Re: public secret and public radius server. Is it secure?

2006-06-15 Thread Stefan Winter
Hi,

  this is again an example where a RadSec extension would come in extremely
  handy. Short wrapup: RadSec establishes connections via TCP and TLS and
  transports the RADIUS payload over it, so clients can be identified by
  their TLS certificate; IPs and shred secrets become obsolete.

   This is *extremely* useful, and solves a lot of deployment problems.

  I am working on a formal specification of RadSec right now, of which
  I hope it will somehow find a way into the Informational RFC
  track. There is a lot more potential in it than the OSC Whitepaper
  suggests.

   I'm available to work on it too, if you need help.

Well, I wanted to get started in the next days. I thought of providing a rough 
draft, based on OSCs whitepaper, and share that with you and OSC. It will 
also go through a review on a (public) Task Force, the TERENA Task Force 
Mobility, creator of a worldwide roaming service for the education and 
research community:
http://www.terena.nl/activities/index.php?action=set_filtersfilters[topic_id]=2

Later on, it is hopefully good enough to be considered as worthy of getting an 
(informational?) RFC number at the IETF.

Greetings,

Stefan Winter

-- 
Stefan WINTER

Stiftung RESTENA - Réseau Téléinformatique de l'Education Nationale et de 
la Recherche
Ingenieur Forschung  Entwicklung

6, rue Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi
L-1359 Luxembourg
E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]     Tel.:     +352 424409-1
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Re: public secret and public radius server. Is it secure?

2006-06-06 Thread Stefan Winter
Hi,

  In my project, I don't own the hotspots, and don't know about the
  hotspots ISPs.
  The hotspots communicate to the radius server though the internet.

   I would suggest using another method to get a secure connection to
 the hotspot.  Maybe IPSec.

this is again an example where a RadSec extension would come in extremely 
handy. Short wrapup: RadSec establishes connections via TCP and TLS and 
transports the RADIUS payload over it, so clients can be identified by their 
TLS certificate; IPs and shred secrets become obsolete. Create a dedicated CA 
for your servers, then whoever tries to connect can be checked against your 
CA root.
Make the hotspots talk RadSec and let them communicate with your FR server via 
this link.

The only open problem is: right now there is only one implementation of RadSec 
in OSCs Radiator, and it could be better coded and more advanced.

I am working on a formal specification of RadSec right now, of which I hope it 
will somehow find a way into the Informational RFC track. There is a lot more 
potential in it than the OSC Whitepaper suggests.

It would be really great to get an implementation of this in FR.

Greetings,

Stefan Winter

-- 
Stefan WINTER

Stiftung RESTENA - Réseau Téléinformatique de l'Education Nationale et de 
la Recherche
Ingenieur Forschung  Entwicklung

6, rue Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi
L-1359 Luxembourg
E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]     Tel.:     +352 424409-1
http://www.restena.lu                Fax:      +352 422473

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Re: public secret and public radius server. Is it secure?

2006-06-06 Thread sophana




Stefan Winter wrote:

  Hi,

  
  

  In my project, I don't own the hotspots, and don't know about the
hotspots ISPs.
The hotspots communicate to the radius server though the internet.
  

  I would suggest using another method to get a secure connection to
the hotspot.  Maybe IPSec.

  
  
this is again an example where a RadSec extension would come in extremely 
handy. Short wrapup: RadSec establishes connections via TCP and TLS and 
transports the RADIUS payload over it, so clients can be identified by their 
TLS certificate; IPs and shred secrets become obsolete. Create a dedicated CA 
for your servers, then whoever tries to connect can be checked against your 
CA root.
Make the hotspots talk RadSec and let them communicate with your FR server via 
this link.

The only open problem is: right now there is only one implementation of RadSec 
in OSCs Radiator, and it could be better coded and more advanced.

I am working on a formal specification of RadSec right now, of which I hope it 
will somehow find a way into the Informational RFC track. There is a lot more 
potential in it than the OSC Whitepaper suggests.

It would be really great to get an implementation of this in FR.

Greetings,

Stefan Winter

  

I finally found a solution to this problem.
I will implement myself the dynamic ipaddress compatible radius server,
using the NAS-identifier attributes in requests to determine the secret
instead of the ipaddress.
I will implement this in python from pyrad, a very simple radius
implementation in python
For authentication, chillispot uses CHAP which is secure enough for me.
(I add some additionnal secret to the password)
The accounting request protected by a secret is also safe enough for
me. (at the beginning)

I am sure that this could be implemented quite easily in freeradius.
Maybe I'll do it if I have performance problems.

Regards
Sophana KOK



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Re: public secret and public radius server. Is it secure?

2006-06-06 Thread Alan DeKok
Stefan Winter [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 this is again an example where a RadSec extension would come in extremely 
 handy. Short wrapup: RadSec establishes connections via TCP and TLS and 
 transports the RADIUS payload over it, so clients can be identified by their 
 TLS certificate; IPs and shred secrets become obsolete.

  This is *extremely* useful, and solves a lot of deployment problems.

 I am working on a formal specification of RadSec right now, of which
 I hope it will somehow find a way into the Informational RFC
 track. There is a lot more potential in it than the OSC Whitepaper
 suggests.

  I'm available to work on it too, if you need help.

 It would be really great to get an implementation of this in FR.

  I don't think it's that hard, it just needs to be done.

  Alan DeKok.
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RE: public secret and public radius server. Is it secure?

2006-06-05 Thread Santiago Balaguer García
If you don't want Dynamic address use VPN between your RADIUS server an your 
hotspots.



My question is :
- What can a malicious user can do with the secret? Can it alter
accounting and other things? (chillispot uses chap auth-type)

one is spell it out and try rumble it so he forms a new word from it


Is it a real security problem? I will be using accounting for facturation
purposes...

- Is there a way of maintaining a per hotspot secret with dynamic ip
addresses?

yes. check client and clients.conf relationship


I did not find. clients.conf entry seems to be ip based.
How do I setup a NAS without knowing its ip? (and differentiate between
several of them)
-

why not implement static IP for APs?


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Re: public secret and public radius server. Is it secure?

2006-06-05 Thread A . L . M . Buxey
Hi,

 I don't want to do that, because it is too complex to setup. My users 
 setup their hotspot by themself (at least at the beginning)
 Setting up a vpn is too complicated. I just want the setup as simple as 
 possible.

you are planning to roll out captive portals, with RADIUS authentication,
most likely SQL based accounting and volume/time account restrictions etc.
you MAY have to install a form of proxy to protect juveniles from certain
sites etc - depending on local legal requirements.

compared to this, setting up a VPN tunnel to the central AAA box with
OpenVPN is trivial. Its about 15 lines of openvpn.conf file. oh, and
a 'yum install openvpn' beforehand. 

which do you want? security and a workable system, or a hatchet job?

alan
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Re: public secret and public radius server. Is it secure?

2006-06-04 Thread sophana

Alan DeKok wrote:


sophana [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 

In my project, I don't own the hotspots, and don't know about the 
hotspots ISPs.

The hotspots communicate to the radius server though the internet.
   



 I would suggest using another method to get a secure connection to
the hotspot.  Maybe IPSec.

 Barring that, each hotspot has a dynamic IP within a small network
range.  So you can list the network in clients.conf, and at least
have one shared secret per hotspot location.  This *is* documented in
clients.conf, please read it.

 

I don't want to do that, because it is too complex to setup. My users 
setup their hotspot by themself (at least at the beginning)
Setting up a vpn is too complicated. I just want the setup as simple as 
possible.


Ok. I don't know much about the radius protocol details, maybe you could 
help me understanding how secure would be a solution where the secret is 
know by everybody.
   



 I thought I said it WOULDN'T be secure.  What part of my response
was unclear?

 


Now, once a user is authenticated, how does the nas send accounting info?
   



 Read the documentation.  That's what it's there for.

 


Ok sorry for asking. I finally read the RFC2866.
I saw that the accounting request authenticator only depends on the 
famous secret, not on the authentication.

I am now convinced that the secret must remain secret.

But I think there is a solution for having dynamic ip that could be 
implemented.

Please tell me if I'm wrong.
Both the Access Request and Accounting Request MUST have the  
NAS-IP-Address 
http://www.freeradius.org/rfc/rfc2865.html#NAS-IP-Address attribute or 
a NAS-Identifier  
http://www.freeradius.org/rfc/rfc2865.html#NAS-Identifier attribute 
(or both).
Does this mean that ALL packets sent from client contains at least one 
of these 2 attributes?
So does this mean that the radius server could lookup in its database a 
secret according to one of these attributes instead of the ip address?

That would definitly solve the dynamic ip address problem wouldn'it?

I need security, because I will use accounting info to perform 
facturation...
   



 Facturation isn't an english word.

 


Sorry, facturation is the french word for billing.

Regards

Sophana KOK

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Re: public secret and public radius server. Is it secure?

2006-06-04 Thread Alan DeKok
sophana [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 Both the Access Request and Accounting Request MUST have the  
 NAS-IP-Address 
 http://www.freeradius.org/rfc/rfc2865.html#NAS-IP-Address attribute or 
 a NAS-Identifier  
 http://www.freeradius.org/rfc/rfc2865.html#NAS-Identifier attribute 
 (or both).
 Does this mean that ALL packets sent from client contains at least one 
 of these 2 attributes?

  Yes.

 So does this mean that the radius server could lookup in its database a 
 secret according to one of these attributes instead of the ip address?

  In theory, yes.  In practice, this permits additional attacks that
can compromise your server.

  Please read clients.conf, and implement my suggestion for using
shared secrets for an entire network.  It's by far and away the best
choice.

  Alan DeKok.

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public secret and public radius server. Is it secure?

2006-06-02 Thread sophana

Hi

I'd like to make a public hotspot management system with chillispot and 
freeradius.
I saw in the freeradius source that the NAS are identified from the ip 
address, and the secret is determined from it.


My problem is that there can be hotspots on dynamic ip addresses.
The solution I found actually is to have an unique secret shared with 
all hotspots.

So the secret is known by everybody.

My question is :
- What can a malicious user can do with the secret? Can it alter 
accounting and other things? (chillispot uses chap auth-type)
- Is there a way of maintaining a per hotspot secret with dynamic ip 
addresses?


Regards
Sophana
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RE: public secret and public radius server. Is it secure?

2006-06-02 Thread vertito
 

My question is :
- What can a malicious user can do with the secret? Can it alter accounting
and other things? (chillispot uses chap auth-type)

one is spell it out and try rumble it so he forms a new word from it

- Is there a way of maintaining a per hotspot secret with dynamic ip
addresses?

yes. check client and clients.conf relationship

HTH
milver

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Re: public secret and public radius server. Is it secure?

2006-06-02 Thread sophana

vertito wrote:




My question is :
- What can a malicious user can do with the secret? Can it alter accounting
and other things? (chillispot uses chap auth-type)

one is spell it out and try rumble it so he forms a new word from it
 

Is it a real security problem? I will be using accounting for 
facturation purposes...



- Is there a way of maintaining a per hotspot secret with dynamic ip
addresses?

yes. check client and clients.conf relationship
 


I did not find. clients.conf entry seems to be ip based.
How do I setup a NAS without knowing its ip? (and differentiate between 
several of them)
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Re: public secret and public radius server. Is it secure?

2006-06-02 Thread Alan DeKok
sophana [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 I saw in the freeradius source that the NAS are identified from the ip 
 address, and the secret is determined from it.

  That's how RADIUS works.

 My problem is that there can be hotspots on dynamic ip addresses.
 The solution I found actually is to have an unique secret shared with 
 all hotspots.
 So the secret is known by everybody.

  Or, make the hotspots NOT have dynamic IP's.  There's no reason why
they should have dynamic IP's.

 - What can a malicious user can do with the secret? Can it alter 
 accounting and other things? (chillispot uses chap auth-type)

  If someone knows the secret, he can do *anything* to the packets
without the RADIUS server being able to tell.

 - Is there a way of maintaining a per hotspot secret with dynamic ip 
 addresses?

  Not really, no.

  Alan DeKok.
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Re: public secret and public radius server. Is it secure?

2006-06-02 Thread sophana




Alan DeKok wrote:

  
My problem is that there can be hotspots on dynamic ip addresses.
The solution I found actually is to have an unique secret shared with 
all hotspots.
So the secret is known by everybody.

  
  
  Or, make the hotspots NOT have dynamic IP's.  There's no reason why
they should have dynamic IP's.

  

In my project, I don't own the hotspots, and don't know about the
hotspots ISPs.
The hotspots communicate to the radius server though the internet.

  
  
- What can a malicious user can do with the secret? Can it alter 
accounting and other things? (chillispot uses chap auth-type)

  
  
  If someone knows the secret, he can do *anything* to the packets
without the RADIUS server being able to tell.
  

Ok. I don't know much about the radius protocol details, maybe you
could help me understanding how secure would be a solution where the
secret is know by everybody.
Chillispot uses CHAP authentication with a different secret per hotspot.
I consider is part as secure.
Now, once a user is authenticated, how does the nas send accounting
info?
Does it have to authenticate again, or is its ip address (and its
(public known)secret) sufficient to authenticate?
Do you need at least a session id?

Imagine that the malicious use cannot listen to the radius
communications. What can it do without authentication?

I need security, because I will use accounting info to perform
facturation...

Thanks for your great help.

  
  
  
- Is there a way of maintaining a per hotspot secret with dynamic ip 
addresses?

  
  
  Not really, no.
  

this means I must use a vpn client to connect to the radius server?
I would have liked a simple chillispot installation...

Regards
Sophana KOK


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