Secure TELNET Working Group Russell Housley (SPYRUS) Todd Horting (SPYRUS) Internet-Draft Peter Yee (SPYRUS) July 1999 TELNET Authentication Using KEA and SKIPJACK Status of this Memo This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet- Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. Please send comments to the mailing list. Abstract This document defines a method to authenticate TELNET [1,5] using the Key Exchange Algorithm (KEA)[4], and encryption of the TELNET stream using SKIPJACK[4]. Two encryption modes are specified; one provides data integrity and the other does not. It relies on the TELNET Authentication Option [2]. [Page 1] INTERNET DRAFT July 1999 1. Introduction The TELNET protocol [1,5] provides no protocol security. TELNET servers may require users to login. This is typically a host-level login consisting of a user name and a password, transmitted in the clear. The mechanism specified in this document relies on the TELNET Authentication Option [2]. 2. Command Names and Codes AUTHENTICATION 37 Authentication Commands: IS 0 SEND 1 REPLY 2 NAME 3 Authentication Types: KEA_SJ 12 KEA_SJ_INTEG 13 Modifiers: AUTH_WHO_MASK 1 AUTH_CLIENT_TO_SERVER 0 AUTH_SERVER_TO CLIENT 1 AUTH_HOW_MASK 2 AUTH_HOW_ONE_WAY 0 AUTH_HOW_MUTUAL 2 ENCRYPT_MASK 20 ENCRYPT_OFF 0 ENCRYPT_USING_TELOPT 4 ENCRYPT_AFTER_EXCHANGE 16 ENCRYPT_RESERVED 20 INI_CRED_FWD_MASK 8 INI_CRED_FWD_OFF 0 INI_CRED_FWD_ON 8 [Page 2] INTERNET DRAFT July 1999 Sub-option Commands: KEA_CERTA_RA 1 KEA_CERTB_RB_IVB_NONCEB 2 KEA_IVA_RESPONSEB_NONCEA 3 KEA_RESPONSEA 4 3. TELNET Security Extensions TELNET, as a protocol, has no concept of security. Without negotiated options, it merely passes characters back and forth between the NVTs represented by the two TELNET processes. In its most common usage as a protocol for remote terminal access (TCP port 23), TELNET normally connects to a server that requires user-level authentication through a user name and password in the clear. The server does not authenticate itself to the user. The TELNET Authentication Option provides for: * User authentication -- replacing or augmenting the normal host password mechanism; * Server authentication -- normally done in conjunction with user authentication; * Session parameter negotiation -- in particular, encryption key and attributes; * Session protection -- primarily encryption of the data and embedded command stream, but the encryption algorithm may also provide data integrity. In order to support these security services, the two TELNET entities must first negotiate their willingness to support the TELNET Authentication Option. Upon agreeing to support this option, the parties are then able to perform suboptions to determine the authentication protocol to be used, and possibly the remote user name to be used for authorization checking. Encryption is negotiated along with the type of the authentication. Authentication and parameter negotiation occur within an unbounded series of exchanges. The server proposes a preference-ordered list of authentication types (mechanisms) that it supports. In addition to listing the mechanisms it supports, the server qualifies each mechanism with a modifier that specifies whether the authentication is to be unilateral or mutual, and in which direction the authentication is to be performed, and if encryption of data is desired. The client selects one mechanism from the list and responds to the server indicating its choice and the first set of authentication data needed for the selected authentication type. The [Page 3] INTERNET DRAFT July 1999 client may ignore a request to encrypt data and so indicate, but the server may also terminate the connection if the client refuses encryption. The server and the client then proceed through whatever number of iterations is required to arrive at the requested authentication. Encryption is started immediately after the Authentication options are completed. 4. Use of Key Exchange Algorithm (KEA) This paper specifies the method in which KEA is used to achieve TELNET Authentication. KEA (in conjunction with SKIPJACK) [4] provides authentication, integrity, and confidentiality. TELNET entities may use KEA to provide mutual authentication and support for the setup of data encryption keys. A simple token format and set of exchanges delivers these services. NonceA and NonceB used in this exchange are 64-bit bit strings. The client generates NonceA, and the server generates NonceB. The nonce value is selected randomly. The nonce is sent in a big endian form. The encryption of the nonce will be done with the same mechanism that the session will use, detailed in the next section. RA and RB used in this exchange are 1024 bit strings and are defined by the KEA SKIPJACK Algorithm[4]. CertA the clients certificate and CertB the server's certificate are X.509 certificates[6,7]. On completing these exchanges, the parties have a common SKIPJACK key. Mutual authentication is provided by verification of the certificates used to establish the SKIPJACK encryption key and successful use of the derived SKIPJACK session key. To protect from an active attacker, encryption will take place after successful authentication. There will be no way to turn off encryption and safely turn it back on; repeating the entire authentication is the only safe way to restart it. If the user does not want to use encryption, he will have to logoff and logon with the desired security mechanism. 4.1. SKIPJACK Modes There are two distinct modes for encrypting TELNET streams; one provides integrity and the other does not. Because TELNET is normally operated in a character-by-character mode, the KEA SKIPJACK with stream integrity mechanism requires the transmission of 4 bytes [Page 4] INTERNET DRAFT July 1999 for every TELNET data byte. However, a simplified mode KEA SKIPJACK without integrity mechanism will only require the transmission of one byte for every TELNET data byte. The cryptographic mode for KEA SKIPJACK with stream integrity is Cipher Feedback on 32 bits of data (CFB-32) and the mode of KEA SKIPJACK is Cipher Feedback on 8 bits of data (CFB-8). 4.1.1. SKIPJACK without stream integrity The first and least complicated mode is the SKIPJACK CFB-8. This mode provides no stream integrity. For SKIPJACK without stream integrity, the two-octet authentication type pair is "KEA_SJ CLIENT_TO_SERVER AUTH_HOW_MUTUAL ENCRYPT_AFTER_EXCHANGE INI_CRED_FWD_OFF". This indicates that the KEA SKIPJACK without integrity mechanism will be used for mutual authentication and TELNET stream encryption. Figure 1 illustrates the authentication mechanism of KEA SKIPJACK without stream integrity. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Client (Party A) Server (Party B) <-- IAC DO AUTHENTICATION IAC WILL AUTHENTICATION --> <-- IAC SB AUTHENTICATION SEND IAC SE IAC SB AUTHENTICATION NAME --> IAC SB AUTHENTICATION IS KEA_SJ CLIENT_TO_SERVER | AUTH_HOW_MUTUAL | ENCRYPT_AFTER_EXCHANGE | INI_CRED_FWD_OFF KEA_CERTA_RA CertA||Ra IAC SE --> [Page 5] INTERNET DRAFT July 1999 <-- IAC SB AUTHENTICATION REPLY KEA_SJ CLIENT_TO_SERVER | AUTH_HOW_MUTUAL | ENCRYPT_AFTER_EXCHANGE | INI_CRED_FWD_OFF IVA_RESPONSEB_NONCEA KEA_CERTB_RB_IVB_NONCEB CertB||Rb||IVb|| Encrypt( NonceB ) IAC SE IAC SB AUTHENTICATION IS KEA_SJ CLIENT_TO_SERVER | AUTH_HOW_MUTUAL | ENCRYPT_AFTER_EXCHANGE | INI_CRED_FWD_OFF KEA_IVA_RESPONSEB_NONCEA IVa||Encrypt( NonceB XOR 0x0C12||NonceA ) IAC SE --> <-- IAC SB AUTHENTICATION REPLY KEA_SJ CLIENT_TO_SERVER | AUTH_HOW_MUTUAL | ENCRYPT_AFTER_EXCHANGE | INI_CRED_FWD_OFF KEA_RESPONSEA Encrypt( NonceA XOR 0x0C12 ) IAC SE --------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 1. 4.1.2. SKIPJACK with stream integrity SKIPJACK with stream integrity is more complicated. It uses the SHA-1 [3] one-way hash function to provide integrity of the encryption stream as follows: Set H0 to be the SHA-1 hash of a zero-length string. Cn is the nth character in the TELNET stream. Hn = SHA-1( Hn-1||Cn ), where Hn is the hash value associated with the nth character in the stream. ICVn is set to the three most significant bytes of Hn. Transmit Encrypt( Cn||ICVn ). [Page 6] INTERNET DRAFT July 1999 The ciphertext that is transmitted is the SKIPJACK CFB-32 encryption of ( Cn||ICVn ). The receiving end of the TELNET link reverses the process, first decrypting the ciphertext, separating Cn and ICVn, recalculating Hn, recalculating ICVn, and then comparing the received ICVn with the recalculated ICVn. Integrity is indicated if the comparison succeeds, and Cn can then be processed normally as part of the TELNET stream. Failure of the comparison indicates some loss of integrity, whether due to active manipulation or loss of cryptographic synchronization. In either case, the only recourse is to drop the TELNET connection and start over. For SKIPJACK with stream integrity, the two-octet authentication type pair is "KEA_SJ_INTEG CLIENT_TO_SERVER AUTH_HOW_MUTUAL ENCRYPT_AFTER_EXCHANGE INI_CRED_FWD_OFF". This indicates that the KEA SKIPJACK with integrity mechanism will be used for mutual authentication and TELNET stream encryption. Figure 2 illustrates the authentication mechanism of KEA SKIPJACK with stream integrity. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Client (Party A) Server (Party B) <-- IAC DO AUTHENTICATION IAC WILL AUTHENTICATION --> <-- IAC SB AUTHENTICATION SEND IAC SE IAC SB AUTHENTICATION NAME --> IAC SB AUTHENTICATION IS KEA_SJ_INTEG CLIENT_TO_SERVER | AUTH_HOW_MUTUAL | ENCRYPT_AFTER_EXCHANGE | INI_CRED_FWD_OFF KEA_CERTA_RA CertA||Ra IAC SE --> [Page 7] INTERNET DRAFT July 1999 <-- IAC SB AUTHENTICATION REPLY KEA_SJ_INTEG CLIENT_TO_SERVER | AUTH_HOW_MUTUAL | ENCRYPT_AFTER_EXCHANGE | INI_CRED_FWD_OFF IVA_RESPONSEB_NONCEA KEA_CERTB_RB_IVB_NONCEB CertB||Rb||IVb|| Encrypt( NonceB ) IAC SE IAC SB AUTHENTICATION IS KEA_SJ_INTEG CLIENT_TO_SERVER | AUTH_HOW_MUTUAL | ENCRYPT_AFTER_EXCHANGE | INI_CRED_FWD_OFF KEA_IVA_RESPONSEB_NONCEA IVa||Encrypt( NonceB XOR 0x0D12||NonceA ) IAC SE --> <-- IAC SB AUTHENTICATION REPLY KEA_SJ_INTEG CLIENT_TO_SERVER | AUTH_HOW_MUTUAL | ENCRYPT_AFTER_EXCHANGE | INI_CRED_FWD_OFF KEA_RESPONSEA Encrypt( NonceA XOR 0x0D12 ) IAC SE --------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 2 5.0. Security Considerations This entire memo is about security mechanisms. For KEA to provide the authentication discussed, the implementation must protect the private key from disclosure. Likewise, the SKIPJACK keys must be protected from disclosure. By linking the enabling of encryption as a side effect of successful authentication, protection is provided against an active attacker. If encryption were enabled as a separate negotiation, it would provide a window of vulnerability from when the authentication completes, up to and including the negotiation to turn on encryption. The only safe way to restart encryption, if it is turned off, is to repeat the entire authentication process. [Page 8] INTERNET DRAFT July 1999 6.0. Acknowledgements We would like to thank William Nace for support during implementation of this specification. 7.0. References [1] - Postel, J., Reynolds, J., "TELNET Protocol Specification". RFC 854. May 1983. [2] - T. Ts'o, "TELNET Authentication Option". , July 1999. [3] - Secure Hash Standard. FIPS Pub 180-1. April 17, 1995. [4] - "SKIPJACK and KEA Algorithm Specification", Version 2.0, May 29, 1998. Available from http://csrc.nist.gov/encryption/skipjack-kea.htm [5] - Postel, J., Reynolds, J., "TELNET Option Specifications". RFC 855. May 1983. [6] - Housley, R., Ford, W., Polk, W. and D. Solo, "Internet X.509 Public Key Infrastructure: X.509 Certificate and CRL Profile", RFC 2459, January 1999. [7] - Housley, R., Polk, W. "Internet X.509 Public Key Infrastructure Profile", RFC 2528, March 1999. 8.0. Authors' Addresses Russell Housley SPYRUS 381 Elden Street, Suite 1120 Herndon, VA 20170 USA Email: housley@spyrus.com Todd Horting SPYRUS 381 Elden Street, Suite 1120 Herndon, VA 20170 USA Email: thorting@spyrus.com Peter Yee SPYRUS 5303 Betsy Ross Drive Santa Clara, CA 95054 USA Email: yee@spyrus.com [Page 9] INTERNET DRAFT July 1999 [Page 10]