Network Working Group                                           S. Kelly
Request for Comments: 3457                                     Airespace
Category: Informational                                   S. Ramamoorthi
                                                       Juniper Networks
                                                           January 2003


            Requirements for IPsec Remote Access Scenarios

Status of this Memo

  This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
  not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of this
  memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

  Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

  IPsec offers much promise as a secure remote access mechanism.
  However, there are a number of differing remote access scenarios,
  each having some shared and some unique requirements.  A thorough
  understanding of these requirements is necessary in order to
  effectively evaluate the suitability of a specific set of mechanisms
  for any particular remote access scenario.  This document enumerates
  the requirements for a number of common remote access scenarios.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     1.1 Requirements Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
     1.2 Reader Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
     1.3 General Terminology  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
     1.4 Document Content and Organization  . . . . . . . . . . .  4
  2. Overview  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     2.1 Endpoint Authentication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
        2.1.1 Machine-Level Authentication . . . . . . . . . . .   7
        2.1.2 User-Level Authentication  . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
        2.1.3 Combined User/Machine Authentication . . . . . . .   8
        2.1.4 Remote Access Authentication . . . . . . . . . . .   8
        2.1.5 Compatibility With Legacy Remote Access Mechanisms   9
     2.2 Remote Host Configuration  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
     2.3 Security Policy Configuration  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
     2.4 Auditing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
     2.5 Intermediary Traversal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13




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  3. Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
     3.1 Telecommuters (Dialup/DSL/Cablemodem)  . . . . . . . . . 14
        3.1.1 Endpoint Authentication Requirements . . . . . . .  15
        3.1.2 Device Configuration Requirements  . . . . . . . .  16
        3.1.3 Policy Configuration Requirements  . . . . . . . .  17
        3.1.4 Auditing Requirements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
        3.1.5 Intermediary Traversal Requirements  . . . . . . .  18
     3.2 Corporate to Remote Extranet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
        3.2.1 Authentication Requirements  . . . . . . . . . . .  19
        3.2.2 Device Configuration Requirements  . . . . . . . .  20
        3.2.3 Policy Configuration Requirements  . . . . . . . .  21
        3.2.4 Auditing Requirements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
        3.2.5 Intermediary Traversal Requirements  . . . . . . .  21
     3.3 Extranet Laptop to Home Corporate Net . . . . . . . . .  22
        3.3.1 Authentication Requirements  . . . . . . . . . . .  22
        3.3.2 Device Configuration Requirements  . . . . . . . .  23
        3.3.3 Policy Configuration Requirements  . . . . . . . .  23
        3.3.4 Auditing Requirements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
        3.3.5 Intermediary Traversal Requirements  . . . . . . .  24
     3.4 Extranet Desktop to Home Corporate Net . . . . . . . . . 25
        3.4.1 Authentication Requirements  . . . . . . . . . . .  25
        3.4.2 Device Configuration Requirements  . . . . . . . .  26
        3.4.3 Policy Configuration Requirements  . . . . . . . .  26
        3.4.4 Auditing Requirements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
        3.4.5 Intermediary Traversal Requirements  . . . . . . .  26
     3.5 Public System to Target Network . . . . . . . . . . . .  27
        3.5.1 Authentication Requirements  . . . . . . . . . . .  27
        3.5.2 Device Configuration Requirements  . . . . . . . .  28
        3.5.3 Policy  Configuration Requirements . . . . . . . .  28
        3.5.4 Auditing Requirements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
        3.5.5 Intermediary Traversal Requirements  . . . . . . .  29
  4. Scenario Commonalities  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
  5. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
  6. References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
  7. Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
  8. Editors' Addresses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
  9. Full Copyright Statement  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31

1. Introduction

  Until recently, remote access has typically been characterized by
  dial-up users accessing the target network via the Public Switched
  Telephone Network (PSTN), with the dial-up connection terminating at
  a Network Access Server (NAS) within the target domain.  The
  protocols facilitating this have usually been PPP-based, and access
  control, authorization, and accounting functions have typically been
  provided using one or more of a number of available mechanisms,
  including RADIUS [RADIUS].



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  Note that for such access, it has often been assumed that the
  communications infrastructure supporting the ISP connection (the
  PSTN) is relatively secure, and poses no significant threats to
  communications integrity or confidentiality.  Based on this
  assumption, connection security has been limited to access control at
  the NAS based on username/passphrase pairs.  In reality, PSTN dialup
  connections have never been impervious to a determined adversary.

  The availability of widespread broadband access, in concert with the
  desire to reduce the cost of PSTN toll access, have driven the
  development of Internet-based remote access mechanisms.  In some
  cases, PPP-based tunneling mechanisms have been used to provide
  remote access by allowing the dial user to first access a local ISP
  account, and then tunnel an additional PPP connection over the
  Internet into the target network.  In the case of broadband users,
  such connections are tunneled directly over the Internet.  While
  these mechanisms have been lacking in terms of security features, the
  increasing availability of IPsec renders it possible to provide more
  secure remote access to the remote resources via the Internet.

  Remote access via the Internet has numerous benefits, financial and
  otherwise.  However, security is paramount, and this presents strong
  incentives for migration from the old dial-up model to a more secure
  IPsec-based remote access model.  Meeting the security requirements
  of various classes of remote access users presents a number of
  challenges.  It is the aim of this document to explore and enumerate
  the requirements of various IPsec remote access scenarios, without
  suggesting particular solutions for them.

1.1 Requirements Terminology

  The keywords MUST, MUST NOT, REQUIRED, SHALL, SHALL NOT, SHOULD,
  SHOULD NOT, RECOMMENDED, MAY, and OPTIONAL, when they appear in this
  document, are to be interpreted as described in [3].

1.2 Reader Prerequisites

  Reader familiarity with RFCs 2401-2412 is a minimum prerequisite to
  understanding the concepts discussed here.  Familiarity with concepts
  relating to Public Key Infrastructures (PKIs) is also necessary.
  Familiarity with RADIUS, PPP, PPTP, L2F, L2TP, and other remote
  access support protocols will also be helpful, though not strictly
  necessary.








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1.3 General Terminology

  o  Remote Access - this term is used to refer to the case in which
     the remote user does not necessarily reside at a fixed location,
     i.e., in which the user's IP address is not fixed, and therefore
     usually not known prior to connection establishment.

  o  Secure Remote Access - this term refers to remote access which is
     secured using elements of the IPsec protocol suite.

  o  IPsec Remote Access Client (IRAC)- this term is used to refer to
     the remote access user's system.

  o  IPsec Remote Access Server (IRAS) - this term refers to the device
     providing access to the target network.  An alternative term is
     "Security Gateway".

  o  Security GateWay (SGW) - this refers to the device providing
     access to the target network.  An alternative term is IRAS.

  o  Virtual IP address (VIP) - this term describes an address from a
     subnet local to the target network which is assigned to a remote
     client, giving the appearance that the remote client actually
     resides on the target network.

  o  Machine-Level Authentication - this term describes the case where
     the identity of a machine is verified by virtue of the machine's
     possession and application of some combination of authenticators.
     For a more complete definition, see section 2.

  o  User-Level Authentication - this term describes the case where the
     identity of a user (as opposed to that of a machine) is verified
     by virtue of the user's possession and application of some
     combination of authenticators.  For a more complete definition,
     see section 2.

  o  NAPT - Network Address/Port Translation

1.4 Document Content and Organization

  This document, while initially intended to simply outline
  requirements for various remote access scenarios, has come to include
  somewhat more than this.  This document has evolved from discussion
  within the IPsec Remote Access (IPSRA) working group.  As a result,
  it in some respects documents the evolution of this thought process.
  While this represents a departure from the typical form of a





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  requirements document, the associated historical context should prove
  useful in interpreting the conclusions reached in the IPSRA working
  group.

  The balance of this document is organized as follows: First, there is
  a general overview of the basic requirements categories, including
  definitions relevant to these categories.  Following this is a
  section devoted to each remote access scenario.  Within each of these
  sections there are subsections detailing requirements specific to
  that scenario in each of the following areas: endpoint
  authentication, remote host configuration, policy configuration,
  auditing, and intermediary traversal.

2. Overview

  In a very general sense, all secure remote access scenarios have a
  similar high-level appearance:

                                        target network
                                             |
                                             |   +---+
  +-------------+             +-----------+  |---|   |
  |remote access|  Internet   | security  |  |   +---+
  |   client    |=============| gateway   |--|
  |   (IRAC)    |             |(SGW/IRAS) |  |   +---+
  +-------------+             +-----------+  |---|   |
                                             |   +---+

  In all cases, a remote client wishes to securely access resources
  either behind a SGW or on an IPsec-protected host, and/or wishes to
  provide other (specific) systems with secure access to the client's
  own resources.  There are numerous details which may differ,
  depending on the particular scenario.  For example, the IRAC may be
  within another corporate network, or connected to an ISP via dialup,
  DSL, or CATV media.  There may be additional intermediaries between
  the remote client and the security gateway, but ultimately, all of
  these configurations may be viewed somewhat equivalently from a high
  level.

  In general, there are several basic categories of requirements
  relevant to secure remote access scenarios, including endpoint
  authentication, remote host configuration, security policy
  configuration, auditing, and intermediary traversal.  Endpoint
  authentication refers to verification of the identities of the
  communication partners (e.g., the IRAC and the IRAS).  Remote host
  configuration refers to the device configuration parameters of the
  IRAC system.  Security policy configuration refers to IPsec policy
  configuration of both the security gateway and the remote host, and



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  might also be termed "access control and authorization
  configuration".  Auditing refers to the generation and collection of
  connection status information which is required for the purpose of
  maintaining the overall security and integrity of the connected
  networks.  Intermediary traversal refers to the ability to pass
  secured traffic across intermediaries, some of which may modify the
  packets in some manner.  Such intermediaries include NAPT and
  firewall devices.  These various categories are treated in more
  detail below.

2.1 Endpoint Authentication

  Before discussing endpoint authentication with respect to remote
  access, it is important to distinguish between data source
  authentication and end user authentication.  Data source
  authentication in the IPsec context consists in providing assurance
  that a network packet originates from a specific endpoint, typically
  a user, host, or application.  IPsec offers mechanisms for this via
  AH or ESP.  End user authentication within the IPsec context consists
  in providing assurance that the endpoint is what or who it claims to
  be.  IPsec currently offers mechanisms for this as part of IKE
  [IKE].

  While the two types of authentication differ, they are not unrelated.
  In fact, data source authentication relies upon endpoint
  authentication, because it is possible to inject packets with a
  particular IP address into the Internet from many arbitrary
  locations.  In many instances, we cannot be certain that a packet
  actually originates from a particular host, or even from the network
  upon which that host resides.  To resolve this, one must first
  authenticate the particular endpoint somehow, and then bind the
  addressing information (e.g., IP address, protocol, port) of this
  endpoint into the trust relationship established by the
  authentication process.

  In the context of secure remote access, the authenticated entity may
  be a machine, a user (application), or both.  The authentication
  methods currently supported by IPsec range from preshared secrets to
  various signature and encryption schemes employing private keys and
  their corresponding public key certificates.  These mechanisms may be
  used to authenticate the end user alone, the device alone, or both
  the end user and the device.  These are each discussed in more detail
  below.








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2.1.1 Machine-Level Authentication

  In the case where no user input is required in order for an
  authentication credential to be used, the entity authenticated will
  primarily be the device in which the credential is stored and the
  level of derived assurance regarding this authentication is directly
  related to how securely the machine's credential is maintained during
  both storage and use.  That is, a shared secret or a private key
  corresponding to a public key certificate may be either stored within
  the device or contained in another device which is securely
  accessible by the device (e.g., a smartcard).  If the knowledge
  required for the use of such authentication credentials is entirely
  contained within the subject device (i.e., no user input is
  required), then it is problematic to state that such credential usage
  authenticates anything other than the subject device.

  In some cases, a user may be required to satisfy certain criteria
  prior to being given access to stored credentials.  In such cases,
  the level of user authentication provided by the use of such
  credentials is somewhat difficult to derive.  If sufficiently strong
  access controls exist for the system housing the credential, then
  there may be a strong binding between the authorized system user and
  the credential.  However, at the time the credential is presented,
  the IRAS itself has no such assurance.  That is, the IRAS in
  isolation may have some level of assurance that a particular device
  (the one in which the credential resides) is the one from which
  access is being attempted, but there is no explicit assurance
  regarding the identity of the user of the system.  In order for the
  IRAS to derive additional assurance regarding the user identity, an
  additional user credential of some sort would be required.  This is
  discussed further below.

2.1.2 User-Level Authentication

  In some cases, the user may possess an authentication token
  (preshared key, private key, passphrase, etc.), and may provide this
  or some derivative of this whenever authentication is required.  If
  this token or derivative is delivered directly to the other endpoint
  without modification by the IRAC system, and if the IRAC system
  provides no further credentials of its own, then it is the user alone
  which has been authenticated.  That is, while there may be some
  assurance as to the network address from which the user is
  originating packets, there is no assurance as to the particular
  machine from which the user is attempting access.







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2.1.3 Combined User/Machine Authentication

  To authenticate both the user and the system, user input of some sort
  is required in addition to a credential which is securely stored upon
  the device.  In some cases, such user input may be used in order to
  "complete" the credential stored on the device (e.g., a private key
  is password-encrypted), while in others the user's input is supplied
  independently of the stored credential.  In the case where the
  passphrase is applied to the credential prior to use, the level of
  assurance derived from successful application of the credential
  varies according to your viewpoint.

  From the perspective of a system consisting of user, IRAC, IRAS, and
  a collection of system protections and security procedures, it may be
  said that the user has been authenticated to an extent which depends
  upon the strength of the security procedures and system protections
  which are in place.  However, from the perspective of the IRAS alone,
  there is little assurance with respect to user identity.  That is,
  schemes requiring that stored credentials be modified by user input
  prior to use may only be said to provide user-level authentication
  within the context of the larger system, and then, the level of
  assurance derived is directly proportional to the weakest security
  attribute of the entire system.

  When considering remote access from a general perspective,
  assumptions regarding the overall system are liable to prove
  incorrect.  This is because the IRAS and the IRAC may not be within
  the same domain of control; extranet scenarios are a good example of
  this.  Hence, the most desirable joint user/machine authentication
  mechanisms in this context are those which provide a high level of
  assurance to both the IRAS and the IRAC, independently of the larger
  system of which the user, IRAS, and IRAC are a part.

2.1.4 Remote Access Authentication

  In the general case for remote access, authentication requirements
  are typically asymmetric.  From the IRAC's perspective, it is
  important to ensure that the IRAS at the other end of the connection
  is indeed what it seems to be, and not some rogue system masquerading
  as the SGW.  That is, the IRAC requires machine-level authentication
  for the IRAS.  This is fairly straightforward, given the
  authentication mechanisms supported by IKE and IPsec.  Further, this
  sort of authentication tends to persist through time, although the
  extent of this persistence depends upon the mechanism chosen.

  While machine-level authentication for the IRAS is sufficient, this
  is not the case for the IRAC.  Here, it is often important to know
  that the entity at the other end of the connection is one who is



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  authorized to access local resources rather than someone who happened
  upon an unoccupied but otherwise authorized system, or a malicious
  Trojan horse application on that user's system, or some other
  unauthorized entity.  Authenticating the user presents different
  requirements than authenticating the user's machine; this requires
  some form of user input, and often the authentication must be
  periodically renewed.

  In situations where a high level of physical security does not exist,
  it is common to require a user-input secret as part of the
  authentication process, and then to periodically renew the
  authentication.  Furthermore, since such circumstances may include
  the possibility of the presence of a Trojan horse application on the
  IRAC system, one-time passphrase mechanisms are often advisable.
  Choosing passphrase mechanisms and renewal intervals which provide an
  acceptable level of risk, but which do not annoy the user too much,
  may be challenging.  It should be obvious that even this approach
  offers limited assurance in many cases.

  Clearly, there are variable assurance levels which are attainable
  with the various endpoint authentication techniques, and none of the
  techniques discussed offer absolute assurance.  Also, there are
  variations in the authentication requirements among different remote
  access scenarios.  This means there is no "cookie cutter" solution
  for this problem, and that individual scenarios must be carefully
  examined in order to derive specific requirements for each.  These
  are examined on a case by case basis below in the detailed scenario
  descriptions.

2.1.5 Compatibility With Legacy Remote Access Mechanisms

  There are a number of currently deployed remote access mechanisms
  which were installed prior to the deployment of IPsec.  Typically,
  these are dialup systems which rely upon RADIUS for user
  authentication and accounting, but there are other mechanisms as
  well.  An ideal IPsec remote access solution might utilize the
  components of the underlying framework without modification.
  Inasmuch as this is possible, this should be a goal.  However, there
  may be cases where this simply cannot be accomplished, due to
  security and/or other considerations.  In such cases, the IPsec
  remote access framework should be designed to accommodate migration
  from these mechanisms as painlessly as is possible.

  In general, proposed IPsec remote access mechanisms should meet the
  following goals:

     o  should provide direct support for legacy user authentication
        and accounting systems such as RADIUS



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     o  should encourage migration from existing low-entropy
        password-based systems to more secure authentication systems

     o  if legacy user authentication support cannot be provided
        without some sort of migration, the impact of such migration
        should be minimized

     o  user authentication information must be protected against
        eavesdropping and replay (including the user identity)

     o  single sign-on capability should be provided in configurations
        employing load-balancing and/or redundancy

     o  n-factor authentication mechanisms should be supported

2.2 Remote Host Configuration

  Remote host configuration refers to the network-related device
  configuration of the client system.  This configuration may be fixed
  or dynamic.  It may be completely provided by the administrator of
  the network upon which the remote user currently resides (e.g., the
  ISP), or it may be partially provided by that administrator, with the
  balance provided by an entity on the remote corporate network which
  the client is accessing.  In general, this configuration may include
  the following:

     o IP address(es)
     o Subnet mask(s)
     o Broadcast address(es)
     o Host name
     o Domain name
     o Time offset
     o Servers (e.g., SMTP, POP, WWW, DNS/NIS, LPR,
       syslog, WINS, NTP, etc. )
     o Router(s)
     o Router discovery options
     o Static routes
     o MTU
     o Default TTL
     o Source routing options
     o IP Forwarding enable/disable
     o PMTU options
     o ARP cache timeout
     o X Windows options
     o NIS options
     o NetBIOS options
     o Vendor-specific options
     o (other options)



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  Cases where such configuration is fixed are uninteresting; it is the
  cases where specific IRAC configuration occurs as a result of remote
  access with which we are concerned.  For example, in some cases the
  IRAC may be assigned a "virtual address", giving the appearance that
  it resides on the target network:

                                         target net
   +------------------+                      |
   |  Remote Access   |        +--------+    |   ( ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ )
   |+-------+ Client  |        |        |    |   (   IRAC    )
   ||virtual|         |        |security|    |~~~(  virtual  )
   || host  |         |--------|gateway |    |   (  presence )
   ||       |<================>|        |----|     ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
   |+-------+         |--------|        |    |
   +------------------+   ^    +--------+    |   +--------+
                          |                  |---|  local |
                        IPsec tunnel         |   |   host |
                        with encapsulated    |   +--------+
                        traffic inside

  In this case, the IRAC system begins with an externally routable
  address.  An additional target network address is assigned to the
  IRAC, and packets containing this assigned address are encapsulated,
  with the outer headers containing the IRAC's routable address, and
  forwarded to the IRAS through the tunnel.  This provides the IRAC
  with a virtual presence on the target network via an IPsec tunnel.
  Note that the IRAC now has two active addresses: the ISP-assigned
  address, and the VIP.

  Having obtained this virtual presence on the corporate network, the
  IRAC may now require other sorts of topology-related configuration,
  e.g., default routers, DNS server(s), etc., just as a dynamically
  configured host which physically resides upon the target network
  would.  It is this sort of configuration with which this requirements
  category is concerned.


2.3 Security Policy Configuration

  Security policy configuration refers to IPsec access policies for
  both the remote access client and the security gateway.  It may be
  desirable to configure access policies on connecting IRAC systems
  which will protect the target network.  For example, since a client
  has access to the Internet (via its routable address), other systems
  on the Internet also have some level of reciprocal access to the
  client.  In some cases, it may be desirable to block this Internet





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  access (or force it to pass through the tunnel) while the client has
  a tunneled connection to the target network.  This is a matter of
  client security policy configuration.

  For the security gateway, it may also be desirable to dynamically
  adjust policies based upon the user with which a connection has been
  established.  For example, say there are two remote users, named
  Alice and Bob.  We wish to provide Alice with unrestricted access to
  the target network, while we wish to restrict Bob's access to
  specific segments.  One way to accomplish this would be to statically
  assign internal "virtual" addresses to each user in a one-to-one
  mapping, so that each user always has the same address.  Then, a
  particular user's access could be controlled via policies based upon
  the particular address.  However, this does not scale well.

  A more scalable solution for remote client access control would be to
  dynamically assign IP addresses from a specific pool based upon the
  authenticated endpoint identity, with access to specific resources
  controlled by address-based policies in the SGW.  This is very
  similar to the static mapping described above, except that a given
  group of users (those with identical access controls) would share a
  given pool of IP addresses (those which are granted the required
  access), rather than a given user always mapping to a given address.
  However, this also has scaling issues, though not as pronounced as
  for the static mapping.

  Alternatively, an arbitrary address could be assigned to a user, with
  the security gateway's policy being dynamically updated based upon
  the identity of the remote client (and its assigned virtual address)
  to permit access to particular resources.  In these cases, the
  relevant security policy configuration is specific to the IRAS,
  rather than to the IRAC.  Both IRAS and IRAC security policy
  configuration are encompassed by this requirements category.

2.4 Auditing

  Auditing is used here to refer to the collection and reporting of
  connection status information by the IRAS, for the purpose of
  maintaining the security and integrity of the IRAS protected network.
  For remote access, the following auditing information is useful from
  a security perspective:

     o connection start time
     o connection end time

  Note that the requirement for a connection-end-time attribute implies
  the need for a connection heartbeat mechanism of some sort so that
  the IRAS can accurately determine this quantity in cases where the



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  IRAC does not explicitly terminate the connection.  Also note that
  the heartbeat mechanism in this case is always directed from the IRAC
  to the IRAS.

  In some cases, use of a heartbeat may negatively influence a
  connection.  For example, if the heartbeat interval is very short,
  and the connection is reset after loss of very few heartbeat packets,
  there is a possibility that network congestion could lead to
  unnecessary connection resets.  The heartbeat interval and reset
  threshold should be chosen with this in mind, and it should be
  possible to adjust these quantities either through configuration or
  negotiation.

2.5 Intermediary Traversal

  Intermediary traversal is used here to refer to passing a secured
  data stream through an intermediary such as a firewall or NAPT
  device.  In the case of firewalls, numerous deployed products do not
  recognize the IPsec protocol suite, making it difficult (sometimes
  impossible) to configure them to pass it through.  In such cases, a
  mechanism is required for making the data stream appear to be of a
  type which the firewall is capable of managing.

  In the case of NAPT devices, there are a number of issues with
  attempting to pass an encrypted or authenticated data stream.  For
  example, NAPT devices typically modify the source IP address and
  UDP/TCP port of outgoing packets, and the destination IP address and
  UDP/TCP port of incoming packets, and in some cases, they modify
  additional fields in the data portion of the packet.  Such
  modifications render the use of the AH protocol impossible.  In the
  case of ESP, the UDP/TCP port fields are sometimes unreadable and
  always unmodifiable, making meaningful translation by the NAPT device
  impossible.  There are numerous other protocol-field combinations
  which suffer similarly.  This requirements category is concerned with
  these issues.

3. Scenarios

  There are numerous remote access scenarios possible using IPsec.
  This section contains a brief summary enumeration of these, followed
  by a subsection devoted to each which explores the various
  requirements in terms of the categories defined above.

  The following scenarios are discussed:

  o  dialup/dsl/cablemodem telecommuters using their systems to access
     remote resources




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  o  extranet users using local corporate systems to access the remote
     company network of a business partner

  o  extranet users using their own system within another company's
     network to access their home corporate network

  o  extranet users using a business partner's system (located on that
     partner's network) to access their home corporate network

  o  remote users using a borrowed system (e.g., an airport kiosk) to
     access target network resources

3.1 Telecommuters (Dialup/DSL/Cablemodem)

  The telecommuter scenario is one of the more common remote access
  scenarios.  The convenience and wide availability of Internet access
  makes this an attractive option under many circumstances.  Users may
  access the Internet from the comfort of their homes or hotel rooms,
  and using this Internet connection, access the resources of a target
  network.  In some cases, dialup accounts are used to provide the
  initial Internet access, while in others some type of "always-on"
  connection such as a DSL or CATV modem is used.

  The dialup and always-on cases are very similar, with two significant
  differences: address assignment mechanism and connection duration.
  In most dialup cases, the IRAC's IP address is dynamically assigned
  as part of connection setup, and with fairly high likelihood, it is
  different each time the IRAC connects.  DSL/CATV users, on the other
  hand, often have static IP addresses assigned to them, although
  dynamic assignment is on the increase.  As for connection duration,
  dialup remote access connections are typically short-lived, while
  always-on connections may maintain remote access connections for
  significantly longer periods of time.

  The general configuration in either case looks like this:

                                          corporate net
                                                 |  +----+
    +-----+   +-----+      /---/ Internet +---+  |--|    |
    |IRAC |---|modem|------|ISP|==========|SGW|--|  +----+
    +-----+   +-----+      /---/          +---+  |
                                                 |

  An alternative to this configuration entails placing a security
  gateway between the user's system and the modem, in which case this
  added SGW becomes the IRAC.  This is currently most common in cases
  where DSL/CATV connections are used.




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3.1.1 Endpoint Authentication Requirements

  The authentication requirements of this scenario depend in part upon
  the general security requirements of the network to which access is
  to be provided.  Assuming that the corporate SGW is physically
  secure, machine authentication for the SGW is sufficient.  If this
  assumption regarding physical security is incorrect, it is not clear
  that stronger authentication for the SGW could be guaranteed, and
  derivation of an effective mechanism for that case is beyond the
  scope of this document.

  For the IRAC, there are numerous threats to the integrity of the user
  authentication process.  Due to the open nature of common consumer
  operating systems, some of these threats are quite difficult to
  protect against.  For example, it is very difficult to assert, with
  any level of certainty, that a single user system which permits the
  downloading and running of arbitrary applications from the Internet
  has not been compromised, and that a covert application is not
  monitoring and interacting with the user's data at any point in time.

  However, there are 2 general threats we might realistically hope to
  somehow mitigate with appropriate authentication mechanisms if we can
  assume that the system has not been compromised in this manner.
  First, there is the possibility that a secure connection is
  established for a particular user, but that someone other than the
  intended user is currently using that connection.  Second, there is
  the possibility that the user's credential (password, hardware token,
  etc.)  has been somehow compromised, and is being used by someone
  other than the authorized user to gain access.

  Mitigation of the first threat, the possibility that someone other
  than the authorized user is currently using the connection,  requires
  periodic renewal of user authentication.  It should be clear that
  machine authentication will not suffice in this case, and that
  requiring periodic re-entry of an unchanging user password (which may
  be written on a post-it note which is stuck to the user's monitor)
  will have limited effectiveness.  Convincing verification of the
  continued presence of the authorized user will, in many cases,
  require periodic application of a time-variant credential.

  Mitigation of the second threat, credential compromise, is difficult,
  and depends upon a number of factors.  If the IRAC system is running
  a highly secure operating system, then a time-variant credential may
  again offer some value.  A static password is clearly deficient in
  this scenario, since it may be subject to either online or offline
  guessing, and eventually compromised - which is the threat we are
  attempting to mitigate.  However, if the IRAC operating system is not




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  hardened,  the use of a time-variant credential is only effective if
  simultaneous access from more than one location is forbidden, and if
  the credential generation mechanism is not easily compromised.

  A second approach to the credential compromise problem entails using
  a PKI-based credential which is stored within a secure container of
  some sort, and which requires some user interaction prior to
  operation (e.g., a smartcard).  If such a credential requires
  periodic user interaction to continue operating (e.g., pin re-entry),
  this may help to limit the access of an unauthorized user who happens
  upon a connected but unattended systems.  However, choosing an
  acceptable refresh interval is a difficult problem, and if the pin is
  not
  time-variant, this provides limited additional assurance.

  To summarize, the following are the authentication requirements for
  the IRAS and IRAC:

  IRAS
  ----

  o  machine authentication MUST be provided.

  IRAC
  ----

  o  support for user authentication SHOULD be provided
  o  support for either user or machine authentication MUST be provided
  o  support for user authentication MUST be provided if protection
     from unauthorized connection use is desired.
  o  if user authentication is provided for short-lived dialup
     connections, periodic renewal MAY occur
  o  if user authentication is provided for always-on connections,
     periodic renewal SHOULD occur

3.1.2 Device Configuration Requirements

  There are 2 possibilities for device configuration in the
  telecommuter scenario: either access to the target network is
  permitted for the native ISP-assigned address of the telecommuter's
  system, or the telecommuter's system is assigned a virtual address
  from within the target address space.  In the first case, there are
  no device configuration requirements which are not already satisfied
  by the ISP.  However, this case is the exception, rather than the
  rule.

  The second case is far more common, due to the numerous benefits
  derived by providing the IRAC with a virtual presence on the target



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  network.  For example, the virtual presence allows the client to
  receive subnet broadcasts, which permits it to use WINS on the target
  network.  In addition, if the IRAC tunnels all traffic to the target
  network, then the target policy can be applied to Internet traffic
  to/from the IRAC.

  In this case, the IRAC requires, at minimum, assignment of an IP
  address from the target network.  Typically, the IRAC requires
  anywhere from several more to many more elements of configuration
  information, depending upon the corporate network's level of
  topological complexity.  For a fairly complete list, see section 2.2.

  To summarize, the following are the device configuration requirements
  for the IRAC:

     o  support for a virtual IP (VIP) address MAY be provided
     o  if VIP support is provided, support for all device-related
        parameters listed in section 2.2 above SHOULD be provided
     o  support for address assignment based upon authenticated
        identity MAY be provided
     o  if authenticated address assignment is not supported, an
        identity-based dynamic policy update mechanism such as is
        described in [ARCH] MUST be supported.

3.1.3 Policy Configuration Requirements

  In terms of IRAC policy configuration, the most important issue
  pertains to whether the IRAC has direct Internet access enabled (for
  browsing, etc.) while a connection to the target network exists.
  This is important since the fact that the IRAC has access to sites on
  the Internet implies that those sites have some level of reciprocal
  access to the IRAC.  It may be desirable to completely eliminate this
  type of access while a tunnel is active.

  Alternatively, the risks may be mitigated somewhat by forcing all
  Internet-bound packets leaving the IRAC to first traverse the tunnel
  to the target network, where they may be subjected to target network
  policy.  A second approach which carries a bit less overhead entails
  modifying the IRAC's policy configuration to reflect that of the
  target network during the time the IRAC is connected.  In this case,
  traffic is not forced to loop through the target site prior to
  exiting or entering the IRAC.  This requires some sort of policy
  download (or modification) capability as part of the SA establishment
  process.  A third approach is to provide a configuration variable for
  the IRAC which permits specification of "tunnel-all", or "block all
  traffic not destined for the target network while the SA is up".





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  In terms of IRAS configuration, it may be necessary to dynamically
  update the security policy database (SPD) when the remote user
  connects.  This is because transit selectors must be based upon
  network address parameters, but these cannot be known a priori in the
  remote access case.  As is noted above, this may be avoided by
  provision of a mechanism which permits address assignment based upon
  authenticated identity.

  To summarize, the following are the policy configuration requirements
  for the IRAS and IRAC:

  IRAS
  ----

     o  dynamic policy update mechanism based upon identity and
        assigned address MAY be supported.

     o  if address assignment-based policy update mechanism is not
        supported, address assignment based upon authenticated identity
        SHOULD be supported.

  IRAC
  ----

     o  IRAC SHOULD provide ability to configure for "tunnel-all"
        and/or "block-all" for traffic not destined for the remote
        network to which IPsec remote access is being provided.

     o  support for dynamic IRAS update of IRAC policy MAY be provided.

3.1.4 Auditing Requirements

  For telecommuter sessions, session start/end times must be collected.
  Reliable derivation of session end time requires that the IRAC
  somehow periodically signify that the connection remains active.
  This is implied if the IRAS receives data from the IRAC over the
  connection, but in cases where no data is sent for some period of
  time, a signaling mechanism is required by which the IRAC indicates
  that the connection remains in use.

3.1.5 Intermediary Traversal Requirements

  If the address assigned by the ISP to the IRAC system is globally
  routable, and no intermediate devices between the IRAC and the IRAS
  perform NAPT operations on the data stream, then there are no
  additional requirements.  If NAPT operations are performed on the
  data stream, some mechanism must be provided in order to render these
  modifications transparent to the IPsec implementation.



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3.2 Corporate to Remote Extranet

  Extranets are becoming increasingly common, especially as IPsec
  becomes more widely deployed.  In this scenario, a user from one
  corporation uses a local corporate system to access resources on
  another corporation's network.  Typically, these corporations are
  cooperating on some level, but not to the degree that unbridled
  access between the two networks would be acceptable.  Hence, this
  scenario is characterized by limited access.  The general topological
  appearance is similar to this:

         CORP A                                CORP B
            |                                      |
   +----+   |                                      |  +-----+
   |USER|---|                                      |--| S1  |
   +----+   |   +------++              ++------+   |  +-----+
            |---|SGW/FW||===Internet===||SGW/FW|---|
            |   +------++              ++------+   |  +-----+
            |     SGW-A                   SGW-B    |--| S2  |
            |                                      |  +-----+

  This is purposely simplified in order to illustrate some basic
  characteristics without getting bogged down in details.  At the edge
  of each network is a combination security gateway and firewall
  device.  These are labeled "SGW-A" and "SGW-B".  In this diagram,
  corporation B wishes to provide a user from corporation A with access
  to servers S1 and/or S2.  This may be accomplished in one of several
  different ways:

  1) an end-to-end SA is formed from USER to S1 or S2

  2) a tunnel-mode SA is formed between SGW-A and SGW-B which only
     permits traffic between S1/S2 and USER.

  3) a tunnel-mode SA is formed between USER and SGW-B which only
     permits traffic between S1/S2 and USER.

  These various cases are individually discussed with respect to each
  requirements category below.

3.2.1 Authentication Requirements

  For the corporate extranet scenario, the authentication requirements
  vary slightly depending upon the manner in which the connection is
  accomplished.  If only a particular user is permitted to access
  S1/S2, then user-level authentication is required.  If connection
  types (1) or (3) are used, this may be accomplished in the same
  manner as it would be for a telecommuter.  If connection type (2) is



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  used, one of two things must occur: either SGW-A must provide some
  local mechanism for authenticating USER and SGW-B must trust this
  mechanism, or SGW-B must have some mechanism for authenticating USER
  independently of SGW-A.

  If access is permitted for anyone within corporation A, then machine
  authentication will suffice.  However, this is highly unlikely.  A
  slightly more likely situation might be one in which access is
  permitted to anyone within a particular organizational unit in
  corporation A.  This case is very similar the single user access case
  discussed above, and essentially has the same requirements in terms
  of the mechanism required for SGW-A, although machine authentication
  might suffice if the organizational unit which is permitted access
  has a sufficient level of physical security.  Again, this requires
  that corporation B trust corporation A in this regard.

  To summarize, the following are the authentication requirements for
  the IRAS and IRAC:

  IRAS
  ----

     o  machine authentication MUST be provided.

  IRAC
  ----

     o  support for either user or machine authentication MUST be
        provided
     o  support for a combination of user and machine authentication
        SHOULD be provided
     o  if user authentication is used, periodic renewal SHOULD occur

3.2.2 Device Configuration Requirements

  It is possible that corporation B would want to assign a virtual
  address to USER for the duration of the connection.  The only way
  this could be accomplished would be if USER were a tunnel endpoint
  (e.g., in cases (1) and (3)).  It is not clear what benefits, if any,
  this would offer.

  To summarize, the following are the device configuration requirements
  for the IRAC:

     o  support for a virtual address MAY be provided
     o  if VIP support is provided, support for all device-related
        parameters listed in section 2.2 above SHOULD be supported




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     o  support for address assignment based upon authenticated
        identity SHOULD be supported
     o  if authenticated address assignment is not supported, an
        identity-based dynamic policy update mechanism such as is
        described in [ARCH] MUST be supported.

3.2.3 Policy Configuration Requirements

  Any of the cases discussed above would present some static policy
  configuration requirements.  Case (1) would require that SGW-A and
  SGW-B permit IPsec traffic to pass between USER and S1/S2.  Case (3)
  would have similar requirements, except that the IPsec traffic would
  be between USER and SGW-B.  Case (2) would require that the
  appropriate transit traffic be secured between USER and S1/S2.

  None of these cases require dynamic policy configuration.

3.2.4 Auditing Requirements

  For cases (1) and (3),  session start/end times must be collected.
  Reliable derivation of session end time requires that the IRAC
  somehow periodically signify that the connection remains active.
  This is implied if the IRAS receives data from the IRAC over the
  connection, but in cases where no data is sent for some period of
  time, a signaling mechanism is required by which the IRAC indicates
  that the connection remains in use.

  For case (2), the type(s) of required auditing data would depend upon
  whether traffic from multiple users were aggregated within a single
  tunnel or not.  If so, the notion of individual connection start/stop
  times would be lost.  If such measures are desired, this requires
  that per-user tunnels be set up between SGW-A and SGW-B, and that
  some sort of timeout interval be used to cause tunnel teardown when
  traffic does not flow for some interval of time.

3.2.5 Intermediary Traversal Requirements

  If the address assigned by the host network to the IRAC system is
  globally routable, and no intermediate devices between the IRAC and
  the IRAS perform NAPT operations on the data stream, then there are
  no additional requirements in this regard.  If NAPT operations are
  performed on the data stream, some mechanism must be provided in
  order to render these modifications transparent to the IPsec
  implementation.

  If a firewall situated at the edge of the host network cannot be
  configured to pass protocols in the IPsec suite, then some mechanism
  must be provided which converts the data stream to one which the



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  firewall may be configured to pass.  If the firewall can be
  configured to pass IPsec protocols, then this must be accomplished
  prior to connection establishment.

3.3 Extranet Laptop to Home Corporate Net

  The use of a laptop while visiting another corporation presents
  another increasingly common extranet scenario.  In this case, a user
  works temporarily within another corporation, perhaps as part of a
  service agreement of some sort.  The user brings along a CORP-A
  laptop which is assigned a CORP-B address either statically or
  dynamically, and the user wishes to securely access resources on
  CORP-A's network using this laptop.  This scenario has the following
  appearance:

         CORP A                                CORP B
            |                                      |
   +----+   |                                      |  +--------+
   |POP |---|                                      |--| CORP-A |
   +----+   |   +------++              ++------+   |  | laptop |
            |---|SGW/FW||===Internet===||SGW/FW|---|  +--------+
            |   +------++              ++------+   |
   +----+   |     SGW-A                   SGW-B    |
   |FTP |---|                                      |
   +----+   |                                      |

  This is very similar to the telecommuter scenario, but it differs in
  several important ways.  First, in this case there is often a SGW
  and/or firewall at the edge of CORP-B's site.  Second, there may be a
  significantly increased risk that a long-lived connection could
  become accessible to someone other than the intended user.

3.3.1 Authentication Requirements

  In most cases, the only acceptable connections from CORP-A's
  perspective are between the laptop and either SGW-A or the CORP-A
  servers the laptop wishes to access.  Most of the considerations
  applied to the telecommuter also apply here, and user-level
  authentication is required to provide assurance that the user who
  initiated the connection is still the active user.  As an added
  precaution, a combination of user-level and machine-level
  authentication may be warranted in some cases.  Further, in either
  case this authentication should be renewed frequently.








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  To summarize, the following are the authentication requirements for
  the IRAS and IRAC:

  IRAS
  ----

     o  machine authentication MUST be provided.

  IRAC
  ----

     o  support for machine authentication SHOULD be provided
     o  support for user authentication MUST be provided
     o  support for a combination of user and machine authentication
        SHOULD be provided
     o  periodic renewal of user authentication MUST occur

3.3.2 Device Configuration Requirements

  The device configuration requirements in this scenario are the same
  as for the telecommuter, i.e., the laptop may be assigned a virtual
  presence on the corporate network, and if so, will require full
  infrastructure configuration.

  To summarize, the following are the device configuration requirements
  for the IRAC:

     o  support for a virtual address MAY be provided
     o  if VIP support is provided, support for all device-related
        parameters listed in section 2.2 above SHOULD be supported
     o  support for address assignment based upon authenticated
        identity SHOULD be supported
     o  if authenticated address assignment is not supported, an
        identity-based dynamic policy update mechanism such as is
        described in [ARCH] MUST be supported.

3.3.3 Policy Configuration Requirements

  The policy configuration requirements in this scenario differ from
  those of the telecommuter, in that the laptop cannot be assigned a
  policy which requires all traffic to be forwarded to CORP-A via the
  tunnel.  This is due to the fact that the laptop has a CORP-B
  address, and as such, may have traffic destined to CORP-B.  If this
  traffic were tunneled to CORP-A, there might be no return path to
  CORP-B except via the laptop.  On the other hand, Internet-bound
  traffic could be subjected to this restriction if desired, and/or all
  traffic other than that between CORP-A and the laptop could be
  blocked for the duration of the connection.



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  IRAC
  ----

     o  support for IRAS update of IRAC policy MAY be provided.

     o  if IRAS update of IRAC policy is not supported, IRAC MAY
        support IRAS directives to "block-all" for non-tunneled
        traffic.

     o  IRAC SHOULD provide ability to configure for "tunnel-all"
        and/or "block-all" for traffic not destined for the remote
        network to which IPsec remote access is being provided.

3.3.4 Auditing Requirements

  The auditing requirements in this scenario are the same as for the
  telecommuter scenario.  Session start/end times must be collected.
  Reliable derivation of session end time requires that the IRAC
  somehow periodically signify that the connection remains active.
  This is implied if the IRAS receives data from the IRAC over the
  connection, but in cases where no data is sent for some period of
  time, a signaling mechanism is required by which the IRAC indicates
  that the connection remains in use.

3.3.5 Intermediary Traversal Requirements

  If the address assigned by the host network to the IRAC system is
  globally routable, and no intermediate devices between the IRAC and
  the IRAS perform NAPT operations on the data stream, then there are
  no additional requirements in this regard.  If NAPT operations are
  performed on the data stream, some mechanism must be provided in
  order to render these modifications transparent to the IPsec
  implementation.

  If a firewall situated at the edge of the host network cannot be
  configured to pass protocols in the IPsec suite, then some mechanism
  must be provided which converts the data stream to one which the
  firewall may be configured to pass.  If the firewall can be
  configured to pass IPsec protocols, then this must be accomplished
  prior to connection establishment.











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3.4 Extranet Desktop to Home Corporate Net

  This is very similar to the extranet laptop scenario discussed above,
  except that a higher degree of trust for CORP-B is required by
  CORP-A.  This scenario has the following appearance:

          CORP A                                CORP B
            |                                      |
   +----+   |                                      |  +--------+
   |POP |---|                                      |--| CORP-B |
   +----+   |   +------++              ++------+   |  |desktop |
            |---|SGW/FW||===Internet===||SGW/FW|---|  +--------+
            |   +------++              ++------+   |
   +----+   |     SGW-A                   SGW-B    |
   |FTP |---|                                      |
   +----+   |                                      |

3.4.1 Authentication Requirements

  The authentication requirements for the desktop extranet scenario are
  very similar to those of the extranet laptop scenario discussed
  above.  The primary difference lies in the authentication type which
  may be used, i.e., in the laptop case, CORP-A can derive some
  assurance that the connection is coming from one of CORP-A's systems
  if a securely stored machine credential is stored on and used by on
  the laptop.  In the desktop case this is not possible, since CORP-A
  does not own the IRAC system.

  To summarize, the following are the authentication requirements for
  the IRAS and IRAC:

  IRAS
  ----

    o machine authentication MUST be provided.

  IRAC
  ----

     o  support for machine authentication MAY be provided
     o  support for user authentication MUST be provided
     o  support for a combination of user and machine authentication
        MAY be provided
     o  periodic renewal of user authentication MUST occur







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3.4.2 Device Configuration Requirements

  The device configuration requirements in this scenario are the same
  as for the laptop extranet scenario, i.e., the desktop system may be
  assigned a virtual presence on the corporate network, and if so, will
  require full infrastructure configuration.  However, this seems less
  likely than in the laptop scenario, given CORP-A's lack of control
  over the software configuration of CORP-B's desktop system.

3.4.3 Policy Configuration Requirements

  The policy configuration requirements are quite similar to those of
  the extranet laptop, except that in this scenario there is even less
  control over CORP-B's desktop than there would be over the laptop.
  This means it may not be possible to restrict traffic in any way at
  the desktop system.

3.4.4 Auditing Requirements

  The auditing requirements in this scenario are the same as for the
  telecommuter scenario.  Session start/end times must be collected.
  Reliable derivation of session end time requires that the IRAC
  somehow periodically signify that the connection remains active.
  This is implied if the IRAS receives data from the IRAC over the
  connection, but in cases where no data is sent for some period of
  time, a signaling mechanism is required by which the IRAC indicates
  that the connection remains in use.

3.4.5 Intermediary Traversal Requirements

  If the address assigned by the host network to the IRAC system is
  globally routable, and no intermediate devices between the IRAC and
  the IRAS perform NAPT operations on the data stream, then there are
  no additional requirements in this regard.  If NAPT operations are
  performed on the data stream, some mechanism must be provided in
  order to render these modifications transparent to the IPsec
  implementation.

  If a firewall situated at the edge of the host network cannot be
  configured to pass protocols in the IPsec suite, then some mechanism
  must be provided which converts the data stream to one which the
  firewall may be configured to pass.  If the firewall can be
  configured to pass IPsec protocols, then this must be accomplished
  prior to connection establishment.







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3.5 Public System to Target Network

  This scenario entails a traveling user connecting to the target
  network using a public system owned by someone else.  A commonly
  cited example is an airport kiosk.  This looks very similar to the
  extranet desktop scenario, except that in the extranet scenario,
  CORP-A might have a trust relationship with CORP-B, whereas in this
  scenario, CORP-A may not trust a publicly accessible system.  Note
  that a trust relationship between CORP-A and the owner of the public
  system may exist, but in many cases will not.

3.5.1 Authentication Requirements

  There are two variations to this scenario.  In the first, no trust
  relationship exists between the target network and the borrowed
  system.  In the second, some trust relationship does exist.  In the
  case where no trust relationship exists, machine authentication is
  out of the question, as it is meaningless in this context.  Further,
  since such a system could easily capture a passphrase, use of a
  static passphrase from such a system would seem to be ill-advised.

  If a one-time passphrase were used, this would mitigate the risk of
  passphrase capture by the public system.  On the other hand, if it is
  acknowledged that such capture is a real threat (i.e., the system
  itself is malicious), then it must also be recognized that any data
  transmitted and received via the resulting session would not be
  confidential or reliable with respect to this malicious system, and
  that the system could not be trusted to have actually disconnected
  when the user walks away.  This suggests that accessing non-trivial
  information from such a system would be imprudent.

  Another possible user authentication option would be a smartcard.
  However, many smartcards require a pin or passphrase to "unlock"
  them, which requires some level of trust in the kiosk to not record
  the pin.  Hence, this approach suffers from drawbacks similar to
  those of the static passphrase in this regard.  The primary
  difference would be that the pin/passphrase could not be used alone
  for access in the smartcard case.

  In cases where a trust relationship with the owner of the public
  system exists, the trust level would modulate the risk levels
  discussed above.  For example, if a sufficient level of trust for the
  system owner exists, use of a static passphrase might present no more
  risk than if this were permitted from a system owned by the accessed
  target.  However, the primary benefit of such a trust relationship
  would be derived from the ability to authenticate the machine from





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  which the user is attempting access.  For example, a security policy
  requiring that remote access only be permitted with combined
  user/machine authentication might be effected, with further control
  regarding which machines were allowed.

  An additional issue to be dealt with in either case pertains to
  verification of the identity of the IRAS.  If the IRAC were to be
  misdirected somehow, a man in the middle attack could be effected,
  with the obtained password being then used for malicious access to
  the true IRAS.  Note that even a one-time password mechanism offers
  little protection in this case.  In order to avert such an attack,
  the IRAC must possess some certifiable or secret knowledge of the
  IRAS prior to attempting to connect.  Note that in the case where no
  trust relationship exists, this is not possible.

  To summarize, the following are the authentication requirements for
  the IRAS and IRAC:

  IRAS
  ----

     o  machine authentication MUST be provided.

  IRAC
  ----

     o  in cases where no trust relationship exists between the
        accessed network and the system owner, sensitive data SHOULD
        NOT be transmitted in either direction.
     o  in cases where a trust relationship exists between the accessed
        network and the system owner, machine authentication SHOULD be
        supported.
     o  in cases where a trust relationship exists between the accessed
        network and the system owner, a static passphrase MAY be used
        in conjunction with machine-level authentication of the IRAC
        system.
     o  frequent renewal of user authentication MUST occur

3.5.2 Device Configuration Requirements

  None.

3.5.3 Policy  Configuration Requirements

  None.






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3.5.4 Auditing Requirements

  The auditing requirements in this scenario are the same as for the
  telecommuter scenario.  Session start/end times must be collected.
  Reliable derivation of session end time requires that the IRAC
  somehow periodically signify that the connection remains active.
  This is implied if the IRAS receives data from the IRAC over the
  connection, but in cases where no data is sent for some period of
  time, a signaling mechanism is required by which the IRAC indicates
  that the connection remains in use.

3.5.5 Intermediary Traversal Requirements

  If the address of the IRAC system is globally routable, and no
  intermediate devices between the IRAC and the IRAS perform NAPT
  operations on the data stream, then there are no additional
  requirements in this regard.  If NAPT operations are performed on the
  data stream, some mechanism must be provided in order to render these
  modifications transparent to the IPsec implementation.

4. Scenario Commonalities

  As we examine the various remote access scenarios, a general set of
  common requirements emerge.  Following is a summary:

  o  Support for user authentication is required in almost all
     scenarios

  o  Machine authentication for the IRAS is required in all scenarios

  o  A mechanism for providing device configuration for the IRAC is
     required in most scenarios.  Such a mechanism must be extensible.

  o  Machine authentication for IRAC is generally only useful when
     combined with user authentication.  Combined user and machine
     authentication is useful in some scenarios.

  o  Dynamic IRAC policy configuration is useful in several scenarios.

  o  Most scenarios require auditing for session start/stop times.

  o  An intermediary traversal mechanism may be required in any of the
     scenarios.








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5. Security Considerations

  The topic of this document is secure remote access.  Security
  considerations are discussed throughout the document.

6. References

  [ARCH]      Kent, S. and R. Atkinson, "Security Architecture for the
              Internet Protocol", RFC 2401, November 1998.

  [KEYWORDS]  Bradner, S., "Key Words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

  [RADIUS]    Rigney, C., Rubens, A., Simpson, W. and S. Willens,
              "Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS)",
              RFC 2865, June 2000.

  [IKE]       Harkins, D. and D. Carrel, "The Internet Key Exchange
              (IKE)", RFC 2409, November 1998.

7. Acknowledgements

  The editors would like to acknowledge the many helpful comments of
  Sara Bitan, Steve Kent, Mark Townsley, Bernard Aboba, Mike Horn, and
  other members of the ipsra working group who have made helpful
  comments on this work.

8. Editors' Addresses

  Scott Kelly
  Airespace
  110 Nortech Pkwy
  San Jose CA 95134 USA

  Phone: +1 (408) 941-0500
  EMail: [email protected]


  Sankar Ramamoorthi
  Juniper Networks
  1194 North Mathilda Ave
  Sunnyvale CA 94089-1206 USA

  Phone: +1 (408) 936-2630
  EMail: [email protected]






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9. Full Copyright Statement

  Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003).  All Rights Reserved.

  This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
  others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
  or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published
  and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any
  kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
  included on all such copies and derivative works.  However, this
  document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
  the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
  Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
  developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
  copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be
  followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than
  English.

  The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
  revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.

  This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
  "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
  TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
  BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION
  HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
  MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Acknowledgement

  Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
  Internet Society.



















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