Joel,

Thanks, I'd be very happy with your proposed updates.

Regards
   Brian

On 08/07/2014 23:01, Joel M Snyder wrote:
> I'll provide this and let Tero decode how to handle in concert with your
> feedback:
> 
> Nits:
> 
> You could write that sentence about 10 different ways and make it easier
> to read :-)  If I were to start from scratch, I would write it as:
> 
> - In IKEv2, authentication using RSA digital signatures calls for
> padding based on RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5, although the newer RSASSA_PSS
> padding method is now recommended.  (See section 5 of "Additional
> Algorithms and Identifiers for RSA Cryptography for use in PKIX Profile"
> [RFC4055])
> 
> Issues:
> 
> 1) Downgrade attacks.
> 
> Tero can correct me if I'm wrong, but it's inherent in the way that IKE
> works (and IKEv2) that downgrade attacks of the type you're thinking of
> are not possible because of the 'protection' that occurs in the IKE
> transaction.  I think that the best you can do is block an entire
> packet, but I don't believe that you can fiddle with the content, even
> this early in the IKE connection establishment.
> 
> If I'm correct, then perhaps a sentence such as: "Security downgrade
> attacks, where more secure methods are deleted or modified from a
> payloads by a Man-in-the-Middle to force lower levels of security, are
> not a significant concern in IKEv2 Authentication Payloads as discussed
> in this RFC.  This is because the IKEv2 Authentication Payload is
> protected and encrypted by the shared secret established earlier in the
> IKEv2 dialog." could be added after the paragraph you pointed out.
> 
> 2) Policy
> 
> This is a "term of art" in the world of IKE, where it is always assumed
> that there is a policy database (actually a series of them) that define
> what traffic is encrypted and how it is encrypted, along with the rules
> for establishment of SAs.  So the reason for the glib notation is that
> all the IKEheads will automatically know what this means.
> 
> Of course this is no excuse, and your point is well taken.  I would
> suggest replacing the last sentence with a new paragraph as follows.
> 
> "IKEv2 peers have a series of policy databases (see [RFC4301] section
> 4.4 "Major IPsec Databases") that define which security algorithms and
> methods should be used during establishment of security associations. To
> help end-users select the desired security levels for communications
> protected by IPsec, implementers may wish to provide a mechanism in the
> IKE policy databases to limit the mixing of security levels or to
> restrict combinations of protocols."
> 
> Anyway, those are my thoughts; I'll step out and see what Tero has to say.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Joel
> 
> On 7/6/14, 10:20 PM, Brian E Carpenter wrote:
>> I am the assigned Gen-ART reviewer for this draft. For background on
>> Gen-ART, please see the FAQ at
>> <http://wiki.tools.ietf.org/area/gen/trac/wiki/GenArtfaq>.
>>
>> Please resolve these comments along with any other Last Call comments
>> you may receive.
>>
>> Document: draft-kivinen-ipsecme-signature-auth-06.txt
>> Reviewer: Brian Carpenter
>> Review Date: 2014-07-07
>> IETF LC End Date: 2014-07-15
>> IESG Telechat date:
>>
>> Summary:  Almost ready
>> --------
>>
>> Minor issues:
>> -------------
>>
>> In the Security Considerations, it says:
>>
>>     This means that the security of the authentication method is the
>>     security of the weakest component (signature algorithm, hash
>>     algorithm, or curve).  This complicates the security analysis of the
>>     system.  Note that this kind of mixing of security levels can be
>>     disallowed by policy.
>>
>> As a security ignoramus, I would have liked to see some discussion of
>> downgrade attacks here. Also, the remark about "policy" seems incomplete.
>> Is it an implementation requirement that some sort of policy must be
>> supported? Is there a recommended default policy?
>>
>> Nits:
>> -----
>>
>> I found this sentence unnecessarily nested and hard to read:
>>
>>     o  The RSA digital signature format in IKEv2 is specified to use
>>        RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 padding, but "Additional Algorithms and
>>        Identifiers for RSA Cryptography for use in PKIX Profile"
>>        ([RFC4055])) recommends the use of the newer RSASSA_PSS (See
>>        section 5 of [RFC4055]) instead.
>>
>> Why not
>>
>>     o  The RSA digital signature format in IKEv2 is specified to use
>>        RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 padding, but section 5 of "Additional Algorithms
>>        and Identifiers for RSA Cryptography for use in PKIX Profile"
>>        [RFC4055] recommends the use of the newer RSASSA_PSS instead.
>>
> 

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