Number
164
Author
zzz
Created
Thread
http://zzz.i2p/topics/3541
Last updated
Status
Closed

Overview

Java I2P and i2pd routers older than API 0.9.58 (released March 2023) are vulnerable to a streaming SYN packet replay attack. This is a protocol design issue, not an implementation bug.

SYN packets are signed, but the signature of the initial SYN packet sent from Alice to Bob is not bound to Bob's identity, so Bob may store and replay that packet, sending it to some victim Charlie. Charlie will think that the packet came from Alice and respond to her. In most cases, this is harmless, but the SYN packet may contain initial data (such as a GET or POST) that Charlie will process immediately.

Design

The fix is for Alice to include Bob's destination hash in the signed SYN data. Bob verifies on reception that that hash matches his hash.

Any potential attack victim Charlie checks this data and rejects the SYN if it does not match his hash.

By using the NACKs option field in the SYN to store the hash, the change is backward-compatible, because NACKs are not expected to be included in the SYN packet and are currently ignored.

All options are covered by the signature, as usual, so Bob may not rewrite the hash.

If Alice and Charlie are API 0.9.58 or newer, any replay attempt by Bob will be rejected.

Specification

Update [STREAMING] to add the following section:

Replay prevention

To prevent Bob from using a replay attack by storing a valid signed SYNCHRONIZE packet received from Alice and later sending it to a victim Charlie, Alice must include Bob's destination hash in the SYNCHRONIZE packet as follows:

Set NACK count field to 8
Set the NACKs field to Bob's 32-byte destination hash

Upon reception of a SYNCHRONIZE, if the NACK count field is 8, Bob must interpret the NACKs field as a 32-byte destination hash, and must verify that it matches his destination hash. He must also verify the signature of the packet as usual, as that covers the entire packet including the NACK count and NACKs fields. If the NACK count is 8 and the NACKs field does not match, Bob must drop the packet.

This is required for versions 0.9.58 and higher. This is backward-compatible with older versions, because NACKs are not expected in a SYNCHRONIZE packet. Destinations do not and cannot know what version the other end is running.

No change is necessary for the SYNCHRONIZE ACK packet sent from Bob to Alice; do not include NACKs in that packet.

Security Analysis

This issue has been present in the streaming protocol since it was created in 2004. It was discovered internally by I2P developers. We have no evidence that the issue was ever been exploited. Actual chance of exploitation success may vary widely depending on the application-layer protocol and service. Peer-to-peer applications are probably more likely to be affected than client/server applications.

Compatibility

No issues. All known implementations currently ignore the NACKs field in the SYN packet. And even if they did not ignore it, and attempted to interpret it as NACKs for 8 different messages, those messages would not be outstanding during the SYNCHRONIZE handshake and the NACKs would not make any sense.

Migration

Implementations may add support at any time, no coordination is needed. Java I2P and i2pd routers implemented this in API 0.9.58 (released March 2023).