> >    "This limits the use of EAP
> >    to transport layers which are on top of IP, and provide their own
> >    ordering guarantees."
> >
> > Sure thing. But neither IKEv2 nor PANA are "EAP naked over IP". There
> > is UDP, and a UDP-based header in between which ensures the EAP
> > requirements are satisfied.
> 
> Well, the applicability statement should also provide limits on what
> NOT to do. 

Here your I-D is sliding into talking about "EAP lower-layer requirements"
which is a different thing than "EAP applicability statement".

> So, it's good that PANA and IKEv2 use UDP. But some ill-
> advised person might envisage "EAP over ICMP", which is on top of IP,
> but does not provide ordering guarantees. I think it would be good to
> tell such a person that they should... do something else.

I don't think there is anything to prevent an ICMP-based EAP lower-layer
being designed.

> 
> >    "In most network
> >    access use cases all access servers that are served by a
> particular
> >    EAP server are providing the same or very similar types of
> service.
> >    The peer does not need to differentiate between different access
> >    network services supported by the same EAP server.
> >
> >
> > Same EAP server can be serving multiple different types of access
> > technology for the same terminal (e.g., WiFi, WiMAX, 3G). So, the
> > aforementioned assumption may not be true.
> 
> That's a good point; it depends largely on how one defines "very
> similar". I was just about to write back "but these are all just IP
> network access technologies" - but they aren't. IIRC, EAP-AKA in the
> 3GPP world isn't only used for IP network data access, it's also for
> good old voice telephony (is that right? I think I mentioned before
> that the 3GPP world is a mystery to me ... ).
> 
> Still, even with data being "different" - it is still a network.
> Circuit-switched as opposed to packet-switched alright, but for some,
> it might still qualify as being "very similar".
> 
> IOW, the text still has a bit of leeway for interpretation here. I'm
> happy to get text suggestions.
> 
> >    "A device can be created that impersonates a Network
> >    Access Service to peers, but actually proxies the authentication
> to
> >    the service that newly accepts EAP auths may decrease the security
> of
> >    this service even for users who previously used non-EAP means of
> >    authentication to the service."
> >
> > Isn't this supposed to be handled by the crypto-secured AAA signaling
> > between the NAS and the AAA proxy/server? AAA infra would not let
> > anyone drop some arbitrary AAA node in and get it on the AAA path.
> 
> That's not where I understood the impersonation threat to come from.
> Isn't it more like:
> 
> Consider user A who uses a NAS B to get network access, where B
> authenticates the user credentials to EAP server C.
> A also reads his email via IMAP, but the IMAP server will do plain old
> PAP, against server C (not speaking EAP though).
> 
> B can't read the user's email because it doesn't know A's credentials
> at C; it's just a pass-through.
> 
> Now, the IMAP administrative personnel enables IMAP server access with
> abfab technology, i.e. GSSAPI and EAP, authenticating against the same
> server C (now speaking EAP).
> 
> B's operator would now love to read the user's email, and waits for the
> user to login via B (network access!) next time. He then triggers a
> GSSAPI-based EAP authentication at the IMAP server, and relays the EAP
> conversation from A to the IMAP server, which uses it to authenticate
> "A" at C. B (or, the sinister administrator of B) now has access to A's
> mails without actually being A - a successful impersonation.
> 
> B will never learn the actual credential of A; that is hopefully
> cryptographically secured inside the EAP mechanism, but it may get
> access to another service in the name of the user.
> 
> So, while B and IMAP are both part of the same AAA infrastructure, they
> only have a per-service trust towards the EAP server; the AAA
> infrastructure doesn't preclude the two from cheating over each other.

B is a NAS. It's not allowed to source AAA messages for non-NAS related
procedures (e.g., IMAP). Wouldn't this simply solution handle the issue?



> 
> > " Pending issuance of
> >    a Channel Binding RFC, it is thus due to extend the EAP
> applicability
> >    statement to include non-network access contexts if - and only if
> -
> >    this context mandates channel bindings."
> >
> > I couldn't parse this well. To me, EAP applicability statement
> > revision is needed for ABFAB work (even though the ordering of these
> > developments taking place is not natural :-). And plus you are saying
> > channel binding work is needed for ABFAB work too.
> 
> This is not necessarily about ABFAB in a narrow sense. It's more like:
> "using EAP for access to multiple services requires channel bindings".
> Since one usage of EAP is for the service "network access" ever since,
> adding any other second use triggers the need to add channel bindings.
> But yes, ABFAB is such a "second use".
> 
> > "  The use of EAP over IP is recommended if - and only if - it is
> >    transported over a transport layer on top of IP which provides
> >    ordering guarantees."
> >
> > I think this goes w/o saying. Whatever requirements exist for EAP
> > lower-layer applies to any lower layer. Besides, like I  don't think
> > this is part of "extending" the applicability because it was already
> allowed.
> > Nevertheless, an explicit recognition of that possibility can be
> useful too.
> 
> Well, yes, it doesn't hurt to be explicit.

I'm afraid this is mixing up requirements and applicability discussions.
Probably any transport protocol (including pigeons) is fine as an EAP
lower-layer as long as it satisfies the EAP lower-layer requirements. 
But carrying anything or doing anything with EAP is not fine, and that's
where the applicability statement comes into the picture.




On a more radical note, why EAP has applicability statement, but no(?) other
IETF protocol has one? What happens if we get rid of the applicability
statement completely?

Cheers,

Alper


> 
> Greetings,
> 
> Stefan Winter
> 
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Alper
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
> >> Behalf Of Stefan Winter
> >> Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 12:03 PM
> >> To: [email protected]
> >> Subject: [abfab] Work Item: Update to the EAP Applicability
> Statement
> >>
> >> Hello,
> >>
> >> I foolishly volunteered to draft an update to the EAP applicability
> >> statement. With the help of very knowledgable people, in particular
> >> Joe Salowey and Sam Hartman, I made an initial attempt:
> >>
> >> http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-winter-abfab-eapapplicability-00
> >>
> >> This obviously isn't perfect, and I would welcome comments of any
> >> sort (including, but not limited to, offers for text and/or
> >> co-authorship :-
> >> ) ).
> >>
> >> Greetings,
> >>
> >> Stefan Winter
> >>
> >> --
> >> Stefan WINTER
> >> Ingenieur de Recherche
> >> Fondation RESTENA - Réseau Téléinformatique de l'Education Nationale
> >> et de la Recherche 6, rue Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi
> >> L-1359 Luxembourg
> >>
> >> Tel: +352 424409 1
> >> Fax: +352 422473
> >>
> >
> 
> 
> --
> Stefan WINTER
> Ingenieur de Recherche
> Fondation RESTENA - Réseau Téléinformatique de l'Education Nationale et
> de la Recherche 6, rue Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi
> L-1359 Luxembourg
> 
> Tel: +352 424409 1
> Fax: +352 422473
> 


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