4 Network Working Group P. Eronen
6 Expires: December 28, 2006 H. Tschofenig
11 Extension for EAP Authentication in IKEv2
12 draft-eronen-ipsec-ikev2-eap-auth-05.txt
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41 Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2006).
45 IKEv2 specifies that EAP authentication must be used together with
46 public key signature based responder authentication. This is
47 necessary with old EAP methods that provide only unilateral
48 authentication using, e.g., one-time passwords or token cards.
50 This document specifies how EAP methods that provide mutual
51 authentication and key agreement can be used to provide extensible
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60 responder authentication for IKEv2 based on other methods than public
66 The Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), defined in [4], is an
67 authentication framework which supports multiple authentication
68 mechanisms. Today, EAP has been implemented at end hosts and routers
69 that connect via switched circuits or dial-up lines using PPP [13],
70 IEEE 802 wired switches [9], and IEEE 802.11 wireless access points
73 One of the advantages of the EAP architecture is its flexibility.
74 EAP is used to select a specific authentication mechanism, typically
75 after the authenticator requests more information in order to
76 determine the specific authentication method to be used. Rather than
77 requiring the authenticator (e.g., wireless LAN access point) to be
78 updated to support each new authentication method, EAP permits the
79 use of a backend authentication server which may implement some or
80 all authentication methods.
82 IKEv2 [3] is a component of IPsec used for performing mutual
83 authentication and establishing and maintaining security associations
84 for IPsec ESP and AH. In addition to supporting authentication using
85 public key signatures and shared secrets, IKEv2 also supports EAP
88 IKEv2 provides EAP authentication since it was recognized that public
89 key signatures and shared secrets are not flexible enough to meet the
90 requirements of many deployment scenarios. By using EAP, IKEv2 can
91 leverage existing authentication infrastructure and credential
92 databases, since EAP allows users to choose a method suitable for
93 existing credentials, and also makes separation of the IKEv2
94 responder (VPN gateway) from the EAP authentication endpoint (backend
97 Some older EAP methods are designed for unilateral authentication
98 only (that is, EAP peer to EAP server). These methods are used in
99 conjunction with IKEv2 public key based authentication of the
100 responder to the initiator. It is expected that this approach is
101 especially useful for "road warrior" VPN gateways that use, for
102 instance, one-time passwords or token cards to authenticate the
105 However, most newer EAP methods, such as those typically used with
106 IEEE 802.11i wireless LANs, provide mutual authentication and key
107 agreement. Currently, IKEv2 specifies that also these EAP methods
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116 must be used together with public key signature based responder
119 In some environments, requiring the deployment of PKI for just this
120 purpose can be counterproductive. Deploying new infrastructure can
121 be expensive, and it may weaken security by creating new
122 vulnerabilities. Mutually authenticating EAP methods alone can
123 provide a sufficient level of security in many circumstances, and
124 indeed, IEEE 802.11i uses EAP without any PKI for authenticating the
127 This document specifies how EAP methods that offer mutual
128 authentication and key agreement can be used to provide responder
129 authentication in IKEv2 completely based on EAP.
133 The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
134 "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
135 document are to be interpreted as described in [2].
140 In this section we describe two scenarios for extensible
141 authentication within IKEv2. These scenarios are intended to be
142 illustrative examples rather than specifying how things should be
145 Figure 1 shows a configuration where the EAP and the IKEv2 endpoints
146 are co-located. Authenticating the IKEv2 responder using both EAP
147 and public key signatures is redundant. Offering EAP based
148 authentication has the advantage that multiple different
149 authentication and key exchange protocols are available with EAP with
150 different security properties (such as strong password based
151 protocols, protocols offering user identity confidentiality and many
152 more). As an example it is possible to use GSS-API support within
153 EAP [6] to support Kerberos based authentication which effectively
154 replaces the need for KINK [14].
156 +------+-----+ +------------+
157 O | IKEv2 | | IKEv2 |
158 /|\ | Initiator |<---////////////////////--->| Responder |
159 / \ +------------+ IKEv2 +------------+
160 User | EAP Peer | Exchange | EAP Server |
161 +------------+ +------------+
163 Figure 1: EAP and IKEv2 endpoints are co-located
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172 Figure 2 shows a typical corporate network access scenario. The
173 initiator (client) interacts with the responder (VPN gateway) in the
174 corporate network. The EAP exchange within IKE runs between the
175 client and the home AAA server. As a result of a successful EAP
176 authentication protocol run, session keys are established and sent
177 from the AAA server to the VPN gateway, and then used to authenticate
178 the IKEv2 SA with AUTH payloads.
180 The protocol used between the VPN gateway and AAA server could be,
181 for instance, Diameter [4] or RADIUS [5]. See Section 5 for related
182 security considerations.
184 +-------------------------------+
185 | Corporate network |
187 +-----------+ +--------+ |
188 | IKEv2 | AAA | Home | |
189 IKEv2 +////----->+ Responder +<---------->+ AAA | |
190 Exchange / | (VPN GW) | (RADIUS/ | Server | |
191 / +-----------+ Diameter) +--------+ |
194 | +-------------------------------+
202 Figure 2: Corporate Network Access
207 IKEv2 specifies that when the EAP method establishes a shared secret
208 key, that key is used by both the initiator and responder to generate
209 an AUTH payload (thus authenticating the IKEv2 SA set up by messages
212 When used together with public key responder authentication, the
213 responder is in effect authenticated using two different methods: the
214 public key signature AUTH payload in message 4, and the EAP-based
217 If the initiator does not wish to use public key based responder
218 authentication, it includes an EAP_ONLY_AUTHENTICATION notification
219 payload (type TBD-BY-IANA) in message 3. The SPI size field is set
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228 to zero, and there is no additional data associated with this
231 If the responder supports this notification, it omits the public key
232 based AUTH payload and CERT payloads from message 4.
234 If the responder does not support the EAP_ONLY_AUTHENTICATION
235 notification, it ignores the notification payload, and includes the
236 AUTH payload in message 4. In this case the initiator can, based on
237 its local policy, choose to either ignore the AUTH payload, or verify
238 it and any associated certificates as usual.
240 Both the initiator and responder MUST verify that the EAP method
241 actually used provided mutual authentication and established a shared
242 secret key. The AUTH payloads sent after EAP Success MUST use the
243 EAP-generated key, and MUST NOT use SK_pi or SK_pr.
245 An IKEv2 message exchange with this modification is shown below:
249 ----------- -----------
251 [N(NAT_DETECTION_SOURCE_IP),
252 N(NAT_DETECTION_DESTINATION_IP)] -->
254 <-- HDR, SAr1, KEr, Nr, [CERTREQ],
255 [N(NAT_DETECTION_SOURCE_IP),
256 N(NAT_DETECTION_DESTINATION_IP)]
258 HDR, SK { IDi, [IDr], SAi2, TSi, TSr,
259 N(EAP_ONLY_AUTHENTICATION),
260 [CP(CFG_REQUEST)] } -->
262 <-- HDR, SK { IDr, EAP(Request) }
264 HDR, SK { EAP(Response) } -->
266 <-- HDR, SK { EAP(Request) }
268 HDR, SK { EAP(Response) } -->
270 <-- HDR, SK { EAP(Success) }
274 <-- HDR, SK { AUTH, SAr2, TSi, TSr,
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284 The NAT detection and Configuration payloads are shown for
285 informative purposes only; they do not change how EAP authentication
289 4. IANA considerations
291 This document defines a new IKEv2 Notification Payload type,
292 EAP_ONLY_AUTHENTICATION, described in Section 3. This payload must
293 be assigned a new type number from the "status types" range.
295 This document does not define any new namespaces to be managed by
299 5. Security Considerations
301 Security considerations applicable to all EAP methods are discussed
302 in [1]. The EAP Key Management Framework [7] deals with issues that
303 arise when EAP is used as a part of a larger system.
305 5.1. Authentication of IKEv2 SA
307 It is important to note that the IKEv2 SA is not authenticated by
308 just running an EAP conversation: the crucial step is the AUTH
309 payload based on the EAP-generated key. Thus, EAP methods that do
310 not provide mutual authentication or establish a shared secret key
311 MUST NOT be used with the modifications presented in this document.
313 5.2. Authentication with separated IKEv2 responder/EAP server
315 As described in Section 2, the EAP conversation can terminate either
316 at the IKEv2 responder or at a backend AAA server.
318 If the EAP method terminates at the IKEv2 responder then no key
319 transport via the AAA infrastructure is required. Pre-shared secret
320 and public key based authentication offered by IKEv2 is then replaced
321 by a wider range of authentication and key exchange methods.
323 However, typically EAP will be used with a backend AAA server. See
324 [7] for a more complete discussion of the related security issues;
325 here we provide only a short summary.
327 When a backend server is used, there are actually two authentication
328 exchanges: the EAP method between the client and the AAA server, and
329 another authentication between the AAA server and IKEv2 gateway. The
330 AAA server authenticates the client using the selected EAP method,
331 and they establish a session key. The AAA server then sends this key
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340 to the IKEv2 gateway over a connection authenticated using, e.g.,
343 Some EAP methods do not have any concept of pass-through
344 authenticator (e.g., NAS or IKEv2 gateway) identity, and these two
345 authentications remain quite independent of each other. That is,
346 after the client has verified the AUTH payload sent by the IKEv2
347 gateway, it knows that it is talking to SOME gateway trusted by the
348 home AAA server, but not which one. The situation is somewhat
349 similar if a single cryptographic hardware accelerator, containing a
350 single private key, would be shared between multiple IKEv2 gateways
351 (perhaps in some kind of cluster configuration). In particular, if
352 one of the gateways is compromised, it can impersonate any of the
353 other gateways towards the user (until the compromise is discovered
354 and access rights revoked).
356 In some environments it is not desirable to trust the IKEv2 gateways
357 this much (also known as the "Lying NAS Problem"). EAP methods that
358 provide what is called "connection binding" or "channel binding"
359 transport some identity or identities of the gateway (or WLAN access
360 point/NAS) inside the EAP method. Then the AAA server can check that
361 it is indeed sending the key to the gateway expected by the client.
362 A potential solution is described in [16].
364 In some deployment configurations, AAA proxies may be present between
365 the IKEv2 gateway and the backend AAA server. These AAA proxies MUST
366 be trusted for secure operation, and therefore SHOULD be avoided when
367 possible; see [4] and [7] for more discussion.
369 5.3. Protection of EAP payloads
371 Although the EAP payloads are encrypted and integrity protected with
372 SK_e/SK_a, this does not provide any protection against active
373 attackers. Until the AUTH payload has been received and verified, a
374 man-in-the-middle can change the KEi/KEr payloads and eavesdrop or
375 modify the EAP payloads.
377 In IEEE 802.11i WLANs, the EAP payloads are neither encrypted nor
378 integrity protected (by the link layer), so EAP methods are typically
379 designed to take that into account.
381 In particular, EAP methods that are vulnerable to dictionary attacks
382 when used in WLANs are still vulnerable (to active attackers) when
385 5.4. User identity confidentiality
387 IKEv2 provides confidentiality for the initiator identity against
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396 passive eavesdroppers, but not against active attackers. The
397 initiator announces its identity first (in message #3), before the
398 responder has been authenticated. The usage of EAP in IKEv2 does not
399 change this situation, since the ID payload in message #3 is used
400 instead of the EAP Identity Request/Response exchange. This is
401 somewhat unfortunate since when EAP is used with public key
402 authentication of the responder, it would be possible to provide
403 active user identity confidentiality for the initiator.
405 IKEv2 protects the responder identity even against active attacks.
406 This property cannot be provided when using EAP. If public key
407 responder authentication is used in addition to EAP, the responder
408 reveals its identity before authenticating the initiator. If only
409 EAP is used (as proposed in this document), the situation depends on
410 the EAP method used (in some EAP methods, the server reveals its
413 Hence, if active user identity confidentiality for the initiator is
414 required then EAP methods that offer this functionality have to be
415 used (see [1], Section 7.3).
420 This document borrows some text from [1], [3], and [4]. We would
421 also like to thank Hugo Krawczyk for interesting discussions about
427 7.1. Normative References
429 [1] Aboba, B., Blunk, L., Vollbrecht, J., Carlson, J., and H.
430 Levkowetz, "Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP)", RFC 3748,
433 [2] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement
434 Levels", RFC 2119, March 1997.
436 [3] Kaufman, C., "Internet Key Exchange (IKEv2) Protocol", RFC 4306,
439 [4] Eronen, P., Hiller, T., and G. Zorn, "Diameter Extensible
440 Authentication Protocol (EAP) Application", RFC 4072,
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452 7.2. Informative References
454 [5] Aboba, B. and P. Calhoun, "RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial
455 In User Service) Support For Extensible Authentication Protocol
456 (EAP)", RFC 3579, September 2003.
458 [6] Aboba, B. and D. Simon, "EAP GSS Authentication Protocol",
459 draft-aboba-pppext-eapgss-12 (work in progress), April 2002.
461 [7] Aboba, B., "Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) Key
462 Management Framework", draft-ietf-eap-keying-13 (work in
465 [8] Forsberg, D., "Protocol for Carrying Authentication for Network
466 Access (PANA)", draft-ietf-pana-pana-11 (work in progress),
469 [9] Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, "Local and
470 Metropolitan Area Networks: Port-Based Network Access Control",
471 IEEE Standard 802.1X-2001, 2001.
473 [10] Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, "Information
474 technology - Telecommunications and information exchange
475 between systems - Local and metropolitan area networks -
476 Specific Requirements Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access
477 Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications", IEEE
478 Standard 802.11-1999, 1999.
480 [11] Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, "IEEE
481 Standard for Information technology - Telecommunications and
482 information exchange between systems - Local and metropolitan
483 area networks - Specific requirements - Part 11: Wireless
484 Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY)
485 specifications: Amendment 6: Medium Access Control (MAC)
486 Security Enhancements", IEEE Standard 802.11i-2004, July 2004.
488 [12] Rigney, C., Willens, S., Rubens, A., and W. Simpson, "Remote
489 Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS)", RFC 2865,
492 [13] Simpson, W., "The Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)", STD 51,
495 [14] Sakane, S., Kamada, K., Thomas, M., and J. Vilhuber,
496 "Kerberized Internet Negotiation of Keys (KINK)", RFC 4430,
499 [15] Tschofenig, H., "EAP IKEv2 Method",
503 Eronen & Tschofenig Expires December 28, 2006 [Page 9]
505 Internet-Draft Extension for EAP in IKEv2 June 2006
508 draft-tschofenig-eap-ikev2-11 (work in progress), June 2006.
510 [16] Arkko, J. and P. Eronen, "Authenticated Service Information for
511 the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP)",
512 draft-arkko-eap-service-identity-auth-04 (work in progress),
516 Appendix A. Alternative Approaches
518 In this section we list alternatives which have been considered
519 during the work on this document. Finally, the solution presented in
520 Section 3 seems to fit better into IKEv2.
522 A.1. Ignore AUTH payload at the initiator
524 With this approach, the initiator simply ignores the AUTH payload in
525 message #4 (but obviously must check the second AUTH payload later!).
526 The main advantage of this approach is that no protocol modifications
527 are required and no signature verification is required.
529 The initiator could signal the responder (using a NOTIFY payload)
530 that it did not verify the first AUTH payload.
532 A.2. Unauthenticated PKs in AUTH payload (message 4)
534 The first solution approach suggests the use of unauthenticated
535 public keys in the public key signature AUTH payload (for message 4).
537 That is, the initiator verifies the signature in the AUTH payload,
538 but does not verify that the public key indeed belongs to the
539 intended party (using certificates)--since it doesn't have a PKI that
540 would allow this. This could be used with X.509 certificates (the
541 initiator ignores all other fields of the certificate except the
542 public key), or "Raw RSA Key" CERT payloads.
544 This approach has the advantage that initiators that wish to perform
545 certificate-based responder authentication (in addition to EAP) may
546 do so, without requiring the responder to handle these cases
549 If using RSA, the overhead of signature verification is quite small
550 (compared to g^xy calculation).
552 A.3. Use EAP derived session keys for IKEv2
554 It has been proposed that when using an EAP methods that provides
555 mutual authentication and key agreement, the IKEv2 Diffie-Hellman
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564 exchange could also be omitted. This would mean that the sessions
565 keys for IPsec SAs established later would rely only on EAP-provided
568 It seems the only benefit of this approach is saving some computation
569 time (g^xy calculation). This approach requires designing a
570 completely new protocol (which would not resemble IKEv2 anymore) we
571 do not believe that it should be considered. Nevertheless, we
572 include it for completeness.
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623 Nokia Research Center
625 FIN-00045 Nokia Group
628 Email: pasi.eronen@nokia.com
637 Email: Hannes.Tschofenig@siemens.com
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