Use an External Dynamic List in a URL Filtering Profile

An external dynamic list is a text file that is hosted on an external web server. You can use this list to import URLs and enforce policy on these URLs. When you update the list on the web server, the firewall retrieves the changes and applies policy to the modified list without requiring a commit on the firewall.

For more information, see External Dynamic List and Enforce Policy on Entries in an External Dynamic List.

Use an External Dynamic List with URLs in a URL Filtering Profile
Create the external dynamic list for URLs and host it on a web server.	Create a text file and enter the URLs in the file; each URL must be on a separate line. For example: financialtimes.co.in www.wallaby.au/joey www.exyang.com/auto-tutorials/How-to-enter-Data-for-Success.aspx .example.com/ abc?/abc.com &*.net See Block and Allow Lists for formatting guidelines. Use MineMeld to generate an external dynamic list based on the contents of multiple threat feeds.
Configure the firewall to access the external dynamic list.	Select Objects > External Dynamic Lists. Click Add and enter a descriptive Name for the list. ( Optional ) Select Shared to share the list with all virtual systems on a device that is enabled for multiple virtual systems. By default, the object is created on the virtual system that is currently selected in the Virtual Systems drop-down. In the Type drop-down, select URL List. Ensure that the list does not include IP addresses or domain names; the firewall skips non-URL entries. Enter the Source for the list you just created on the web server. The source must include the full path to access the list. For example, https://1.2.3.4/EDL_IP_2016. Click Test Source URL to verify that the firewall can connect to the web server. If the web server is unreachable after the connection is established, the firewall uses the last successfully retrieved list for enforcing policy until the connection is restored with the web server. ( Optional ) Specify the Repeat frequency at which the firewall retrieves the list. By default, the firewall retrieves the list once every hour. Click OK.
Use the external dynamic list in a URL Filtering profile.	Select Objects > Security Profiles > URL Filtering. Add or modify an existing URL Filtering profile. Name the profile and, in the Categories tab, select the external dynamic list from the Category list. Click Action to select a more granular action for the URLs in the external dynamic list. If a URL that is included in an external dynamic list is also included in a custom URL category, or Block and Allow Lists, the action specified in the custom category or the block and allow list will take precedence over the external dynamic list. Click OK. Attach the URL Filtering profile to a Security policy rule. Select Policies > Security. Select the Actions tab and, in the Profile Setting section, select the new profile in the URL Filtering drop-down. Click OK and Commit.
Test that the policy action is enforced.	Attempt to access a URL that is included in the external dynamic list. Verify that the action you defined is enforced in the browser. To monitor the activity on the firewall: Select ACC and add a URL Domain as a global filter to view the Network Activity and Blocked Activity for the URL you accessed. Select Monitor > Logs > URL Filtering to access the detailed log view.
Verify whether entries in the external dynamic list were ignored or skipped. In a list of type URL, the firewall skips non-URL entries as invalid and ignores entries that exceed the maximum limit for the platform.	Use the following CLI command on a firewall to review the details for a list. request system external-list show type url <list_name> For example: request system external-list show type url EBL_ISAC_Alert_List

Document:PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide

Use an External Dynamic List in a URL Filtering Profile

Related Documentation

Document:PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide

Use an External Dynamic List in a URL Filtering Profile

Related Documentation

Enforce Policy on Entries in an External Dynamic List

Support for URLs in an External Dynamic List

Objects > External Dynamic Lists

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External Dynamic List for URLs

URL Filtering Concepts

Support for Custom Domains in an External Dynamic List

External Dynamic List

Use an External Dynamic List in Policy

URL Filtering Profile