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133.\" ========================================================================
134.\"
135.IX Title "GVPE.PROTOCOL 7"
136.TH GVPE.PROTOCOL 7 "2015-10-31" "2.25" "GNU Virtual Private Ethernet"
137.\" For nroff, turn off justification. Always turn off hyphenation; it makes
138.\" way too many mistakes in technical documents.
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140.nh
141.SH "The GNU-VPE Protocols"
142.IX Header "The GNU-VPE Protocols"
143.SH "Overview"
144.IX Header "Overview"
145\&\s-1GVPE\s0 can make use of a number of protocols. One of them is the \s-1GNU VPE\s0
146protocol which is used to authenticate tunnels and send encrypted data
147packets. This protocol is described in more detail the second part of this
148document.
149.PP
150The first part of this document describes the transport protocols which
151are used by \s-1GVPE\s0 to send its data packets over the network.
152.SH "PART 1: Transport protocols"
153.IX Header "PART 1: Transport protocols"
154\&\s-1GVPE\s0 offers a wide range of transport protocols that can be used to
155interchange data between nodes. Protocols differ in their overhead, speed,
156reliability, and robustness.
157.PP
158The following sections describe each transport protocol in more
159detail. They are sorted by overhead/efficiency, the most efficient
160transport is listed first:
161.SS "\s-1RAW IP\s0"
162.IX Subsection "RAW IP"
163This protocol is the best choice, performance-wise, as the minimum
164overhead per packet is only 38 bytes.
165.PP
166It works by sending the \s-1VPN\s0 payload using raw \s-1IP\s0 frames (using the
167protocol set by \f(CW\*(C`ip\-proto\*(C'\fR).
168.PP
169Using raw \s-1IP\s0 frames has the drawback that many firewalls block \*(L"unknown\*(R"
170protocols, so this transport only works if you have full \s-1IP\s0 connectivity
171between nodes.
172.SS "\s-1ICMP\s0"
173.IX Subsection "ICMP"
174This protocol offers very low overhead (minimum 42 bytes), and can
175sometimes tunnel through firewalls when other protocols can not.
176.PP
177It works by prepending an \s-1ICMP\s0 header with type \f(CW\*(C`icmp\-type\*(C'\fR and a code
178of \f(CW255\fR. The default \f(CW\*(C`icmp\-type\*(C'\fR is \f(CW\*(C`echo\-reply\*(C'\fR, so the resulting
179packets look like echo replies, which looks rather strange to network
180administrators.
181.PP
182This transport should only be used if other transports (i.e. raw \s-1IP\s0) are
183not available or undesirable (due to their overhead).
184.SS "\s-1UDP\s0"
185.IX Subsection "UDP"
186This is a good general choice for the transport protocol as \s-1UDP\s0 packets
187tunnel well through most firewalls and routers, and the overhead per
188packet is moderate (minimum 58 bytes).
189.PP
190It should be used if \s-1RAW IP\s0 is not available.
191.SS "\s-1TCP\s0"
192.IX Subsection "TCP"
193This protocol is a very bad choice, as it not only has high overhead (more
194than 60 bytes), but the transport also retries on its own, which leads
195to congestion when the link has moderate packet loss (as both the \s-1TCP\s0
196transport and the tunneled traffic will retry, increasing congestion more
197and more). It also has high latency and is quite inefficient.
198.PP
199It's only useful when tunneling through firewalls that block better
200protocols. If a node doesn't have direct internet access but a \s-1HTTP\s0 proxy
201that supports the \s-1CONNECT\s0 method it can be used to tunnel through a web
202proxy. For this to work, the \f(CW\*(C`tcp\-port\*(C'\fR should be \f(CW443\fR (\f(CW\*(C`https\*(C'\fR), as
203most proxies do not allow connections to other ports.
204.PP
205It is an abuse of the usage a proxy was designed for, so make sure you are
206allowed to use it for \s-1GVPE.\s0
207.PP
208This protocol also has server and client sides. If the \f(CW\*(C`tcp\-port\*(C'\fR is
209set to zero, other nodes cannot connect to this node directly. If the
210\&\f(CW\*(C`tcp\-port\*(C'\fR is non-zero, the node can act both as a client as well as a
211server.
212.SS "\s-1DNS\s0"
213.IX Subsection "DNS"
214\&\fB\s-1WARNING:\s0\fR Parsing and generating \s-1DNS\s0 packets is rather tricky. The code
215almost certainly contains buffer overflows and other, likely exploitable,
216bugs. You have been warned.
217.PP
218This is the worst choice of transport protocol with respect to overhead
219(overhead can be 2\-3 times higher than the transferred data), and latency
220(which can be many seconds). Some \s-1DNS\s0 servers might not be prepared to
221handle the traffic and drop or corrupt packets. The client also has to
222constantly poll the server for data, so the client will constantly create
223traffic even if it doesn't need to transport packets.
224.PP
225In addition, the same problems as the \s-1TCP\s0 transport also plague this
226protocol.
227.PP
228Its only use is to tunnel through firewalls that do not allow direct
229internet access. Similar to using a \s-1HTTP\s0 proxy (as the \s-1TCP\s0 transport
230does), it uses a local \s-1DNS\s0 server/forwarder (given by the \f(CW\*(C`dns\-forw\-host\*(C'\fR
231configuration value) as a proxy to send and receive data as a client,
232and an \f(CW\*(C`NS\*(C'\fR record pointing to the \s-1GVPE\s0 server (as given by the
233\&\f(CW\*(C`dns\-hostname\*(C'\fR directive).
234.PP
235The only good side of this protocol is that it can tunnel through most
236firewalls mostly undetected, iff the local \s-1DNS\s0 server/forwarder is sane
237(which is true for most routers, wireless \s-1LAN\s0 gateways and nameservers).
238.PP
239Fine-tuning needs to be done by editing \f(CW\*(C`src/vpn_dns.C\*(C'\fR directly.
240.SH "PART 2: The GNU VPE protocol"
241.IX Header "PART 2: The GNU VPE protocol"
242This section, unfortunately, is not yet finished, although the protocol
243is stable (until bugs in the cryptography are found, which will likely
244completely change the following description). Nevertheless, it should give
245you some overview over the protocol.
246.SS "Anatomy of a \s-1VPN\s0 packet"
247.IX Subsection "Anatomy of a VPN packet"
248The exact layout and field lengths of a \s-1VPN\s0 packet is determined at
249compile time and doesn't change. The same structure is used for all
250transport protocols, be it \s-1RAWIP\s0 or \s-1TCP.\s0
251.PP
252.Vb 3
253\& +\-\-\-\-\-\-+\-\-\-\-\-\-+\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-+\-\-\-\-\-\-+
254\& | HMAC | TYPE | SRCDST | DATA |
255\& +\-\-\-\-\-\-+\-\-\-\-\-\-+\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-+\-\-\-\-\-\-+
256.Ve
257.PP
258The \s-1HMAC\s0 field is present in all packets, even if not used (e.g. in auth
259request packets), in which case it is set to all zeroes. The \s-1MAC\s0 itself is
260calculated over the \s-1TYPE, SRCDST\s0 and \s-1DATA\s0 fields in all cases.
261.PP
262The \s-1TYPE\s0 field is a single byte and determines the purpose of the packet
263(e.g. \s-1RESET, COMPRESSED/UNCOMPRESSED DATA, PING, AUTH REQUEST/RESPONSE,
264CONNECT REQUEST/INFO\s0 etc.).
265.PP
266\&\s-1SRCDST\s0 is a three byte field which contains the source and destination
267node IDs (12 bits each).
268.PP
269The \s-1DATA\s0 portion differs between each packet type, naturally, and is the
270only part that can be encrypted. Data packets contain more fields, as
271shown:
272.PP
273.Vb 3
274\& +\-\-\-\-\-\-+\-\-\-\-\-\-+\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-+\-\-\-\-\-\-\-+\-\-\-\-\-\-+
275\& | HMAC | TYPE | SRCDST | SEQNO | DATA |
276\& +\-\-\-\-\-\-+\-\-\-\-\-\-+\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-+\-\-\-\-\-\-\-+\-\-\-\-\-\-+
277.Ve
278.PP
279\&\s-1SEQNO\s0 is a 32\-bit sequence number. It is negotiated at every connection
280initialization and starts at some random 31 bit value. \s-1GVPE\s0 currently uses
281a sliding window of 512 packets/sequence numbers to detect reordering,
282duplication and replay attacks.
283.PP
284The encryption is done on \s-1SEQNO+DATA\s0 in \s-1CTR\s0 mode with \s-1IV\s0 generated from
285the seqno (for \s-1AES:\s0 seqno || seqno || seqno || (u32)0), which ensures
286uniqueness for a given key.
287.SS "The authentication/key exchange protocol"
288.IX Subsection "The authentication/key exchange protocol"
289Before nodes can exchange packets, they need to establish authenticity of
290the other side and a key. Every node has a private \s-1RSA\s0 key and the public
291\&\s-1RSA\s0 keys of all other nodes.
292.PP
293When a node wants to establish a connection to another node, it sends an
294RSA-OEAP-encrypted challenge and an \s-1ECDH \s0(curve25519) key. The other node
295replies with its own \s-1ECDH\s0 key and a \s-1HKDF\s0 of the challenge and both \s-1ECDH\s0
296keys to prove its identity.
297.PP
298The remote node enganges in exactly the same protocol. When both nodes
299have exchanged their challenge and verified the response, they calculate a
300cipher key and a \s-1HMAC\s0 key and start exchanging data packets.
301.PP
302In detail, the challenge consist of:
303.PP
304.Vb 1
305\& RSA\-OAEP (SEQNO MAC CIPHER SALT EXTRA\-AUTH) ECDH1
306.Ve
307.PP
308That is, it encrypts (with the public key of the remote node) an initial
309sequence number for data packets, key material for the \s-1HMAC\s0 key, key
310material for the cipher key, a salt used by the \s-1HKDF \s0(as shown later) and
311some extra random bytes that are unused except for authentication. It also
312sends the public key of a curve25519 exchange.
313.PP
314The remote node decrypts the \s-1RSA\s0 data, generates its own \s-1ECDH\s0 key (\s-1ECDH2\s0),
315and replies with:
316.PP
317.Vb 1
318\& HKDF\-Expand (HKDF\-Extract (ECDH2, RSA), ECDH1, AUTH_DIGEST_SIZE) ECDH2
319.Ve
320.PP
321That is, it extracts from the decrypted \s-1RSA\s0 challenge, using its \s-1ECDH\s0
322key as salt, and then expands using the requesting node's \s-1ECDH1\s0 key. The
323resulting hash is returned as a proof that the node could decrypt the \s-1RSA\s0
324challenge data, together with the \s-1ECDH\s0 key.
325.PP
326After both nodes have done this to each other, they calculate the shared
327\&\s-1ECDH\s0 secret, cipher and \s-1HMAC\s0 keys for the session (each node generates two
328cipher and \s-1HMAC\s0 keys, one for sending and one for receiving).
329.PP
330The \s-1HMAC\s0 key for sending is generated as follow:
331.PP
332.Vb 1
333\& HMAC_KEY = HKDF\-Expand (HKDF\-Extract (REMOTE_SALT, MAC ECDH_SECRET), info, HMAC_MD_SIZE)
334.Ve
335.PP
336It extracts from \s-1MAC\s0 and \s-1ECDH_SECRET\s0 using the \fIremote\fR \s-1SALT,\s0 then
337expands using a static info string.
338.PP
339The cipher key is generated in the same way, except using the \s-1CIPHER\s0 part
340of the original challenge.
341.PP
342The result of this process is to authenticate each node to the other
343node, while exchanging keys using both \s-1RSA\s0 and \s-1ECDH,\s0 the latter providing
344perfect forward secrecy.
345.PP
346The protocol has been overdesigned where this was possible without
347increasing implementation complexity, in an attempt to protect against
348implementation or protocol failures. For example, if the \s-1ECDH\s0 challenge
349was found to be flawed, perfect forward secrecy would be lost, but the
350data would likely still be protected. Likewise, standard algorithms and
351implementations are used where possible.
352.SS "Retrying"
353.IX Subsection "Retrying"
354When there is no response to an auth request, the node will send auth
355requests in bursts with an exponential back-off. After some time it will
356resort to \s-1PING\s0 packets, which are very small (8 bytes + protocol header)
357and lightweight (no \s-1RSA\s0 operations required). A node that receives ping
358requests from an unconnected peer will respond by trying to create a
359connection.
360.PP
361In addition to the exponential back-off, there is a global rate-limit on
362a per-IP base. It allows long bursts but will limit total packet rate to
363something like one control packet every ten seconds, to avoid accidental
364floods due to protocol problems (like a \s-1RSA\s0 key file mismatch between two
365nodes).
366.PP
367The intervals between retries are limited by the \f(CW\*(C`max\-retry\*(C'\fR
368configuration value. A node with \f(CW\*(C`connect\*(C'\fR = \f(CW\*(C`always\*(C'\fR will always retry,
369a node with \f(CW\*(C`connect\*(C'\fR = \f(CW\*(C`ondemand\*(C'\fR will only try (and re-try) to connect
370as long as there are packets in the queue, usually this limits the retry
371period to \f(CW\*(C`max\-ttl\*(C'\fR seconds.
372.PP
373Sending packets over the \s-1VPN\s0 will reset the retry intervals as well, which
374means as long as somebody is trying to send packets to a given node, \s-1GVPE\s0
375will try to connect every few seconds.
376.SS "Routing and Protocol translation"
377.IX Subsection "Routing and Protocol translation"
378The \s-1GVPE\s0 routing algorithm is easy: there isn't much routing to speak
379of: When routing packets to another node, \s-1GVPE\s0 tries the following
380options, in order:
381.IP "If the two nodes should be able to reach each other directly (common protocol, port known), then \s-1GVPE\s0 will send the packet directly to the other node." 4
382.IX Item "If the two nodes should be able to reach each other directly (common protocol, port known), then GVPE will send the packet directly to the other node."
383.PD 0
384.ie n .IP "If this isn't possible (e.g. because the node doesn't have a \*(C`hostname\*(C' or known port), but the nodes speak a common protocol and a router is available, then \s-1GVPE\s0 will ask a router to ""mediate"" between both nodes (see below)." 4
385.el .IP "If this isn't possible (e.g. because the node doesn't have a \f(CW\*(C`hostname\*(C'\fR or known port), but the nodes speak a common protocol and a router is available, then \s-1GVPE\s0 will ask a router to ``mediate'' between both nodes (see below)." 4
386.IX Item "If this isn't possible (e.g. because the node doesn't have a hostname or known port), but the nodes speak a common protocol and a router is available, then GVPE will ask a router to mediate between both nodes (see below)."
387.ie n .IP "If a direct connection isn't possible (no common protocols) or forbidden (\*(C`deny\-direct\*(C') and there are any routers, then \s-1GVPE\s0 will try to send packets to the router with the highest priority that is connected already \fIand\fR is able (as specified by the config file) to connect directly to the target node." 4
388.el .IP "If a direct connection isn't possible (no common protocols) or forbidden (\f(CW\*(C`deny\-direct\*(C'\fR) and there are any routers, then \s-1GVPE\s0 will try to send packets to the router with the highest priority that is connected already \fIand\fR is able (as specified by the config file) to connect directly to the target node." 4
389.IX Item "If a direct connection isn't possible (no common protocols) or forbidden (deny-direct) and there are any routers, then GVPE will try to send packets to the router with the highest priority that is connected already and is able (as specified by the config file) to connect directly to the target node."
390.IP "If no such router exists, then \s-1GVPE\s0 will simply send the packet to the node with the highest priority available." 4
391.IX Item "If no such router exists, then GVPE will simply send the packet to the node with the highest priority available."
392.IP "Failing all that, the packet will be dropped." 4
393.IX Item "Failing all that, the packet will be dropped."
394.PD
395.PP
396A host can usually declare itself unreachable directly by setting its
397port number(s) to zero. It can declare other hosts as unreachable by using
398a config-file that disables all protocols for these other hosts. Another
399option is to disable all protocols on that host in the other config files.
400.PP
401If two hosts cannot connect to each other because their \s-1IP\s0 address(es)
402are not known (such as dial-up hosts), one side will send a \fImediated\fR
403connection request to a router (routers must be configured to act as
404routers!), which will send both the originating and the destination host
405a connection info request with protocol information and \s-1IP\s0 address of the
406other host (if known). Both hosts will then try to establish a direct
407connection to the other peer, which is usually possible even when both
408hosts are behind a \s-1NAT\s0 gateway.
409.PP
410Routing via other nodes works because the \s-1SRCDST\s0 field is not encrypted,
411so the router can just forward the packet to the destination host. Since
412each host uses its own private key, the router will not be able to
413decrypt or encrypt packets, it will just act as a simple router and
414protocol translator.

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