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WebShield Audit
High severity
Weak TLS Protocols Enabled (TLS 1.0 / 1.1)
The server still negotiates TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1, both of which were formally deprecated by RFC 8996 in 2021 and are prohibited for PCI-DSS 4.0, FedRAMP, and most internal security baselines.
Business risk
TLS 1.0 is vulnerable to BEAST and partially to POODLE. TLS 1.1 inherits the same block-cipher weaknesses and neither protocol supports modern authenticated-encryption ciphers (AEAD) or guaranteed forward secrecy. Browsers blocked these versions in 2020 but the handshake still completes for scanners, legacy API clients, curl/wget defaults, and bots. One accepting endpoint is all an attacker needs to downgrade a connection and run a cipher-level attack against session data.
Technical details
The fix is one config line, but the scope is the hard part. Audit every endpoint: the main site, admin subdomains, API gateways, SMTP submission (port 587), IMAP/POP (143/993/995), and any internal load balancer. A single legacy service accepting TLS 1.0 invalidates the compliance posture for the whole domain. Use `nmap --script ssl-enum-ciphers -p 443 yourdomain.com` to enumerate.
How to detect it
Enumerate which TLS versions the server still accepts. `nmap --script ssl-enum-ciphers` gives the full matrix. `openssl s_client -tls1` and `-tls1_1` should fail; `-tls1_2` and `-tls1_3` should succeed. Run the same checks against every endpoint you publish (web, API, mail, internal).
Enumerate supported versions and ciphers
nmap --script ssl-enum-ciphers -p 443 yourdomain.comProve TLS 1.0 is rejected
openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443 -tls1 </dev/null # must failProve TLS 1.1 is rejected
openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443 -tls1_1 </dev/null # must failFull SSL Labs report
https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=yourdomain.comCommon pitfalls
- Auditing port 443 only. SMTP submission (587), IMAP (993), POP (995), and internal load balancers often still accept TLS 1.0. One legacy endpoint sinks the compliance score for the whole domain.
- Changing protocols but not the cipher list. TLS 1.2 with RC4 or 3DES is still weak. Pair the protocol pin with a modern AEAD-only cipher list from the Mozilla SSL Config Generator.
- Setting `ssl_prefer_server_ciphers on` by reflex. Modern guidance is off - clients pick well and enabling it makes ChaCha20 fallback harder on mobile devices.
- Forgetting that some CDNs have a separate "minimum TLS" toggle in the dashboard that overrides origin-side config. On Cloudflare, this is `SSL/TLS → Edge Certificates → Minimum TLS Version`.
- Ignoring legacy client breakage. Very old Android (<4.4), Windows XP, and certain IoT devices only support TLS 1.0/1.1. If those clients matter, quantify them from analytics before flipping the switch.
Remediation guide
External references
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum version I should accept in 2026?
TLS 1.2 at minimum, with TLS 1.3 enabled and preferred. PCI-DSS 4.0, FedRAMP, and HIPAA all require at least TLS 1.2. TLS 1.3 is mandatory for some newer compliance frameworks (e.g., Verizon Media Privacy Framework).
Do I still need TLS 1.2 if TLS 1.3 is enabled?
Yes. TLS 1.3 support across clients is good but not universal - some corporate proxies, older mobile OSes, and embedded devices only speak 1.2. Enable both; clients negotiate the highest available version.
Cloudflare handles TLS for me - do I still need to worry?
Yes, for two reasons. One: make sure the Minimum TLS Version toggle in the Cloudflare dashboard is set to 1.2. Two: the origin-to-Cloudflare link (`Full (Strict)` mode) also negotiates TLS - your origin config still matters.
Keep going
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Deep guide
HSTS: A Complete, Rollback-Safe Setup Guide
The max-age ramp, subdomain audit and preload submission - in the order they won't burn you.
Free tool
HSTS Preload Checker
Test HSTS before you preload - because you only get to do it wrong once.
Verify your fix
Applied the configuration change? Run a live scan to confirm the vulnerability is patched.