
Zscaler GRE Tunnel Down: CLI on the Edge Router Before You Blame ZIA
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read

Branch internet via ZIA is dead. Zscaler dashboard shows the GRE tunnel down. The WAN circuit is up.
This is a live-ticket style lesson from Techclick Infosec. You will isolate the fault with CLI first, then prove the fix with one clean packet or log.
What you will be able to do
Name the first CLI command to run on Zscaler for this ticket
Separate the layer that is actually broken from the layer people blame
Apply one scoped fix instead of a global disable
Prove the ticket closed with a session, log, or counter
Quick answer
Prove GRE from the router: source public IP, destination ZIA VIP, proto 47 allowed, and keepalive. Most 'Zscaler down' tickets are a NAT or ACL on the router.
Why this ticket shows up
ZIA GRE needs the registered public IP to source proto 47 to a primary and backup VIP. Hide-NAT or an ISP ACL breaks GRE while HTTPS still works.
Symptoms operators actually see
Tunnel red in ZIA Locations
Users fail PAC or GRE path
ICMP to the VIP works, GRE does not
After a WAN IP change, tunnel never returned
CLI first — copy this block
Run these on the Zscaler device or console named in the ticket. Do not skip the first show command — it tells you which later command matters.
show interfaces tunnel 10
show ip interface brief | include Tunnel
ping 147.161.x.x source <public-wan-ip> repeat 20
show access-lists | include 47
show ip nat translations | include <public-wan-ip>
debug tunnelHow to read that output
The tunnel interface must be up/up and sourced from the IP registered in ZIA. If proto 47 is filtered, ping still succeeds. A new WAN IP that was not updated in the location object stays down forever.
Triage order
Read the configured GRE VIP and source IP from the router.
Compare them to the ZIA location object.
Confirm proto 47 is permitted both ways and not NAT-hidden to a different IP.
Test primary and secondary VIPs.
Update the location public IP if the circuit changed.
Classic traps
What you see | Real cause | Fix |
Zscaler outage | WAN IP changed last night | Update the location |
Ping to VIP works | GRE is proto 47, not ICMP | Allow GRE |
Rebuild the tunnel | Backup VIP was never configured | Add the second VIP |
Proof the ticket is closed
Tunnel interface up/up
ZIA location shows GRE up
User HTTP log appears in ZIA
Say this in an interview
I verify the registered public IP and proto 47 on the router before I open a Zscaler ticket.
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