One document matched: draft-ietf-tcpm-tcp-auth-opt-04.txt

Differences from draft-ietf-tcpm-tcp-auth-opt-03.txt


TCPM WG                                                        J. Touch 
Internet Draft                                                  USC/ISI 
Obsoletes: 2385                                               A. Mankin 
Intended status: Proposed Standard                  Johns Hopkins Univ. 
Expires: September 2009                                       R. Bonica 
                                                       Juniper Networks 
                                                          March 9, 2009 
                                    
 
                                      
                       The TCP Authentication Option 
                    draft-ietf-tcpm-tcp-auth-opt-04.txt 


Status of this Memo 

   This Internet-Draft is submitted to IETF in full conformance with the 
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.  

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   This Internet-Draft will expire on September 9, 2009. 

Copyright Notice 

   Copyright (c) 2009 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the 
   document authors. All rights reserved. 

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal 
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   Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights 
   and restrictions with respect to this document. 

 
 
 
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Abstract 

   This document specifies the TCP Authentication Option (TCP-AO), which 
   obsoletes the TCP MD5 Signature option of RFC-2385 (TCP MD5). TCP-AO 
   specifies the use of stronger Message Authentication Codes (MACs), 
   protects against replays even for long-lived TCP connections, and 
   provides more details on the association of security with TCP 
   connections than TCP MD5. TCP-AO is compatible with either static 
   master key configuration or an external, out-of-band master key 
   management mechanism; in either case, TCP-AO also protects 
   connections when using the same master key across repeated instances 
   of a connection, using traffic keys derived from the master key, and 
   coordinates key changes between endpoints. The result is intended to 
   support current infrastructure uses of TCP MD5, such as to protect 
   long-lived connections (as used, e.g., in BGP and LDP), and to 
   support a larger set of MACs with minimal other system and 
   operational changes. TCP-AO uses its own option identifier, even 
   though used mutually exclusive of TCP MD5 on a given TCP connection. 
   TCP-AO supports IPv6, and is fully compatible with the requirements 
   for the replacement of TCP MD5. 

Table of Contents 

    
   1. Contributors...................................................3 
   2. Introduction...................................................4 
      2.1. Executive Summary.........................................4 
      2.2. Changes from Previous Versions............................6 
         2.2.1. New in draft-ietf-tcp-auth-opt-04....................6 
         2.2.2. New in draft-ietf-tcp-auth-opt-03....................6 
         2.2.3. New in draft-ietf-tcp-auth-opt-02....................7 
         2.2.4. New in draft-ietf-tcp-auth-opt-01....................8 
         2.2.5. New in draft-ietf-tcp-auth-opt-00....................9 
         2.2.6. New in draft-touch-tcp-simple-auth-03................9 
         2.2.7. New in draft-touch-tcp-simple-auth-02...............10 
         2.2.8. New in draft-touch-tcp-simple-auth-01...............10 
   3. Conventions used in this document.............................10 
   4. The TCP Authentication Option.................................11 
      4.1. Review of TCP MD5 Option.................................11 
      4.2. The TCP-AO Option........................................11 
   5. The TCP-AO Activation and Parameter Database..................13 
   6. Per-Connection Parameters.....................................16 
   7. Cryptographic Algorithms......................................17 
      7.1. MAC Algorithms...........................................17 
      7.2. Key Derivation Functions.................................21 
      7.3. Traffic Key Establishment and Duration Issues............24 
         7.3.1. Master Key Reuse Across Socket Pairs................25 
 
 
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         7.3.2. Master Key Use Within a Long-lived Connection.......25 
   8. Additional Security Mechanisms................................25 
      8.1. Coordinating KeyID Changes...............................25 
      8.2. Preventing replay attacks within long-lived connections..26 
   9. TCP-AO Interaction with TCP...................................28 
      9.1. TCP User Interface.......................................29 
      9.2. TCP States and Transitions...............................30 
      9.3. TCP Segments.............................................30 
      9.4. Sending TCP Segments.....................................31 
      9.5. Receiving TCP Segments...................................32 
      9.6. Impact on TCP Header Size................................34 
   10. Obsoleting TCP MD5 and Legacy Interactions...................35 
   11. Interactions with Middleboxes................................36 
      11.1. Interactions with non-NAT/NAPT Middleboxes..............36 
      11.2. Interactions with NAT/NAPT Devices......................36 
   12. Evaluation of Requirements Satisfaction......................36 
   13. Security Considerations......................................42 
   14. IANA Considerations..........................................44 
   15. References...................................................45 
      15.1. Normative References....................................45 
      15.2. Informative References..................................46 
   16. Acknowledgments..............................................47 
    
1. Contributors 

   This document evolved as the result of collaboration of the TCP 
   Authentication Design team (tcp-auth-dt), whose members were 
   (alphabetically): Mark Allman, Steve Bellovin, Ron Bonica, Wes Eddy, 
   Lars Eggert, Charlie Kaufman, Andrew Lange, Allison Mankin, Sandy 
   Murphy, Joe Touch, Sriram Viswanathan, Brian Weis, and Magnus 
   Westerlund. The text of this document is derived from a proposal by 
   Joe Touch and Allison Mankin [To06] (originally from June 2006), 
   which was both inspired by and intended as a counterproposal to the 
   revisions to TCP MD5 suggested in a document by Ron Bonica, Brian 
   Weis, Sriran Viswanathan, Andrew Lange, and Owen Wheeler [Bo07] 
   (originally from Sept. 2005) and in a document by Brian Weis [We05]. 

   Russ Housley suggested L4/application layer management of the TAPD. 
   Steve Bellovin motivated the KeyID field. Eric Rescorla suggested the 
   use of ISNs in the traffic key computation and ESNs to avoid replay 
   attacks, and Brian Weis extended the computation to incorporate the 
   entire connection ID and provided the details of the traffic key 
   computation. Mark Allman, Wes Eddy, Lars Eggert, Ted Faber, Russ 
   Housley, Gregory Lebovitz, Tim Polk, Eric Rescorla, Joe Touch, and 
   Brian Weis developed the key coordination mechanism. 


 
 
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2. Introduction 

   The TCP MD5 Signature (TCP MD5) is a TCP option that authenticates 
   TCP segments, including the TCP IPv4 pseudoheader, TCP header, and 
   TCP data. It was developed to protect BGP sessions from spoofed TCP 
   segments which could affect BGP data or the robustness of the TCP 
   connection itself [RFC2385][RFC4953]. 

   There have been many recent concerns about TCP MD5. Its use of a 
   simple keyed hash for authentication is problematic because there 
   have been escalating attacks on the algorithm itself [Wa05]. TCP MD5 
   also lacks both key management and algorithm agility. This document 
   adds the latter, and provides a simple key coordination mechanism 
   giving the ability to move from one key to another within the same 
   connection. It does not however provide for complete cryptographic 
   key management to be handled in-band of TCP, because TCP SYN segments 
   lack sufficient remaining space to handle such a negotiation (see 
   Section 9.6). This document obsoletes the TCP MD5 option with a more 
   general TCP Authentication Option (TCP-AO), to support the use of 
   other, stronger hash functions, provide replay protection for long-
   lived connections and across repeated instances of a single 
   connection, coordinate key changes between endpoints, and to provide 
   a more structured recommendation on external key management. The 
   result is compatible with IPv6, and is fully compatible with 
   requirements under development for a replacement for TCP MD5 [Be07]. 

   This document is not intended to replace the use of the IPsec suite 
   (IPsec and IKE) to protect TCP connections [RFC4301][RFC4306]. In 
   fact, we recommend the use of IPsec and IKE, especially where IKE's 
   level of existing support for parameter negotiation, session key 
   negotiation, or rekeying are desired. TCP-AO is intended for use only 
   where the IPsec suite would not be feasible, e.g., as has been 
   suggested is the case to support some routing protocols, or in cases 
   where keys need to be tightly coordinated with individual transport 
   sessions [Be07].  

   Note that TCP-AO obsoletes TCP MD5, although a particular 
   implementation may support both mechanisms for backward 
   compatibility. For a given connection, only one can be in use. TCP 
   MD5-protected connections cannot be migrated to TCP-AO because TCP 
   MD5 does not support any changes to a connection's security algorithm 
   once established. 

2.1. Executive Summary 

   This document replaces TCP MD5 as follows [RFC2385]: 

 
 
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   o  TCP-AO uses a separate option Kind for TCP-AO (TBD-IANA-KIND). 

   o  TCP-AO allows TCP MD5 to continue to be used concurrently for 
      legacy connections. 

   o  TCP-AO replaces MD5's single MAC algorithm with MACs specified in 
      a separate document and allows extension to include other MACs. 

   o  TCP-AO allows rekeying during a TCP connection, assuming that an 
      out-of-band protocol or manual mechanism provides the new keys. In 
      such cases, a key ID allows the efficient concurrent use of 
      multiple keys, and a key coordination mechanism manages the key 
      change within a connection. Note that TCP MD5 does not preclude 
      rekeying during a connection, but does not require its support 
      either. Further, TCP-AO supports key changes with zero packet 
      loss, whereas key changes in TCP MD5 can lose packets in transit 
      during the changeover or require trying multiple keys on each 
      received segment during key use overlap because it lacks an 
      explicit key ID. 

   o  TCP-AO provides automatic replay protection for long-lived 
      connections using an extended sequence number. 

   o  TCP-AO ensures per-connection traffic keys as unique as the TCP 
      connection itself, using TCP's ISNs for differentiation, even when 
      static master keys are used across repeated instances of a socket 
      pair. 

   o  TCP-AO specifies the details of how this option interacts with 
      TCP's states, event processing, and user interface. 

   o  The TCP-AO option is 2 bytes shorter than TCP MD5 (16 bytes 
      overall, rather than 18) in the default case (using a 96-bit MAC). 

   This document differs from an IPsec/IKE solution in that TCP-AO as 
   follows [RFC4301][RFC4306]: 

   o  TCP-AO does not support dynamic parameter negotiation. 

   o  TCP-AO uses TCP's socket pair (source address, destination 
      address, source port, destination port) as a security parameter 
      index, rather than using a separate field as a primary index 
      (IPsec's SPI). 

   o  TCP-AO forces a change of computed MACs when a connection 
      restarts, even when reusing a TCP socket pair (IP addresses and 
      port numbers) [Be07]. 
 
 
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   o  TCP-AO does not support encryption. 

   o  TCP-AO does not authenticate ICMP messages (some ICMP messages may 
      be authenticated via IPsec, depending on the configuration). 

2.2. Changes from Previous Versions 

   [NOTE: to be omitted upon final publication as RFC] 

2.2.1. New in draft-ietf-tcp-auth-opt-04 

   o  Major revision to the document structure, including renaming the 
      TSAD to TAPD. 

   o  Added a key change coordination mechanism in Section 8.1. 

   o  Added a requirement for symmetric use of TCP-AO, required for the 
      key change coordination mechanism. This includes an update of the 
      TAPD to indicate that all master keys are bidirectional. 

   o  Augmented the discussion of the available space for options. 

   o  Fixed a bug in the ESN algorithm. 

   o  Adds a text referring to the TCP-AO cryptography companion 
      document. 

   o  Changed RFC-TBD to ao-crypto (until the RFC number is assigned). 

2.2.2. New in draft-ietf-tcp-auth-opt-03 

   o  Added a placeholder to discuss key change coordination in Section 
      8.1. 

   o  Moved discussion of required MAC algorithms and PRF to a separate 
      document, indicated as RFC-TBD until assigned. Included the PRF in 
      the TSAD master key tuple so that TCP-AO is PRF algorithm agile, 
      and updated general PRF input format. 

   o  Revised the description the TSAD and impact to the TCP user 
      interface. Removed the description of the TSAD API. Access to the 
      API is assumed specific to the implementation, and not part of the 
      protocol specification. 

   o  Clarified the different uses of the term key; includes master key 
      (from the TSAD) and connection key (per-connection key, derived 
      from the master via the PRF). 
 
 
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   o  Explained the ESN pseudocode operation in detail. 

   o  Added a contributors section up front. 

   o  Update discussion of requirements to be sufficiently stand-alone; 
      update list to correlate more directly to Be07 (so that Be07 can 
      be dropped from consideration for publication). 

   o  Provided detail on size of typical options (motivating a small 
      option). 

   o  Confirmed WG consensus on IETF-72 topic - no algorithm ID and T-
      bit (options excluded) locations in the header. 

   o  Confirmed WG consensus on IETF-72 topic - no additional header 
      bits for in-band key change signaling (the "K" bit from [Bo07]). 

2.2.3. New in draft-ietf-tcp-auth-opt-02 

   o  List issue - Replay Protection: incorporated extended sequence 
      number space, not using KeyID space. 

   o  List issue - Unique Connection Keys: ISNs are used to generate 
      unique connection keys even when static keys used for repeated 
      instances of a socket pair.  

   o  List issue - Header Format and Alignment: Moved KeyID to front. 

   o  List issue - Reserved KeyID Value: Suggestion to reserve a single 
      KeyID value for implementation optimization received no support on 
      the WG list, so this was not changed. 

   o  List issue - KeyID Randomness: KeyIDs are not assumed random; a 
      note was added that nonce-based filtering should be done on a 
      portion of the MAC (incorporated into the algorithm), and that 
      header fields should not be assumed to have cryptographic 
      properties (e.g., randomness). 

   o  List issue - Support for NATs: preliminary rough consensus 
      suggests that TCP-AO should not be augmented to support NAT 
      traversal. Existing mechanisms for such traversal (UDP support) 
      can be applied, or IPsec NAT traversal is recommended in such 
      cases instead. 

   o  IETF-72 topic - providing algorithm ID and T-bit (options 
      excluded) locations in the header: (No current consensus was 
      reached on this topic, so no change was made.) 
 
 
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   o  IETF-72 topic - providing additional header bits for in-band key 
      change signaling (draft-bonica's "K" bit): (No current consensus 
      was reached on this topic, so no change was made.) 

   o  Clarified TCP-AO as obsoleting TCP MD5. 

   o  Clarified the MAC Type as referring to the IANA registry of IKEv2 
      transforms, not the RFC establishing that registry. 

   o  Added citation to the Wang/Yu paper regarding attacks on MD5 Wa05 
      to replace reports in Be05 and Bu06. 

   o  Explained why option exclusion can't be changed during a 
      connection. 

   o  Clarified that AO explicitly allows rekeying during a TCP 
      connection, without impacting packet loss. 

   o  Described TCP-AO's interaction with reboots more clearly, and 
      explained the need to clear out old state that persists 
      indefinitely. 

2.2.4. New in draft-ietf-tcp-auth-opt-01 

   o  Require KeyID in all versions. Remove odd/even indicator of KeyID 
      usage. 

   o  Relax restrictions on key reuse: requiring an algorithm for nonce 
      introduction based on ISNs, and suggest key rollover every 2^31 
      bytes (rather than using an extended sequence number, which 
      introduces new state to the TCP connection). 

   o  Clarify NAT interaction; currently does not support omitting the 
      IP addresses or TCP ports, both of which would be required to 
      support NATs without any coordination. This appears to present a 
      problem for key management - if the key manager knows the received 
      addrs and ports, it should coordinate them (as indicated in Sec 
      8). 

   o  Options are included or excluded all-or-none. Excluded options are 
      deleted, not just zeroed, to avoid the impact of reordering or 
      length changes of such options. 

   o  Augment replay discussion in security considerations. 

   o  Revise discussion of IKEv2 MAC algorithm names. 

 
 
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   o  Remove executive summary comparison to expired documents. 

   o  Clarified key words to exclude lower case usage. 

2.2.5. New in draft-ietf-tcp-auth-opt-00 

   o  List of TBD values, and indication of how each is determined. 

   o  Changed TCP-SA to TCP-AO (removed 'simple' throughout). 

   o  Removed proposed NAT mechanism; cited RFC-3947 NAT-T as 
      appropriate approach instead. 

   o  Made several changes coordinated in the TCP-AUTH-DT as follow: 

   o  Added R. Bonica as co-author. 

   o  Use new TCP option Kind in the core doc. 

   o  Addresses the impact of explicit declines on security. 

   o  Add limits to TSAD size (2 <= TSAD <= 256). 

   o  Allow 0 as a legitimate KeyID. 

   o  Allow the WG to determine the two appropriate required MAC 
      algorithms. 

   o  Add TO-DO items. 

   o  Added discussion at end of Introduction as to why TCP MD5 
      connections cannot be upgraded to TCP-AO. 

2.2.6. New in draft-touch-tcp-simple-auth-03 

   o  Added support for NAT/NAPT. 

   o  Added support for IPv6. 

   o  Added discussion of how this proposal satisfies requirements under 
      development, including those indicated in [Be07]. 

   o  Clarified the byte order of all data used in the MAC. 

   o  Changed the TCP option exclusion bit from a bit to a list. 


 
 
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2.2.7. New in draft-touch-tcp-simple-auth-02 

   o  Add reference to Bellovin's need-for-TCP-auth doc [Be07]. 

   o  Add reference to SP4 [SDNS88]. 

   o  Added notes that TSAD to be externally implemented; this was 
      compatible with the TSAD described in the previous version. 

   o  Augmented the protocol to allow a KeyID, required to support 
      efficient overlapping keys during rekeying, and potentially useful 
      during connection establishment. Accommodated by redesigning the 
      TSAD. 

   o  Added the odd/even indicator for the KeyID. 

   o  Allow for the exclusion of all TCP options in the MAC calculation. 

2.2.8. New in draft-touch-tcp-simple-auth-01 

   o  Allows intra-session rekeying, assuming out-of-band coordination. 

   o  MUST allow TSAD entries to change, enabling rekeying within a TCP 
      connection. 

   o  Omits discussion of the impact of connection reestablishment on 
      BGP, because added support for rekeying renders this point moot. 

   o  Adds further discussion on the need for rekeying. 

3. Conventions used in this document 

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", 
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this 
   document are to be interpreted as described in RFC-2119 [RFC2119]. 

   In this document, these words will appear with that interpretation 
   only when in ALL CAPS. Lower case uses of these words are not to be 
   interpreted as carrying RFC-2119 significance. 

   In this document, the characters ">>" proceeding an indented line(s) 
   indicates a compliance requirement statement using the key words 
   listed above. This convention aids reviewers in quickly identifying 
   or finding this RFC's explicit compliance requirements. 



 
 
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4. The TCP Authentication Option 

   The TCP Authentication Option (TCP-AO) uses a TCP option Kind value 
   of TBD-IANA-KIND. 

4.1. Review of TCP MD5 Option 

   For review, the TCP MD5 option is shown in Figure 1. 

                +---------+---------+-------------------+ 
                | Kind=19 |Length=18|   MD5 digest...   | 
                +---------+---------+-------------------+ 
                |                                       | 
                +---------------------------------------+ 
                |                                       | 
                +---------------------------------------+ 
                |                                       | 
                +-------------------+-------------------+ 
                |                   | 
                +-------------------+ 
    
                   Figure 1 The TCP MD5 Option [RFC2385] 

   In the TCP MD5 option, the length is fixed, and the MD5 digest 
   occupies 16 bytes following the Kind and Length fields, using the 
   full MD5 digest of 128 bits [RFC1321]. 

   The TCP MD5 option specifies the use of the MD5 digest calculation 
   over the following values in the following order: 

   1. The TCP pseudoheader (IP source and destination addresses, 
      protocol number, and segment length). 

   2. The TCP header excluding options and checksum. 

   3. The TCP data payload. 

   4. A key. 

4.2. The TCP-AO Option 

   The new TCP-AO option provides a superset of the capabilities of TCP 
   MD5, and is minimal in the spirit of SP4 [SDNS88]. TCP-AO uses a new 
   Kind field, and similar Length field to TCP MD5, a KeyID field, and a 
   NextKeyID field as shown in Figure 2. 


 
 
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            +----------+----------+----------+----------+ 
            |   Kind   |  Length  |  KeyID   | NextKeyID| 
            +----------+----------+----------+----------+ 
            |                    MAC           ... 
            +----------------------------------... 
    
              ...-----------------+ 
              ...  MAC (con't)    | 
              ...-----------------+ 
    
                        Figure 2 The TCP-AO Option 

   The TCP-AO defines the following fields: 

   o  Kind: An unsigned 1-byte field indicating the TCP-AO Option. TCP-
      AO uses a new Kind value of TBD-IANA-KIND.  
       
      >> An endpoint MUST NOT use TCP-AO for the same connection in 
      which TCP MD5 is used. 
       
      >> A single TCP segment MUST NOT have more than one TCP-AO option. 

   o  Length: An unsigned 1-byte field indicating the length of the TCP-
      AO option in bytes, including the Kind, Length, KeyID, NextKeyID, 
      and MAC fields.  
       
      >> The Length value MUST be greater than or equal to 4.  
       
      >> The Length value MUST be consistent with the TCP header length; 
      this is a consistency check and avoids overrun/underrun abuse.  
       
      Values of 4 and other small values are of dubious utility but are 
      not specifically prohibited.  

   o  KeyID: An unsigned 1-byte field used to support efficient key 
      changes during a connection and/or to help with key coordination 
      during connection establishment, to be discussed further in 
      Section 8.1. Note that the KeyID has no cryptographic properties - 
      it need not be random, nor are there any reserved values. 

   o  NextKeyID: An unsigned 1-byte field used to support efficient key 
      change coordination, to be discussed further in Section 8.1. Note 
      that the NextKeyID has no cryptographic properties - it need not 
      be random, nor are there any reserved values. 



 
 
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   o  MAC: Message Authentication Code. Its contents are determined by 
      the particulars of the security association. Typical MACs are 96-
      128 bits (12-16 bytes), but any length that fits in the header of 
      the segment being authenticated is allowed. The MAC computation is 
      described further in Section 7.1. 

      >> Required support for TCP-AO MACs as defined in [ao-crypto]; 
      other MACs MAY be supported. 

   The TCP-AO option fields do not indicate the MAC algorithm either 
   implicitly (as with TCP MD5) or explicitly. The particular algorithm 
   used is considered part of the configuration state of the 
   connection's security and is managed separately (see Section 5). 

   The remainder of this document explains how the TCP-AO option is 
   handled and its relationship to TCP. 

5. The TCP-AO Activation and Parameter Database 

   TCP-AO relies on a TCP-AO Activation and Parameter Database (TAPD), 
   which indicates whether a TCP connection requires TCP-AO, and its 
   parameters when so. TAPD entries are assumed to exist at the 
   endpoints where TCP-AO is used, in advance of the connection, and 
   consist of the following: 

   1. TCP connection identifier (ID), i.e., socket pair - IP source 
      address, IP destination address, TCP source port, and TCP 
      destination port [RFC793]. TAPD entries are uniquely determined by 
      their TCP connection ID, which is used to index those entries. A 
      TAPD entry may allow wildcards, notably in the source port value. 
       
      >> There MUST be no more than one matching TAPD entry per 
      direction for a fully-instantiated (no wildcards) TCP connection 
      ID. 













 
 
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   2. A TCP option flag. When 0, this flag allows default operation, 
      i.e., TCP options are included in the MAC calculation, with TCP-
      AO's MAC field zeroed out.  When 1, all options (excluding TCP-AO) 
      are excluded from all MAC calculations (skipped over, not simply 
      zeroed). The option flag applies to TCP options in both directions 
      (incoming and outgoing segments). 
       
      >> The TCP option flag MUST NOT change during a TCP connection. 
       
      The TCP option flag cannot change during a connection because TCP 
      state is coordinated during connection establishment. TCP lacks a 
      handshake for modifying that state after a connection has been 
      established. 

   3. A list of zero or more master key tuples.  
       
      >> Components of a TAPD master key tuple MUST NOT change during a 
      connection. 
       
      Keeping the tuple components static ensures that the KeyID 
      uniquely determines the properties of a packet; this supports use 
      of the KeyID to determine the packet properties. 
       
      >> The set of TAPD master key tuples MAY change during a 
      connection, but KeyIDs of those tuples MUST NOT overlap. I.e., 
      tuple parameter changes MUST be accompanied by master key changes. 
       
      >> If there are multiple tuples in a TAPD entry, then one tuple 
      MUST be flagged as the preferred key; that key, when instantiated 
      as a traffic_key, becomes the current_key for the connection (see 
      Section 6). 
       
      Each tuple is defined as the following components: 














 
 
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       a. KeyID. The value as used in the TCP-AO option; used to 
          differentiate master keys in concurrent use, as well as to 
          indicate when master keys are ready for use. 
           
          >> A TAPD implementation MUST support at least two KeyIDs per 
          connection per direction, and MAY support up to 256. 
           
          >> A KeyID MUST support any value, 0-255 inclusive. There are 
          no reserved KeyID values. 
           
          KeyID values are assigned arbitrarily. They can be assigned in 
          sequence, or based on any method mutually agreed by the 
          connection endpoints (e.g., using an external master key 
          management mechanism).  
           
          >> KeyIDs MUST NOT be assumed to be randomly assigned. 
           
          Note that KeyIDs are unique only within a TAPD entry. 

       b. Master key. A byte sequence used for generating traffic keys, 
          this may be derived from a separate shared key by an external 
          protocol over a separate channel. This sequence is used in the 
          traffic key generation algorithm described in Section 7.2. 
           
          Implementations are advised to keep master key values in a 
          private, protected area of memory or other storage. 
           
          Implementations are also advised to indicate the length of 
          this key explicitly, because there are no reserved byte 
          values. 

       c. MAC algorithm. Indicates the MAC algorithm used for this 
          connection, explained further in Section 7.1 [ao-crypto]. The 
          MAC_algorithm indicates other properties, such as MAC 
          truncation, PRF algorithm, and KDF truncation, as explained 
          further in [ao-crypto]  

   The TAPD is consulted when new connections are established to 
   determine whether TCP-AO is required. 

   >> When a TAPD entry matches a new connection, TCP-AO is required. 
   This is true regardless of whether there are any master key tuples 
   present. 

   >> When TCP-AO is required, the TCP-AO option MUST occur in every 
   incoming and outgoing TCP segment. In this case, segments lacking the 
   TCP-AO option MUST be silently ignored. 
 
 
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   For a particular endpoint (i.e., IP address) there would be exactly 
   one TAPD that is consulted by all pending connections, the same way 
   that there is only one table of TCBs (a database can support multiple 
   endpoints, but an endpoint is represented in only one database). 
   Multiple databases could be used to support virtual hosts, i.e., 
   groups of interfaces. 

   This document does not address how TAPD entries are created by 
   users/processes; it specifies how they must be destroyed 
   corresponding to connection states, but users/processes may destroy 
   entries as well. It is presumed that a TAPD entry affecting a 
   particular connection cannot be destroyed during an active connection 
   - or, equivalently, that its parameters are copied to an area local 
   to the connection (i.e., instantiated) and so changes would affect 
   only new connections. The TAPD can be managed by a separate 
   application protocol. 

   NOTE: an open issue is whether to require actions when master keys 
   are added to the TAPD. In particular, there is a suggestion to force 
   new added keys to update current_key to the newly added value, and to 
   set a timer or flag on previous current_key values. If a timer, the 
   value is unclear (2*MSL isn't appropriate, because we don't know how 
   long a key changeover may take, and we're not reacting to messages 
   from the other side). If a flag, this would require that flagged 
   entries could never be advertised as NextKeyID. 

6. Per-Connection Parameters 

   TCP-AO uses a small number of parameters associated with each 
   connection that uses the TCP-AO option, once instantiated. These 
   values would typically be stored in the Transport Control Block (TCP) 
   [RFC793]. These values are explained in subsequent sections of this 
   document as noted; they include: 

   1. Current_key - the KeyID of the master key tuple currently used to 
      authenticate outgoing segments, inserted in outgoing segments as 
      KeyID (see Section 9.4, step 5). Incoming segments are 
      authenticated using the KeyID in the segment's TCP-AO header (see 
      Section 9.5, step 5). There is only one current_key at any given 
      time on a particular connection. 
       
      >> Every connection in a non-IDLE state MUST have exactly one 
      current_key value specified. 




 
 
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   2. Next_key - the KeyID of the master key tuple currently preferred 
      for future use, as inserted in outgoing segments as NextKeyID (see 
      Section 9.5, step 5).  
       
      >> Each connection in a non-IDLE state MUST have exactly one 
      next_key value specified. 

   3. A pair of Extended Sequence Numbers (ESNs). ESNs are used to 
      prevent replay attacks, as described in Section 8.2. Each ESN is 
      initialized to zero upon connection establishment. Its use in the 
      MAC calculation is described in Section 7.1. 

   4. One or more master key tuples. These are all the master key tuples 
      that match this connection's socket pair in the TAPD. When a new 
      tuple is added to the TAPD, it is added to the TCB of all matching 
      connections. 

   Master key tuples are used, together with other parameters of a 
   connection, to create traffic keys unique to each connection, as 
   described in Section 7.2. These traffic keys can be cached after 
   computation, and are typically stored in the TCB with the 
   corresponding master key tuple information. They can be considered 
   part of the per-connection parameters. 

7. Cryptographic Algorithms 

   TCP-AO also uses cryptographic algorithms to compute the MAC (Message 
   Authentication Code) used to authenticate a segment and its headers; 
   these are called MAC algorithms and are specified in a separate 
   document to facilitate updating the algorithm requirements 
   independently from the protocol [ao-crypto]. TCP-AO also uses 
   cryptographic algorithms to convert master keys, which can be shared 
   across connections, into unique traffic keys for each connection. 
   These are called Key Derivation Functions (KDFs), and are specified 
   [ao-crypto]. This section describes how these algorithms are used by 
   TCP-AO. 

7.1. MAC Algorithms 

   MAC algorithms take a variable-length input and a key and output a 
   fixed-length number. This number is used to determine whether the 
   input comes from a source with that same key, and whether the input 
   has been tampered in transit. MACs for TCP-AO have the following 
   interface: 

      INPUT: MAC_alg, MAC_truncation, traffic_key, data_block 

 
 
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      OUTPUT: MAC 

   where: 

   o  MAC_alg - MAC algorithm used for this computation 

   o  MAC_truncation - the number of bytes to truncate the output of the 
      MAC to. This is indicated by the MAC algorithm, as specified in 
      [ao-crypto]. 

   o  Traffic_key - traffic key used for this computation. This is 
      computed from the connection's current master key as described in 
      Section 7.2. 

   o  Data_block - input data over which the MAC is computed. In TCP-AO, 
      this is the TCP segment prepended by the TCP pseudoheader and TCP 
      header options, as described in Section 7.1. 

   o  MAC - the fixed-length output of the MAC algorithm, given the 
      parameters provided. If the MAC_alg output is smaller than the 
      desired MAC_truncation, it is padded with trailing zeroes as 
      needed. 

   At the time of this writing, the algorithms' definitions for use in 
   TCP-AO, as described in [ao-crypto] are each truncated to 96 bits. 
   Though the algorithms each output a larger MAC, we truncate the 
   output to 96 bits to provide a reasonable tradeoff between security 
   and message size, for fitting into the TCP-AO header. Though could 
   change in the future, so TCP-AO header sizes should not be assumed as 
   fixed length. 

   >> To allow a TCP-AO implementation to compute any implicit MAC 
   algorithm padding required, the specification for each algorithm used 
   with TCP-AO MUST specify the padding modulus for the algorithm, if 
   one is required. 

   The MAC algorithm employed for the MAC computation on any connection 
   is done so by policy definition in the TAPD entry, and is chosen from 
   a list of available MACs, where each MAC also infers an underlying 
   KDF, per [ao-crypto]'s definitions.   

   The mandatory-to-implement MAC algorithms for use with TCP-AO are 
   described in a separate RFC [ao-crypto].  This allows the TCP-AO 
   specification to proceed along the standards track even if changes 
   are needed to its associated algorithms and their labels (as might be 
   used in a user interface or automated master key management protocol) 
   as a result of the ever evolving world of cryptography.  
 
 
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   >> Additional algorithms, beyond those mandated for TCP-AO, MAY be 
   supported. 

   The data input to the MAC is the following fields in the following 
   sequence, interpreted in network-standard byte order: 

   1. The extended sequence number (ESN), in network-standard byte 
      order, as follows (described further in Section 8.2): 

                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |                ESN                | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
    
                     Figure 3 Extended sequence number 

      The ESN for transmitted segments is maintained locally in the 
      SND.ESN value; for received segments, a local RCV.ESN value is 
      used. The details of how these values are maintained and used is 
      described in Sections 8.2, 9.4, and 9.5. 

   2. The TCP pseudoheader: IP source and destination addresses, 
      protocol number and segment length, all in network byte order, 
      prepended to the TCP header below. The pseudoheader is exactly as 
      used for the TCP checksum in either IPv4 or IPv6 
      [RFC793][RFC2460]: 

                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |           Source Address          | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |         Destination Address       | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |  zero  | Proto  |    TCP Length   | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
    
                  Figure 4 TCP IPv4 pseudoheader [RFC793] 

    










 
 
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                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |                                   | 
                   +                                   + 
                   |                                   | 
                   +           Source Address          + 
                   |                                   | 
                   +                                   + 
                   |                                   | 
                   +                                   + 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |                                   | 
                   +                                   + 
                   |                                   | 
                   +         Destination Address       + 
                   |                                   | 
                   +                                   + 
                   |                                   | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |      Upper-Layer Packet Length    | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |      zero       |   Next Header   | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
    
                 Figure 5 TCP IPv6 pseudoheader [RFC2460] 

   3. The TCP header, by default including options, and where the TCP 
      checksum and TCP-AO MAC fields are set to zero, all in network 
      byte order.  
       
      When the TCP option flag is 0, the TCP options are included in MAC 
      processing, except that the MAC field of the TCP-AO option is 
      zeroed-out. 
       
      When the TCP option flag is 1, all TCP options are omitted from 
      MAC processing, except for the non-MAC portions of the TCP-AO 
      option. In this case, the following field is used instead of the 
      options part of the TCP header: 

            +----------+----------+----------+----------+ 
            |   Kind   |  Length  |  KeyID   | NextKeyID| 
            +----------+----------+----------+----------+ 
    
   4. The TCP data, i.e., the payload of the TCP segment. 

   Note that the traffic key is not included as part of the data; the 
   MAC algorithm indicates how to use the traffic key, e.g., as HMACs do 

 
 
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   in general [RFC2104][RFC2403]. The traffic key is derived from the 
   current master key as described in Sections 7.2. 

7.2. Key Derivation Functions 

   TCP-AO's traffic keys are derived from the master key tuples using 
   Key Derivation Functions (KDFs). The KDFs used in TCP-AO have the 
   following interface: 

      INPUT: PRF_alg, master_key, output_length, data_block 

      OUTPUT: traffic_key 

   where: 

   o  PRF_alg - the specific pseudorandom function (PRF) that is the 
      basic building block used in constructing the given KDF. This is 
      specified by the MAC algorithm as specified in [ao-crypto]. 

   o  Master_key - The master_key string, as will be stored into the 
      associated TCP-AO TAPD master key tuple.  

   o  Output_length - The desired output length of the KDF, i.e., the 
      length to which the KDF's output will be truncated or padded. In 
      TCP-AO, the output_length is the PRF_truncation value of the 
      master key tuple. This is specified by the MAC algorithm as 
      specified in [ao-crypto]. 

   o  Data_block - The data block used as input in constructing the KDF. 
      The data block provided by TCP-AO is used as the "context" as 
      specified in [ao-crypto]. The specific way this context is used, 
      in conjunction with other information, to create the raw input to 
      the PRF is also explained further in [ao-crypto]. 

   The data used as input to the KDF combines TCP socket pair with the 
   endpoint initial sequence numbers (ISNs) of a connection. This 
   provides context unique to each TCP connection instance, which 
   enables TCP-AO to generate unique traffic keys for that connection, 
   even from a master key used across many different connections or 
   across repeated connections that share a socket pair. Unique traffic 
   keys are generated without relying on external key management 
   properties. This data block is defined in Figure 6 and Figure 7. 





 
 
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                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |           Source Address          | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |         Destination Address       | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |   Source Port   |    Dest. Port   | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |            Source ISN             | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |             Dest. ISN             | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
    
                Figure 6 Data block for an IPv4 connection 

    

                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |                                   | 
                   +                                   + 
                   |                                   | 
                   +           Source Address          + 
                   |                                   | 
                   +                                   + 
                   |                                   | 
                   +                                   + 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |                                   | 
                   +                                   + 
                   |                                   | 
                   +         Destination Address       + 
                   |                                   | 
                   +                                   + 
                   |                                   | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |   Source Port   |    Dest. Port   | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |            Source ISN             | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
                   |             Dest. ISN             | 
                   +--------+--------+--------+--------+ 
    
                Figure 7 Data block for an IPv6 connection 

   "Source" and "destination" are defined by the direction of the 
   segment being MAC'd; for incoming packets, source is the remote side, 
   whereas for outgoing packets source is the local side. This further 
   ensures that connection keys generated for each direction are unique. 
 
 
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   For SYN segments (segments with the SYN set, but the ACK not set), 
   the destination ISN is not known. For these segments, the connection 
   key is computed using the connection block shown above, in which the 
   Destination ISN value is zero. For all other segments, the ISN pair 
   is used when known. If the ISN pair is not known, e.g., when sending 
   a RST after a reboot, the segment should be sent without 
   authentication; if authentication was required, the segment cannot 
   have been MAC'd properly anyway and would have been dropped on 
   receipt. 

   >> TCP-AO SYN segments (SYN set, no ACK set) MUST use a destination 
   ISN of zero (whether sent or received); all other segments use the 
   known ISN pair. 

   Overall, this means that each connection will use up to four distinct 
   traffic keys for each master key: 

   o  Send_SYN_traffic_key - the traffic key used to authenticate 
      outgoing SYNs. The source ISN known (the TCP connection's local 
      ISN), and the destination (remote) ISN is unknown (and so the 
      value 0 is used). 

   o  Receive_SYN_traffic_key - the traffic key used to authenticate 
      incoming SYNs. The source ISN known (the TCP connection's remote 
      ISN), and the destination (remote) ISN is unknown (and so the 
      value 0 is used). 

   o  Send_other_traffic_key - the traffic key used to authenticate all 
      other outgoing TCP segments. The source ISN is the TCP 
      connection's local ISN, and the destination ISN is the TCP 
      connection's remote ISN. 

   o  Receive_other_traffic_key - the traffic key used to authenticate 
      all other incoming TCP segments. The source ISN is the TCP 
      connection's remote ISN, and the destination ISN is the TCP 
      connection's remote ISN. 

   The use of both ISNs in the KDF ensures that segments cannot be 
   replayed across repeated connections reusing the same socket pair 
   (provided the ISN pair does not repeat, which is unlikely because 
   both endpoints should select ISNs pseudorandomly [RFC1948], their 32-
   bit space avoids repeated use except under reboot, and reuse assumes 
   both sides repeat their use on the same connection). 

   In general, a SYN would be MAC'd using a destination ISN of zero 
   (whether sent or received), and all other segments would be MAC'd 
   using the ISN pair for the connection. There are other cases in which 
 
 
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   the destination ISN is not known, but segments are emitted, such as 
   after an endpoint reboots, when is possible that the two endpoints 
   would not have enough information to authenticate segments. In such 
   cases, TCP's timeout mechanism will allow old state to be cleared to 
   enable new connections, except where the user timeout is disabled; it 
   is important that implementations are capable of detecting excesses 
   of TCP connections in such a configuration and can clear them out if 
   needed to protect its memory usage [Je07].  

7.3. Traffic Key Establishment and Duration Issues 

   The TCP-AO option does not provide a mechanism for traffic key 
   negotiation or parameter negotiation (MAC algorithm, length, or use 
   of the TCP-AO option), or for coordinating rekeying during a 
   connection. We assume out-of-band mechanisms for master key 
   establishment, parameter negotiation, and rekeying. This separation 
   of master key use from master key management is similar to that in 
   the IPsec security suite [RFC4301][RFC4306]. 

   We encourage users of TCP-AO to apply known techniques for generating 
   appropriate master keys, including the use of reasonable master key 
   lengths, limited traffic key sharing, and limiting the duration of 
   master key use [RFC3562]. This also includes the use of per-
   connection nonces, as suggested in Section 7.2. 

   TCP-AO supports rekeying in which new master keys are negotiated and 
   coordinated out-of-band, either via a protocol or a manual procedure 
   [RFC4808]. New master key use is coordinated using the out-of-band 
   mechanism to update the TAPD at both TCP endpoints. When only a 
   single master key is used at a time, the temporary use of invalid 
   master keys could result in packets being dropped; although TCP is 
   already robust to such drops, TCP-AO uses the KeyID field to avoid 
   such drops. The TAPD can contain multiple concurrent master keys, 
   where the KeyID field is used to identify the master key that 
   corresponds to the traffic key used for a segment, to avoid the need 
   for expensive trial-and-error testing of master keys in sequence. 

   TCP-AO provides an explicit key coordination mechanism, described in 
   Section 8.1. Such a mechanism is useful when new keys are installed, 
   or when keys are changed, to determine when to commence using 
   installed keys. 

   The KeyID field is also useful in coordinating master keys used for 
   new connections. A TAPD entry may be configured that matches the 
   unbound source port, which would return a set of possible master 
   keys. The KeyID would then indicate the specific master key, allowing 

 
 
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   more efficient connection establishment; otherwise, the master keys 
   could have been tried in sequence. 

   Users are advised to manage master keys following the spirit of the 
   advice for key management when using TCP MD5 [RFC3562], notably to 
   use appropriate key lengths (12-24 bytes) and to avoid sharing master 
   keys among multiple BGP peering arrangements. This requires that the 
   TAPD support monitoring and modification. 

7.3.1. Master Key Reuse Across Socket Pairs 

   Master keys can be reused across different socket pairs within a 
   host, or across different instances of a socket pair within a host. 
   In either case, replay protection is maintained.  

   Master keys reused across different socket pairs cannot enable replay 
   attacks because the TCP socket pair is included in the MAC, as well 
   as in the generation of the traffic key. Master keys reused across 
   repeated instances of a given socket pair cannot enable replay 
   attacks because the connection ISNs are included in the traffic key 
   generation algorithm, and ISN pairs are unlikely to repeat over 
   useful periods. 

7.3.2. Master Key Use Within a Long-lived Connection 

   TCP-AO uses extended sequence numbers (ESNs) to prevent replay 
   attacks within long-lived connections. Explicit master key rollover, 
   accomplished by external means and indexed using the KeyID field, can 
   be used to change keying material for various reasons (e.g., 
   personnel turnover), but is not required to support long-lived 
   connections. 

8. Additional Security Mechanisms 

   TCP-AO adds mechanisms to support efficient use, especially in  
   environments where only manual keying is available. These include the 
   previously described mechanisms for supporting multiple concurrent 
   keys (via the KeyID field) and for generating unique per-connection 
   traffic keys (via the KDF). This section describes additional 
   mechanisms to coordinate KeyID changes and to prevent replay attacks 
   when a traffic key is not changed for long periods of time. 

8.1. Coordinating KeyID Changes 

   At any given time, a single TCP connection may have multiple KeyIDs 
   specified for each segment direction (incoming, outgoing). TCP-AO 
   provides a mechanism to indicate when a new KeyID is ready, to allow 
 
 
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   the sender to commence use of that new KeyID. This supported by using 
   two key ID fields in the header: 

   o  KeyID 

   o  NextKeyID 

   KeyID represents the outgoing keying information used by the segment 
   sender to create the segment's MAC (outgoing), and the corresponding 
   incoming keying information used by the segment receiver to validate 
   that MAC. It indicates the KeyID in active use in that direction. 

   NextKeyID represents the preferred keying information to be used for 
   subsequent segments. I.e., it is a way for the segment sender to 
   indicate ready incoming keying information for future segments it 
   receives, so that the segment receiver can know when to switch 
   traffic keys (and thus their KeyIDs). 

   There are two pointers kept by each side of a connection, as noted in 
   the per-connection information (see Section 6): 

   o  Currently active outgoing KeyID (Current_key) 

   o  Current preference for KeyIDs (Next_key) 

   Current_key points to a KeyID (and associated master key tuple) that 
   is used to authenticate outgoing segments. Upon connection 
   establishment, it points to the first key selected for use. 

   Next_key points to an incoming KeyID (and associated master key 
   tuple) that is ready and preferred for use. Upon connection 
   establishment, this points to the currently active incoming key. It 
   can be changed when new keys are installed (e.g., either by automatic 
   key management protocol operation or by user manual selection). 

   Next_key is changed only by manual user intervention or key 
   management protocol operation. It is not manipulated by TCP-AO. 
   Current_key is updated by TCP-AO when processing received TCP 
   segments as discussed in the segment processing description in 
   Section 9.5. 

8.2. Preventing replay attacks within long-lived connections 

   TCP uses a 32-bit sequence number which may, for long-lived 
   connections, roll over and repeat. This could result in TCP segments 
   being intentionally and legitimately replayed within a connection. 
   TCP-AO prevents replay attacks, and thus requires a way to 
 
 
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   differentiate these legitimate replays from each other, and so it 
   adds a 32-bit extended sequence number (ESN) for transmitted and 
   received segments. 

   The ESN extends TCP's sequence number so that segments within a 
   single connection are always unique. When TCP's sequence number rolls 
   over, there is a chance that a segment could be repeated in total; 
   using an ESN differentiates even identical segments sent with 
   identical sequence numbers at different times in a connection. TCP-AO 
   emulates a 64-bit sequence number space by inferring when to 
   increment the high-order 32-bit portion (the ESN) based on 
   transitions in the low-order portion (the TCP sequence number). 

   TCP-AO thus maintains SND.ESN for transmitted segments, and RCV.ESN 
   for received segments, both initialized as zero when a connection 
   begins. The intent of these ESNs is, together with TCP's 32-bit 
   sequence numbers, to provide a 64-bit overall sequence number space. 

   For transmitted segments SND.ESN can be implemented by extending 
   TCP's sequence number to 64-bits; SND.ESN would be the top (high-
   order) 32 bits of that number. For received segments, TCP-AO needs to 
   emulate the use of a 64-bit number space, and correctly infer the 
   appropriate high-order 32-bits of that number as RCV.ESN from the 
   received 32-bit sequence number and the current connection context. 

   The implementation of ESNs is not specified in this document, but one 
   possible way is described here that can be used for either RCV.ESN, 
   SND.ESN, or both. 

   Consider an implementation with two ESNs as required (SND.ESN, 
   RCV.ESN), and additional variables as listed below, all initialized 
   to zero, as well as a current TCP segment field (SEG.SEQ): 

   o  SND.PREV_SEQ, needed to detect rollover of SND.SEQ 

   o  RCV.PREV_SEQ, needed to detect rollover of RCV.SEQ 

   o  SND.ESN_FLAG, which indicates when to increment the SND.ESN 

   o  RCV.ESN_FLAG, which indicates when to increment the RCV.ESN 

   When a segment is received, the following algorithm (written in C) 
   computes the ESN used in the MAC; an equivalent algorithm can be 
   applied to the "SND" side: 



 
 
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         /* */ 
         /* set the flag when the SEG.SEQ first rolls over */ 
         if ((RCV.ESN_FLAG == 0)  
            && (RCV.PREV_SEQ > 0x7fff) && (SEG.SEQ < 0x7fff)) { 
               RCV.ESN = RCV.ESN + 1; 
               RCV.ESN_FLAG = 1; 
         } 
         /* */ 
         /* decide which ESN to use after incremented */ 
         if ((RCV.ESN_FLAG == 1) && (SEG.SEQ > 0x7fff)) { 
            ESN = RCV.ESN - 1; # use the pre-increment value 
         } else { 
            ESN = RCV.ESN; # use the current value 
         } 
         /* */ 
         /* reset the flag in the *middle* of the window */ 
         if ((RCV.PREV_SEQ < 0x7fff) && (SEG.SEQ > 0x7fff)) { 
            RCV.ESN_FLAG = 0; 
         } 
         /* */ 
         /* save the current SEQ for the next time through the code */ 
         RCV.PREV_SEQ = SEG.SEQ; 
    
   In the above code, the first line when the sequence number first 
   rolls over, i.e., when the new number is low (in the bottom half of 
   the number space) and the old number is high (in the top half of the 
   number space). The first time this happens, the ESN is incremented 
   and a flag is set.  

   If the flag is set and a high number is seen, it must be a reordered 
   packet, so use the pre-increment ESN, otherwise use the current ESN. 
   The flag will be cleared by the time the number rolls all the way 
   around. 

   The flag prevents the ESN from being incremented again until the flag 
   is reset, which happens in the middle of the window (when the old 
   number is in the bottom half and the new is in the top half). Because 
   the receive window is never larger than half of the number space, it 
   is impossible to both set and reset the flag at the same time - 
   outstanding packets, regardless of reordering, cannot straddle both 
   regions simultaneously.   

9. TCP-AO Interaction with TCP 

   The following is a description of how TCP-AO affects various TCP 
   states, segments, events, and interfaces. This description is 

 
 
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   intended to augment the description of TCP as provided in RFC-793, 
   and its presentation mirrors that of RFC-793 as a result [RFC793]. 

9.1. TCP User Interface 

   The TCP user interface supports active and passive OPEN, SEND, 
   RECEIVE, CLOSE, STATUS and ABORT commands. TCP-AO does not alter this 
   interface as it applies to TCP, but some commands or command 
   sequences of the interface need to be modified to support TCP-AO. 
   TCP-AO does not specify the details of how this is achieved. 

   TCP-AO requires the TCP user interface be extended to allow the TAPD 
   to be configured, as well as to allow an ongoing connection to manage 
   which KeyID tuples are active. The TAPD needs to be configured prior 
   to connection establishment, and possibly changed during a 
   connection: 

   >> TCP OPEN, or the sequence of commands that configure a connection 
   to be in the active or passive OPEN state, MUST be augmented so that 
   a TAPD entry can be configured.  

   >> A TCP-AO implmentation MUST allow TAPD entries for ongoing TCP 
   connections (i.e., not in the CLOSED state) to be modified. 
   Parameters not used to index a connection MAY be modified; parameters 
   used to index a connection MUST NOT be modified. 

   The TAPD information of a connection needs to be available for 
   confirmation; this includes the ability to read the connection key: 

   >> TCP STATUS SHOULD be augmented to allow the TAPD entry of a 
   current or pending connection to be read (for confirmation). 

   Senders may need to be able to determine when the outgoing KeyID 
   changes or when a new preferred KeyID (NextKeyID) is indicated; these 
   changes immediately affect all subsequent outgoing segments: 

   >> TCP SEND, or a sequence of commands resulting in a SEND, MUST be 
   augmented so that the preferred KeyID (Current_key) and/or the 
   Next_key of a connection can be indicated. 

   It may be useful to change the outgoing active KeyID (Current_key) 
   even when no data is being sent, which can be achieved by sending a 
   zero-length buffer or by using a non-send interface (e.g., socket 
   options in Unix), depending on the implementation. 

   It is also useful to indicate recent KeyID and NextKeyID values 
   received; although there could be a number of such values, they are 
 
 
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   not expected to change quickly so any recent sample should be 
   sufficient: 

   >> TCP RECEIVE, or the sequence of commands resulting in a RECEIVE, 
   MUST be augmented so that the KeyID and NextKeyID of a recently 
   received segment is available to the user out-of-band (e.g., as an 
   additional parameter to RECEIVE, or via a STATUS call). 

9.2. TCP States and Transitions 

   TCP includes the states LISTEN, SYN-SENT, SYN-RECEIVED, ESTABLISHED, 
   FIN-WAIT-1, FIN-WAIT-2, CLOSE-WAIT, CLOSING, LAST-ACK, TIME-WAIT, and 
   CLOSED. 

   >> A TAPD entry MAY be associated with any TCP state. 

   >> A TAPD entry MAY underspecify the TCP connection for the LISTEN 
   state. Such an entry MUST NOT be used for more than one connection 
   progressing out of the LISTEN state.  

9.3. TCP Segments 

   TCP includes control (at least one of SYN, FIN, RST flags set) and 
   data (none of SYN, FIN, or RST flags set) segments. Note that some 
   control segments can include data (e.g., SYN). 

   >> All TCP segments MUST be checked against the TAPD for matching TCP 
   connection IDs. 

   >> TCP segments matching TAPD entries without TCP-AO, or with TCP-AO 
   and whose MACs and KeyIDs do not validate MUST be silently discarded. 

   >> TCP segments with TCP-AO but not matching TAPD entries MUST be 
   silently accepted; this is required for equivalent function with TCPs 
   not implementing TCP-AO.  

   >> Silent discard events SHOULD be signaled to the user as a warning, 
   and silent accept events MAY be signaled to the user as a warning. 
   Both warnings, if available, MUST be accessible via the STATUS 
   interface. Either signal MAY be asynchronous, but if so they MUST be 
   rate-limited. Either signal MAY be logged; logging SHOULD allow rate-
   limiting as well. 

   All TCP-AO processing occurs between the interface of TCP and IP; for 
   incoming segments, this occurs after validation of the TCP checksum. 
   For outgoing segments, this occurs before computation of the TCP 
   checksum. 
 
 
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   Note that the TCP-AO option is not negotiated. It is the 
   responsibility of the receiver to determine when TCP-AO is required 
   and to enforce that requirement.  

9.4. Sending TCP Segments 

   The following procedure describes the modifications to TCP to support 
   TCP-AO when a segment departs. 

   >> Note that TCP-AO MUST be the last TCP option processed on outgoing 
   segments, because its MAC calculation may include the values of other 
   TCP options. 

   1. Find the per-connection parameters for the segment: 

       a. If the segment is a SYN, then this is the first segment of a 
          new connection. Consult the TAPD to find the appropriate 
          master key tuple. 

           i. If there is no matching TAPD entry, omit the TCP-AO 
               option. Proceed with transmitting the segment. 

          ii. If there is a TAPD entry with zero master key tuples, 
               silently discard the segment and cease further 
               processing. 

         iii. If there is a TAPD entry and at least one master key 
               tuple, then set the per-connection parameters as needed 
               (see Section 6). Proceed with the step 2. 

       b. If the segment is not a SYN, then determine whether TCP-AO is 
          being used and the current_key value from the per-connection 
          parameters (see Section 6) and proceed with the step 2. 

   2. Using the per-connection parameters: 

       a. Augment the TCP header with the TCP-AO, inserting the 
          appropriate Length and KeyID based on the master key tuple 
          indicated by current_key. Update the TCP header length 
          accordingly. 

       b. Determine SND.ESN as described in Section 8.2. 

       c. Determine the appropriate traffic key, i.e., as pointed to by 
          current_key (as noted in Section 8.1, and as probably cached 
          in the TCB). I.e., use the Send_SYN_traffic_key for SYN 
          segments, and the send_other_traffic_key for other segments. 
 
 
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       d. Determine the NextKeyID as indicated by the Next_key pointer 
          (as noted in Section 8.1). 

       e. Compute the MAC using the master key tuple (and cached traffic 
          key) and data from the segment as specified in Section 7.1.  

       f. Insert the MAC in the TCP-AO field. 

       g. Proceed with transmitting the segment. 

9.5. Receiving TCP Segments  

   The following procedure describes the modifications to TCP to support 
   TCP-AO when a segment arrives. 

   >> Note that TCP-AO MUST be the first TCP option processed on 
   incoming segments, because its MAC calculation may include the values 
   of other TCP options which could change during TCP option processing. 
   This also protects the behavior of all other TCP options from the 
   impact of spoofed segments or modified header information. 

   >> Note that TCP-AO checks MUST be performed for all incoming SYNs to 
   avoid accepting SYNs lacking the TCP-AO option where required. Other 
   segments can cache whether TCP-AO is needed in the TCB. 

   1. Find the per-connection parameters for the segment: 

       a. If the segment is a SYN, then this is the first segment of a 
          new connection. Consult the TAPD to find the appropriate 
          master key tuple. 

           i. If there is no matching TAPD entry, omit the TCP-AO 
               option. Proceed with further TCP handling of the segment. 

          ii. If there is a TAPD entry with zero master key tuples, 
               silently discard the segment and cease further TCP 
               processing. 

         iii. If there is a TAPD entry and at least one master key 
               tuple, then set the per-connection parameters as needed 
               (see Section 6). Proceed with the step 2. 

   2. Using the per-connection parameters: 

       a. Check that the segment's TCP-AO Length matches the length 
          indicated by the master key indicated by the segment's TCP-AO 
          KeyID field. 
 
 
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           i. If lengths differ, silently discard the segment. Log 
               and/or signal the event as indicated in Section 9.3. 

       b. Use the segment's KeyID value to index the appropriate 
          connection key for this connection. 

       c. Determine the segment's RCV.ESN as described in Section 8.2. 

       d. Determine the segment's traffic key from the master key tuple 
          as described in Section 7.1 (and as likely cached in the TCB). 
          I.e., use the receive_SYN_traffic_key for SYN segments, and 
          the receive_other_traffic_key for other segments. 

       e. Compute the segment's MAC using the master key tuple (and its 
          derived traffic key) and portions of the segment as indicated 
          in Section 7.1. 

           i. If the computed MAC differs from the TCP-AO MAC field 
               value, silently discard the segment. Log and/or signal 
               the event as indicated in Section 9.3. 

       f. Compare the received NextKeyID value to the currently active 
          outgoing KeyID value (Current_key).  

           i. If they match, no further action is required. 

          ii. If they differ, determine whether the NextKeyID keying 
               information is ready. 

                 1. If the NextKeyID keying information is not 
                    available, no action is required.  

                 2. If the NextKeyID keying information is available: 
                     
                    NOTE: there is an open question as to whether to 
                    refuse to change to the suggested NextKeyID if it 
                    already has a 2*MSL timer set on it, i.e., to refuse 
                    to 'backup' and use a key once it has been 
                    previously used. 

                     a. Set a timer on the previous value of current_key 
                       to ensure that the corresponding master key 
                       cannot be removed from the TAPD for 2*MSL. 

                     b. Set Current_key to the NextKeyID value.  

       g. Proceed with TCP processing of the segment. 
 
 
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   It is suggested that TCP-AO implementations validate a segment's 
   Length field before computing a MAC, to reduce the overhead incurred 
   by spoofed segments with invalid TCP-AO fields. 

   Additional reductions in MAC validation overhead can be supported in 
   the MAC algorithms, e.g., by using a computation algorithm that 
   prepends a fixed value to the computed portion and a corresponding 
   validation algorithm that verifies the fixed value before investing 
   in the computed portion. Such optimizations would be contained in the 
   MAC algorithm specification, and thus are not specified in TCP-AO 
   explicitly. Note that the KeyID cannot be used for connection 
   validation per se, because it is not assumed random. 

9.6. Impact on TCP Header Size 

   The TCP-AO option typically uses a total of 17-19 bytes of TCP header 
   space. TCP-AO is no larger than and typically 3 bytes smaller than 
   the TCP MD5 option (assuming a 96-bit MAC).  

   Note that TCP option space is most critical in SYN segments, because 
   flags in those segments could potentially increase the option space 
   area in other segments. Because TCP ignores unknown segments, 
   however, it is not possible to extend the option space of SYNs 
   without breaking backward-compatibility. 

   TCP's 4-bit data offset requires that the options end 60 bytes (15 
   32-bit words) after the header begins, including the 20-byte header. 
   This leaves 40 bytes for options, of which 15 are expected in current 
   implementations (listed below), leaving at most 25 for other uses. 
   Assuming a 96-bit MAC, TCP-AO consumes 16 bytes, leaving up to 9 
   bytes for additional SYN options (depending on implementation 
   dependant alignment padding, which could consume another 2 bytes at 
   most). 

   o  SACK permitted (2 bytes) [RFC2018][RFC3517] 

   o  Timestamps (10 bytes) [RFC1323] 

   o  Window scale (3 bytes) [RFC1323] 

   After a SYN, the following options are expected in current 
   implementations of TCP: 

   o  SACK (10bytes) [RFC2018][RFC3517] (18 bytes if D-SACK [RFC2883] 

   o  Timestamps (10 bytes) [RFC1323] 

 
 
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   TCP-AO continues to consume 16 bytes in non-SYN segments, leaving a 
   total of 24 bytes for other options, of which the timestamp consumes 
   10. This leaves 14 bytes, of which 10 are used for a single SACK 
   block. When two SACK blocks are used, such as to handle D-SACK, a 
   smaller TCP-AO MAC would be required to make room for the additional 
   SACK block (i.e., to leave 18 bytes for the D-SACK variant of the 
   SACK option) [RFC2883]. Note that D-SACK is not supportable in TCP-
   MD5 in the presence of timestamps, because TCP MD5's MAC length is 
   fixed and too large to leave sufficient option space. 

   Although TCP option space is limited, we believe TCP-AO is consistent 
   with the desire to authenticate TCP at the connection level for 
   similar uses as were intended by TCP MD5. 

10. Obsoleting TCP MD5 and Legacy Interactions 

   TCP-AO obsoletes TCP MD5. As we have noted earlier: 

   >> TCP implementations MUST support TCP-AO. 

   Systems implementing TCP MD5 only are considered legacy, and ought to 
   be upgraded when possible. In order to support interoperation with 
   such legacy systems until upgrades are available: 

   >> TCP MD5 SHOULD be supported where interactions with legacy systems 
   is needed. 

   >> A system that supports both TCP-AO and TCP MD5 MUST use TCP-AO for 
   connections unless not supported by its peer, at which point it MAY 
   use TCP MD5 instead.  

   >> A TCP implementation MUST NOT use both TCP-AO and TCP MD5 for a 
   particular TCP connection, but MAY support TCP-AO and TCP MD5 
   simultaneously for different connections (notably to support legacy 
   use of TCP MD5). 

   The Kind value explicitly indicates whether TCP-AO or TCP MD5 is used 
   for a particular connection in TCP segments.  

   It is possible that the TAPD could be augmented to support TCP MD5, 
   although use of a TAPD-like system is not described in RFC2385.  

   It is possible to require TCP-AO for a connection or TCP MD5, but it 
   is not possible to require 'either'. When an endpoint is configured 
   to require TCP MD5 for a connection, it must be added to all outgoing 
   segments and validated on all incoming segments [RFC2385]. TCP MD5's 

 
 
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   requirements prohibit the speculative use of both options for a given 
   connection, e.g., to be decided by the other end of the connection. 

11. Interactions with Middleboxes 

   TCP-AO may interact with middleboxes, depending on their behavior 
   [RFC3234]. Some middleboxes either alter TCP options (such as TCP-AO) 
   directly or alter the information TCP-AO includes in its MAC 
   calculation. TCP-AO may interfere with these devices, exactly where 
   the device modifies information TCP-AO is designed to protect. 

11.1. Interactions with non-NAT/NAPT Middleboxes 

   TCP-AO supports middleboxes that do not change the IP addresses or 
   ports of segments. Such middleboxes may modify some TCP options, in 
   which case TCP-AO would need to be configured to ignore all options 
   in the MAC calculation on connections traversing that element. 

   Note that ignoring TCP options may provide less protection, i.e., TCP 
   options could be modified in transit, and such modifications could be 
   used by an attacker. Depending on the modifications, TCP could have 
   compromised efficiency (e.g., timestamp changes), or could cease 
   correct operation (e.g., window scale changes). These vulnerabilities 
   affect only the TCP connections for which TCP-AO is configured to 
   ignore TCP options. 

11.2. Interactions with NAT/NAPT Devices 

   TCP-AO cannot interoperate natively across NAT/NAPT devices, which 
   modify the IP addresses and/or port numbers. We anticipate that 
   traversing such devices will require variants of existing NAT/NAPT 
   traversal mechanisms, e.g., encapsulation of the TCP-AO-protected 
   segment in another transport segment (e.g., UDP), as is done in IPsec 
   [RFC2766][RFC3947]. Such variants can be adapted for use with TCP-AO, 
   or IPsec NAT traversal can be used instead in such cases [RFC3947]. 

12. Evaluation of Requirements Satisfaction 

   TCP-AO satisfies all the current requirements for a revision to TCP 
   MD5, as summarized below [Be07]. 

   1. Protected Elements 
       
      A solution to revising TCP MD5 should protect (authenticate) the 
      following elements. 
       
      This is supported - see Section 7.1.  
 
 
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       a. TCP pseudoheader, including IPv4 and IPv6 versions.  
           
          Note that we do not allow optional coverage because IP 
          addresses define a connection. If they can be coordinated 
          across a NAT/NAPT, the sender can compute the MAC based on the 
          received values; if not, a tunnel is required, as noted in 
          Section 11.2. 

       b. TCP header.  
           
          Note that we do not allow optional port coverage because ports 
          define a connection. If they can be coordinated across a 
          NAT/NAPT, the sender can compute the MAC based on the received 
          values; if not, a tunnel is required, as noted in Section 
          11.2. 

       c. TCP options.  
           
          Note that TCP-AO allows exclusion of TCP options from 
          coverage, to enable use with middleboxes that modify options 
          (except when they modify TCP-AO itself). See Section 11. 

       d. TCP payload data. 

   2. Option Structure Requirements 
       
      A solution to revising TCP MD5 should use an option with the 
      following structural requirements.  
       
      This is supported - see Section 7.1.  

       a. Privacy. 
           
          The option should not unnecessarily expose information about 
          the TCP-AO mechanism. The additional protection afforded by 
          keeping this information private may be of little value, but 
          also helps keep the option size small. 
           
          TCP-AO exposes only the master key index, MAC, and overall 
          option length on the wire. Note that short MACs could be 
          obscured by using longer option lengths but specifying a short 
          MAC length (this is equivalent to a different MAC algorithm, 
          and is specified in the TAPD entry). See Section 4.2.  




 
 
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       b. Allow optional per connection.  
           
          The option should not be required on every connection; it 
          should be optional on a per connection basis. 
           
          This is supported - see Sections 9.3, 9.4, and 9.5.  

       c. Require non-optional.  

          The option should be able to be specified as required for a 
          given connection. 
           
          This is supported - see Sections 9.3, 9.4, and 9.5.  

       d. Standard parsing.  
           
          The option should be easily parseable, i.e., without 
          conditional parsing, and follow the standard RFC 793 option 
          format. 
           
          This is supported - see Section 4.2.  

       e. Compatible with Large Windows and SACK. 
           
          The option should be compatible with the use of the Large 
          Windows and SACK options. 
           
          This is supported - see Section 9.6. The size of the option is 
          intended to allow use with Large Windows and SACK. See also 
          Section 2.1, which indicates that TCP-AO is 3 bytes shorter 
          than TCP MD5 in the default case, assuming a 96-bit MAC. 

   3. Cryptography requirements 
       
      A solution to revising TCP MD5 should support modern cryptography 
      capabilities. 

       a. Baseline defaults.  
           
          The option should have a default that is required in all 
          implementations. 
           
          TCP-AO uses a default required algorithm as specified in [ao-
          crypto], as noted in Section 7.1.   



 
 
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       b. Good algorithms.  
           
          The option should use algorithms considered accepted by the 
          security community, which are considered appropriately safe. 
          The use of non-standard or unpublished algorithms should be 
          avoided. 
           
          TCP-AO uses MACs as indicated in [ao-crypto]. The PRF is also 
          specified in [ao-crypto]. The PRF input string follows the 
          typical design (see [ao-crypto]). 

       c. Algorithm agility.  
           
          The option should support algorithms other than the default, 
          to allow agility over time. 
           
          TCP-AO allows any desired algorithm, subject to TCP option 
          space limitations, as noted in Section 4.2. The TAPD allows 
          separate connections to use different algorithms, both for the 
          MAC and the PRF. 

       d. Order-independent processing.  
           
          The option should be processed independently of the proper 
          order, i.e., they should allow processing of TCP segments in 
          the order received, without requiring reordering. This avoids 
          the need for reordering prior to processing, and avoids the 
          impact of misordered segments on the option. 
           
          This is supported - see Sections 9.3, 9.4, and 9.5. Note that 
          pre-TCP processing is further required, because TCP segments 
          cannot be discarded solely based on a combination of 
          connection state and out-of-window checks; many such segments, 
          although discarded, cause a host to respond with a replay of 
          the last valid ACK, e.g. [RFC793]. See also the derivation of 
          the ESN, which is reconstituted at the receiver using a 
          demonstration algorithm that avoids the need for reordering 
          (in Section 8.2). 









 
 
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       e. Security parameter changes require key changes.  
           
          The option should require that the key change whenever the 
          security parameters change. This avoids the need for 
          coordinating option state during a connection, which is 
          typical for TCP options. This also helps allow "bump in the 
          stack" implementations that are not integrated with endpoint 
          TCP implementations. 
           
          TAPD parameters that should not change during a connection (by 
          defininition, e.g., TCP connection ID, receiver TCP connection 
          ID, TCP option exclusion list) cannot change. Other parameters 
          change only when a master key is changed, using the master key 
          tuple mechanism in the TAPD. See Section 5.  

   4. Keying requirements.  
       
      A solution to revising TCP MD5 should support manual keying, and 
      should support the use of an external automated key management 
      system (e.g., a protocol or other mechanism). 
       
      Note that TCP-AO does not specify a master key management system, 
      but does indicate a proposed interface to the TAPD, allowing a 
      completely separate master key system, as noted in Section 5. 

       a. Intraconnection rekeying.  
           
          The option should support rekeying during a connection, to 
          avoid the impact of long-duration connections. 
           
          This is supported by the KeyID and multiple master key tuples 
          in a TAPD entry; see Section 5.  

       b. Efficient rekeying.  
           
          The option should support rekeying during a connection without 
          the need to expend undue computational resources. In 
          particular, the options should avoid the need to try multiple 
          keys on a given segment. 
           
          This is supported by the use of the KeyID. See Section 8.1.  






 
 
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       c. Automated and manual keying.  
           
          The option should support both automated and manual keying. 
           
          The use of a separate TAPD allows external automated and 
          manual keying. See Section 5. This capability is enhanced by 
          the generation of unique per-connection keys, which enables 
          use of manual master keys with automatically generated 
          connection keys as noted in Section 7.2.  

       d. Key management agnostic.  
           
          The option should not assume or require a particular key 
          management solution. 
           
          This is supported by use of a separate TAPD. See Section 5.  

   5. Expected Constraints 
       
      A solution to revising TCP MD5 should also abide by typical safe 
      security practices. 

       a. Silent failure.  
           
          Receipt of segments failing authentication must result in no 
          visible external action and must not modify internal state, 
          and those events should be logged. 
           
          This is supported - see Sections 9.3, 9.4, and 9.5.  

       b. At most one such option per segment.  
           
          Only one authentication option can be permitted per segment. 
           
          This is supported by the protocol requirements - see Section 
          4.2.  

       c. Outgoing all or none.  
           
          Segments out of a TCP connection are either all authenticated 
          or all not authenticated. 
           
          This is supported - see Section 9.4.  




 
 
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       d. Incoming all checked.  
           
          Segments into a TCP connection are always checked to determine 
          whether their authentication should be present and valid. 
           
          This is supported - see Section 9.5.  

       e. Non-interaction with TCP MD5.  
           
          The use of this option for a given connection should not 
          preclude the use of TCP MD5, e.g., for legacy use, for other 
          connections. 
           
          This is supported - see Section 10.  

       f. Optional ICMP discard.  
           
          The option should allow certain ICMPs to be discarded, notably 
          Type 3 (destination unreachable), Codes 2-4 (transport 
          protocol unreachable, port unreachable, or fragmentation 
          needed and IP DF field set), i.e., the ones indicating the 
          failure of the endpoint to communicate. 
           
          This is supported - see Section 13.  

       g. Maintain TCP connection semantics, in which the socket pair 
          alone defines a TCP association and all its security 
          parameters.  
           
          This is supported - see Sections 5 and 11. 

13. Security Considerations 

   Use of TCP-AO, like use of TCP MD5 or IPsec, will impact host 
   performance. Connections that are known to use TCP-AO can be attacked 
   by transmitting segments with invalid MACs. Attackers would need to 
   know only the TCP connection ID and TCP-AO Length value to 
   substantially impact the host's processing capacity. This is similar 
   to the susceptibility of IPsec to on-path attacks, where the IP 
   addresses and SPI would be visible. For IPsec, the entire SPI space 
   (32 bits) is arbitrary, whereas for routing protocols typically only 
   the source port (16 bits) is arbitrary. As a result, it would be 
   easier for an off-path attacker to spoof a TCP-AO segment that could 
   cause receiver validation effort. However, we note that between 
   Internet routers both ports could be arbitrary (i.e., determined a-
   priori out of band), which would constitute roughly the same off-path 
   antispoofing protection of an arbitrary SPI. 
 
 
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   TCP-AO, like TCP MD5, may inhibit connectionless resets. Such resets 
   typically occur after peer crashes, either in response to new 
   connection attempts or when data is sent on stale connections; in 
   either case, the recovering endpoint may lack the connection key 
   required (e.g., if lost during the crash). This may result in time-
   outs, rather than more responsive recovery after such a crash. As 
   noted in Section 7.2, such cases may also result in persistent TCP 
   state for old connections that cannot be cleared, and so 
   implementations should be capable of detecting an excess of such 
   connections and clearing their state if needed to protect memory 
   utilization [Je07].  

   TCP-AO does not include a fast decline capability, e.g., where a SYN-
   ACK is received without an expected TCP-AO option and the connection 
   is quickly reset or aborted. Normal TCP operation will retry and 
   timeout, which is what should be expected when the intended receiver 
   is not capable of the TCP variant required anyway. Backoff is not 
   optimized because it would present an opportunity for attackers on 
   the wire to abort authenticated connection attempts by sending 
   spoofed SYN-ACKs without the TCP-AO option. 

   TCP-AO is intended to provide similar protections to IPsec, but is 
   not intended to replace the use of IPsec or IKE either for more 
   robust security or more sophisticated security management. 

   TCP-AO does not address the issue of ICMP attacks on TCP. IPsec makes 
   recommendations regarding dropping ICMPs in certain contexts, or 
   requiring that they are endpoint authenticated in others [RFC4301]. 
   There are other mechanisms proposed to reduce the impact of ICMP 
   attacks by further validating ICMP contents and changing the effect 
   of some messages based on TCP state, but these do not provide the 
   level of authentication for ICMP that TCP-AO provides for TCP [Go07]. 

   >> A TCP-AO implementation MUST allow the system administrator to 
   configure whether TCP will ignore incoming ICMP messages of Type 3 
   (destination unreachable) Codes 2-4 (protocol unreachable, port 
   unreachable, and fragmentation needed - 'hard errors') intended for 
   connections that match TAPD entries with non-NONE inbound MACs. An 
   implementation SHOULD allow ignored ICMPs to be logged.  

   This control affects only ICMPs that currently require 'hard errors', 
   which would abort the TCP connection [RFC1122]. This recommendation 
   is intended to be similar to how IPsec would handle those messages 
   [RFC4301]. 

   TCP-AO includes the TCP connection ID (the socket pair) in the MAC 
   calculation. This prevents different concurrent connections using the 
 
 
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   same connection key (for whatever reason) from potentially enabling a 
   traffic-crossing attack, in which segments to one socket pair are 
   diverted to attack a different socket pair. When multiple connections 
   use the same master key, it would be useful to know that packets 
   intended for one ID could not be (maliciously or otherwise) modified 
   in transit and end up being authenticated for the other ID. The ID 
   cannot be zeroed, because to do so would require that the TAPD index 
   was unique in both directions (ID->key and key->ID). That requirement 
   would place an additional burden of uniqueness on master keys within 
   endsystems, and potentially across endsystems. Although the resulting 
   attack is low probability, the protection afforded by including the 
   received ID warrants its inclusion in the MAC, and does not unduly 
   increase the MAC calculation or master key management system. 

   The use of any security algorithm can present an opportunity for a 
   CPU DOS attack, where the attacker sends false, random segments that 
   the receiver under attack expends substantial CPU effort to reject. 
   In IPsec, such attacks are reduced by the use of a large Security 
   Parameter Index (SPI) and Sequence Number fields to partly validate 
   segments before CPU cycles are invested validated the Integrity Check 
   Value (ICV). In TCP-AO, the socket pair performs most of the function 
   of IPsec's SPI, and IPsec's Sequence Number, used to avoid replay 
   attacks, isn't needed due to TCP's Sequence Number, which is used to 
   reorder received segments (provided the sequence number doesn't wrap 
   around, which is why TCP-AO adds the ESN in Section 8.2). TCP already 
   protects itself from replays of authentic segment data as well as 
   authentic explicit TCP control (e.g., SYN, FIN, ACK bits, but even 
   authentic replays could affect TCP congestion control [Sa99]. TCP-AO 
   does not protect TCP congestion control from this last form of attack 
   due to the cumbersome nature of layering a windowed security sequence 
   number within TCP in addition to TCP's own sequence number; when such 
   protection is desired, users are encouraged to apply IPsec instead. 

   Further, it is not useful to validate TCP's Sequence Number before 
   performing a TCP-AO authentication calculation, because out-of-window 
   segments can still cause valid TCP protocol actions (e.g., ACK 
   retransmission) [RFC793]. It is similarly not useful to add a 
   separate Sequence Number field to the TCP-AO option, because doing so 
   could cause a change in TCP's behavior even when segments are valid. 

14. IANA Considerations 

   [NOTE: This section be removed prior to publication as an RFC] 

   The TCP-AO option defines no new namespaces. 


 
 
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   The TCP-AO option requires that IANA allocate a value from the TCP 
   option Kind namespace, to be replaced for TCP-IANA-KIND throughout 
   this document. 

   To specify MAC and PRF algorithms, TCP-AO refers to a separate 
   document that may involve IANA actions [ao-crypto]. 

15. References 

15.1. Normative References 

   [RFC793]  Postel, J., "Transmission Control Protocol," STD-7, 
             RFC-793, Standard, Sept. 1981. 

   [RFC1122] Braden, R., "Requirements for Internet Hosts -- 
             Communication Layers," RFC-1122, Oct. 1989. 

   [RFC2018] Mathis, M., J. Mahdavi, S. Floyd, A. Romanow, "TCP 
             Selective Acknowledgement Options", RFC-2018, Proposed 
             Standard, April 1996. 

   [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate 
             Requirement Levels", BCP-14, RFC-2119, Best Current 
             Practice, March 1997. 

   [RFC2385] Heffernan, A., "Protection of BGP Sessions via the TCP MD5 
             Signature Option," RFC-2385, Proposed Standard, Aug. 1998. 

   [RFC2403] Madson, C., R. Glenn, "The Use of HMAC-MD5-96 within ESP 
             and AH," RFC-2403, Proposed Standard, Nov. 1998. 

   [RFC2460] Deering, S., R. Hinden, "Internet Protocol, Version 6 
             (IPv6) Specification," RFC-2460, Proposed Standard, Dec. 
             1998. 

   [RFC2883] Floyd, S., J. Mahdavi, M. Mathis, M. Podolsky, "An 
             Extension to the Selective Acknowledgement (SACK) Option 
             for TCP", RFC-2883, Proposed Standard, July 2000. 

   [RFC3517] Blanton, E., M. Allman, K. Fall, L. Wang, "A Conservative 
             Selective Acknowledgment (SACK)-based Loss Recovery 
             Algorithm for TCP", RFC-3517, Proposed Standard, April 
             2003. 

   [RFC4306] Kaufman, C., "Internet Key Exchange (IKEv2) Protocol," 
             RFC-4306, Proposed Standard, Dec. 2005. 

 
 
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   [ao-crypto] Lebovitz, G., "Cryptographic Algorithms, Use, & 
             Implementation Requirments for TCP Authentication Option", 
             draft-lebovitz-ietf-tcpm-tcp-ao-crypto, Mar. 2009. 

15.2. Informative References 

   [Be07]    Eddy, W., (ed), S. Bellovin, J. Touch, R. Bonica, "Problem 
             Statement and Requirements for a TCP Authentication 
             Option," draft-bellovin-tcpsec-01, (work in progress), Jul. 
             2007. 

   [Bo07]    Bonica, R., B. Weis, S. Viswanathan, A. Lange, O. Wheeler, 
             "Authentication for TCP-based Routing and Management 
             Protocols," draft-bonica-tcp-auth-06, (work in progress), 
             Feb. 2007. 

   [Go07]    Gont, F., "ICMP attacks against TCP," draft-ietf-tcpm-icmp-
             attacks-04, (work in progress), Oct. 2008. 

   [Je07]    Jethanandani, M., M. Bashyam, "TCP Robustness in Persist 
             Condition," draft-mahesh-persist-timeout-02, (work in 
             progress), Oct. 2007. 

   [RFC1321] Rivest, R., "The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm," RFC-1321, 
             Informational, April 1992. 

   [RFC1323] Jacobson, V., R. Braden, D. Borman, "TCP Extensions for 
             High Performance," RFC-1323, May 1992. 

   [RFC1948] Bellovin, S., "Defending Against Sequence Number Attacks," 
             RFC-1948, Informational, May 1996. 

   [RFC2104] Krawczyk, H., M. Bellare, R. Canetti, "HMAC: Keyed-Hashing 
             for Message Authentication," RFC-2104, Informational, Feb. 
             1997. 

   [RFC2766] Tsirtsis, G., P. Srisuresh, "Network Address Translation - 
             Protocol Translation (NAT-PT)," RFC-2766, Proposed 
             Standard, Feb. 2000. 

   [RFC3234] Carpenter, B., S. Brim, "Middleboxes: Taxonomy and Issues," 
             RFC-3234, Informational, Feb. 2002. 

   [RFC3562] Leech, M., "Key Management Considerations for the TCP MD5 
             Signature Option," RFC-3562, Informational, July 2003. 


 
 
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   [RFC3947] Kivinen, T., B. Swander, A. Huttunen, V. Volpe, 
             "Negotiation of NAT-Traversal in the IKE," RFC-3947, 
             Proposed Standard, Jan. 2005. 

   [RFC4301] Kent, S., K. Seo, "Security Architecture for the Internet 
             Protocol," RFC-4301, Proposed Standard, Dec. 2005. 

   [RFC4808] Bellovin, S., "Key Change Strategies for TCP-MD5," 
             RFC-4808, Informational, Mar. 2007. 

   [RFC4953] Touch, J., "Defending TCP Against Spoofing Attacks," 
             RFC-4953, Informational, Jul. 2007. 

   [Sa99]    Savage, S., N. Cardwell, D. Wetherall, T. Anderson, "TCP 
             Congestion Control with a Misbehaving Receiver," ACM 
             Computer Communications Review, V29, N5, pp71-78, October 
             1999. 

   [SDNS88]  Secure Data Network Systems, "Security Protocol 4 (SP4)," 
             Specification SDN.401, Revision 1.2, July 12, 1988. 

   [To06]    Touch, J., A. Mankin, "The TCP Simple Authentication 
             Option," draft-touch-tcpm-tcp-simple-auth-03, (expired work 
             in progress), Oct. 2006. 

   [Wa05]    Wang, X., H. Yu, "How to break MD5 and other hash 
             functions," Proc. IACR Eurocrypt 2005, Denmark, pp.19-35. 

   [We05]    Weis, B., "TCP Message Authentication Code Option," draft-
             weis-tcp-mac-option-00, (expired work in progress), Dec. 
             2005. 

16. Acknowledgments 

   Alfred Hoenes, Charlie Kaufman, and Adam Langley provided substantial 
   feedback on this document.  

   This document was prepared using 2-Word-v2.0.template.dot. 









 
 
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Authors' Addresses 

   Joe Touch 
   USC/ISI 
   4676 Admiralty Way 
   Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6695 
   U.S.A. 
       
   Phone: +1 (310) 448-9151 
   Email: touch@isi.edu 
   URL:   http://www.isi.edu/touch 
    

   Allison Mankin 
   Johns Hopkins Univ. 
   Washington, DC 
   U.S.A. 
       
   Phone: 1 301 728 7199 
   Email: mankin@psg.com 
   URL:   http://www.psg.com/~mankin/ 
    
    
   Ronald P. Bonica 
   Juniper Networks 
   2251 Corporate Park Drive 
   Herndon, VA  20171 
   U.S.A. 
       
   Email: rbonica@juniper.net 
 

    














 
 
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