Why can't have another EAP tunnel terminated at home authentication
server inside EAP-TTLS tunnel terminated at the visited network to
protect password end-to-end (besides additional tunneling overhead, of
course)?

Yoshihiro Ohba

(2010/06/25 7:45), Joseph Salowey (jsalowey) wrote:
> There are many deployments of Tunneled EAP methods (EAP-TTLS, EAP-FAST)
> where a password is sent from the client to the Authentication server
> within the protected tunnel.  Terminating the tunnel somewhere other
> than the home server would be bad as it would disclose this long term
> secret.
> 
> Joe
> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
> Dan
>> Harkins
>> Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2010 3:07 PM
>> To: Alan DeKok
>> Cc: [email protected]; Sam Hartman
>> Subject: Re: [Emu] Channel Binding Discussion at IETF 77: why bother
>>
>>
>> On Thu, June 24, 2010 1:55 pm, Alan DeKok wrote:
>>> Dan Harkins wrote:
>>>>    The only type of credential that would have the issues you're
>>>> talking about is a long-term password used in PAP. Now I'm not
>>>> a big OPS guy but I do have quite a bit of experience in actual
>>>> deployments of 802.1X and EAP and I haven't seen them used
> anywhere.
>>>
>>>    TTLS is in wide-spread use in many environments.
>>>
>>>> If someone has a long-term password they're doing EAP-MSCHAPv2.
>>>
>>>    I disagree with such a blanket statement.
>>
>>    I disagree with disagreements that do not provide any justification
>> for disagreement.
>>
>>>> If someone's doing PAP they're using a token card or some type of
>>>> OTP.
>>>
>>>    See above.
>>
>>    See above.
>>
>>>> Are you worried about a AAA proxy hijacking a client's OTP
>>>> and impersonating it? To what effect? An fake billing? Can't this
>>>> proxy engage in fraud with the client's MSK as well? Are you
> worried
>>>> about a AAA proxy doing an off-line dictionary attack against
> MSCHAPv2?
>>>
>>>    It's bad security practice to expose information that doesn't need
> to
>>> be exposed.
>>
>>    No, what's bad security practice is to expose a secret which allows
>> an attacker to completely void the security practices engaged in by
> the
>> client and NAS! Either a proxy is trusted (to see information that is
>> hidden from those who are not trusted) or it's not. You can't have it
>> both ways.
>>
>>>>    Just out of curiosity, though, how do you propose to prevent
>>>> a proxy from seeing an MS-CHAPv2 exchange or an OTP fly by?
>>>
>>>    The tunnel methods currently in use terminate the TLS tunnel at
> the
>>> home AAA server.  No proxy sees the MS-CHAPv3 or OTP exchange.
>>
>>    I disagree with such blanket statements. I know of implementations
>> of EAP tunnel methods by such vendors as Cisco that do otherwise. The
>> freeware hostapd software does too. Evidence abounds to contradict
>> you blanket statement.
>>
>>>> These
>>>> tunnel methods typically terminate in devices that are also AAA
>>>> clients, and that's because people want to do this sort of thing--
>>>> terminate the tunnel locally and then forward the client's
> credential
>>>> on to some central clearing house for a yea or nea.
>>>
>>>    Can you describe a system in wide-spread use that does this?  My
>>> experience has been that this practice is rare. It is generally done
>>> only within the home AAA domain, in order to enable
> inter-operability
>>> with AAA servers that don't do EAP.
>>
>>    Every wireless switch product I know of has a feature where the
>> tunnel is terminated on the switch and the "inner method" can go
>> elsewhere if so configured. Look at PEAP. It's standard in the most
>> prevalent laptop software around and what are it's "inner methods"?
>> Well there's EAP-MSCHAPv2 and EAP-TLS. In other words, it's another
>> EAP method. And the client is speaking EAP inside of EAP because that
>> allows the "inner method" to be terminated somewhere else.
>>
>>    Notice how the tunnel method requirements document talks about "the
>> inner EAP method"? It's an EAP method, not just some credential
> exchange,
>> and being an EAP method it can be sent to another device. How do you
>> propose that "the inner EAP method" terminate at the same place as the
>> tunnel?
>>
>>    Can you describe current deployments of tunnel methods that
> terminate
>> everything, EAP-TLS plus some client credential authentication, at the
>> home AAA server?
>>
>>>> Do you want to
>>>> prohibit an "inner method" from terminating on a different entity
>>>> than the "outer (tunnel) method"?
>>>
>>>    I think the messages are clear.  Speculation as to additional
> intent
>>> is not necessary.
>>
>>    No, the message Sam communicated was not clear. He stated a problem
>> and the implication of "fixing" that "problem" is, itself, a problem.
>> I'm not speculating on anything. I'm asking a simple question. Since
>> you agree with Sam on this then why don't you answer it?
>>
>>    Alan, do you want to prohibit an "inner method" from terminating on
> a
>> different entity than the "outer (tunnel) method"? If the answer is
> yes
>> then I have no further questions. If the answer is no then I'd like to
>> know how you intend on keeping the contents of that "inner method"
> away
>> from the prying eyes of these proxy attackers?
>>
>>    Dan.
>>
>>
>>
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