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ipseckey [-nvp]
ipseckey [-nvp] -f filename
ipseckey -c filename
ipseckey [-nvp] [delete | delete-pair | get] SA_TYPE {EXTENSION value...}
ipseckey [-np] [monitor | passive_monitor | pmonitor]
ipseckey [-nvp] flush {SA_TYPE}
ipseckey [-nvp] dump {SA_TYPE}
ipseckey [-nvp] save SA_TYPE {filename}
ipseckey [-nvp] -s filename
The ipseckey command is used to manually manipulate the security association databases of the network security services, ipsecah(7P) and ipsecesp(7P). You can use the ipseckey command to set up security associations between communicating parties when automated key management is not available.
While the ipseckey utility has only a limited number of general options, it supports a rich command language. The user may specify requests to be delivered by means of a programmatic interface specific for manual keying. See pf_key(7P). When ipseckey is invoked with no arguments, it will enter an interactive mode which prints a prompt to the standard output and accepts commands from the standard input until the end-of-file is reached. Some commands require an explicit security association ("SA") type, while others permit the SA type to be unspecified and act on all SA types.
ipseckey uses a PF_KEY socket and the message types SADB_ADD, SADB_DELETE, SADB_GET, SADB_UPDATE, SADB_FLUSH, and SADB_X_PROMISC. Thus, you must be a superuser to use this command.
ipseckey handles sensitive cryptographic keying information. Please read the Security section for details on how to use this command securely.
Analogous to the -f option (see following), except that the input is not executed but only checked for syntactical correctness. Errors are reported to stderr. This option is provided to debug configurations without making changes. See SECURITY and "Service Management Facility" for more information.
Read commands from an input file, filename. The lines of the input file are identical to the command line language. The load command provides similar functionality. The -s option or the save command can generate files readable by the -f argument.
Prevent attempts to print host and network names symbolically when reporting actions. This is useful, for example, when all name servers are down or are otherwise unreachable.
Paranoid. Do not print any keying material, even if saving SAs. Instead of an actual hexadecimal digit, print an X when this flag is turned on.
The opposite of the -f option. If '-' is given for a filename, then the output goes to the standard output. A snapshot of all current SA tables will be output in a form readable by the -f option. The output will be a series of add commands, but with some names not used. This occurs because a single name may often indicate multiple addresses.
Verbose. Print the messages being sent into the PF_KEY socket, and print raw seconds values for lifetimes.
Add an SA. Because it involves the transfer of keying material, it cannot be invoked from the shell, lest the keys be visible in ps(1) output. It can be used either from the interactive ipseckey> prompt or in a command file specified by the -f command. The add command accepts all extension-value pairs described below.
Update SA lifetime, and in the cases of larval SAs (leftover from aborted automated key management), keying material and other extensions. Like add, this command cannot be invoked from the shell because keying material would be seen by the ps(1) command. It can be used either from the interactive ipseckey> prompt or in a command file specified by the -f command. The update command accepts all extension-value pairs, but normally is only used for SA lifetime updates.
As update, but apply the update to the SA and its paired SA, if there is one.
Delete a specific SA from a specific SADB. This command requires the spi extension, and the dest extension for IPsec SAs. Other extension-value pairs are superfluous for a delete message. If the SA to be deleted is paired with another SA, the SA is deleted and the paired SA is updated to indicate that it is now unpaired.
Delete a specific SA from a specific SADB. If the SA is paired with another SA, delete that SA too. This command requires the spi extension and the dest extension for the IPsec SA, or its pair.
Lookup and display a security association from a specific SADB. Like delete, this command only requires spi and dest for IPsec.
Remove all SA for a given SA_TYPE, or all SA for all types.
Continuously report on any PF_KEY messages. This uses the SADB_X_PROMISC message to enable messages that a normal PF_KEY socket would not receive to be received. See pf_key(7P).
Like monitor, except that it does not use the SADB_X_PROMISC message.
Synonym for passive_monitor.
Will display all SAs for a given SA type, or will display all SAs. Because of the large amount of data generated by this command, there is no guarantee that all SA information will be successfully delivered, or that this command will even complete.
Is the command analog of the -s option. It is included as a command to provide a way to snapshot a particular SA type, for example, esp or ah.
Prints a brief summary of commands.
Specifies all known SA types. This type is only used for the flush and dump commands. This is equivalent to having no SA type for these commands.
Specifies the IPsec Authentication Header ("AH") SA.
Specifies the IPsec Encapsulating Security Payload ("ESP") SA.
Commands like add, delete, get, and update require that certain extensions and associated values be specified. The extensions will be listed here, followed by the commands that use them, and the commands that require them. Requirements are currently documented based upon the IPsec definitions of an SA. Required extensions may change in the future. <number> can be in either hex (0xnnn), decimal (nnn) or octal (0nnn).<string> is a text string. <hexstr> is a long hexadecimal number with a bit-length. Extensions are usually paired with values; however, some extensions require two values after them. spi <number>
Specifies the security parameters index of the SA. This extension is required for the add, delete, get and update commands.
When pair-spi is used with the add or update commands, the SA being added or updated will be paired with the SA defined by pair-spi. A pair of SAs can be updated or deleted with a single command. The two SAs that make up the pair need to be in opposite directions from the same pair of IP addresses. The command will fail if either of the SAs specified are already paired with another SA. If the pair-spi token is used in a command and the SA defined by pair-spi does not exist, the command will fail. If the command was add and the pairing failed, the SA to be added will instead be removed.
These optional flags specify the direction of the SA. When the inbound or outbound flag is specified with the add command, the kernel will insert the new SA into the specified hash table for faster lookups. If the flag is omitted, the kernel will decide into which hash table to insert the new SA based on its knowledge the IP addresses specified with the src and dst extensions. When these flags are used with the update, delete, update-pair or get commands, the flags provide a hint as to the hash table in which the kernel should find the SA.
Specifies the replay window size. If not specified, the replay window size is assumed to be zero. It is not recommended that manually added SAs have a replay window. This extension is used by the add and update commands.
Specifies the replay value of the SA. This extension is used by the add and update commands.
Specifies the SA state, either by numeric value or by the strings "larval", "mature", "dying" or "dead". If not specified, the value defaults to mature. This extension is used by the add and update commands.
authalg <string>|<number>
Specifies the authentication algorithm for an SA, either by numeric value, or by strings indicating an algorithm name. Current authentication algorithms include: HMAC-MD5
md5, hmac-md5
sha, sha-1, hmac-sha1, hmac-sha
sha256, sha-256, hmac-sha256, hmac-sha-256
sha384, sha-384, hmac-sha384, hmac-sha-384
sha512, sha-512, hmac-sha512, hmac-sha-512
encralg <string>|<number>
Specifies the encryption algorithm for an SA, either by numeric value, or by strings indicating an algorithm name. Current encryption algorithms include DES ("des"), Triple-DES ("3des"), Blowfish ("blowfish"), and AES ("aes"). This extension is required by the add command for certain SA types. It is also used by the update command. Use the ipsecalgs(1M) command to obtain the complete list of encryption algorithms.
The next six extensions are lifetime extensions. There are two varieties, "hard" and "soft". If a hard lifetime expires, the SA will be deleted automatically by the system. If a soft lifetime expires, an SADB_EXPIRE message will be transmitted by the system, and its state will be downgraded to dying from mature. See pf_key(7P). The monitor command to key allows you to view SADB_EXPIRE messages. idle_addtime <number>
idle_usetime <number>
Specifies the number of seconds that this SA can exist if the SA is not used before the SA is revalidated. If this extension is not present, the default value is half of the hard_addtime (see below). This extension is used by the add and update commands.
hard_bytes <number>
Specifies the number of bytes that this SA can protect. If this extension is not present, the default value is zero, which means that the SA will not expire based on the number of bytes protected. This extension is used by the add and update commands.
hard_addtime <number>
Specifies the number of seconds that this SA can exist after being added or updated from a larval SA. An update of a mature SA does not reset the initial time that it was added. If this extension is not present, the default value is zero, which means the SA will not expire based on how long it has been since it was added. This extension is used by the add and update commands.
hard_usetime <number>
Specifies the number of seconds this SA can exist after first being used. If this extension is not present, the default value is zero, which means the SA will not expire based on how long it has been since it was added. This extension is used by the add and update commands.
srcaddr address | name
saddr6 IPv6 address
srcaddr6 IPv6 address
src address | name
src6 IPv6 address
srcaddr address and src address are synonyms that indicate the source address of the SA. If unspecified, the source address will either remain unset, or it will be set to a wildcard address if a destination address was supplied. To not specify the source address is valid for IPsec SAs. Future SA types may alter this assumption. This extension is used by the add, update, get and delete commands.
dstaddr <address>|<name>
daddr6 <IPv6 address>|<name>
dstaddr6 <IPv6 address>|<name>
dst <addr>|<name>
dst6 <IPv6 address>|<name>
dstaddr <addr> and dst <addr> are synonyms that indicate the destination address of the SA. If unspecified, the destination address will remain unset. Because IPsec SAs require a specified destination address and spi for identification, this extension, with a specific value, is required for the add, update, get and delete commands. If a name is given, ipseckey will attempt to invoke the command on multiple SAs with all of the destination addresses that the name can identify. This is similar to how ipsecconf handles addresses. If dst6 or dstaddr6 is specified, only the IPv6 addresses identified by a name are used.
sport specifies the source port number for an SA. It should be used in combination with an upper-layer protocol (see below), but it does not have to be.
sport specifies the destination port number for an SA. It should be used in combination with an upper-layer protocol (see below), but it does not have to be.
Identifies the protocol used to encapsulate NAT-traversal IPsec packets. Other NAT-traversal parameters (nat_*) are below. The only acceptable value for <protocol> currently is udp.
ulp <protocol number>
proto, and its synonym ulp, specify the IP protocol number of the SA.
If the local address in the SA (source or destination) is behind a NAT, this extension indicates the NAT node's globally-routable address. This address can match the SA's local address if there is a nat_lport (see below) specified.
If the remote address in the SA (source or destination) is behind a NAT, this extension indicates that node's internal (that is, behind-the-NAT) address. This address can match the SA's local address if there is a nat_rport (see below) specified.
Identifies the local UDP port on which encapsulation of ESP occurs.
Identifies the remote UDP port on which encapsulation of ESP occurs.
innersrc <address> | <name>[/<prefix>]
isrc6 <address> | <name>[/<prefix>]
innersrc6 <address> | <name>[/<prefix>]
proxyaddr <address> | <name>[/<prefix>]
proxy <address> | <name>[/<prefix>]
isrc <address>[/<prefix>] and innersrc <address>[/<prefix>] are synonyms. They indicate the inner source address for a tunnel-mode SA. An inner-source can be a prefix instead of an address. As with other address extensions, there are IPv6-specific forms. In such cases, use only IPv6-specific addresses or prefixes. Previous versions referred to this value as the proxy address. The usage, while deprecated, remains.
innerdst <address> | <name>[/<prefix>]
idst6 <address> | <name>[/<prefix>]
innerdst6 <address> | <name>[/<prefix>]
idst <address>[/<prefix>] and innerdst <address>[/<prefix>] are synonyms. They indicate the inner destination address for a tunnel-mode SA. An inner-destination can be a prefix instead of an address. As with other address extensions, there are IPv6-specific forms. In such cases, use only IPv6-specific addresses or prefixes.
isport <portnum>
innersport specifies the source port number of the inner header for a tunnel-mode SA. It should be used in combination with an upper-layer protocol (see below), but it does not have to be.
idport <portnum>
innerdport specifies the destination port number of the inner header for a tunnel-mode SA. It should be used in combination with an upper-layer protocol (see below), but it does not have to be.
iproto, and its synonym iulp, specify the IP protocol number of the inner header of a tunnel-mode SA.
Specifies the authentication key for this SA. The key is expressed as a string of hexadecimal digits, with an optional / at the end, for example, 123/12. Bits are counted from the most-significant bits down. For example, to express three '1' bits, the proper syntax is the string "e/3". For multi-key algorithms, the string is the concatenation of the multiple keys. This extension is used by the add and update commands.
Specifies the encryption key for this SA. The syntax of the key is the same as authkey. A concrete example of a multi-key encryption algorithm is 3des, which would express itself as a 192-bit key, which is three 64-bit parity-included DES keys. This extension is used by the add and update commands.
Certificate identities are very useful in the context of automated key management, as they tie the SA to the public key certificates used in most automated key management protocols. They are less useful for manually added SAs. Unlike other extensions, srcidtype takes two values, a type, and an actual value. The type can be one of the following: prefix
An address prefix.
A fully-qualified domain name.
Domain name, synonym for fqdn.
User identity of the form user@fqdn.
Synonym for user_fqdn.
The value is an arbitrary text string that should identify the certificate. srcidtype <type, value>
Specifies a source certificate identity for this SA. This extension is used by the add and update commands.
Specifies a destination certificate identity for this SA. This extension is used by the add and update commands
An IPsec SA is a Tunnel Mode SA if the "proto" value is either 4 (ipip) or 41 (ipv6) and there is an inner-address or inner-port value specified. Otherwise, the SA is a Transport Mode SA.
Keying material is very sensitive and should be generated as randomly as possible. Some algorithms have known weak keys. IPsec algorithms have built-in weak key checks, so that if a weak key is in a newly added SA, the add command will fail with an invalid value.
The ipseckey command allows a privileged user to enter cryptographic keying information. If an adversary gains access to such information, the security of IPsec traffic is compromised. The following issues should be taken into account when using the ipseckey command.
1. Is the TTY going over a network (interactive mode)?
If it is, then the security of the keying material is the security of the network path for this TTY's traffic. Using ipseckey over a clear-text telnet or rlogin session is risky.
Even local windows might be vulnerable to attacks where a concealed program that reads window events is present.
2. Is the file accessed over the network or readable to the world (-f option)?
A network-mounted file can be sniffed by an adversary as it is being read.
A world-readable file with keying material in it is also risky.
3. The ipseckey command is designed to be managed by the manual-key smf(5) service. Because the smf(5) log files are world-readable, the ipseckey does not record any syntax errors in the log files, as these errors might include secret information. If a syntax error is found when the manual-key smf(5) service is enabled, the service enters maintenance mode. The log file will indicate that there was a syntax error, but will not specify what the error was. The administrator should use ipeckey -c filename from the command line to discover the cause of the errors. See OPTIONS.
If your source address is a host that can be looked up over the network and your naming system itself is compromised, then any names used will not be trustworthy.
Security weaknesses often lie in misapplication of tools, not in the tools themselves. Administrators are urged to be cautious when using ipseckey. The safest mode of operation is probably on a console or other hard-connected TTY.
For further thoughts on this subject, see the afterward by Matt Blaze in Bruce Schneier's Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, and Source Code in C.
IPsec manual keys are managed by the service management facility, smf(5). The services listed below manage the components of IPsec. These services are delivered as follows:
svc:/network/ipsec/policy:default (enabled) svc:/network/ipsec/ipsecalgs:default (enabled) svc:/network/ipsec/manual-key:default (disabled) svc:/network/ipsec/ike:default (disabled)
The manual-key service is delivered disabled. The system administrator must create manual IPsec Security Associations (SAs), as described in this man page, before enabling that service.
The policy service is delivered enabled, but without a configuration file, so that, as a starting condition, packets are not protected by IPsec. After you create the configuration file /etc/inet/ipsecinit.conf and refresh the service (svcadm refresh, see below), the policy contained in the configuration file is applied. If there is an error in this file, the service enters maintenance mode. See ipsecconf(1M).
Services that are delivered disabled are delivered that way because the system administrator must create configuration files for those services before enabling them. See ike.config(4) for the ike service.
See ipsecalgs(1M) for the ipsecalgs service.
The correct administrative procedure is to create the configuration file for each service, then enable each service using svcadm(1M).
If the configuration needs to be changed, edit the configuration file then refresh the service, as follows:
example# svcadm refresh manual-key
Warning: To prevent ipseckey complaining about duplicate Associations, the ipseckey command flushes the Security Association Data Base (SADB) when the ipseckey command is run from smf(5), before adding any new Security Associations defined in the configuration file. This differs from the command line behavior where the SADB is not flushed before adding new Security Associations.
The smf(5) framework will record any errors in the service-specific log file. Use any of the following commands to examine the logfile property:
example# svcs -l manual-key example# svcprop manual-key example# svccfg -s manual-key listprop
The following property is defined for the manual-key service:
config/config_file
This property can be modified using svccfg(1M) by users who have been assigned the following authorization:
solaris.smf.value.ipsec
See auths(1), user_attr(4), rbac(5).
The service needs to be refreshed using svcadm(1M) before the new property is effective. General non-modifiable properties can be viewed with the svcprop(1) command.
# svccfg -s ipsec/manual-key setprop config/config_file = \e /new/config_file # svcadm refresh manual-key
Administrative actions on this service, such as enabling, disabling, refreshing, and requesting restart can be performed using svcadm(1M). A user who has been assigned the authorization shown below can perform these actions:
solaris.smf.manage.ipsec
The service's status can be queried using the svcs(1) command.
The ipseckey command is designed to be run under smf(5) management. While the ipsecconf command can be run from the command line, this is discouraged. If the ipseckey command is to be run from the command line, the manual-key smf(5) service should be disabled first. See svcadm(1M).
Example 1 Emptying Out All SAs
To empty out all SA:
example# ipseckey flush
Example 2 Flushing Out IPsec AH SAs Only
To flush out only IPsec AH SAs:
example# ipseckey flush ah
Example 3 Saving All SAs To Standard Output
To save all SAs to the standard output:
example# ipseckey save all
Example 4 Saving ESP SAs To The File /tmp/snapshot
To save ESP SAs to the file /tmp/snapshot:
example# ipseckey save esp /tmp/snapshot
Example 5 Deleting an IPsec SA
To delete an IPsec SA, only the SPI and the destination address are needed:
example# ipseckey delete esp spi 0x2112 dst 224.0.0.1
An alternative would be to delete the SA and the SAs pair if it has one:
example# ipseckey delete-pair esp spi 0x2112 dst 224.0.0.1
Example 6 Getting Information on an IPsec SA
Likewise, getting information on a SA only requires the destination address and SPI:
example# ipseckey get ah spi 0x5150 dst mypeer
Example 7 Adding or Updating IPsec SAs
Adding or updating SAs requires entering interactive mode:
example# ipseckey ipseckey> add ah spi 0x90125 src me.domain.com dst you.domain.com \e authalg md5 authkey 1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef ipseckey> update ah spi 0x90125 dst you.domain.com hard_bytes \e 16000000 ipseckey> exit
Adding two SAs that are linked together as a pair:
example# ipseckey ipseckey> add esp spi 0x2345 src me.domain.com dst you.domain.com \e authalg md5 authkey bde359723576fdea08e56cbe876e24ad \e encralg des encrkey be02938e7def2839 ipseckey> add esp spi 0x5432 src me.domain.com dst you.domain.com \e authalg md5 authkey bde359723576fdea08e56cbe876e24ad \e encralg des encrkey be02938e7def2839 pair-spi 0x2345 ipseckey> exit
Example 8 Adding an SA in the Opposite Direction
In the case of IPsec, SAs are unidirectional. To communicate securely, a second SA needs to be added in the opposite direction. The peer machine also needs to add both SAs.
example# ipseckey ipseckey> add ah spi 0x2112 src you.domain.com dst me.domain.com \e authalg md5 authkey bde359723576fdea08e56cbe876e24ad \e hard_bytes 16000000 ipseckey> exit
Example 9 Monitoring PF_KEY Messages
Monitoring for PF_KEY messages is straightforward:
example# ipseckey monitor
Example 10 Using Commands in a File
Commands can be placed in a file that can be parsed with the -f option. This file may contain comment lines that begin with the "#" symbol. For example:
# This is a sample file for flushing out the ESP table and # adding a pair of SAs. flush esp ### Watch out! I have keying material in this file. See the ### SECURITY section in this manual page for why this can be ### dangerous . add esp spi 0x2112 src me.domain.com dst you.domain.com \e authalg md5 authkey bde359723576fdea08e56cbe876e24ad \e encralg des encrkey be02938e7def2839 hard_usetime 28800 add esp spi 0x5150 src you.domain.com dst me.domain.com \e authalg md5 authkey 930987dbe09743ade09d92b4097d9e93 \e encralg des encrkey 8bd4a52e10127deb hard_usetime 28800 ## End of file - This is a gratuitous comment
Example 11 Adding SAs for IPv6 Addresses
The following commands from the interactive-mode create an SA to protect IPv6 traffic between the site-local addresses
example # ipseckey ipseckey> add esp spi 0x6789 src6 fec0:bbbb::4483 dst6 fec0:bbbb::7843\e authalg md5 authkey bde359723576fdea08e56cbe876e24ad \e encralg des encrkey be02938e7def2839 hard_usetime 28800 ipseckey>exit
Example 12 Linking Two SAs as a Pair
The following command links two SAs together, as a pair:
example# ipseckey update esp spi 0x123456 dst 192.168.99.2 \e
pair-spi 0x654321
Default configuration file used at boot time. See "Service Management Facility" and SECURITY for more information.
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
| Interface Stability Committed |
ps(1), svcprop(1), svcs(1), ipsecconf(1M), ipsecalgs(1M), route(1M), svcadm(1M), svccfg(1M), ike.config(4), attributes(5), smf(5), ipsec(7P), ipsecah(7P), ipsecesp(7P), pf_key(7P)
Schneier, B., Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, and Source Code in C. Second ed. New York, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996.
The ipseckey command parses the configuration file and reports any errors. In the case of multiple errors, ipseckey reports as many of these as possible.
The ipseckey command does not attempt to use a COMMAND that has a syntax error. A COMMAND might be syntactically correct but can nevertheless generate an error because the kernel rejected the request made to pf_key(7P). This might occur because a key had an invalid length or because an unsupported algorithm was specified.
If there are any errors in the configuration file, ipseckey reports the number of valid COMMANDS and the total number of COMMANDS parsed. Parse error on line N.
If an interactive use of ipseckey would print usage information, this would print instead. Usually proceeded by another diagnostic. Because COMMANDS can cover more than a single line in the configuration file by using the backslash character to delimit lines, its not always possible to pinpoint in the configuration file the exact line that caused the error.
An additional argument was expected on the command line.
A value for a specific extension was unknown.
A name-to-address lookup returned an unsupported address family.
bit length N is too big for
string is not a hex string
Keying material was not entered appropriately.
A duplicate extension was entered.
An extension not used by a command was used.
This is a general invalid parameter error. The diagnostic code and message provides more detail about what precise value was incorrect and why.
In spite of its IPsec-specific name, ipseckey is analogous to route(1M), in that it is a command-line interface to a socket-based administration engine, in this case, PF_KEY. PF_KEY was originally developed at the United States Naval Research Laboratory.
To have machines communicate securely with manual keying, SAs need to be added by all communicating parties. If two nodes wish to communicate securely, both nodes need the appropriate SAs added.
In the future ipseckey may be invoked under additional names as other security protocols become available to PF_KEY.
This command requires sys_ip_config privilege to operate and thus can run in the global zone and in exclusive-IP zones. The global zone can set up security associations with ipseckey to protect traffic for shared-IP zones on the system.