)

for rule in no_deviceA:
   assert rule.device != 'DeviceA'
   print(f"Filtered out 'DeviceA': {rule.name}")

# Combine exact_match with multiple exclusions
combined_filters = client.security_rule.list(
   folder='Texas',
   rulebase='pre',
   exact_match=True,
   exclude_folders=['All'],
   exclude_snippets=['default'],
   exclude_devices=['DeviceA']
)

for rule in combined_filters:
   print(f"Combined filters result: {rule.name} in {rule.folder}")

Controlling Pagination with max_limit

The SDK supports pagination through the max_limit parameter, which defines how many objects are retrieved per API call. By default, max_limit is set to 2500. The API itself imposes a maximum allowed value of 5000. If you set max_limit higher than 5000, it will be capped to the API's maximum. The list() method will continue to iterate through all objects until all results have been retrieved. Adjusting max_limit can help manage retrieval performance and memory usage when working with large datasets.

Example:

from scm.client import ScmClient
from scm.config.security_services import SecurityRule

# Initialize client
client = ScmClient(
   client_id="your_client_id",
   client_secret="your_client_secret",
   tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)

# Two options for setting max_limit:

# Option 1: Use the unified client interface but create a custom SecurityRule instance with max_limit
security_rule_service = SecurityRule(client, max_limit=4321)
all_rules1 = security_rule_service.list(folder='Texas', rulebase='pre')

# Option 2: Use the unified client interface directly
# This will use the default max_limit (2500)
all_rules2 = client.security_rule.list(folder='Texas', rulebase='pre')

# Both options will auto-paginate through all available objects.
# The rules are fetched in chunks according to the max_limit.

Moving Security Rules

# Move rule to top of rulebase
top_move = {
    "destination": "top",
    "rulebase": "pre"
}
client.security_rule.move(rule.id, top_move)

# Move rule before another rule
before_move = {
    "destination": "before",
    "rulebase": "pre",
    "destination_rule": "987fcdeb-54ba-3210-9876-fedcba098765"
}
client.security_rule.move(rule.id, before_move)

# Move rule after another rule
after_move = {
    "destination": "after",
    "rulebase": "pre",
    "destination_rule": "987fcdeb-54ba-3210-9876-fedcba098765"
}
client.security_rule.move(rule.id, after_move)

Deleting Security Rules

# Delete by ID
rule_id = "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000"
client.security_rule.delete(rule_id, rulebase="pre")

Managing Configuration Changes

Performing Commits

# Prepare commit parameters
commit_params = {
    "folders": ["Texas"],
    "description": "Updated security rules",
    "sync": True,
    "timeout": 300  # 5 minute timeout
}

# Commit the changes directly on the client
result = client.commit(**commit_params)

print(f"Commit job ID: {result.job_id}")

Monitoring Jobs

# Get status of specific job directly from the client
job_status = client.get_job_status(result.job_id)
print(f"Job status: {job_status.data[0].status_str}")

# List recent jobs directly from the client
recent_jobs = client.list_jobs(limit=10)
for job in recent_jobs.data:
    print(f"Job {job.id}: {job.type_str} - {job.status_str}")

Error Handling

from scm.client import ScmClient
from scm.exceptions import (
    InvalidObjectError,
    MissingQueryParameterError,
    NameNotUniqueError,
    ObjectNotPresentError,
    ReferenceNotZeroError
)

# Initialize client
client = ScmClient(
    client_id="your_client_id",
    client_secret="your_client_secret",
    tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)

try:
    # Create rule configuration
    rule_config = {
        "name": "test-rule",
        "folder": "Texas",
        "from_": ["trust"],
        "to_": ["untrust"],
        "source": ["internal-net"],
        "destination": ["any"],
        "application": ["web-browsing"],
        "service": ["application-default"],
        "action": "allow"
    }

    # Create the rule using the unified client interface
    new_rule = client.security_rule.create(rule_config, rulebase="pre")

    # Move the rule
    move_config = {
        "destination": "top",
        "rulebase": "pre"
    }
    client.security_rule.move(new_rule.id, move_config)

    # Commit changes directly from the client
    result = client.commit(
        folders=["Texas"],
        description="Added test rule",
        sync=True
    )

    # Check job status directly from the client
    status = client.get_job_status(result.job_id)

except InvalidObjectError as e:
    print(f"Invalid rule data: {e.message}")
except NameNotUniqueError as e:
    print(f"Rule name already exists: {e.message}")
except ObjectNotPresentError as e:
    print(f"Rule not found: {e.message}")
except ReferenceNotZeroError as e:
    print(f"Rule still in use: {e.message}")
except MissingQueryParameterError as e:
    print(f"Missing parameter: {e.message}")

Best Practices

1. Client Usage

   • Use the unified client interface (client.security_rule) for streamlined code
   • Create a single client instance and reuse it across your application
   • Perform commit operations directly on the client object (client.commit())
   • For custom max_limit settings, create a dedicated service instance if needed

2. Rule Organization

   • Use descriptive rule names
   • Order rules by specificity
   • Group related rules together
   • Document rule purposes
   • Use consistent naming conventions

3. Security Profiles

   • Apply appropriate security profiles
   • Use profile groups when possible
   • Monitor profile impacts
   • Update profiles regularly
   • Document profile choices

4. Logging and Monitoring

   • Enable appropriate logging
   • Use log forwarding profiles
   • Monitor rule hits
   • Track rule changes
   • Audit rule effectiveness

5. Performance

   • Optimize rule order
   • Use specific sources/destinations
   • Minimize rule count
   • Monitor rule processing
   • Clean up unused rules

6. Change Management

   • Test rules before deployment
   • Document all changes
   • Use proper commit messages
   • Monitor commit status
   • Maintain rule backups

Full Script Examples

Refer to the security_rule.py example.

Related Models

• SecurityRuleCreateModel
• SecurityRuleUpdateModel
• SecurityRuleResponseModel
• SecurityRuleMoveModel