Implementing SSL Bumping (Squid's terminology for Man-in-the-Middle TLS inspection) is the only way an enterprise forward proxy can inspect, filter, or cache HTTPS traffic. Without it, Squid only sees a blind TCP tunnel (CONNECT to port 443), meaning it cannot cache content or analyze URLs beyond the bare domain name.
Here is the technical blueprint to set up an enterprise-grade SSL Bumping cluster, focusing on security, performance, and legal compliance. How SSL Bumping Works
When a client requests an HTTPS site through Squid with SSL Bumping enabled, the proxy intercepts the handshake:
1.Client attempts to establish an HTTPS connection to https://example.com.
2.Squid intercepts the request, pauses the client, and connects to example.com on the internet to verify its real SSL certificate.
3.Squid dynamically generates a fake, on-the-fly certificate for example.com, signing it with the Organization's Internal Root CA.
4.Squid delivers this generated certificate to the client. Because the client trusts the Internal Root CA, the browser accepts the connection without warnings.
5.Squid decrypts the payload, checks policies, caches static assets, and re-encrypts the traffic before sending it out to the WAN.
