System Administration Guide: IP Services

Chapter 23 Internet Key Exchange (Reference)

This chapter contains the following reference information about IKE:

For instructions on implementing IKE, see Chapter 22, Configuring IKE (Tasks). For overview information, see Chapter 21, Internet Key Exchange (Overview).

IKE Service Management Facility

svc:/network/ipsec/ike:default service – The service management facility (SMF) provides the ike service to manage IKE. By default, this service is disabled. Before enabling this service, you must create an IKE configuration file, /etc/inet/ike/config.

The following ike service properties are configurable:

For information about SMF, see Chapter 16, Managing Services (Overview), in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration. Also see the smf(5), svcadm(1M), and svccfg(1M) man pages.

IKE Daemon

The in.iked daemon automates the management of cryptographic keys for IPsec on a Solaris system. The daemon negotiates with a remote system that is running the same protocol to provide authenticated keying materials for security associations (SAs) in a protected manner. The daemon must be running on all systems that plan to communicate securely.

By default, the svc:/network/ipsec/ike:default service is not enabled. After you have configured the /etc/inet/ike/config file and enabled the ike service, the in.iked daemon runs at system boot.

When the IKE daemon runs, the system authenticates itself to its peer IKE entity in the Phase 1 exchange. The peer is defined in the IKE policy file, as are the authentication methods. The daemon then establishes the keys for the Phase 2 exchange. At an interval specified in the policy file, the IKE keys are refreshed automatically. The in.iked daemon listens for incoming IKE requests from the network and for requests for outbound traffic through the PF_KEY socket. For more information, see the pf_key(7P) man page.

Two commands support the IKE daemon. The ikeadm command can be used to view and temporarily modify the IKE policy. To permanently modify IKE policy, you modify properties of the ike service. For the procedure, see How to View IKE Preshared Keys.

The ikecert command enables you to view and manage the public key databases. This command manages the local databases, ike.privatekeys and publickeys. This command also manages public key operations and the storage of public keys on hardware.

IKE Policy File

The configuration file for the IKE policy, /etc/inet/ike/config, manages the keys for the interfaces that are being protected in the IPsec policy file, /etc/inet/ipsecinit.conf. The IKE policy file manages keys for IKE, and for the IPsec SAs. The IKE daemon itself requires keying material in the Phase 1 exchange.

Key management with IKE includes rules and global parameters. An IKE rule identifies the systems or networks that the keying material secures. The rule also specifies the authentication method. Global parameters include such items as the path to an attached hardware accelerator. For examples of IKE policy files, see Configuring IKE With Preshared Keys (Task Map). For examples and descriptions of IKE policy entries, see the ike.config(4) man page.

The IPsec SAs that IKE supports protect the IP datagrams according to policies that are set up in the configuration file for the IPsec policy, /etc/inet/ipsecinit.conf. The IKE policy file determines if perfect forward security (PFS) is used when creating the IPsec SAs.

The ike/config file can include the path to a library that is implemented according to the following standard: RSA Security Inc. PKCS #11 Cryptographic Token Interface (Cryptoki). IKE uses this PKCS #11 library to access hardware for key acceleration and key storage.

The security considerations for the ike/config file are similar to the considerations for the ipsecinit.conf file. For details, see Security Considerations for ipsecinit.conf and ipsecconf.

IKE Administration Command

You can use the ikeadm command to do the following:

For examples and a full description of this command's options, see the ikeadm(1M) man page.

The privilege level of the running IKE daemon determines which aspects of the IKE daemon can be viewed and modified. Three levels of privilege are possible.

base level

You cannot view or modify keying material. The base level is the default level of privilege.

modkeys level

You can remove, change, and add preshared keys.

keymat level

You can view the actual keying material with the ikeadm command.

For a temporary privilege change, you can use the ikeadm command. For a permanent change, change the admin_privilege property of the ike service. For the procedure, see How to Manage IKE and IPsec Services.

The security considerations for the ikeadm command are similar to the considerations for the ipseckey command. For details, see Security Considerations for ipseckey.

IKE Preshared Keys Files

When you create preshared keys manually, the keys are stored in files in the /etc/inet/secret directory. The ike.preshared file contains the preshared keys for Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol (ISAKMP) SAs. The ipseckeys file contains the preshared keys for IPsec SAs. The files are protected at 0600. The secret directory is protected at 0700.


Note –

Preshared keys cannot take advantage of hardware storage. Preshared keys are generated and are stored on the system.


IKE Public Key Databases and Commands

The ikecert command manipulates the local system's public key databases. You use this command when the ike/config file requires public key certificates. Because IKE uses these databases to authenticate the Phase 1 exchange, the databases must be populated before activating the in.iked daemon. Three subcommands handle each of the three databases: certlocal, certdb, and certrldb.

The ikecert command also handles key storage. Keys can be stored on disk, on an attached Sun Crypto Accelerator 4000 board, or in a softtoken keystore. The softtoken keystore is available when the metaslot in the Solaris cryptographic framework is used to communicate with the hardware device. The ikecert command uses the PKCS #11 library to locate key storage.

For more information, see the ikecert(1M) man page. For information about metaslot and the softtoken keystore, see the cryptoadm(1M) man page.

ikecert tokens Command

The tokens argument lists the token IDs that are available. Token IDs enable the ikecert certlocal and ikecert certdb commands to generate public key certificates and certificate requests. The certificates and certificate requests can also be stored by the cryptographic framework in the softtoken keystore, or on an attached Sun Crypto Accelerator 4000 board. The ikecert command uses the PKCS #11 library to locate certificate storage.

ikecert certlocal Command

The certlocal subcommand manages the private key database. Options to this subcommand enable you to add, view, and remove private keys. This subcommand also creates either a self-signed certificate or a certificate request. The -ks option creates a self-signed certificate. The -kc option creates a certificate request. Keys are stored on the system in the /etc/inet/secret/ike.privatekeys directory, or on attached hardware with the -T option.

When you create a private key, the options to the ikecert certlocal command must have related entries in the ike/config file. The correspondences between ikecert options and ike/config entries are shown in the following table.

Table 23–1 Correspondences Between ikecert Options and ike/config Entries

ikecert Option

ike/config Entry

Description 

-A subject-alternate-name

cert_trust subject-alternate-name

A nickname that uniquely identifies the certificate. Possible values are an IP address, an email address, or a domain name. 

-D X.509-distinguished-name

X.509-distinguished-name

The full name of the certificate authority that includes the country (C), organization name (ON), organizational unit (OU), and common name (CN). 

-t dsa-sha1

auth_method dss_sig

An authentication method that is slightly slower than RSA.

-t rsa-md5 and

-t rsa-sha1

auth_method rsa_sig

An authentication method that is slightly faster than DSA.

The RSA public key must be large enough to encrypt the biggest payload. Typically, an identity payload, such as the X.509 distinguished name, is the biggest payload.

-t rsa-md5 and

-t rsa-sha1

auth_method rsa_encrypt

RSA encryption hides identities in IKE from eavesdroppers, but requires that the IKE peers know each other's public keys. 

-T

pkcs11_path

The PKCS #11 library handles key acceleration on the Sun Crypto Accelerator 1000 board and the Sun Crypto Accelerator 4000 board. The library also provides the tokens that handle key storage on the Sun Crypto Accelerator 4000 board. 

If you issue a certificate request with the ikecert certlocal -kc command, you send the output of the command to a PKI organization or to a certificate authority (CA). If your company runs its own PKI, you send the output to your PKI administrator. The PKI organization, the CA, or your PKI administrator then creates certificates. The certificates that the PKI or CA returns to you are input to the certdb subcommand. The certificate revocation list (CRL) that the PKI returns to you is input for the certrldb subcommand.

ikecert certdb Command

The certdb subcommand manages the public key database. Options to this subcommand enable you to add, view, and remove certificates and public keys. The command accepts, as input, certificates that were generated by the ikecert certlocal -ks command on a remote system. For the procedure, see How to Configure IKE With Self-Signed Public Key Certificates. This command also accepts the certificate that you receive from a PKI or CA as input. For the procedure, see How to Configure IKE With Certificates Signed by a CA.

The certificates and public keys are stored on the system in the /etc/inet/ike/publickeys directory. The -T option stores the certificates, private keys, and public keys on attached hardware.

ikecert certrldb Command

The certrldb subcommand manages the certificate revocation list (CRL) database, /etc/inet/ike/crls. The CRL database maintains the revocation lists for public keys. Certificates that are no longer valid are on this list. When PKIs provide you with a CRL, you can install the CRL in the CRL database with the ikecert certrldb command. For the procedure, see How to Handle a Certificate Revocation List.

/etc/inet/ike/publickeys Directory

The /etc/inet/ike/publickeys directory contains the public part of a public-private key pair and its certificate in files, or slots. The directory is protected at 0755. The ikecert certdb command populates the directory. The -T option stores the keys on the Sun Crypto Accelerator 4000 board rather than in the publickeys directory.

The slots contain, in encoded form, the X.509 distinguished name of a certificate that was generated on another system. If you are using self-signed certificates, you use the certificate that you receive from the administrator of the remote system as input to the command. If you are using certificates from a CA, you install two signed certificates from the CA into this database. You install a certificate that is based on the certificate signing request that you sent to the CA. You also install a certificate of the CA.

/etc/inet/secret/ike.privatekeys Directory

The /etc/inet/secret/ike.privatekeys directory holds private key files that are part of a public-private key pair, which is keying material for ISAKMP SAs. The directory is protected at 0700. The ikecert certlocal command populates the ike.privatekeys directory. Private keys are not effective until their public key counterparts, self-signed certificates or CAs, are installed. The public key counterparts are stored in the /etc/inet/ike/publickeys directory or on a Sun Crypto Accelerator 4000 board.

/etc/inet/ike/crls Directory

The /etc/inet/ike/crls directory contains certificate revocation list (CRL) files. Each file corresponds to a public certificate file in the /etc/inet/ike/publickeys directory. PKI organizations provide the CRLs for their certificates. You can use the ikecert certrldb command to populate the database.