Internet Draft
Network Working Group                                              T. Li
Internet-Draft                                          Procket Networks
Category: Standards Track                                    R. Atkinson
draft-ietf-isis-hmac-01.txt                                10 April 2000



                   IS-IS Cryptographic Authentication



Status of this Memo


   This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with
   all provisions of Section 10 of RFC-2026.  This document is a
   submission to the IETF IS-IS Working Group.

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ABSTRACT

This document specifies an algorithm-independent cryptographic
authentication mechanism for use with the IS-IS routing protocol.

1.  Use of Imperatives


   Throughout this document, the words that are used to define the
   significance of particular requirements are capitalized.  These words
   have the meaning defined in RFC-2119, which is hereby incorporated by
   reference. [7]





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2.  Introduction


      Growth in the Internet has made us aware of the need for improved
   authentication of routing information.  Other routing protocols are
   known to have been the subject of both active and passive attacks.
   At present, IS-IS provides for unauthenticated service or password
   authentication.  Both are vulnerable to passive attacks currently
   widespread in the Internet.  Well-understood security issues exist in
   routing protocols [3].  Clear text passwords, currently specified for
   use with IS-IS, are no longer considered sufficient [4] in the
   Internet.

      If authentication is disabled, then only simple misconfigurations
   are detected.  Simple passwords transmitted in the clear will further
   protect against the honest neighbor, but are useless in the general
   case.  By simply capturing information on the wire - straightforward
   even in a remote environment - a hostile process can learn the
   password and overcome the network.  While IS-IS packets aren't
   themselves routed, anyone with access to a system on the physical
   link can inject forged packets (unless a cryptographic authentication
   method is in use).

      We propose that IS-IS use an authentication algorithm, as was
   originally proposed for SNMP Version 2.  Keyed MD5 is proposed as the
   standard authentication algorithm for IS-IS, but the authentication
   mechanism is believed to be algorithm-independent.

           While this mechanism is not unbreakable (no known mechanism
   is), it provides a greatly enhanced probability that a system being
   attacked will detect and ignore hostile messages.  This is because we
   transmit the output of an authentication algorithm (e.g., Keyed MD5)
   rather than the secret IS-IS Authentication Key.  This output is a
   one-way function of a message and a secret IS-IS Authentication Key.
   This IS-IS Authentication Key is never sent over the network in the
   clear, thus providing protection against the passive attacks now
   commonplace in the Internet.

      In this way, protection is afforded against forgery or message
   modification.  It is possible to replay a LSP until the LSP sequence
   number changes, but the normal dynamics of the protocol make LSP
   replay less of an issue in the long-term.  The mechanism does not
   afford confidentiality, since messages stay in the clear; however,
   the mechanism is also exportable from most countries, which test a
   privacy algorithm would fail.

      Other relevant rationales for the approach are that Keyed MD5 is
   being used for RIPv2 and OSPF cryptographic authentication, and is



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   therefore present in routers already, as is some form of password
   management.  In the interest of code reuse, this IS-IS extension
   specifies Keyed-MD5 as the mandatory-to-implement algorithm.  There
   are no specific known vulnerabilities in Keyed-MD5 as used in this
   context.  A similar approach has been standardized for use in IP-
   layer authentication. [6]

           This document is a publication of the IS-IS Working Group
   within the IETF.  It is also a contribution to ISO IEC JTC1/SC6, for
   eventual inclusion with ISO 10589.

3.  Implementation Approach


      Implementation requires three issues to be addressed:

      (1)  TLV format for use with cryptographic authentication,

      (2)  Authentication procedures, and

      (3)  Management controls.

3.1.  IS-IS PDU Format


      The IS-IS protocol, as specified in ISO 10589, provides for the
   authentication of Link-State PDUs (LSPs) through the inclusion of
   authentication information as part of the LSP.  This authentication
   information is encoded as a Type-Length-Value triple.

           The type of the Authentication TLV is 10.  The length of the
   TLV is variable.  The value of the TLV depends on the Authentication
   Type being used.

           The first octet of the value field indicates the
   Authentication Type.  Authentication Type 0 is reserved.  Type 1
   indicates a clear-text password, and Type 255 is used for routing
   domain private authentication methods.

           This document specifies an extension for cryptographic
   authentication.  When cryptographic authentication is in use, the
   Authentication Type in the first octet of the Value field is set to
   54 and the second octet of the Value field contains a Key Identifier
   (Key-ID).  The Key Identifier is used by the recipient to select the
   particular IS-IS Security Association in use for this PDU.  The
   remainder of the Value field contains the Authentication Data itself.
   Thus, the Length of the TLV is (2 + sizeof(authentication data)),
   when the Authentication Type is cryptographic authentication.



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        0                   1                   2                   3
        0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
       +---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
       | TLV Type=10   | TLV Length    | AuthType = 54 | Key Identifier|
       +---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
       |   Authentication Data (Length varies with Crypto Algorithm)   |
       +---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
                     Figure 1: Authentication TLV Format,
                when Cryptographic Authentication is in use










































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3.2 Authentication Procedures


           Conforming or compliant implementations MUST implement the
   HMAC-MD5 cryptographic algorithm with this extension.  The
   algorithm-dependent details of HMAC-MD5 are specified in Appendix A.

           A fundamental concept of IS-IS Cryptographic Authentication
   is the "IS-IS Security Association".  An IS-IS Security Association
   contains a Key Identifier, the Cryptographic Authentication Algorithm
   (e.g. HMAC-MD5) to use, a Lifetime, and the Cryptographic
   Authentication Key to use.  The Cryptographic Authentication Key is
   also the password for the PDU Type, as specified in ISO 10589.

           An implementation MAY include cryptographic authentication
   information in PDUs even if it does not fully implement cryptographic
   authentication.  This allows an implementation to generate
   authentication information without verifying the authentication
   information as a transition aid for networks in the process of
   deploying authentication.

           An implementation that does not implement cryptographic
   authentication MAY accept a PDU that contains the cryptographic
   authentication type.

           The remainder of this section describes the algorithm-
   independent processing for IS-IS Cryptographic Authentication.

           The Type, Length, Authentication Type, and Key Identifier
   fields are filled with their final values prior to calculation of the
   cryptographic Authentication Data.  The Authentication Data field,
   the Checksum field, and the Remaining Lifetime fields are all filled
   with all zeros for the calculation of the cryptographic
   Authentication Data for a given LSP.  Sending systems calculate the
   Checksum value after the Authentication Data field has been filled
   in.  After the Checksum value has been calculated, it is placed in
   the IS-IS packet.

   [New paragraph discussing how contents are dealt with for non-LSPs
   (e.g. CSNPs, IIHs) coming here soon.]

           When multiple valid IS-IS Security Associations exist for a
   given IS-IS system, sending systems SHOULD pick an IS-IS Security
   Association that is not about to expire in order to facilitate smooth
   key rollover.

           Receiving systems first check the Key-ID field and use its
   value to locate the appropriate IS-IS Security Association.  If no



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   IS-IS Security Association exists, the packet is discarded as not
   authentic, without any further processing.  If the matching IS-IS
   Security Association is located, then the receiving system
   independently computes the cryptographic Authentication Data using
   the key contained in that IS-IS Security Association and the values
   in the received IS-IS packet.  For receive-side authentication
   computations, the Authentication Data field itself, the Checksum
   field, and the Remaining Lifetime fields are each assumed to be zero.
   If the computed cryptographic Authentication Data is identical to the
   received Authentication Data, the packet is accepted as authentic and
   undergoes normal IS-IS receive-side processing.  If there is any
   difference, the packet is discarded as not authentic, without any
   further processing.

           An implementation SHOULD log authentication failures of
   received IS-IS PDUs if this can be done without creating a denial of
   service attack on the Intermediate System.  Details of this are
   unspecified here.

           Intermediate Systems (i.e. routers) that implement
   cryptographic authentication and initiating LSP purges MUST remove
   the body of the LSP and add the authentication TLV.  Intermediate
   Systems MUST NOT accept unauthenticated purges.  Intermediate Systems
   MUST NOT accept purges that contain TLVs other than the
   Authentication TLV.  These restrictions are necessary to prevent a
   hostile system from receiving an LSP, setting the Remaining Lifetime
   field to zero, and flooding it, thereby initiating a purge without
   knowing any authentication information.























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3.3.  Key Management Requirements


      It is strongly desirable that a hypothetical security breach in
   one Internet protocol not automatically compromise other Internet
   protocols.  The Cryptographic Authentication Key of this
   specification SHOULD NOT be stored or transmitted using protocols or
   algorithms that have known flaws.

      Implementations MUST support the storage and use of at least two
   IS-IS Security Associations at the same time.  During normal
   operation, only one IS-IS Security Association (i.e. one key) will
   usually be active in a given IS-IS system.  However, during the key
   change period, both the old IS-IS Security Association and the new
   IS-IS Security Association (i.e. two keys) will be active in the same
   system at the same time.

           An IS-IS Security Association MUST contain at least the
   lifetime of the IS-IS Security Association (e.g. date/time first
   valid and date/time no longer valid), the Key Identifier, the
   Cryptographic Authentication Algorithm, and the Cryptographic Key
   itself.  The IS-IS Security Association lifetime MAY be infinite or
   MAY have a specific date/time for start and end.

           Implementations MUST support manual key distribution (e.g.,
   the privileged user manually typing in the parameters for the IS-IS
   Security Association (i.e. key, key lifetime, and key identifier) on
   the router console.  If more than one algorithm is supported, then
   the implementation MUST require that the algorithm be specified for
   each IS-IS Security Association at the time the other IS-IS Security
   Association information is entered.  IS-IS Security Associations that
   are out of date MAY be deleted at will by the implementation without
   requiring human intervention.  Manual deletion of active IS-IS
   Security Associations by the privileged operator SHOULD also be
   supported.

           It is desirable to use a key management protocol to
   distribute IS-IS Authentication Keys among communicating IS-IS
   implementations.  Such a protocol would provide scalability and
   significantly reduce the human administrative burden. The Key ID can
   be used as a hook between IS-IS and such a future protocol.  Key
   management protocols have a long history of subtle flaws that are
   often discovered long after the protocol was first described in
   public.  To avoid having to change all IS-IS implementations should
   such a flaw be discovered, integrated key management protocol
   techniques were deliberately omitted from this specification.





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4.0.  Key Management Procedures

           As with all security methods using keys, it is necessary to
   change the IS-IS Authentication Key on a regular basis.  To maintain
   routing stability during such changes, implementations MUST be able
   to store and use at least two IS-IS Security Associations (hence:
   authentication keys) in any given system at the same time.

           Each IS-IS Security Association has its own Key Identifier,
   which is stored locally.  The Key Identifier uniquely identifies the
   IS-IS Security Association in use.

           The intermediate system creating the IS-IS message will
   select a valid key from the set of valid keys for that interface.
   The receiver will use the Key Identifier to determine which IS-IS
   Security Association to use for authentication of the received
   message.  The receiver MUST NOT ignore the Key Identifier and try all
   known keys on an incoming packet as this creates an easily prevented
   denial-of-service attack on the IS-IS implementation.  More than one
   IS-IS Security Association (hence: more than one key) MAY be
   associated with an interface at the same time.

           Hence it is possible to have fairly smooth IS-IS
   Authentication Key rollovers without losing legitimate LSPs because
   the stored authentication key is incorrect and without requiring
   people to change all the keys at once.  To ensure a smooth rollover,
   each communicating IS-IS system must be updated with the new key
   several minutes before the current key will expire and several
   minutes before the new key lifetime begins. The new key should have a
   lifetime that starts several minutes before the old key expires. This
   gives time for each system to learn of the new IS-IS Authentication
   Key before that key will be used.  It also ensures that the new key
   will begin being used and the current key will go out of use before
   the current key's lifetime expires.  For the duration of the overlap
   in key lifetimes, a system may receive messages using either key and
   authenticate the message as indicated by the Key ID.

4.3.  Pathological Cases


      Two pathological cases exist which must be handled, which are
   failures of the network manager.  Both of these should be exceedingly
   rare.

      During key rollover, devices may exist which have not yet been
   successfully configured with the new key. Therefore, routers SHOULD
   implement (and would be well advised to implement) an algorithm that
   detects the set of keys being used by its neighbors, and transmits



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   its messages using both the new and old keys until all of the
   neighbors are using the new key or the lifetime of the old key
   expires.  Under normal circumstances, this elevated transmission rate
   will exist for a single update interval.

      In the event that the last key associated with a system, it is
   unacceptable to revert to an unauthenticated condition, and not
   advisable to disrupt routing.  Therefore, the router should send a
   "last authentication key expiration" notification to the network
   manager and treat the key as having an infinite lifetime until the
   lifetime is extended, the key is deleted by network management, or a
   new key is configured.

5.  Conformance Requirements


      To conform to this specification, an implementation MUST support
   all of its aspects.  The HMAC-MD5 authentication algorithm MUST be
   implemented by all conforming implementations. MD5 is defined in
   RFC-1321.  A conforming implementation MAY also support other
   authentication algorithms such as Keyed Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA).

           Manual key distribution as described above MUST be supported
   by all conforming implementations. All conforming implementations
   MUST support the smooth key rollover described under "Key Change
   Procedures."

6.  Acknowledgments


      This work is derived directly from RFC-2082 and the similar work
   done for OSPFv2 Cryptographic Authentication.

7.  References


   [1]  ISO-10589

   [2]  Rivest, R., "The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm", RFC 1321, April
        1992.

   [3]  S. Bellovin, "Security Problems in the TCP/IP Protocol Suite",
        ACM Computer Communications Review, Volume 19, Number 2,
        pp.32-48, April 1989.

   [4]  Haller, N., and R. Atkinson, "Internet Authentication
        Guidelines", RFC 1704, October 1994.




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   [5]  Braden, R., Clark, D., Crocker, S., and C. Huitema, "Report
        of IAB Workshop on Security in the Internet Architecture",
        RFC 1636, June 1994.

   [6]  Atkinson, R., "IP Authentication Header", RFC 1826, August 1995.

   [7]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
        Requirement Levels", RFC-2119, March 1997.

8.  Security Considerations


      This entire memo describes and specifies an authentication
   mechanism for the IS-IS routing protocol that is believed to be
   reasonably secure against active and passive attacks. Passive attacks
   are clearly widespread in the Internet at present.  Protection
   against active attacks is also needed because active attacks are
   becoming more common.

      Users need to understand that the quality of the security provided
   by this mechanism depends completely on the strength of the
   implemented authentication algorithms, the strength of the key being
   used, and the correct implementation of the security mechanism in all
   communicating IS-IS implementations. This mechanism also depends on
   the IS-IS Cryptographic Authentication Key being kept confidential by
   all parties.  If any of these incorrect or insufficiently secure,
   then no real security will be provided to the users of this
   mechanism.

      Specifically with respect to the use of SNMP, compromise of SNMP
   security has the necessary result that the various IS-IS
   configuration parameters (e.g. routing table, IS-IS Authentication
   Key) manageable via SNMP could be compromised as well.  Changing
   Authentication Keys using non-encrypted SNMP is no more secure than
   sending passwords in the clear.

      Confidentiality is not provided by this mechanism.  Protection
   against traffic analysis is also not provided.  Mechanisms such as
   bulk link encryption might be used when protection against traffic
   analysis is required.  Finally, this technique does not prevent
   replay attacks.  Appropriate use of key management can reduce the
   residual risk associated with replay attacks if desired by the
   operator.

10.  Authors' Addresses


   Tony Li



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   Procket Networks
   San Jose, CA

   Email: tli@procket.com


   Randall Atkinson
   Engineer at large











































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