diff options
author | Daniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org> | 2024-05-04 11:36:04 +0000 |
---|---|---|
committer | Daniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org> | 2024-05-04 11:36:04 +0000 |
commit | 040eee1aa49b49df4698d83a05af57c220127fd1 (patch) | |
tree | f635435954e6ccde5eee9893889e24f30ca68346 /doc/sphinx/arm/security.rst | |
parent | Initial commit. (diff) | |
download | isc-kea-upstream.tar.xz isc-kea-upstream.zip |
Adding upstream version 2.2.0.upstream/2.2.0upstream
Signed-off-by: Daniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org>
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/sphinx/arm/security.rst')
-rw-r--r-- | doc/sphinx/arm/security.rst | 388 |
1 files changed, 388 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/doc/sphinx/arm/security.rst b/doc/sphinx/arm/security.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ec7baa6 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/sphinx/arm/security.rst @@ -0,0 +1,388 @@ +.. _security: + +************ +Kea Security +************ + +Kea was originally designed to be installed in a protected environment, in a network +datacenter; it did not offer hardened security features. However, due to customer demand +and evolving network requirements, support for basic HTTP authentication and Transport +Layer Security (TLS) have been added to Kea. + +.. _tls: + +TLS/HTTPS Support +================= + +Since Kea 1.9.6, TLS can be used to secure HTTP communication. There are three levels of +protection possible: + +- No TLS. The connection is plain-text, unencrypted HTTP. (This is + the only option available in versions prior to Kea 1.9.6.) + +- Encryption, which protects against passive attacks and + eavesdropping. In this case, the server is authenticated but the client is + not. This is the typical mode when securing a website, where + clients and servers are not under the control of a common entity. + +- Mutual authentication between the client and the server. This is the + strictest security mode and is the default when TLS is + enabled. + +.. note:: + + TLS mutual authentication is for TLS entities only. When TLS and + an HTTP authentication scheme are used together, there is no binding between + the two security mechanisms, and therefore no proof that the TLS client and server + are the same as the HTTP authentication client and server. + +.. _tls_config: + +Building Kea with TLS/HTTPS Support +----------------------------------- + +TLS/HTTPS support is available with either the OpenSSL or the Botan +cryptographic library. There are some constraints on the Boost library +that must be used: + +- OpenSSL versions older than 1.0.2 are obsolete and should not be used. + Kea TLS support has not been tested with and is not supported on these versions. + +- OpenSSL version 1.0.2 has extended support, but only for OpenSSL premium + customers. Kea TLS support has been tested but is not supported on this version. + +- OpenSSL versions 1.1.x and later have been tested and are supported. Many + recent operating system versions include TLS 1.3 support. + +- OpenSSL 3.x is not yet released; it is unknown whether Kea will build with it. + +- LibreSSL 3.2.4 has been tested. LibreSSL shares the OpenSSL 1.0.2 API, so + it should work, but is not supported. + +- Botan 1.x versions are obsolete and should not be used. + Kea TLS support has not been tested and is not supported with these versions. + +- Botan versions 2.14.0 and later have been tested and are supported. Kea TLS + support requires the four Asio header files which are included in Botan + packages and which are installed only if Botan is configured with the + ``--with-boost`` option. + + Many packages provided by operating systems, such as Ubuntu 20.10, + do not build Botan with Boost support, making those packages + unusable for Kea with TLS. + + It is still possible to take these files from the corresponding + Botan distribution and install them manually in the Botan include + directory, but this should be a last-resort procedure. + + Without these header files, or with a Botan version prior + to 2.14.0, Kea can still build, but the TLS/HTTPS support is disabled; + any attempt to use it will fail with a fatal error. + +- Very old Boost versions provide SSL support (based on OpenSSL) + without offering a choice of the TLS version; Kea can still use them, + but they are not recommended. + +- Boost versions prior to 1.64 provide SSL support with a fixed + choice of the TLS version; Kea enforces the use of TLS 1.2 with them. + +- Boost versions 1.64 or newer provide SSL support with a generic + TLS version; the best (highest) version available on both peers is + selected. + +TLS/HTTPS Configuration +----------------------- + +The TLS configuration parameters are: + +- ``trust-anchor`` - this string parameter specifies the name of a file + or directory where the certification authority (CA) certificate of + the other peer can be found. With OpenSSL, the directory must include + hash symbolic links. With Botan, the directory is recursively + searched for certificates. + +- ``cert-file`` - this string parameter specifies the name of the file + containing the end-entity certificate of the Kea instance + being configured. + +- ``key-file`` - this string parameter specifies the private key of the + end-entity certificate of the Kea instance being configured. + The file must not be encrypted; it is highly recommended to + restrict its access. + +The three string parameters must be either all unspecified (TLS disabled) +or all specified (TLS enabled). + +TLS is asymmetric: the authentication of the server by the client is +mandatory but the authentication of the client by the server is optional. +In TLS terms, this means the server may require the client certificate, or +may not; there is a server-specific TLS parameter. + +- ``cert-required`` - this boolean parameter allows a server to not + require the client certificate. Its default value is ``true``, which + means the client certificate is required and the + client must be authenticated. This flag has no meaning on the client side; the server + always provides a certificate which is validated by the client. + +Objects in files must be in the PEM format. Files can contain more +than one certificate, but this has not been tested and is not supported. + +Botan requires CA certificates to have the standard CA certificate +attributes, verifies that end-entity certificates are version 3 +certificates (as required by the TLS standard), and supports only PKCS 8 +files for the private key. + +.. note:: + + Some cryptographic libraries (e.g. Botan and recent OpenSSL) enforce + minimal strength (i.e. key length), e.g. at least 2048 for RSA. + +A sample set of certificates and associated objects is available at +``src/lib/asiolink/testutils/ca`` in the Kea sources, with a ``doc.txt`` file +explaining how they were generated using the ``openssl`` command. These +files are for testing purposes only. **Do not use them in production.** + +TLS handshake, the phase where the cryptographic parameters are exchanged +and authentication is verified, can fail in multiple ways. Error messages +often do not help to pinpoint the source of the problem. +Both OpenSSL and Botan provide a command-line tool with a ``verify`` command +which can be used to understand and fix handshake issues. + +Securing a Kea Deployment +========================= + +Below is a list of considerations for administrators wishing to improve Kea's +security. In many cases, there are trade-offs between convenience and security. + +Component-Based Design +---------------------- + +The Kea architecture is modular, with separate daemons for separate tasks. +A Kea deployment may include DHCPv4, DHCPv6, and Dynamic DNS daemons; a Control Agent +daemon run on each application server; the ``kea-lfc utility`` for doing periodic lease +file cleanup; MySQL and or PostgreSQL databases, run either locally on the application +servers or accessed over the internal network; and a Stork monitoring system. +This modular architecture allows the administrator to minimize the attack surface +by minimizing the code that is loaded and running. +For example, ``kea-dhcp-ddns`` should not be run unless DNS updates are required. +Similarly, ``kea-lfc`` is never triggered (and can be safely removed or never installed) if memfile is not used. +Potential Kea security issues can be minimized by running only those processes required in the local environment. + +Limiting Application Permissions +-------------------------------- + +The DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 protocols assume the server opens privileged UDP port 67 +(DHCPv4) or 547 (DHCPv6), which requires root access under normal circumstances. However, via the +capabilities mechanism on Linux systems, Kea can run from an unprivileged account. See +:ref:`non-root` for details on how to run Kea without root access. + +The Control Agent (CA) can accept incoming HTTP or HTTPS connections. The default port is 8000, which +does not require privileged access. + +Securing Kea Administrative Access +---------------------------------- + +The three primary Kea daemons (``kea-dhcp4``, ``kea-dhcp6`` and ``kea-dhcp-ddns``) all support a control +channel, which is implemented as a UNIX socket. The control channel, which opens a UNIX socket, is disabled by default; +however, many configuration examples have it enabled, as it is a very popular feature. To +read from or write to this socket, root access is generally required, although if Kea is configured +to run as non-root, the owner of the process can write to it. Access can be controlled using normal +file-access control on POSIX systems (owner, group, others, read/write). + +Kea configuration is controlled by a JSON file on the Kea server. This file can be viewed or edited +by anyone with file permissions (which are controlled by the operating system). Note that +passwords are stored in clear text in the configuration file, so anyone with access to read the +configuration file can find this information. As a practical matter, anyone with permission to edit +the configuration file has control over Kea. +Limiting user permission to read or write the Kea configuration file is an important security step. + +Securing Database Connections +----------------------------- + +Kea can use an external MySQL or PostgreSQL database to store configuration, host reservations, +or/and leases, or/and for forensic logging. The use of databases is a popular feature, but it is optional; +it is also possible to store data in a flat file on disk. + +When using a database, Kea stores and uses the following credentials to authenticate with the database: +username, password, host, port, and database name. **These are stored in clear text +in the configuration file.** + +Depending on the database configuration, it is also possible to verify whether the system user matches the +database username. Consult the MySQL or PostgreSQL manual for details. + +Information Leakage Through Logging +----------------------------------- + +It is possible for Kea to log an entire configuration file, including passwords and secrets. +Since Kea 1.9.7, this issue has been resolved by replacing the value of all entries ending in +``password`` or ``secret`` with asterisks, as was already done for database logs. + +Logs are sent to stdout, stderr, files, or syslog; system file permissions system apply to +stdout/stderr and files. Syslog may export the logs over the network, exposing them further to possible snooping. + +Cryptography Components +----------------------- + +Kea supports the use of either of two cryptographic libraries: Botan or OpenSSL. +The choice is made at compile time, and creates both compile and runtime dependencies +between the Kea and the selected library. While OpenSSL is the most popular choice for +deployments, Botan remains a fully supported alternative. + +The primary use cases for the cryptographic libraries are: + +- TLS support for the Control Agent (CA), introduced in Kea 1.9.6. +- TSIG signatures when sending DNS updates. +- calculating DHCID records when sending DNS updates. +- random number generation (but not for usage requiring a crypto grade generator). + +For OpenSSL and Botan, only the low-level crypto interface is used (e.g. libcrypto). Kea does not link +with libssl. Some dependent software systems, such as database client libraries, can also depend on a crypto +library. + +One way to limit exposure for potential OpenSSL or Botan vulnerabilities is not to use DDNS. The +libraries would still be needed to build and run Kea, but the code would never be used, so any +potential bugs in the libraries would not be exploitable. + +TSIG Signatures +--------------- + +Kea supports the following algorithms when signing DNS updates with TSIG signatures: + +- HMAC-MD5 +- HMAC-SHA1 +- HMAC-SHA224 +- HMAC-SHA256 +- HMAC-SHA384 +- HMAC-SHA512 + +See :ref:`d2-tsig-key-list-config` for an up-to-date list. + +Kea uses SHA256 to calculate DHCID records. This is irrelevant from the cryptography perspective, as +the DHCID record is only used to generate unique identifiers for two devices that may have been +assigned the same IP address at different times. + +Raw Socket Support +------------------ + +In principle, Kea DHCPv4 uses raw sockets to receive traffic from clients. The difficulty is with +receiving packets from devices that do not yet have an IPv4 address. When dealing with direct traffic +(where both client and server are connected to the same link, not separated by relays), the kernel +normally drops the packet as the source IP address is 0.0.0.0. Therefore, Kea needs to open raw +sockets to be able to receive this traffic. + +However, this is not necessary if all the traffic is coming via relays, which is often the case in +many networks. In that case normal UDP sockets can be used instead. There is a ``dhcp-socket-type`` +parameter that controls this behavior. + +The default is to permit raw socket usage, as it is more versatile. + +When using raw sockets, Kea is able to receive raw layer 2 packets, bypassing most firewalls +(including iptables). This effectively means that when raw sockets are used, the iptables cannot be +used to block DHCP traffic. This is a design choice of the Linux kernel. + +Kea can be switched to use UDP sockets. This is an option when all traffic is relayed. +However, it does not work for directly connected devices. If Kea is limited to UDP sockets, +iptables should work properly. + +If raw sockets are not required, disabling this access can improve security. + +Remote Administrative Access +---------------------------- + +Kea's Control Agent (CA) exposes a RESTful API over HTTP or HTTPS (HTTP over TLS). The CA is an +optional feature that is disabled by default, but it is very popular. When enabled, it listens on the +loopback address (127.0.0.1 or ::1) by default, unless configured otherwise. See :ref:`tls` +for information about protecting the TLS traffic. Limiting the incoming connections with a firewall, such as +iptables, is generally a good idea. + +Note that in High Availability (HA) deployments, DHCP partners connect to each other using a CA +connection. + +Authentication for Kea's RESTful API +------------------------------------ + +Kea 1.9.0 added support for basic HTTP authentication (`RFC 7617 <https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7617>`_), +to control access for incoming REST commands over HTTP. The credentials (username, password) are +stored in a local Kea configuration file on disk. The username is logged with the API command, so it +is possible to determine which authenticated user performed each command. The access control details +are logged using a dedicated ``auth`` logger. Basic HTTP +authentication is weak on its own as there are known dictionary attacks, but those attacks require +a "man in the middle" to get access to the HTTP traffic. That can be eliminated by using basic HTTP +authentication exclusively over TLS. In fact, if possible, using client certificates for TLS is better than +using basic HTTP authentication. + +Kea 1.9.2 introduced a new ``auth`` hook point. With this new hook point, it is possible to develop an external +hook library to extend the access controls, integrate with another authentication authority, or add role-based +access control to the Control Agent. + +Kea Security Processes +====================== + +The following sections discuss how the Kea DHCP development team ensures code quality and handles vulnerabilities. + +Vulnerability Handling +---------------------- + +ISC is an experienced and active participant in the industry-standard vulnerability disclosure +process and maintains accurate documentation on our process and vulnerabilities in ISC software. +See https://kb.isc.org/docs/aa-00861 for ISC's Software Defect and Security Vulnerability Disclosure Policy. + +In case of a security vulnerability in Kea, ISC notifies support customers ahead of any public +disclosure, and provides a patch and/or updated installer package to remediate the +vulnerability. + +When a security update is published, both the source tarballs and the ISC-maintained packages are +published on the same day. This enables users of the native Linux update mechanisms (such as +Debian's and Ubuntu's apt or RedHat's dnf) to update their systems promptly. + +Code Quality and Testing +------------------------ + +Kea undergoes extensive tests during its development. The following are some of the +processes that are used to ensure adequate code quality: + +- Each line of code goes through a formal review before it is accepted. The review process is + documented and available publicly. +- Roughly 50% of the source code is dedicated to unit tests. As of December 2020, there were over 6000 + unit tests and the number is increasing with time. Unit tests are required to commit any new feature. +- There are around 1500 system tests for Kea. These simulate both correct and invalid + situations, covering network packets (mostly DHCP, but also DNS, HTTP, HTTPS and others), + command-line usage, API calls, database interactions, scripts, and more. +- There are performance tests with over 80 scenarios that test Kea overall performance and + resiliency to various levels of traffic, and measuring various metrics (latency, leases per seconds, + packets per seconds, CPU usage, memory utilization, and others). +- Kea uses Continuous Integration (CI). This means that the great majority of tests (all unit and system + tests, and in some cases also performance tests) are run for every commit. Many "lighter" tests are + run on branches, before the code is even accepted. +- Many unit and system tests check for negative scenarios, such as incomplete, + broken, or truncated packets, API commands, and configuration files, as well as incorrect sequences (such as sending + packets in an invalid order) and more. +- The Kea development team uses many tools that perform automatic code quality checks, such as danger, as well as + internally developed sanity checkers. +- The Kea team uses the following static code analyzers: Coverity Scan, shellcheck, and danger. +- The Kea team uses the following dynamic code analyzers: Valgrind and Thread Sanitizer (TSAN). + +Fuzz Testing +------------ + +The Kea team has a process for running fuzz testing, using `AFL <https://github.com/google/AFL>`_. There +are two modes which are run: the first mode fuzzes incoming packets, effectively throwing millions of mostly +broken packets at Kea per day, while the second mode fuzzes configuration structures and forces Kea to +attempt to load them. Kea has been fuzzed since around 2018 in both modes. The input seeds +(the data being used to generate or "fuzz" other input) are changed periodically. + +Release Integrity +----------------- + +All ISC software releases are signed with PGP and distributed via the ISC website, which is itself +DNSSEC-signed, so users can be confident the software has not been tampered with. + +Bus Factor +---------- + +According to the `Core Infrastructure project <https://bestpractices.coreinfrastructure.org/>`_, a "bus +factor" or "truck factor" is the minimum number of project members that have to suddenly disappear +from a project ("be hit by a bus") before the project stalls due to lack of knowledgeable or competent +personnel. It is hard to estimate precisely, but the bus factor for Kea is somewhere around five. As of +2021, there are six core developers and two quality assurance engineers, with many additional casual +contributors (product manager, support team, IT, etc.). The team is geographically dispersed. |