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Security Considerations for SRv6 Networks
draft-li-spring-srv6-security-consideration-00

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This is an older version of an Internet-Draft whose latest revision state is "Expired".
Authors Cheng Li , Zhenbin Li
Last updated 2019-06-11
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draft-li-spring-srv6-security-consideration-00
Spring                                                             C. Li
Internet-Draft                                                     Z. Li
Intended status: Standards Track                                  Huawei
Expires: December 13, 2019                                 June 11, 2019

               Security Considerations for SRv6 Networks
             draft-li-spring-srv6-security-consideration-00

Abstract

   SRv6 inherits potential security vulnerabilities from Source Routing
   in general, and also from IPv6.  This document describes various
   threats to SRv6 networks and existing approaches to solve these
   threats.

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   This Internet-Draft will expire on December 13, 2019.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2019 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   3.  Security Principles of SRv6 Networking  . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   4.  Types of Vulnerabilities in SR Networks . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     4.1.  Eavesdropping Vulnerabilities in SRv6 Networks  . . . . .   4
     4.2.  Packet Falsification in SRv6 Networks . . . . . . . . . .   5
     4.3.  Identity Spoofing in SRv6 Networks  . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.4.  Repudiation in SRv6 Networks  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.5.  Packet Replay in SRv6 Networks  . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.6.  DOS/DDOS in SRv6 Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     4.7.  Malicious Packet Data in SRv6 Networks  . . . . . . . . .   7
   5.  Effects of the above on SRv6 Use Cases  . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   6.  Security Policy Design  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     6.1.  Basic Security Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
       6.1.1.  ACL for External Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
       6.1.2.  ACL for Internal Interface  . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
       6.1.3.  SID Instantiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     6.2.  Enhanced Security Design  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   7.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   8.  Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   9.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     9.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     9.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10

1.  Introduction

   Segment routing (SR) [RFC8402] is a source routing paradigm that
   explicitly indicates the forwarding path for packets at the source
   node by inserting an ordered list of instructions, called segments.
   A segment can represent a topological or service-based instruction.

   When segment routing is deployed on IPv6 [RFC8200] dataplane, called
   SRv6 [I-D.ietf-6man-segment-routing-header], a segment is a 128 bit
   value, and it can be an IPv6 address of a local interface but it does
   not have to.  For supporting SR, an extended header called Segment
   Routing Header (SRH), which contains a list of SIDs and several
   needed information such as Segments Left, has been defined in
   [I-D.ietf-6man-segment-routing-header].  By using SRH, an Ingress
   router can steer SRv6 pakcets into an explicit forwarding path so
   that many use cases like Traffic engineering, Service Function
   Chaining can be deployed easily by SRv6.

   However, SRv6 also bring some new security problems.  This document
   describes various threats to networks employing SRv6.  SRv6 inherits

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   potential security vulnerabilities from source routing in general,
   and also from IPv6.

   o  SRv6 is a descendent of IPv6 routing header, and its security
      properties can be understood based on previous work [RFC5095].

   o  SRv6 is a descendent of IPv6, and its security properties can be
      understood based on previous work [RFC4301], [RFC4302], [RFC4303]
      and [RFC4942].

   In this document, we will consider the dangers from the following
   kinds of threats:

   o  Wiretapping/eavesdropping

   o  Packet Falsification

   o  Identity Spoofing

   o  Repudiation

   o  Packet Replay

   o  DDOS

   o  Malicious packet data

   The rest of this document will describe the above security threats in
   SRv6 networks and existing approaches to guarding against the
   threats.

2.  Terminology

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
   "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in
   [RFC2119] and [RFC8174].

   This document uses the terminology defined in [RFC5095] and
   [I-D.ietf-6man-segment-routing-header].

3.  Security Principles of SRv6 Networking

   As with other similar source-routing architecture, an attacker may
   manipulate the traffic path by modifying the packet header.  SPRING
   architecture MUST provide clear trust domain boundaries so that
   source-routing information is only usable within the trusted domain
   and never exposed to the outside world [RFC7855].  It is expected

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   that, by default, the explicit routing information is not leaked
   through the boundaries of the administered domain.  Therefore, the
   data plane MUST NOT expose any source-routing information when a
   packet leaves the trusted domain.

   By default, SR operates within a trusted domain.  Traffic MUST be
   filtered at the domain boundaries [RFC8402].

   Unless otherwise noted, the discussion in this document pertain to SR
   networks which can be characterized as "trusted domains" -- i.e., the
   SR routers in the domain are presumed to be operating without
   malicious intent and also to conform to specification for the
   protocols that they use.

   This document assumes that the SR-capable routers and transit IPv6
   routers within SRv6 trusted domains are trustworthy, since the SRv6
   packets are treated as normal IPv6 packets in transit nodes, SRH will
   not bring new security problem.  The security consideration of IPv6
   networks is out of scope of this document.

4.  Types of Vulnerabilities in SR Networks

   In this section we will make a fuller explanation about the types of
   vulnerabilities as listed in Section 1.  Then for each type we will
   explain whether or not the vulnerability exists in a trusted domain.

4.1.  Eavesdropping Vulnerabilities in SRv6 Networks

   As with practically all kinds of networks, traffic in an SRv6 network
   may be vulnerable to eavesdropping.

   o  Threats: Eavesdropping

   o  Solutions: ESP [RFC4303] can be used to prevent Eavesdropping.
      The ESP header is inserted after the IP header and before the next
      layer protocol header (transport mode) or before an encapsulated
      IP header (tunnel mode).  ESP can be used to provide
      confidentiality, data origin authentication, connectionless
      integrity, an anti-replay service (a form of partial sequence
      integrity), and (limited) traffic flow confidentiality.  The set
      of services provided depends on options selected at the time of
      Security Association (SA) establishment and on the location of the
      implementation in a network topology.

   o  Conclusions: In tunnel mode of ESP, packets are encrypted and can
      not be eavesdropped in a trusted SRv6 domain.  In transport mode
      of ESP, the payload of packets are encrypted and can not be

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      eavesdropped in a trusted SRv6 domain, while the IPv6 header and
      SRH is not encrypted.

   o  Gaps: The IPv6 header and SRH are not encrypted in transport mode
      of ESP, since they are out of scope of ESP encryption, which may
      be eavesdropped by attackers.

4.2.  Packet Falsification in SRv6 Networks

   As SRv6 domain is a trusted domain, there is no Packet Falsification
   within the SRv6 domain.

   As the packets from outside of SRv6 domain can not be trusted, so
   Integrity Verification policy should be deployed at the external
   interfaces of the ingress SRv6 routers to verify the packets from
   outside of SRv6 domain [I-D.ietf-spring-srv6-network-programming].
   Also, the packets with SRH sent form hosts within the SRv6 domain
   should be verified to prevent the falsification between the host and
   the ingress router.  [I-D.ietf-spring-srv6-network-programming].

   o  Threats: Packet Falsification

   o  Solutions: The packets from outside can not be trusted, so
      Integrity Verification policy should be deployed at the external
      interfaces by using IPSec [RFC4301] (AH [RFC4302], ESP [RFC4303] )
      or HMAC [RFC2401].  AH, ESP and HMAC can provide Integrity
      Verification for pakcets, while the ESP can encrypt the payload to
      provide higher security.  However, it has been noted that AH and
      ESP are not directly applicable to reducing the vulnerabilities of
      SRv6, due to the presence of mutalble fields in the SRH.  To solve
      this problem, [I-D.ietf-6man-segment-routing-header] defines the
      mechanism to carry HMAC TLV in SRH to verify the integrity of
      packets including the SRH fields.  The HMAC TLV will be processed
      based on Local policy, normally, only the ingress routers will
      process the HMAC TLV.  Within the SRv6 domain, the packets are
      trusted, so HMAC TLV SHOULD be ignore.  In another word, the SID
      list are mutable within the SRv6 domain but can not be changed
      before processing the HMAC TLV.

   o  Conclusions: There is no Packet Falsification within the SRv6
      domain.  Integrity Verification policy like HMAC processing should
      be deployed at the external interfaces of the ingress SRv6 routers
      for the packets from outside and the packets with SRH from hosts
      within the SRv6 domain.

   o  Gaps: IPsec can not provide verification for SRH.

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4.3.  Identity Spoofing in SRv6 Networks

   The same as Packet Falsification, there is no Identity Spoofing
   within the SRv6 domain since it is a trusted domain.

   Authentication policy policy should be deployed at the external
   interfaces of the ingress SRv6 routers to validate the packets from
   outside of SRv6 domain [I-D.ietf-spring-srv6-network-programming].
   Also, the packets with SRH sent form hosts within the SRv6 domain
   should be validated to prevent the Identity Spoofing
   [I-D.ietf-spring-srv6-network-programming].

   o  Threats: Identity Spoofing

   o  Solutions: IPSec [RFC4301] (AH [RFC4302], ESP [RFC4303] ) or HMAC
      [RFC2401] can be used for Authentication.  AH, ESP and HMAC can
      provide Authentication of source node, while the ESP can encrypt
      the payload to provide higher security.  Same as section 3.2.

   o  Conclusions: There is no Identity Spoofing within the SRv6 domain.
      Identity Spoofing policy should be deployed at the external
      interfaces of the ingress SRv6 routers for the packets from
      outside and the packets with SRH from hosts within the SRv6
      domain.

   o  Gaps: TBA

4.4.  Repudiation in SRv6 Networks

   TBA

4.5.  Packet Replay in SRv6 Networks

   There are no new Packet Replay threat brought by SRH.  ESP can be
   applied to SRv6 to prevent Packet replay attacks.

   o  Threats: Packet Replay

   o  Solutions: ESP [RFC4303] ) can be used to prevent Replay Attacks.

   o  Conclusions: There are no new Packet Replay threat brought by SRH.
      ESP can be applied to SRv6 to prevent Packet replay attacks.

   o  Gaps: TBD

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4.6.  DOS/DDOS in SRv6 Networks

   The generation of ICMPv6 error messages may be used to attempt
   DOS(Denial-Of-Service)/DDOS(Distributed Denial-Of-Service) attacks by
   sending an error-causing destination address or SRH in back-to-back
   packets [I-D.ietf-6man-segment-routing-header].  An implementation
   that correctly follows Section 2.4 of [RFC4443] would be protected by
   the ICMPv6 rate-limiting mechanism.

   o  Threats: DOS/DDOS

   o  Solutions: ICMPv6 rate-limiting mechanism as defined in [RFC4443]

   o  Conclusions: There are no DOS/DDOS threats within SRv6 domain, the
      threats come from outside of the domain, and can be prevented by
      ICMPv6 rate-limiting mechanism.

   o  Gaps: TBD

4.7.  Malicious Packet Data in SRv6 Networks

   TBA

5.  Effects of the above on SRv6 Use Cases

   This section describeS the effects of the above-mentioned
   vulnerabilities in terms of applicability statement and the use cases
   given in citation.

   TBA.

6.  Security Policy Design

   The basic security for intra-domain deployment is described in
   [I-D.ietf-spring-srv6-network-programming] and the enhanced security
   machanism is defined in [I-D.ietf-6man-segment-routing-header].

   In [I-D.ietf-spring-srv6-network-programming], it defines three basic
   security manchanisms.

6.1.  Basic Security Design

6.1.1.  ACL for External Interfaces

   An SRv6 router MUST support an ACL on the external interface that
   drops any traffic with SA or DA in the internal SID space.

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   A provider would generally do this for its internal address space to
   prevent access to internal addresses and in order to prevent
   spoofing.  The technique is extended to the local SID space.But in
   some use cases, Binding SID can be leaked to outside of SRv6 domain.
   Detailed ACL should be configured for Binding SID.

   The typical counters of an ACL are expected.

6.1.2.  ACL for Internal Interface

   An SRv6 router MUST support an ACL with the following behavior:

   1. IF (DA == LocalSID) && (SA != internal address or SID space) :
   2.    drop

   This prevents access to locally instantiated SIDs from outside the
   operator's infrastructure.  Note that this ACL may not be enabled in
   all cases.  For example, specific SIDs can be used to provide
   resources to devices that are outside of the operator's
   infrastructure.

   The typical counters of an ACL are expected.

6.1.3.  SID Instantiation

   As per the End definition, an SRv6 router MUST only implement the End
   behavior on a local IPv6 address if that address has been explicitly
   enabled as an SRv6 SID.

   Packets received with destination address representing a local
   interface that has not been enabled as an SRv6 SID MUST be dropped.

6.2.  Enhanced Security Design

   HMAC is the enhanced security machanism for SRv6 as defined in
   [I-D.ietf-6man-segment-routing-header].  HMAC is used for validating
   the packets with SRH sent from hosts within SRv6 domain.

7.  Security Considerations

   TBA

8.  Acknowledgements

   TBA

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9.  References

9.1.  Normative References

   [I-D.ietf-6man-segment-routing-header]
              Filsfils, C., Dukes, D., Previdi, S., Leddy, J.,
              Matsushima, S., and d. daniel.voyer@bell.ca, "IPv6 Segment
              Routing Header (SRH)", draft-ietf-6man-segment-routing-
              header-20 (work in progress), June 2019.

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC5095]  Abley, J., Savola, P., and G. Neville-Neil, "Deprecation
              of Type 0 Routing Headers in IPv6", RFC 5095,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC5095, December 2007,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5095>.

   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.

   [RFC8200]  Deering, S. and R. Hinden, "Internet Protocol, Version 6
              (IPv6) Specification", STD 86, RFC 8200,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8200, July 2017,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8200>.

   [RFC8402]  Filsfils, C., Ed., Previdi, S., Ed., Ginsberg, L.,
              Decraene, B., Litkowski, S., and R. Shakir, "Segment
              Routing Architecture", RFC 8402, DOI 10.17487/RFC8402,
              July 2018, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8402>.

9.2.  Informative References

   [I-D.ietf-spring-segment-routing-policy]
              Filsfils, C., Sivabalan, S., daniel.voyer@bell.ca, d.,
              bogdanov@google.com, b., and P. Mattes, "Segment Routing
              Policy Architecture", draft-ietf-spring-segment-routing-
              policy-03 (work in progress), May 2019.

   [I-D.ietf-spring-srv6-network-programming]
              Filsfils, C., Camarillo, P., Leddy, J.,
              daniel.voyer@bell.ca, d., Matsushima, S., and Z. Li, "SRv6
              Network Programming", draft-ietf-spring-srv6-network-
              programming-00 (work in progress), April 2019.

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   [RFC2401]  Kent, S. and R. Atkinson, "Security Architecture for the
              Internet Protocol", RFC 2401, DOI 10.17487/RFC2401,
              November 1998, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2401>.

   [RFC4301]  Kent, S. and K. Seo, "Security Architecture for the
              Internet Protocol", RFC 4301, DOI 10.17487/RFC4301,
              December 2005, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4301>.

   [RFC4302]  Kent, S., "IP Authentication Header", RFC 4302,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC4302, December 2005,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4302>.

   [RFC4303]  Kent, S., "IP Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP)",
              RFC 4303, DOI 10.17487/RFC4303, December 2005,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4303>.

   [RFC4443]  Conta, A., Deering, S., and M. Gupta, Ed., "Internet
              Control Message Protocol (ICMPv6) for the Internet
              Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Specification", STD 89,
              RFC 4443, DOI 10.17487/RFC4443, March 2006,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4443>.

   [RFC4942]  Davies, E., Krishnan, S., and P. Savola, "IPv6 Transition/
              Co-existence Security Considerations", RFC 4942,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC4942, September 2007,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4942>.

   [RFC7855]  Previdi, S., Ed., Filsfils, C., Ed., Decraene, B.,
              Litkowski, S., Horneffer, M., and R. Shakir, "Source
              Packet Routing in Networking (SPRING) Problem Statement
              and Requirements", RFC 7855, DOI 10.17487/RFC7855, May
              2016, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7855>.

Authors' Addresses

   Cheng Li
   Huawei
   China

   Email: ChengLi13@huawei.com

   Zhenbin Li
   Huawei
   China

   Email: lizhenbin@huawei.com

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