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Chapter Contents

Glossary


Glossary


AFS

A distributed file service (formerly known as the Andrew File System). It is installed on many systems at Fermilab, including FNALU. On strengthened systems, it is integrated with Kerberos.

authentication

The process of verifying the claimed identity of a principal.

authentication method

The method used to verify the claimed identity of a principal, e.g., Kerberos V5, CRYPTOCard.

authentication service (AS)

The portion of the KDC that issues tickets and secret session keys based on a user password or encryption key. The AS can issue ticket-granting tickets (TGTs) and other service tickets.

authenticator

A record containing information that can be shown to have been recently generated using the session key known only by the client and service.

authorization

The process of determining whether a client may use a service, which objects the client is allowed to access, and the type of access allowed for each.

challenge

(used with CRYPTOCard as non-reusable authentication; see CRYPTOCard, also see response) Every time you log in from an untrusted machine, the KDC generates an eight-digit string called a challenge. The CRYPTOCard encrypts the challenge with the secret key shared by itself and the KDC in order to generate a non-reusable password, called a response.

client

An entity that can obtain a ticket. This entity is usually either a user or a host principal.

credential

A ticket (usually a TGT) plus the secret session key needed to successfully use that ticket in an authentication exchange. Obtaining credentials from the KDC is tantamount to being authenticated on a strengthened machine.

cross-authentication

This concerns trust relations between two strengthened realms (see trust relations). Cross-authentication implies the freedom to access systems in either realm if authentication has been established in one of them and authorization has been established in the other (e.g., via .k5login).

CRYPTOCard

An authentication technology that provides tokens via calculator-style one-time-password DES cards. At Fermilab, CRYPTOCards are issued upon demand to users who require access to the FNAL.GOV realm from untrusted machines. The cards are synchronized with the KDC prior to issue. (See portal mode; see also challenge and response)

host

A computer that can be accessed over a network.

KDC (Key Distribution Center)

The service which implements Kerberos authentication via the Authentication Service (AS) and the Ticket Granting Service (TGS). The KDC has a copy of every encryption key associated with every principal. Most KDC implementations store the principals in a database, so you may hear the term Kerberos database applied to the KDC.

Kerberized application

A software application that requires or performs Kerberos authentication.

Kerberized machine

A machine on which the Kerberos product has been installed and which requires Kerberos V5 authentication for access.

Kerberized ssh client

An ssh client application that requires or performs Kerberos V5 authentication, and which does not implement RSA keys, IP addresses + "privileged ports", or other non-Kerberos authentication.

Kerberos

In Greek mythology, the three-headed dog that guards the entrance to the underworld. In the computing world, Kerberos is a network security package that was developed at MIT.

Kerberos client

Any entity that gets a service ticket for a Kerberos service. A client is typically a user, but any principal can be a client.

Kerberos password

A password used to obtain authentication on a Kerberized system.

Kerberos server

This generally refers to the Key Distribution Center (KDC).

key

A string used to encrypt tickets and other data.

keytab file

A keytab file is used by a service host to store keys.

permanent secret key

See secret key.

portal

A secure gateway between the untrusted and strengthened realms that requires non-reusable passwords. At Fermilab, any Kerberized host may be configured to respond in portal mode to requests for access from untrusted machines (see portal mode).

portal mode

(See portal.) When a request for access comes from an untrusted machine, Kerberized hosts at Fermilab respond in portal mode and thus require entry of a non-reusable password for authentication.

preauthentication

This is the stage of authentication in which you prove to the KDC that you know the shared secret key (which is a function of your password) before the KDC delivers a ticket to decrypt with the key.

principal

A uniquely named client or server instance that participates in a network communication. It is essentially a string that names a specific entity to which a set of credentials may be assigned. For a user, it can be thought of as a realm userid. It has three parts and is of the form primary/instance@REALM. For a user, the instance portion is generally null, and the principal is of the form primary@REALM. The parts are defined as:

primary:

The first part of a Kerberos principal. In the case of a user, it is the userid. In the case of a service, it is the name of the service.

instance:

The second part of a Kerberos principal, preceded by a slash (/). It gives information that qualifies the primary. The instance may be null. In the case of a user, the instance is often used to describe the intended use of the corresponding credentials (e.g., <user>/cron@PILOT.FNAL.GOV). In the case of a host, the instance is the fully qualified hostname.

realm:

The logical network served by a single Kerberos database and a set of Key Distribution Centers. By convention, realm names are generally all uppercase letters, to differentiate the realm from the internet domain.

response

(used with CRYPTOCard as non-reusable authentication; see CRYPTOCard, also see challenge) A response is a single-use eight-digit hex password generated by a CRYPTOCard as a result of encrypting a challenge.

secret key

A long-term (permanent) encryption key shared by a principal and the KDC, used to encrypt/decrypt the session key included with the TGT on the initial authentication. In the case of a human user's principal, the secret key is derived from the user's Kerberos password.

server

A particular principal which provides a resource to network clients.

service

Any program or computer you access over a network.

session key

A temporary encryption key used between two principals, with a lifetime limited to the duration of an accompanying ticket.

strengthened application

A software application that requires Kerberos authentication for use.

strengthened machine

A machine on which the Kerberos (or other authentication service) product has been installed and which requires strong authentication.

strengthened realm

The set of all systems (whether on- or off-site) that require strong authentication for access from the network.

strong authentication

A system of verifying workstation user and network server identities on an unprotected network that eliminates the transmission of reusable passwords over the network and their storage on local systems. Typically the authentication is done via a trusted third-party authentication service using conventional cryptography.

ticket

A set of electronic credentials that verifies the identity of a client for a particular service.

TGS (Ticket-Granting Service)

The portion of the KDC that issues tickets to clients for specific services. The user process communicates with the TGS via a ticket-granting ticket (TGT).

TGT (Ticket-Granting Ticket)

A special Kerberos ticket that permits the client to obtain additional Kerberos tickets transparently.

transport

The program/protocol used to make a network connection and transport commands, data, etc. across the network. A transport program must implement an authentication method.

trusted realm

Sites which implement strong authentication, and which meet certain criteria, may be recognized as "trusted" realms. Trusted realms provide levels of security and authentication equivalent to our own.

trust relations

This refers to relations between two strengthened realms. Trust relations imply the freedom to access systems in either realm if authentication has been established in one of them (see cross-authentication).

untrusted realm

The set of all systems that do not require strong authentication, but which permit traditional means of access.

XDMCP

(X Display Manager Control Protocol) provides a mechanism for an X terminal to request a session from a remote host. (See http://www.con.wesleyan.edu/~triemer/network/xdmcp/xdmcp_udp.html)


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