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URL Analysis & Management with ZHERO

Master URL management in Zscaler ZIA with ZHERO's comprehensive workflow: Discover → Analyze → Optimize → Maintain.

Overview​

Managing URLs effectively in Zscaler ZIA is challenging:

  • URLs scattered across categories, firewall rules, PAC files, and advanced settings
  • Hidden relationships between wildcard and specific URLs
  • Redundant entries duplicating standard category coverage
  • Security risks from overly broad exceptions
  • Difficulty tracking policy impact when modifying URLs

ZHERO transforms this complexity into a systematic, efficient workflow that provides:

  • Complete Visibility: Track URLs across every ZIA configuration element
  • Smart Analysis: Identify redundancies, security risks, and optimization opportunities
  • Efficient Operations: Bulk manipulation with filtering and external processing
  • Safety Controls: Pending changes queue for review before applying
  • Continuous Monitoring: Automated templates detect issues proactively

The Complete URL Workflow​

Phase 1: Discover (URL Inventory)​

Goal: Understand what URLs you have and where they're located.

Tools: URL Inventory

Key Activities:

  1. Scan Configuration: ZHERO automatically discovers URLs from:

    • Custom URL categories
    • Firewall rules (destination FQDNs)
    • SSL inspection settings
    • PAC files
    • App profiles
    • IP destination groups
    • Advanced settings
    • And more

  2. Map Relationships: Understand connections between:

    • Wildcard and specific URLs
    • URLs and policies
    • URLs across different configuration sections

  3. Identify High-Impact URLs: Focus on URLs referenced in multiple policies or critical settings

Output: Complete inventory of URL usage across your entire ZIA tenant.

Start Here

If you're new to ZHERO's URL capabilities, begin with the URL Inventory guide to understand what ZHERO discovers automatically.

Phase 2: Analyze (URL Export to Excel)​

Goal: Perform comprehensive analysis to identify optimization opportunities and security risks.

Tools: URL Export to Excel

Key Activities:

  1. Export Complete Dataset: Generate Excel report containing:

    • All URLs from discovered locations
    • Standard categorization (via ONEAPI)
    • Cloud application mappings
    • Policy impact counts
    • Wildcard relationships
    • Firewall rule usage
    • PAC file references

  2. Filter and Sort: Use Excel's powerful analysis features:

    • Sort by policy impact (highest first)
    • Filter by standard categories
    • Identify wildcard patterns
    • Group by cloud applications

  3. Identify Issues: Look for:

    • Redundancies: URLs in custom categories already covered by standard blocks
    • Security Risks: Wildcard CDNs in SSL bypass
    • Inefficiencies: Multiple specific URLs coverable by one wildcard
    • Orphans: URLs no longer serving active business purpose

Output: Prioritized list of optimization opportunities and security findings.

ONEAPI Required

URL Export's categorization features require ONEAPI configuration. See ONEAPI Setup for instructions.

Phase 3: Optimize (URL Manipulation)​

Goal: Implement improvements identified during analysis.

Tools: URL Manipulation

Key Activities:

  1. Filter and Select: Use smart filtering to find specific URLs:

    • Filter by standard category (e.g., "pornography")
    • Filter by cloud application
    • Search by text pattern

  2. Bulk Operations: Efficiently modify configurations:

    • Delete redundant URLs
    • Move URLs to purpose-specific categories
    • Copy URLs for new use cases
    • Create categories on-the-fly

  3. External Processing: For complex operations:

    • Export URLs to clipboard
    • Process in Excel or scripts
    • Reimport selections via "Select from Paste"
    • Delete or move selected URLs

  4. Review and Apply: Use pending changes queue:

    • Review all queued modifications
    • Verify expected changes
    • Apply selectively or all at once
    • Monitor for unexpected impacts

Output: Cleaner, more maintainable URL configuration with improved security posture.

Phase 4: Maintain (Continuous Monitoring)​

Goal: Keep configuration optimized over time with automated detection.

Tools: Analysis Templates (built into ZHERO)

Key Activities:

  1. Automated Detection: ZHERO continuously scans for:

    • Redundant URLs within categories (optimization)
    • Wildcard CDNs in SSL bypass (security critical)
    • Overlapping URL definitions (efficiency)
    • Best practice violations

  2. Respond to Alerts: When ZHERO flags issues:

    • Review analysis template findings
    • Use inventory to understand full context
    • Apply fixes via manipulation features
    • Verify resolution

  3. Periodic Reviews: Establish regular workflows:

    • Monthly: Export URLs and review high-impact entries
    • Quarterly: Comprehensive cleanup using filtering
    • Annually: Complete audit with documented justifications

Output: Continuously optimized configuration that maintains quality over time.

Practical Applications of URL Inventory​

Before diving into complete use cases, understand these practical applications of ZHERO's URL inventory feature:

Impact Analysis Before Changes​

Scenario: You need to remove old-service.company.com from your configuration.

Without ZHERO:

  • Manually check URL categories
  • Manually check firewall rules
  • Try to remember other places where URLs might be configured
  • Risk missing hidden references
  • Potential unexpected policy breaks

With ZHERO:

  1. Search for old-service.company.com
  2. View complete reference list
  3. See it's used in:
    • SSL Exclude category
    • Firewall rule "Legacy Services Access"
    • App Profile "VPN Backup Gateway"
    • PAC File (line 45)
  4. Make informed decision about safe removal
  5. Update all references systematically

Troubleshooting Unexpected Behavior​

Scenario: Users report that app.example.com is being blocked unexpectedly.

Investigation with ZHERO:

  1. Search for app.example.com
  2. View all references
  3. Discover:
    • It's in URL category "Allowed Apps" (expected)
    • But also in destination IP group "Blocked Legacy" (unexpected)
    • And covered by wildcard *.example.com in "Deprecated Services" category
  4. Root cause identified: Multiple conflicting policies referencing the URL
  5. Remove from conflicting categories to resolve

Configuration Audit and Cleanup​

Scenario: Annual security audit requires documentation of all URL-based exceptions.

With ZHERO:

  1. Use URL Export to generate comprehensive report
  2. Export includes all URL locations discovered by inventory
  3. Review each URL's complete reference list
  4. Identify orphaned URLs, duplicate references, undocumented URLs
  5. Clean up systematically using URL Manipulation

Wildcard Impact Assessment​

Scenario: You want to add wildcard *.cdn-provider.com to SSL bypass, but need to understand scope.

Analysis with ZHERO:

  1. Add the wildcard URL (or search if already exists)
  2. View "Related URLs - Specific"
  3. ZHERO shows all specific URLs in your config that match this wildcard
  4. Discover it would cover:
    • assets.cdn-provider.com (used in 8 policies)
    • media.cdn-provider.com (used in 3 policies)
    • api.cdn-provider.com (used in 12 policies)
  5. Understand that this wildcard would bypass SSL inspection for all these services
  6. Make informed decision about whether to use wildcard or specific FQDNs

Common Use Cases​

Use Case 1: Clean Up Redundant URLs​

Problem: Custom block categories contain hundreds of URLs that are already blocked by your URL filtering policy's standard category rules.

Example: A "Big Block List" with 1,500 URLs where many belong to categories like "pornography" or "gambling" that you already block globally.

Solution Workflow:

  1. Verify Standard Blocks (Phase 1: Discover)

    • Review your URL filtering policies
    • Confirm which standard categories you block (e.g., pornography, gambling, anonymizer)
    • Document current policy scope

  2. Analyze in Excel (Phase 2: Analyze)

    • Export URLs to Excel
    • Filter by standard category (e.g., "pornography")
    • Count how many URLs are redundant
    • Document findings

  3. Remove Redundancies (Phase 3: Optimize)

    • Open custom block category in ZHERO
    • Filter by standard category "pornography"
    • Select all filtered results
    • Delete selected URLs
    • Repeat for other redundant categories
    • Review pending changes
    • Apply deletions

  4. Verify Results (Phase 4: Maintain)

    • Export URLs again to verify cleanup
    • Confirm policy behavior unchanged
    • Document reduction (e.g., "Removed 1,422 redundant URLs")

Real-World Result: One customer reduced their 1,500-URL block list to only 78 unique URLs (1,422 redundant entries removed) with zero change to actual blocking behavior.

Benefits:

  • More maintainable configuration
  • Easier to understand which URLs are truly custom blocks
  • Reduced configuration complexity
  • No change to security posture

Use Case 2: Reorganize SSL Exceptions by Vendor​

Problem: A generic "SSL Bypass" category contains mixed vendors, making it difficult to understand, audit, or modify exceptions for specific services.

Example: "SSL Exclude" category with Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Adobe URLs mixed together.

Solution Workflow:

  1. Assess Current State (Phase 1: Discover)

    • Review SSL bypass category
    • Use inventory to see complete usage
    • Document policy impact

  2. Plan Organization (Phase 2: Analyze)

    • Export URLs to Excel
    • Group by cloud application or vendor (text search)
    • Identify natural groupings:
      • Microsoft (Windows Update, Office 365)
      • Apple (certificate pinning services)
      • Google (various Google services)
    • Plan new category structure

  3. Reorganize Systematically (Phase 3: Optimize)

    • Open "SSL Exclude" category
    • For Microsoft URLs:
      • Search "microsoft" or "windows"
      • Select all matching URLs
      • Move to new category "SSL Exclude Microsoft"
      • Add description: "Microsoft services requiring SSL bypass"
    • Repeat for other vendors:
      • Apple → "SSL Exclude Apple"
      • Google → "SSL Exclude Google"
    • Review pending changes (shows all new categories being created)
    • Apply changes

  4. Document and Monitor (Phase 4: Maintain)

    • Update documentation with reorganization rationale
    • Note business justification for each category
    • Set up periodic reviews per vendor category

Benefits:

  • Clear understanding of why each exception exists
  • Easier to audit vendor-specific exceptions
  • Simpler to modify or remove exceptions for specific vendors
  • Better documentation for compliance audits
  • Reduced troubleshooting time

Use Case 3: Eliminate Dangerous CDN Wildcards​

Problem: Security audit revealed wildcard CDN URLs in SSL bypass categories, creating blind spots in SSL inspection where malicious content could hide.

Example: *.akamaized.net in "SSL Exclusions" bypassing inspection for all content hosted on that CDN.

Solution Workflow:

  1. Discover Exposure (Phase 1: Discover)

    • Use inventory to find all SSL bypass URLs
    • Identify wildcards using related URL feature
    • Document policy impact for each wildcard

  2. Analyze Risk (Phase 2: Analyze)

    • Export SSL exception URLs to Excel
    • Filter "Is Wildcard" = TRUE
    • Filter "Standard Categories" contains "CDN"
    • For each wildcard CDN:
      • Check policy impact count
      • Review related specific URLs
      • Assess traffic volume (if monitoring data available)
    • Prioritize by risk (traffic volume × wildcard scope)

  3. Remediate (Phase 3: Optimize)

    • For each dangerous wildcard:
      • Identify specific FQDNs that actually need bypass
      • Test specific FQDNs in lab environment
      • Add specific FQDNs to SSL bypass category
      • Remove wildcard URL
      • Test thoroughly before applying
    • Review all pending changes carefully
    • Apply changes during maintenance window
    • Monitor for unexpected SSL inspection errors

  4. Verify and Monitor (Phase 4: Maintain)

    • Confirm no functionality broken
    • Verify SSL inspection working for CDN content
    • Set up analysis template alerts for new wildcard CDNs
    • Document remediation for compliance audit
Critical Security Finding

Wildcard CDN URLs in SSL bypass represent serious vulnerabilities. CDNs allow anyone to publish content for minimal cost, including malware distribution. A wildcard CDN bypass means all content on that CDN bypasses inspection. Always use specific FQDNs instead.

Real-World Example: Found *.akamaized.net handling 2TB/month traffic in SSL bypass. Replaced with 12 specific FQDNs for legitimate services. Result: Closed major security blind spot while maintaining required exceptions.

Benefits:

  • Eliminated critical security vulnerability
  • Maintained necessary SSL bypass functionality
  • Improved compliance posture
  • Created audit trail of security improvement

Use Case 4: External Processing for Complex Analysis​

Problem: You need to perform analysis that requires scripting, complex formulas, or external validation that isn't available in ZHERO's interface.

Example: Regulatory compliance requires checking all URLs against an external threat intelligence feed.

Solution Workflow:

  1. Export Base Data (Phase 2: Analyze)

    • Select relevant URLs (or all)
    • Copy to clipboard
    • Paste into your processing environment:
      • Excel with VBA macros
      • Python script
      • PowerShell automation
      • Commercial threat intelligence platform

  2. External Processing

    • Perform your analysis:
      • API lookups against threat feeds
      • Regex pattern matching
      • Complex business logic
      • Compliance checks
      • Custom categorization
    • Generate refined list of URLs requiring action

  3. Reimport Results (Phase 3: Optimize)

    • Copy processed URL list
    • Return to ZHERO
    • Open relevant category
    • Click "Select from Paste"
    • Paste your refined list
    • ZHERO automatically selects matching URLs
    • Perform bulk action (delete, move, etc.)
    • Review and apply pending changes

  4. Document Process (Phase 4: Maintain)

    • Save external processing scripts
    • Document methodology
    • Schedule regular re-checks
    • Automate where possible

Example Scenarios:

  • Threat Intelligence: Check URLs against VirusTotal or other feeds
  • Compliance: Validate URLs against regulatory block lists
  • Business Logic: Apply complex organizational policies
  • Data Enrichment: Add custom metadata from external sources
  • Bulk Validation: Verify URL accessibility or ownership

Benefits:

  • Unlimited processing flexibility
  • Integration with existing security tools
  • Automation of complex workflows
  • Maintain ZHERO's efficient interface for final changes

Integration Strategies​

URL Management + Analysis Templates​

Workflow:

  1. Analysis templates flag potential issues (e.g., redundant URLs)
  2. Use inventory to understand full context
  3. Verify findings with Excel export
  4. Apply fixes via manipulation features
  5. Verify resolution in next analysis run

Best Practice: Let templates drive discovery of issues, use full workflow to resolve systematically.

URL Management + Pending Changes​

Workflow:

  1. Accumulate multiple optimization tasks in pending changes
  2. Review complete set of changes together
  3. Apply changes in maintenance window
  4. Verify results before closing pending changes

Best Practice: Batch related changes together for easier testing and rollback if needed.

URL Management + Documentation​

Workflow:

  1. Export URLs to Excel for documentation
  2. Add business justification columns
  3. Maintain as living document
  4. Use during audits and compliance reviews
  5. Update after each optimization cycle

Best Practice: Maintain Excel export as master URL documentation source.

Next Steps​

Getting Started​

If you're new to ZHERO's URL management capabilities:

  1. Configure ONEAPI: Enable automatic URL categorization
  2. Explore URL Inventory: Understand what ZHERO discovers
  3. Export URLs to Excel: Generate your first comprehensive report
  4. Try URL Manipulation: Practice with small test changes

Ready to transform your URL management? Start with the URL Inventory to discover what ZHERO can show you about your configuration.