1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000
1001
1002
1003
1004
1005
1006
1007
1008
1009
1010
1011
1012
1013
1014
1015
1016
1017
1018
1019
1020
1021
1022
1023
1024
1025
1026
1027
1028
1029
1030
1031
1032
1033
1034
1035
1036
1037
1038
1039
1040
1041
1042
1043
1044
1045
1046
1047
1048
1049
1050
1051
1052
1053
1054
1055
1056
1057
1058
1059
1060
1061
1062
1063
1064
1065
1066
1067
1068
1069
1070
1071
1072
1073
1074
1075
1076
1077
1078
1079
1080
1081
1082
1083
1084
1085
1086
1087
1088
1089
1090
1091
1092
1093
1094
1095
1096
1097
1098
1099
1100
1101
1102
1103
1104
1105
1106
1107
1108
1109
1110
1111
1112
1113
1114
1115
1116
1117
1118
1119
1120
1121
1122
1123
1124
1125
1126
1127
1128
1129
1130
1131
1132
1133
1134
1135
1136
1137
1138
1139
1140
1141
1142
1143
1144
1145
1146
1147
1148
1149
1150
1151
1152
1153
1154
1155
1156
1157
1158
1159
1160
1161
1162
1163
1164
1165
1166
1167
1168
1169
1170
1171
1172
1173
1174
1175
1176
1177
1178
1179
1180
1181
1182
1183
1184
1185
1186
1187
1188
1189
1190
1191
1192
1193
1194
1195
1196
1197
1198
1199
1200
1201
1202
1203
1204
1205
1206
1207
1208
1209
1210
1211
1212
1213
1214
1215
1216
1217
1218
1219
1220
1221
1222
1223
1224
1225
1226
1227
1228
1229
1230
1231
1232
1233
1234
1235
1236
1237
1238
1239
1240
1241
1242
1243
1244
1245
1246
1247
1248
1249
1250
1251
1252
1253
1254
1255
1256
1257
1258
1259
1260
1261
1262
1263
1264
1265
1266
1267
1268
1269
1270
1271
1272
1273
1274
1275
1276
1277
1278
1279
1280
1281
1282
1283
1284
1285
1286
1287
1288
1289
1290
1291
1292
1293
1294
1295
1296
1297
1298
1299
1300
1301
1302
1303
1304
1305
1306
1307
1308
1309
1310
1311
1312
1313
1314
1315
1316
1317
1318
1319
1320
1321
1322
1323
1324
1325
1326
1327
1328
1329
1330
1331
1332
1333
1334
1335
1336
1337
1338
1339
1340
1341
1342
1343
1344
1345
1346
1347
1348
1349
1350
1351
1352
1353
1354
1355
1356
1357
1358
1359
1360
1361
1362
1363
1364
1365
1366
1367
1368
1369
1370
1371
1372
1373
1374
1375
1376
1377
1378
1379
1380
1381
1382
1383
1384
1385
1386
1387
1388
1389
1390
1391
1392
1393
1394
1395
1396
1397
1398
1399
1400
1401
1402
1403
1404
1405
1406
1407
1408
1409
1410
1411
1412
1413
1414
1415
1416
1417
1418
1419
1420
1421
1422
1423
1424
1425
1426
1427
1428
1429
1430
1431
1432
1433
1434
1435
1436
1437
1438
1439
1440
1441
1442
1443
1444
1445
1446
1447
1448
1449
1450
1451
1452
1453
1454
1455
1456
1457
1458
1459
1460
1461
1462
1463
1464
1465
1466
1467
1468
1469
1470
1471
1472
1473
1474
1475
1476
1477
1478
1479
1480
1481
1482
1483
1484
1485
1486
1487
1488
1489
1490
1491
1492
1493
1494
1495
1496
1497
1498
1499
1500
1501
1502
1503
1504
1505
1506
1507
1508
1509
1510
1511
1512
1513
1514
1515
1516
1517
1518
1519
1520
1521
1522
1523
1524
1525
1526
1527
1528
1529
1530
1531
1532
1533
1534
1535
1536
1537
1538
1539
1540
1541
1542
1543
1544
1545
1546
1547
1548
1549
1550
1551
1552
1553
1554
|
@node How to use GnuTLS in applications
@chapter How to use @acronym{GnuTLS} in applications
@menu
* Introduction to the library::
* Preparation::
* Session initialization::
* Associating the credentials::
* Setting up the transport layer::
* TLS handshake::
* Data transfer and termination::
* Buffered data transfer::
* Handling alerts::
* Priority Strings::
* Selecting cryptographic key sizes::
* Advanced topics::
@end menu
@node Introduction to the library
@section Introduction
This chapter tries to explain the basic functionality of the current GnuTLS
library. Note that there may be additional functionality not discussed here
but included in the library. Checking the header files in @file{/usr/include/gnutls/}
and the manpages is recommended.
@menu
* General idea::
* Error handling::
* Common types::
* Debugging and auditing::
* Thread safety::
* Callback functions::
@end menu
@node General idea
@subsection General idea
A brief description of how @acronym{GnuTLS} sessions operate is shown
at @ref{fig-gnutls-design}. This section will become more clear when it
is completely read.
As shown in the figure, there is a read-only global state that is
initialized once by the global initialization function. This global
structure, among others, contains the memory allocation functions
used, structures needed for the @acronym{ASN.1} parser and depending
on the system's CPU, pointers to hardware accelerated encryption functions. This
structure is never modified by any @acronym{GnuTLS} function, except
for the deinitialization function which frees all allocated memory
and must be called after the program has permanently
finished using @acronym{GnuTLS}.
@float Figure,fig-gnutls-design
@image{gnutls-internals,12cm}
@caption{High level design of GnuTLS.}
@end float
The credentials structures are used by the authentication methods, such
as certificate authentication. They store certificates, privates keys,
and other information that is needed to prove the identity to the peer,
and/or verify the indentity of the peer. The information stored in
the credentials structures is initialized once and then can be
shared by many @acronym{TLS} sessions.
A @acronym{GnuTLS} session contains all the required information
to handle one secure connection. The session communicates with the
peers using the provided functions of the transport layer.
Every session has a unique session ID shared with the peer.
Since TLS sessions can be resumed, servers need a
database back-end to hold the session's parameters. Every
@acronym{GnuTLS} session after a successful handshake calls the
appropriate back-end function (see @ref{resume})
to store the newly negotiated session. The session
database is examined by the server just after having received the
client hello@footnote{The first message in a @acronym{TLS} handshake},
and if the session ID sent by the client, matches a stored session,
the stored session will be retrieved, and the new session will be a
resumed one, and will share the same session ID with the previous one.
@node Error handling
@subsection Error handling
In @acronym{GnuTLS} most functions return an integer type as a result.
In almost all cases a zero or a positive number means success, and a
negative number indicates failure, or a situation that some action has
to be taken. Thus negative error codes may be fatal or not.
Fatal errors terminate the connection immediately and further sends
and receives will be disallowed. Such an example is
@code{GNUTLS_@-E_@-DECRYPTION_@-FAILED}. Non-fatal errors may warn about
something, i.e., a warning alert was received, or indicate the some
action has to be taken. This is the case with the error code
@code{GNUTLS_@-E_@-REHANDSHAKE} returned by @funcref{gnutls_record_recv}.
This error code indicates that the server requests a re-handshake. The
client may ignore this request, or may reply with an alert. You can
test if an error code is a fatal one by using the
@funcref{gnutls_error_is_fatal}.
All errors can be converted to a descriptive string using @funcref{gnutls_strerror}.
If any non fatal errors, that require an action, are to be returned by
a function, these error codes will be documented in the function's
reference. For example the error codes @code{GNUTLS_@-E_@-WARNING_@-ALERT_@-RECEIVED} and @code{GNUTLS_@-E_@-FATAL_@-ALERT_@-RECEIVED}
that may returned when receiving data, should be handled by notifying the
user of the alert (as explained in @ref{Handling alerts}).
See @ref{Error codes}, for a description of the available error codes.
@node Common types
@subsection Common types
All strings that are to provided as input to @acronym{GnuTLS} functions
should be in UTF-8 unless otherwise specified. Output strings are also
in UTF-8 format unless otherwise specified.
When data of a fixed size are provided to @acronym{GnuTLS} functions then
the helper structure @code{gnutls_datum_t} is often used. Its definition is
shown below.
@verbatim
typedef struct
{
unsigned char *data;
unsigned int size;
} gnutls_datum_t;
@end verbatim
Other functions that require data for scattered read use a structure similar
to @code{struct iovec} typically used by @funcintref{readv}. It is shown
below.
@verbatim
typedef struct
{
void *iov_base; /* Starting address */
size_t iov_len; /* Number of bytes to transfer */
} giovec_t;
@end verbatim
@node Debugging and auditing
@subsection Debugging and auditing
In many cases things may not go as expected and further information,
to assist debugging, from @acronym{GnuTLS} is desired.
Those are the cases where the @funcref{gnutls_global_set_log_level} and
@funcref{gnutls_global_set_log_function} are to be used. Those will print
verbose information on the @acronym{GnuTLS} functions internal flow.
@showfuncB{gnutls_global_set_log_level,gnutls_global_set_log_function}
Alternatively the environment variable @code{GNUTLS_DEBUG_LEVEL} can be
set to a logging level and GnuTLS will output debugging output to standard
error.
When debugging is not required, important issues, such as detected
attacks on the protocol still need to be logged. This is provided
by the logging function set by
@funcref{gnutls_global_set_audit_log_function}. The provided function
will receive an message and the corresponding
TLS session. The session information might be used to derive IP addresses
or other information about the peer involved.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_global_set_audit_log_function}
@node Thread safety
@subsection Thread safety
@cindex thread safety
The @acronym{GnuTLS} library is thread safe by design, meaning that
objects of the library such as TLS sessions, can be safely divided across
threads as long as a single thread accesses a single object. This is
sufficient to support a server which handles several sessions per thread.
If, however, an object needs to be shared across threads then access must be
protected with a mutex. Read-only access to objects, for example the
credentials holding structures, is also thread-safe.
The random generator of the cryptographic back-end, is not thread safe and requires
mutex locks which are setup by @acronym{GnuTLS}.
Applications can either call @funcref{gnutls_global_init} which will initialize the default
operating system provided locks (i.e. @code{pthreads} on GNU/Linux and
@code{CriticalSection} on Windows), or manually specify the locking system using
the function @funcref{gnutls_global_set_mutex} before calling @funcref{gnutls_global_init}.
Setting mutexes manually is recommended
only for applications that have full control of the underlying libraries. If this
is not the case, the use of the operating system defaults is recommended. An example of
non-native thread usage is shown below.
@example
#include <gnutls/gnutls.h>
int main()
@{
/* When the system mutexes are not to be used
* gnutls_global_set_mutex() must be called explicitly
*/
gnutls_global_set_mutex (mutex_init, mutex_deinit,
mutex_lock, mutex_unlock);
gnutls_global_init();
@}
@end example
Note that @funcref{gnutls_global_init} is itself not thread safe. It is also not recommended
to initialize it on every available thread, but if need to, it should be protected using
mutex locks.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_global_set_mutex}
@node Callback functions
@subsection Callback functions
@cindex callback functions
There are several cases where @acronym{GnuTLS} may need out of
band input from your program. This is now implemented using some
callback functions, which your program is expected to register.
An example of this type of functions are the push and pull callbacks
which are used to specify the functions that will retrieve and send
data to the transport layer.
@showfuncB{gnutls_transport_set_push_function,gnutls_transport_set_pull_function}
Other callback functions may require more complicated input and data
to be allocated. Such an example is
@funcref{gnutls_srp_set_server_credentials_function}.
All callbacks should allocate and free memory using
@funcintref{gnutls_malloc} and @funcintref{gnutls_free}.
@node Preparation
@section Preparation
To use @acronym{GnuTLS}, you have to perform some changes to your
sources and your build system. The necessary changes are explained in
the following subsections.
@menu
* Headers::
* Initialization::
* Version check::
* Building the source::
@end menu
@node Headers
@subsection Headers
All the data types and functions of the @acronym{GnuTLS} library are
defined in the header file @file{gnutls/gnutls.h}. This must be
included in all programs that make use of the @acronym{GnuTLS}
library.
@node Initialization
@subsection Initialization
GnuTLS must be initialized before it can be used. The library is
initialized by calling @funcref{gnutls_global_init}. That call
typically enables CPU-specific acceleration, performs any required
precalculations needed, and initializes subsystems that could be
used later (e.g., PKCS #11 -- see @ref{PKCS11 Initialization}).
The resources allocated by the initialization process can be released if the
application no longer has a need to call GnuTLS functions, this is
done by calling @funcref{gnutls_global_deinit}.
In order to take advantage of the internationalization features in
GnuTLS, such as translated error messages, the application must set
the current locale using @code{setlocale} before initializing GnuTLS.
@node Version check
@subsection Version check
It is often desirable to check that the version of `gnutls' used is
indeed one which fits all requirements. Even with binary
compatibility new features may have been introduced but due to problem
with the dynamic linker an old version is actually used. So you may
want to check that the version is okay right after program start-up.
See the function @funcref{gnutls_check_version}.
On the other hand, it is often desirable to support more than one
versions of the library. In that case you could utilize compile-time
feature checks using the the @code{GNUTLS_VERSION_NUMBER} macro.
For example, to conditionally add code for GnuTLS 3.2.1 or later, you may use:
@example
#if GNUTLS_VERSION_NUMBER >= 0x030201
...
#endif
@end example
@node Building the source
@subsection Building the source
If you want to compile a source file including the
@file{gnutls/gnutls.h} header file, you must make sure that the
compiler can find it in the directory hierarchy. This is accomplished
by adding the path to the directory in which the header file is
located to the compilers include file search path (via the @option{-I}
option).
However, the path to the include file is determined at the time the
source is configured. To solve this problem, the library uses the
external package @command{pkg-config} that knows the path to the
include file and other configuration options. The options that need
to be added to the compiler invocation at compile time are output by
the @option{--cflags} option to @command{pkg-config gnutls}. The
following example shows how it can be used at the command line:
@example
gcc -c foo.c `pkg-config gnutls --cflags`
@end example
Adding the output of @samp{pkg-config gnutls --cflags} to the
compilers command line will ensure that the compiler can find the
@file{gnutls/gnutls.h} header file.
A similar problem occurs when linking the program with the library.
Again, the compiler has to find the library files. For this to work,
the path to the library files has to be added to the library search
path (via the @option{-L} option). For this, the option
@option{--libs} to @command{pkg-config gnutls} can be used. For
convenience, this option also outputs all other options that are
required to link the program with the library (for instance, the
@samp{-ltasn1} option). The example shows how to link @file{foo.o}
with the library to a program @command{foo}.
@example
gcc -o foo foo.o `pkg-config gnutls --libs`
@end example
Of course you can also combine both examples to a single command by
specifying both options to @command{pkg-config}:
@example
gcc -o foo foo.c `pkg-config gnutls --cflags --libs`
@end example
When a program uses the GNU autoconf system, then the following
line or similar can be used to detect the presence of GnuTLS.
@example
PKG_CHECK_MODULES([LIBGNUTLS], [gnutls >= 3.0.0])
AC_SUBST([LIBGNUTLS_CFLAGS])
AC_SUBST([LIBGNUTLS_LIBS])
@end example
@node Session initialization
@section Session initialization
In the previous sections we have discussed the global initialization
required for GnuTLS as well as the initialization required for each
authentication method's credentials (see @ref{Authentication}).
In this section we elaborate on the TLS or DTLS session initiation.
Each session is initialized using @funcref{gnutls_init} which among
others is used to specify the type of the connection (server or client),
and the underlying protocol type, i.e., datagram (UDP) or reliable (TCP).
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_init}
After the session initialization details on the allowed ciphersuites
and protocol versions should be set using the priority functions
such as @funcref{gnutls_priority_set_direct}. We elaborate on them
in @ref{Priority Strings}.
The credentials used for the key exchange method, such as certificates
or usernames and passwords should also be associated with the session
current session using @funcref{gnutls_credentials_set}.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_credentials_set}
@node Associating the credentials
@section Associating the credentials
@menu
* Certificate credentials::
* SRP credentials::
* PSK credentials::
* Anonymous credentials::
@end menu
Each authentication method is associated with a key exchange method, and a credentials type.
The contents of the credentials is method-dependent, e.g. certificates
for certificate authentication and should be initialized and associated
with a session (see @funcref{gnutls_credentials_set}). A mapping of the key exchange methods
with the credential types is shown in @ref{tab:key-exchange-cred}.
@float Table,tab:key-exchange-cred
@multitable @columnfractions .25 .25 .2 .2
@headitem Authentication method @tab Key exchange @tab Client credentials @tab Server credentials
@item Certificate
@tab @code{KX_RSA},
@code{KX_DHE_RSA},
@code{KX_DHE_DSS},
@code{KX_ECDHE_RSA},
@code{KX_ECDHE_ECDSA},
@code{KX_RSA_EXPORT}
@tab @code{CRD_CERTIFICATE}
@tab @code{CRD_CERTIFICATE}
@item Password and certificate
@tab @code{KX_SRP_RSA}, @code{KX_SRP_DSS}
@tab @code{CRD_SRP}
@tab @code{CRD_CERTIFICATE}, @code{CRD_SRP}
@item Password
@tab @code{KX_SRP}
@tab @code{CRD_SRP}
@tab @code{CRD_SRP}
@item Anonymous
@tab @code{KX_ANON_DH},
@code{KX_ANON_ECDH}
@tab @code{CRD_ANON}
@tab @code{CRD_ANON}
@item Pre-shared key
@tab @code{KX_PSK},
@code{KX_DHE_PSK}, @code{KX_ECDHE_PSK}
@tab @code{CRD_PSK}
@tab @code{CRD_PSK}
@end multitable
@caption{Key exchange algorithms and the corresponding credential types.}
@end float
@node Certificate credentials
@subsection Certificates
@subsubheading Server certificate authentication
When using certificates the server is required to have at least one
certificate and private key pair. Clients may not hold such
a pair, but a server could require it. In this section we discuss
general issues applying to both client and server certificates. The next
section will elaborate on issues arising from client authentication only.
@showfuncB{gnutls_certificate_allocate_credentials,gnutls_certificate_free_credentials}
After the credentials structures are initialized, the certificate
and key pair must be loaded. This occurs before any @acronym{TLS}
session is initialized, and the same structures are reused for multiple sessions.
Depending on the certificate type different loading functions
are available, as shown below.
For @acronym{X.509} certificates, the functions will
accept and use a certificate chain that leads to a trusted
authority. The certificate chain must be ordered in such way that every
certificate certifies the one before it. The trusted authority's
certificate need not to be included since the peer should possess it
already.
@showfuncC{gnutls_certificate_set_x509_key_mem2,gnutls_certificate_set_x509_key,gnutls_certificate_set_x509_key_file2}
@showfuncC{gnutls_certificate_set_openpgp_key_mem,gnutls_certificate_set_openpgp_key,gnutls_certificate_set_openpgp_key_file}
Note however, that since functions like @funcref{gnutls_certificate_set_x509_key_file2}
may accept URLs that specify objects stored in token, another important
function is @funcref{gnutls_certificate_set_pin_function}. That
allows setting a callback function to retrieve a PIN if the input keys are
protected by PIN by the token.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_certificate_set_pin_function}
If the imported keys and certificates need to be accessed before any TLS session
is established, it is convenient to use @funcref{gnutls_certificate_set_key}
in combination with @funcref{gnutls_pcert_import_x509_raw} and @funcref{gnutls_privkey_import_x509_raw}.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_certificate_set_key}
If multiple certificates are used with the functions above each
client's request will be served with the certificate that matches the
requested name (see @ref{Server name indication}).
As an alternative to loading from files or buffers, a callback may be used for the
server or the client to specify the certificate and the key at the handshake time.
In that case a certificate should be selected according the peer's signature
algorithm preferences. To get those preferences use
@funcref{gnutls_sign_algorithm_get_requested}. Both functions are shown below.
@showfuncC{gnutls_certificate_set_retrieve_function,gnutls_certificate_set_retrieve_function2,gnutls_sign_algorithm_get_requested}
The functions above do not handle the requested server name automatically.
A server would need to check the name requested by the client
using @funcref{gnutls_server_name_get}, and serve the appropriate
certificate. Note that some of these functions require the @code{gnutls_pcert_st} structure to be
filled in. Helper functions to make the required structures are listed below.
@verbatim
typedef struct gnutls_pcert_st
{
gnutls_pubkey_t pubkey;
gnutls_datum_t cert;
gnutls_certificate_type_t type;
} gnutls_pcert_st;
@end verbatim
@showfuncE{gnutls_pcert_import_x509,gnutls_pcert_import_openpgp,gnutls_pcert_import_x509_raw,gnutls_pcert_import_openpgp_raw,gnutls_pcert_deinit}
In a handshake, the negotiated cipher suite depends on the
certificate's parameters, so some key exchange methods might not be
available with all certificates. @acronym{GnuTLS} will disable
ciphersuites that are not compatible with the key, or the enabled
authentication methods. For example keys marked as sign-only, will
not be able to access the plain RSA ciphersuites, that require
decryption. It is not recommended to use RSA keys for both
signing and encryption. If possible use a different key for the
@code{DHE-RSA} which uses signing and @code{RSA} that requires decryption.
All the key exchange methods shown in @ref{tab:key-exchange} are
available in certificate authentication.
@subsubheading Client certificate authentication
If a certificate is to be requested from the client during the handshake, the server
will send a certificate request message. This behavior is controlled @funcref{gnutls_certificate_server_set_request}.
The request contains a list of the acceptable by the server certificate signers. This list
is constructed using the trusted certificate authorities of the server.
In cases where the server supports a large number of certificate authorities
it makes sense not to advertise all of the names to save bandwidth. That can
be controlled using the function @funcref{gnutls_certificate_send_x509_rdn_sequence}.
This however will have the side-effect of not restricting the client to certificates
signed by server's acceptable signers.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_certificate_server_set_request}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_certificate_send_x509_rdn_sequence}
@subsubheading Client or server certificate verification
Certificate verification is possible by loading the trusted
authorities into the credentials structure by using
the following functions, applicable to X.509 and OpenPGP certificates.
@showfuncC{gnutls_certificate_set_x509_system_trust,gnutls_certificate_set_x509_trust_file,gnutls_certificate_set_openpgp_keyring_file}
The peer's certificate is not automatically verified and one
must call @funcref{gnutls_certificate_verify_peers3}
after a successful handshake to verify the certificate's signature and the owner
of the certificate. The verification status returned can be printed using
@funcref{gnutls_certificate_verification_status_print}.
Alternatively the verification can occur during the handshake
by using @funcref{gnutls_certificate_set_verify_function}.
The functions above provide a brief verification output. If a
detailed output is required one should call @funcref{gnutls_certificate_get_peers}
to obtain the raw certificate of the peer and verify it using the
functions discussed in @ref{X.509 certificates}.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_certificate_verify_peers3}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_certificate_set_verify_function}
@node SRP credentials
@subsection SRP
The initialization functions in SRP credentials differ between
client and server.
Clients supporting @acronym{SRP} should set the username and password
prior to connection, to the credentials structure.
Alternatively @funcref{gnutls_srp_set_client_credentials_function}
may be used instead, to specify a callback function that should return the
SRP username and password.
The callback is called once during the @acronym{TLS} handshake.
@showfuncE{gnutls_srp_allocate_server_credentials,gnutls_srp_allocate_client_credentials,gnutls_srp_free_server_credentials,gnutls_srp_free_client_credentials,gnutls_srp_set_client_credentials}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_srp_set_client_credentials_function}
In server side the default behavior of @acronym{GnuTLS} is to read
the usernames and @acronym{SRP} verifiers from password files. These
password file format is compatible the with the @emph{Stanford srp libraries}
format. If a different password file format is to be used, then
@funcref{gnutls_srp_set_server_credentials_function} should be called,
to set an appropriate callback.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_srp_set_server_credentials_file}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_srp_set_server_credentials_function}
@node PSK credentials
@subsection PSK
The initialization functions in PSK credentials differ between
client and server.
@showfuncD{gnutls_psk_allocate_server_credentials,gnutls_psk_allocate_client_credentials,gnutls_psk_free_server_credentials,gnutls_psk_free_client_credentials}
Clients supporting @acronym{PSK} should supply the username and key
before a TLS session is established. Alternatively
@funcref{gnutls_psk_set_client_credentials_function} can be used to
specify a callback function. This has the
advantage that the callback will be called only if @acronym{PSK} has
been negotiated.
@showfuncA{gnutls_psk_set_client_credentials}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_psk_set_client_credentials_function}
In server side the default behavior of @acronym{GnuTLS} is to read
the usernames and @acronym{PSK} keys from a password file. The
password file should contain usernames and keys in hexadecimal
format. The name of the password file can be stored to the credentials
structure by calling @funcref{gnutls_psk_set_server_credentials_file}. If
a different password file format is to be used, then
a callback should be set instead by @funcref{gnutls_psk_set_server_credentials_function}.
The server can help the client chose a suitable username and password,
by sending a hint. Note that there is no common profile for the PSK hint and applications
are discouraged to use it.
A server, may specify the hint by calling
@funcref{gnutls_psk_set_server_credentials_hint}. The client can retrieve
the hint, for example in the callback function, using
@funcref{gnutls_psk_client_get_hint}.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_psk_set_server_credentials_file}
@showfuncC{gnutls_psk_set_server_credentials_function,gnutls_psk_set_server_credentials_hint,gnutls_psk_client_get_hint}
@node Anonymous credentials
@subsection Anonymous
The key exchange methods for anonymous authentication
might require Diffie-Hellman parameters to be generated by the server and
associated with an anonymous credentials structure. Check
@ref{Parameter generation} for more information.
The initialization functions for the credentials are shown below.
@showfuncD{gnutls_anon_allocate_server_credentials,gnutls_anon_allocate_client_credentials,gnutls_anon_free_server_credentials,gnutls_anon_free_client_credentials}
@node Setting up the transport layer
@section Setting up the transport layer
The next step is to setup the underlying transport layer details. The
Berkeley sockets are implicitly used by GnuTLS, thus a
call to @funcref{gnutls_transport_set_int} would be sufficient to
specify the socket descriptor.
@showfuncB{gnutls_transport_set_int,gnutls_transport_set_int2}
If however another transport layer than TCP is selected, then
a pointer should be used instead to express the parameter to be
passed to custom functions. In that case the following functions should
be used instead.
@showfuncB{gnutls_transport_set_ptr,gnutls_transport_set_ptr2}
Moreover all of the following push and pull callbacks should be set.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_transport_set_push_function}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_transport_set_vec_push_function}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_transport_set_pull_function}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_transport_set_pull_timeout_function}
The functions above accept a callback function which
should return the number of bytes written, or -1 on
error and should set @code{errno} appropriately.
In some environments, setting @code{errno} is unreliable. For example
Windows have several errno variables in different CRTs, or in other
systems it may be a non thread-local variable. If this is a concern to
you, call @funcref{gnutls_transport_set_errno} with the intended errno
value instead of setting @code{errno} directly.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_transport_set_errno}
@acronym{GnuTLS} currently only interprets the EINTR, EAGAIN and EMSGSIZE errno
values and returns the corresponding @acronym{GnuTLS} error codes:
@itemize
@item @code{GNUTLS_E_INTERRUPTED}
@item @code{GNUTLS_E_AGAIN}
@item @code{GNUTLS_E_LARGE_PACKET}
@end itemize
The EINTR and EAGAIN values are returned by interrupted system calls,
or when non blocking IO is used. All @acronym{GnuTLS} functions can be
resumed (called again), if any of the above error codes is returned. The
EMSGSIZE value is returned when attempting to send a large datagram.
In the case of DTLS it is also desirable to override the generic
transport functions with functions that emulate the operation
of @code{recvfrom} and @code{sendto}. In addition
@acronym{DTLS} requires timers during the receive of a handshake
message, set using the @funcref{gnutls_transport_set_pull_timeout_function}
function. To check the retransmission timers the function
@funcref{gnutls_dtls_get_timeout} is provided, which returns the time
remaining until the next retransmission, or better the time until
@funcref{gnutls_handshake} should be called again.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_transport_set_pull_timeout_function}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_dtls_get_timeout}
@menu
* Asynchronous operation::
* DTLS sessions::
@end menu
@node Asynchronous operation
@subsection Asynchronous operation
@acronym{GnuTLS} can be used with asynchronous socket or event-driven programming.
The approach is similar to using Berkeley sockets under such an environment.
The blocking, due to network interaction, calls such as
@funcref{gnutls_handshake}, @funcref{gnutls_record_recv},
can be set to non-blocking by setting the underlying sockets to non-blocking.
If other push and pull functions are setup, then they should behave the same
way as @funcintref{recv} and @funcintref{send} when used in a non-blocking
way, i.e., set errno to @code{EAGAIN}. Since, during a TLS protocol session
@acronym{GnuTLS} does not block except for network interaction, the non blocking
@code{EAGAIN} errno will be propagated and @acronym{GnuTLS} functions
will return the @code{GNUTLS_E_AGAIN} error code. Such calls can be resumed the
same way as a system call would.
The only exception is @funcref{gnutls_record_send},
which if interrupted subsequent calls need not to include the data to be
sent (can be called with NULL argument).
The @funcintref{select} system call can also be used in combination with the
@acronym{GnuTLS} functions. @funcintref{select} allows monitoring of sockets
and notifies on them being ready for reading or writing data. Note however
that this system call cannot notify on data present in @acronym{GnuTLS}
read buffers, it is only applicable to the kernel sockets API. Thus if
you are using it for reading from a @acronym{GnuTLS} session, make sure
that any cached data are read completely. That can be achieved by checking there
are no data waiting to be read (using @funcref{gnutls_record_check_pending}),
either before the @funcintref{select} system call, or after a call to
@funcref{gnutls_record_recv}. @acronym{GnuTLS} does not keep a write buffer,
thus when writing no additional actions are required.
Although in the TLS protocol implementation each call to receive or send
function implies to restoring the same function that was interrupted, in
the DTLS protocol this requirement isn't true.
There are cases where a retransmission is required, which are indicated by
a received message and thus @funcref{gnutls_record_get_direction} must be called
to decide which direction to check prior to restoring a function call.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_record_get_direction}
Moreover, to prevent blocking from DTLS' retransmission timers to block a
handshake, the @funcref{gnutls_init} function should be called with the
@code{GNUTLS_NONBLOCK} flag set (see @ref{Session initialization}). In that
case, in order to be able to use the DTLS handshake timers, the function
@funcref{gnutls_dtls_get_timeout} should be used to estimate when to call
@funcref{gnutls_handshake} if no packets have been received.
@node DTLS sessions
@subsection DTLS sessions
Because datagram TLS can operate over connections where the client
cannot be reliably verified, functionality in the form of cookies, is available to prevent
denial of service attacks to servers. @acronym{GnuTLS} requires a server
to generate a secret key that is used to sign a cookie@footnote{A key of 128 bits or 16 bytes should be sufficient for this purpose.}.
That cookie is sent to the client using @funcref{gnutls_dtls_cookie_send}, and
the client must reply using the correct cookie. The server side
should verify the initial message sent by client using @funcref{gnutls_dtls_cookie_verify}.
If successful the session should be initialized and associated with
the cookie using @funcref{gnutls_dtls_prestate_set}, before proceeding to
the handshake.
@showfuncD{gnutls_key_generate,gnutls_dtls_cookie_send,gnutls_dtls_cookie_verify,gnutls_dtls_prestate_set}
Note that the above apply to server side only and they are not mandatory to be
used. Not using them, however, allows denial of service attacks.
The client side cookie handling is part of @funcref{gnutls_handshake}.
Datagrams are typically restricted by a maximum transfer unit (MTU). For that
both client and server side should set the correct maximum transfer unit for
the layer underneath @acronym{GnuTLS}. This will allow proper fragmentation
of DTLS messages and prevent messages from being silently discarded by the
transport layer. The ``correct'' maximum transfer unit can be obtained through
a path MTU discovery mechanism @xcite{RFC4821}.
@showfuncC{gnutls_dtls_set_mtu,gnutls_dtls_get_mtu,gnutls_dtls_get_data_mtu}
@node TLS handshake
@section TLS handshake
Once a session has been initialized and a network
connection has been set up, TLS and DTLS protocols
perform a handshake. The handshake is the actual key
exchange.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_handshake}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_handshake_set_timeout}
The handshake process doesn't ensure the verification
of the peer's identity. When certificates are in use,
this can be done, either after the handshake is complete, or during
the handshake if @funcref{gnutls_certificate_set_verify_function}
has been used. In both cases the @funcref{gnutls_certificate_verify_peers2} function can be
used to verify the peer's certificate (see @ref{Certificate authentication}
for more information).
@showfuncA{gnutls_certificate_verify_peers2}
@node Data transfer and termination
@section Data transfer and termination
Once the handshake is complete and peer's identity
has been verified data can be exchanged. The available
functions resemble the POSIX @code{recv} and @code{send}
functions. It is suggested to use @funcref{gnutls_error_is_fatal}
to check whether the error codes returned by these functions are
fatal for the protocol or can be ignored.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_record_send}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_record_recv}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_error_is_fatal}
Although, in the TLS protocol the receive function can be called
at any time, when DTLS is used the GnuTLS receive functions must be
called once a message is available for reading, even if no data are
expected. This is because in DTLS various (internal) actions
may be required due to retransmission timers. Moreover,
an extended receive function is shown below, which allows the extraction
of the message's sequence number. Due to the unreliable nature of the
protocol, this field allows distinguishing out-of-order messages.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_record_recv_seq}
The @funcref{gnutls_record_check_pending} helper function is available to
allow checking whether data are available to be read in a @acronym{GnuTLS} session
buffers. Note that this function complements but does not replace @funcintref{select},
i.e., @funcref{gnutls_record_check_pending} reports no data to be read, @funcintref{select}
should be called to check for data in the network buffers.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_record_check_pending}
@showfuncA{gnutls_record_get_direction}
Once a TLS or DTLS session is no longer needed, it is
recommended to use @funcref{gnutls_bye} to terminate the
session. That way the peer is notified securely about the
intention of termination, which allows distinguishing it
from a malicious connection termination.
A session can be deinitialized with the @funcref{gnutls_deinit} function.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_bye}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_deinit}
@node Buffered data transfer
@section Buffered data transfer
Although @funcref{gnutls_record_send} is sufficient to transmit data
to the peer, when many small chunks of data are to be transmitted
it is inefficient and wastes bandwidth due to the TLS record
overhead. In that case it is preferrable to combine the small chunks
before transmission. The following functions provide that functionality.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_record_cork}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_record_uncork}
@node Handling alerts
@section Handling alerts
During a TLS connection alert messages may be exchanged by the
two peers. Those messages may be fatal, meaning the connection
must be terminated afterwards, or warning when something needs
to be reported to the peer, but without interrupting the session.
The error codes @code{GNUTLS_E_@-WARNING_@-ALERT_@-RECEIVED}
or @code{GNUTLS_E_@-FATAL_@-ALERT_@-RECEIVED} signal those alerts
when received, and may be returned by all GnuTLS functions that receive
data from the peer, being @funcref{gnutls_handshake} and @funcref{gnutls_record_recv}.
If those error codes are received the alert and its level should be logged
or reported to the peer using the functions below.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_alert_get}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_alert_get_name}
The peer may also be warned or notified of a fatal issue
by using one of the functions below. All the available alerts
are listed in @ref{The Alert Protocol}.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_alert_send}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_error_to_alert}
@node Priority Strings
@section Priority strings
@cindex Priority strings
The GnuTLS priority string specifies the TLS session's handshake
algorithms and options in a compact, easy-to-use format. That string
may contain a single initial keyword such as in
@ref{tab:prio-keywords} and may be followed by additional algorithm or
special keywords.
@showfuncB{gnutls_priority_set_direct,gnutls_priority_set}
@float Table,tab:prio-keywords
@multitable @columnfractions .20 .70
@headitem Keyword @tab Description
@item PERFORMANCE @tab
All the known to be secure ciphersuites are enabled,
limited to 128 bit ciphers and sorted by terms of speed
performance. The message authenticity security level is of 64 bits or more.
@item NORMAL @tab
Means all the known to be secure ciphersuites. The ciphers are sorted by security
margin, although the 256-bit ciphers are included as a fallback only.
The message authenticity security level is of 64 bits or more.
This priority string implicitly enables DHE and ECDHE.
@item PFS @tab
Means all the known to be secure ciphersuites that support perfect forward
secrecy. The ciphers are sorted by security
margin, although the 256-bit ciphers are included as a fallback only.
The message authenticity security level is of 64 bits or more. This
option is available since 3.2.4 or later.
@item SECURE128 @tab
Means all known to be secure ciphersuites that offer a
security level 128-bit or more and a message authenticity
security level of 80 bits or more.
@item SECURE192 @tab
Means all the known to be secure ciphersuites that offer a
security level 192-bit or more and a message authenticity
security level of 128 bits or more.
@item SECURE256 @tab
Currently alias for SECURE192.
@item SUITEB128 @tab
Means all the NSA Suite B cryptography (RFC5430) ciphersuites
with an 128 bit security level.
@item SUITEB192 @tab
Means all the NSA Suite B cryptography (RFC5430) ciphersuites
with an 192 bit security level.
@item EXPORT @tab
Means all ciphersuites are enabled, including the
low-security 40 bit ciphers.
@item NONE @tab
Means nothing is enabled. This disables even protocols and
compression methods. It should be followed by the
algorithms to be enabled.
@end multitable
@caption{Supported initial keywords.}
@end float
Unless the initial keyword is "NONE" the defaults (in preference
order) are for TLS protocols TLS 1.2, TLS1.1, TLS1.0, SSL3.0; for
compression NULL; for certificate types X.509.
In key exchange algorithms when in NORMAL or SECURE levels the
perfect forward secrecy algorithms take precedence of the other
protocols. In all cases all the supported key exchange algorithms
are enabled.
Note that the SECURE levels distinguish between overall security level and
message authenticity security level. That is because the message
authenticity security level requires the adversary to break
the algorithms at real-time during the protocol run, whilst
the overall security level refers to off-line adversaries
(e.g. adversaries breaking the ciphertext years after it was captured).
The NONE keyword, if used, must followed by keywords specifying
the algorithms and protocols to be enabled. The other initial keywords
do not require, but may be followed by such keywords. All level keywords
can be combined, and for example a level of "SECURE256:+SECURE128" is
allowed.
The order with which every algorithm or protocol
is specified is significant. Algorithms specified before others
will take precedence. The supported algorithms and protocols
are shown in @ref{tab:prio-algorithms}.
To avoid collisions in order to specify a compression algorithm in
the priority string you have to prefix it with "COMP-", protocol versions
with "VERS-", signature algorithms with "SIGN-" and certificate types with "CTYPE-".
All other algorithms don't need a prefix. Each specified keyword can
be prefixed with any of the following characters.
@table @asis
@item '!' or '-'
appended with an algorithm will remove this algorithm.
@item "+"
appended with an algorithm will add this algorithm.
@end table
@float Table,tab:prio-algorithms
@multitable @columnfractions .20 .70
@headitem Type @tab Keywords
@item Ciphers @tab
AES-128-CBC, AES-256-CBC, AES-128-GCM, CAMELLIA-128-CBC,
CAMELLIA-256-CBC, ARCFOUR-128, 3DES-CBC ARCFOUR-40. Catch all
name is CIPHER-ALL which will add all the algorithms from NORMAL
priority.
@item Key exchange @tab
RSA, DHE-RSA, DHE-DSS, SRP, SRP-RSA, SRP-DSS,
PSK, DHE-PSK, ECDHE-RSA, ANON-ECDH, ANON-DH. The
Catch all name is KX-ALL which will add all the algorithms from NORMAL
priority.
Add @code{!DHE-RSA:!DHE-DSS} to the priority string to disable DHE.
@item MAC @tab
MD5, SHA1, SHA256, AEAD (used with
GCM ciphers only). All algorithms from NORMAL priority can be accessed with MAC-ALL.
@item Compression algorithms @tab
COMP-NULL, COMP-DEFLATE. Catch all is COMP-ALL.
@item TLS versions @tab
VERS-SSL3.0, VERS-TLS1.0, VERS-TLS1.1,
VERS-TLS1.2, VERS-DTLS1.2, VERS-DTLS1.0.
Catch all is VERS-TLS-ALL and VERS-DTLS-ALL.
@item Signature algorithms @tab
SIGN-RSA-SHA1, SIGN-RSA-SHA224,
SIGN-RSA-SHA256, SIGN-RSA-SHA384, SIGN-RSA-SHA512, SIGN-DSA-SHA1,
SIGN-DSA-SHA224, SIGN-DSA-SHA256, SIGN-RSA-MD5. Catch all
is SIGN-ALL. This is only valid for TLS 1.2 and later.
@item Elliptic curves @tab
CURVE-SECP192R1, CURVE-SECP224R1, CURVE-SECP256R1, CURVE-SECP384R1, CURVE-SECP521R1. Catch all is CURVE-ALL.
@end multitable
@caption{The supported algorithm keywords in priority strings.}
@end float
Note that the DHE key exchange methods are generally
slower@footnote{It depends on the group used. Primes with
lesser bits are always faster, but also easier to break. See @ref{Selecting cryptographic key sizes}
for the acceptable security levels.} than their elliptic curves counterpart
(ECDHE). Moreover the plain Diffie-Hellman key exchange
requires parameters to be generated and associated with a credentials
structure by the server (see @ref{Parameter generation}).
The available special keywords are shown in @ref{tab:prio-special1}
and @ref{tab:prio-special2}.
@float Table,tab:prio-special1
@multitable @columnfractions .45 .45
@headitem Keyword @tab Description
@item %COMPAT @tab
will enable compatibility mode. It might mean that violations
of the protocols are allowed as long as maximum compatibility with
problematic clients and servers is achieved. More specifically this
string would disable TLS record random padding and tolerate packets
over the maximum allowed TLS record.
@item %DUMBFW @tab
will add a private extension with bogus data that make the client
hello exceed 512 bytes. This avoids a black hole behavior in some
firewalls. This is a non-standard TLS extension, use with care.
@item %NO_EXTENSIONS @tab
will prevent the sending of any TLS extensions in client side. Note
that TLS 1.2 requires extensions to be used, as well as safe
renegotiation thus this option must be used with care.
@item %SERVER_PRECEDENCE @tab
The ciphersuite will be selected according to server priorities
and not the client's.
@item %SSL3_RECORD_VERSION @tab
will use SSL3.0 record version in client hello.
This is the default.
@item %LATEST_RECORD_VERSION @tab
will use the latest TLS version record version in client hello.
@item %NEW_PADDING @tab
will enable the new padding extension negotiation. If the new padding extension
is negotiated, GnuTLS will use a more efficient length-hiding mechanism.
Use @funcref{gnutls_record_can_use_length_hiding} to check whether length-hiding
can be used in the current session. This is a GnuTLS extension to the protocol.
@end multitable
@caption{Special priority string keywords.}
@end float
@float Table,tab:prio-special2
@multitable @columnfractions .45 .45
@headitem Keyword @tab Description
@item %STATELESS_COMPRESSION @tab
will disable keeping state across records when compressing. This may
help to mitigate attacks when compression is used but an attacker
is in control of input data. This has to be used only when the
data that are possibly controlled by an attacker are placed in
separate records.
@item %DISABLE_SAFE_RENEGOTIATION @tab
will completely disable safe renegotiation
completely. Do not use unless you know what you are doing.
@item %UNSAFE_RENEGOTIATION @tab
will allow handshakes and re-handshakes
without the safe renegotiation extension. Note that for clients
this mode is insecure (you may be under attack), and for servers it
will allow insecure clients to connect (which could be fooled by an
attacker). Do not use unless you know what you are doing and want
maximum compatibility.
@item %PARTIAL_RENEGOTIATION @tab
will allow initial handshakes to proceed,
but not re-handshakes. This leaves the client vulnerable to attack,
and servers will be compatible with non-upgraded clients for
initial handshakes. This is currently the default for clients and
servers, for compatibility reasons.
@item %SAFE_RENEGOTIATION @tab
will enforce safe renegotiation. Clients and
servers will refuse to talk to an insecure peer. Currently this
causes interoperability problems, but is required for full protection.
@item %VERIFY_ALLOW_SIGN_RSA_MD5 @tab
will allow RSA-MD5 signatures in certificate chains.
@item %VERIFY_DISABLE_CRL_CHECKS @tab
will disable CRL or OCSP checks in the verification of the certificate chain.
@item %VERIFY_ALLOW_X509_V1_CA_CRT @tab
will allow V1 CAs in chains.
@end multitable
@caption{More priority string keywords.}
@end float
Finally the ciphersuites enabled by any priority string can be
listed using the @code{gnutls-cli} application (see @ref{gnutls-cli Invocation}),
or by using the priority functions as in @ref{Listing the ciphersuites in a priority string}.
Example priority strings are:
@example
The default priority without the HMAC-MD5:
"NORMAL:-MD5"
Specifying RSA with AES-128-CBC:
"NONE:+VERS-TLS-ALL:+MAC-ALL:+RSA:+AES-128-CBC:+SIGN-ALL:+COMP-NULL"
Specifying the defaults except ARCFOUR-128:
"NORMAL:-ARCFOUR-128"
Enabling the 128-bit secure ciphers, while disabling SSL 3.0 and enabling compression:
"SECURE128:-VERS-SSL3.0:+COMP-DEFLATE"
Enabling the 128-bit and 192-bit secure ciphers, while disabling all TLS versions
except TLS 1.2:
"SECURE128:+SECURE192:-VERS-TLS-ALL:+VERS-TLS1.2"
@end example
@node Selecting cryptographic key sizes
@section Selecting cryptographic key sizes
@cindex key sizes
Because many algorithms are involved in TLS, it is not easy to set
a consistent security level. For this reason in @ref{tab:key-sizes} we
present some correspondence between key sizes of symmetric algorithms
and public key algorithms based on @xcite{ECRYPT}.
Those can be used to generate certificates with
appropriate key sizes as well as select parameters for Diffie-Hellman and SRP
authentication.
@float Table,tab:key-sizes
@multitable @columnfractions .10 .12 .10 .20 .32
@headitem Security bits @tab RSA, DH and SRP parameter size @tab ECC key size @tab Security parameter @tab Description
@item <72
@tab <1008
@tab <160
@tab @code{INSECURE}
@tab Considered to be insecure
@item 72
@tab 1008
@tab 160
@tab @code{WEAK}
@tab Short term protection against small organizations
@item 80
@tab 1248
@tab 160
@tab @code{LOW}
@tab Very short term protection against agencies
@item 96
@tab 1776
@tab 192
@tab @code{LEGACY}
@tab Legacy standard level
@item 112
@tab 2432
@tab 224
@tab @code{NORMAL}
@tab Medium-term protection
@item 128
@tab 3248
@tab 256
@tab @code{HIGH}
@tab Long term protection
@item 256
@tab 15424
@tab 512
@tab @code{ULTRA}
@tab Foreseeable future
@end multitable
@caption{Key sizes and security parameters.}
@end float
The first column provides a security parameter in a number of bits. This
gives an indication of the number of combinations to be tried by an adversary
to brute force a key. For example to test all possible keys in a 112 bit security parameter
@math{2^{112}} combinations have to be tried. For today's technology this is infeasible.
The next two columns correlate the security
parameter with actual bit sizes of parameters for DH, RSA, SRP and ECC algorithms.
A mapping to @code{gnutls_sec_param_t} value is given for each security parameter, on
the next column, and finally a brief description of the level.
@c @showenumdesc{gnutls_sec_param_t,The @code{gnutls_sec_@-param_t} enumeration.}
Note, however, that the values suggested here are nothing more than an
educated guess that is valid today. There are no guarantees that an
algorithm will remain unbreakable or that these values will remain
constant in time. There could be scientific breakthroughs that cannot
be predicted or total failure of the current public key systems by
quantum computers. On the other hand though the cryptosystems used in
TLS are selected in a conservative way and such catastrophic
breakthroughs or failures are believed to be unlikely.
The NIST publication SP 800-57 @xcite{NISTSP80057} contains a similar
table.
When using @acronym{GnuTLS} and a decision on bit sizes for a public
key algorithm is required, use of the following functions is
recommended:
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_sec_param_to_pk_bits}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_pk_bits_to_sec_param}
Those functions will convert a human understandable security parameter
of @code{gnutls_sec_param_t} type, to a number of bits suitable for a public
key algorithm.
@showfuncA{gnutls_sec_param_get_name}
The following functions will set the minimum acceptable group size for Diffie-Hellman
and SRP authentication.
@showfuncB{gnutls_dh_set_prime_bits,gnutls_srp_set_prime_bits}
@node Advanced topics
@section Advanced topics
@menu
* Session resumption::
* Certificate verification::
* Parameter generation::
* Deriving keys for other applications/protocols::
* Channel Bindings::
* Interoperability::
* Compatibility with the OpenSSL library::
@end menu
@node Session resumption
@subsection Session resumption
@cindex resuming sessions
@cindex session resumption
@subsubheading Client side
To reduce time and roundtrips spent in a handshake the client can
request session resumption from a server that previously shared
a session with the client. For that the client has to retrieve and store
the session parameters. Before establishing a new session to the same
server the parameters must be re-associated with the GnuTLS session
using @funcref{gnutls_session_set_data}.
@showfuncC{gnutls_session_get_data2,gnutls_session_get_id2,gnutls_session_set_data}
Keep in mind that sessions will be expired after some time, depending
on the server, and a server may choose not to resume a session
even when requested to. The expiration is to prevent temporal session keys
from becoming long-term keys. Also note that as a client you must enable,
using the priority functions, at least the algorithms used in the last session.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_session_is_resumed}
@subsubheading Server side
In order to support resumption a server can store
the session security parameters in a local database or by using session
tickets (see @ref{Session tickets}) to delegate storage to the client. Because
session tickets might not be supported by all clients, servers
could combine the two methods.
A storing server needs to specify callback functions to store, retrieve and delete session data. These can be
registered with the functions below. The stored sessions in the database can be checked using @funcref{gnutls_db_check_entry}
for expiration.
@showfuncD{gnutls_db_set_retrieve_function,gnutls_db_set_store_function,gnutls_db_set_ptr,gnutls_db_set_remove_function}
@showfuncA{gnutls_db_check_entry}
A server utilizing tickets should generate ticket encryption
and authentication keys using @funcref{gnutls_session_ticket_key_generate}.
Those keys should be associated with the GnuTLS session using
@funcref{gnutls_session_ticket_enable_server}.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_session_ticket_enable_server}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_session_ticket_key_generate}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_session_resumption_requested}
A server enabling both session tickets and a storage for session data
would use session tickets when clients support it and the storage otherwise.
@node Certificate verification
@subsection Certificate verification
@cindex DANE
@cindex DNSSEC
@cindex SSH-style authentication
@cindex Trust on first use
@cindex Key pinning
@tindex gnutls_certificate_verify_flags
In this section the functionality for additional certificate verification methods is listed.
These methods are intended to be used in addition to normal PKI verification, in order to reduce
the risk of a compromised CA being undetected.
@subsubsection Trust on first use
The GnuTLS library includes functionlity to use an SSH-like trust on first use authentication.
The available functions to store and verify public keys are listed below.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_verify_stored_pubkey}
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_store_pubkey}
In addition to the above the @funcref{gnutls_store_commitment} can be
used to implement a key-pinning architecture as in @xcite{KEYPIN}.
This provides a way for web server to commit on a public key that is
not yet active.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_store_commitment}
The storage and verification functions may be used with the default
text file based back-end, or another back-end may be specified. That
should contain storage and retrieval functions and specified as below.
@showfuncE{gnutls_tdb_init,gnutls_tdb_deinit,gnutls_tdb_set_verify_func,gnutls_tdb_set_store_func,gnutls_tdb_set_store_commitment_func}
@subsubsection DANE verification
Since the DANE library is not included in GnuTLS it requires programs
to be linked against it. This can be achieved with the following commands.
@example
gcc -o foo foo.c `pkg-config gnutls-dane --cflags --libs`
@end example
When a program uses the GNU autoconf system, then the following
line or similar can be used to detect the presence of the library.
@example
PKG_CHECK_MODULES([LIBDANE], [gnutls-dane >= 3.0.0])
AC_SUBST([LIBDANE_CFLAGS])
AC_SUBST([LIBDANE_LIBS])
@end example
The high level functionality provided by the DANE library is shown below.
@showfuncdesc{dane_verify_crt}
@showfuncB{dane_verify_session_crt,dane_strerror}
Note that the @code{dane_state_t} structure that is accepted by both
verification functions is optional. It is required when many queries
are performed to facilitate caching.
The following flags are returned by the verify functions to
indicate the status of the verification.
@showenumdesc{dane_verify_status_t,The DANE verification status flags.}
In order to generate a DANE TLSA entry to use in a DNS server
you may use danetool (see @ref{danetool Invocation}).
@node Parameter generation
@subsection Parameter generation
@cindex parameter generation
@cindex generating parameters
Several TLS ciphersuites require additional parameters that
need to be generated or provided by the application. The
Diffie-Hellman based ciphersuites (ANON-DH or DHE), require
the group parameters to be provided. Those can either be
be generated on the fly using @funcref{gnutls_dh_params_generate2}
or imported from pregenerated data using @funcref{gnutls_dh_params_import_pkcs3}.
The parameters can be used in a @acronym{TLS} session by calling
@funcref{gnutls_certificate_set_dh_params} or
@funcref{gnutls_anon_set_server_dh_params} for anonymous sessions.
@showfuncD{gnutls_dh_params_generate2,gnutls_dh_params_import_pkcs3,gnutls_certificate_set_dh_params,gnutls_anon_set_server_dh_params}
Due to the time-consuming calculations required for the generation
of Diffie-Hellman parameters we suggest against performing generation
of them within an application. The @code{certtool} tool can be used to
generate or export known safe values that can be stored in code
or in a configuration file to provide the ability to replace. We also
recommend the usage of @funcref{gnutls_sec_param_to_pk_bits}
(see @ref{Selecting cryptographic key sizes}) to determine
the bit size of the generated parameters.
Note that the information stored in the generated PKCS #3 structure
changed with GnuTLS 3.0.9. Since that version the @code{privateValueLength}
member of the structure is set, allowing the server utilizing the
parameters to use keys of the size of the security parameter. This
provides better performance in key exchange.
To allow renewal of the parameters within an application without
accessing the credentials, which are a shared structure,
an alternative interface is available using a callback function.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_certificate_set_params_function}
@node Deriving keys for other applications/protocols
@subsection Deriving keys for other applications/protocols
@cindex keying material exporters
@cindex exporting keying material
@cindex deriving keys
@cindex key extraction
In several cases, after a TLS connection is established, it is desirable
to derive keys to be used in another application or protocol (e.g., in an
other TLS session using pre-shared keys). The following describe GnuTLS'
implementation of RFC5705 to extract keys based on a session's master secret.
The API to use is @funcref{gnutls_prf}. The
function needs to be provided with a label,
and additional context data to mix in the @code{extra} parameter.
Moreover, the API allows to switch the mix of the
client and server random nonces, using the @code{server_random_first} parameter.
In typical uses you don't need it, so a zero value should be provided in @code{server_random_first}.
For example, after establishing a TLS session using
@funcref{gnutls_handshake}, you can obtain 32-bytes to be used as key, using this call:
@example
#define MYLABEL "EXPORTER-My-protocol-name"
#define MYCONTEXT "my-protocol's-1st-session"
char out[32];
rc = gnutls_prf (session, sizeof(MYLABEL)-1, MYLABEL, 0,
sizeof(MYCONTEXT)-1, MYCONTEXT, 32, out);
@end example
The output key depends on TLS' master secret, and is the same on both client
and server.
If you don't want to use the RFC5705 interface and not mix in the client and server random
nonces, there is a low-level TLS PRF interface called @funcref{gnutls_prf_raw}.
@node Channel Bindings
@subsection Channel bindings
@cindex channel bindings
In user authentication protocols (e.g., EAP or SASL mechanisms) it is
useful to have a unique string that identifies the secure channel that
is used, to bind together the user authentication with the secure
channel. This can protect against man-in-the-middle attacks in some
situations. That unique string is called a ``channel binding''. For
background and discussion see @xcite{RFC5056}.
In @acronym{GnuTLS} you can extract a channel binding using the
@funcref{gnutls_session_channel_binding} function. Currently only the
type @code{GNUTLS_CB_TLS_UNIQUE} is supported, which corresponds to
the @code{tls-unique} channel binding for TLS defined in
@xcite{RFC5929}.
The following example describes how to print the channel binding data.
Note that it must be run after a successful TLS handshake.
@example
@{
gnutls_datum_t cb;
int rc;
rc = gnutls_session_channel_binding (session,
GNUTLS_CB_TLS_UNIQUE,
&cb);
if (rc)
fprintf (stderr, "Channel binding error: %s\n",
gnutls_strerror (rc));
else
@{
size_t i;
printf ("- Channel binding 'tls-unique': ");
for (i = 0; i < cb.size; i++)
printf ("%02x", cb.data[i]);
printf ("\n");
@}
@}
@end example
@node Interoperability
@subsection Interoperability
The @acronym{TLS} protocols support many ciphersuites, extensions and version
numbers. As a result, few implementations are
not able to properly interoperate once faced with extensions or version protocols
they do not support and understand. The @acronym{TLS} protocol allows for a
graceful downgrade to the commonly supported options, but practice shows
it is not always implemented correctly.
Because there is no way to achieve maximum interoperability with broken peers
without sacrificing security, @acronym{GnuTLS} ignores such peers by default.
This might not be acceptable in cases where maximum compatibility
is required. Thus we allow enabling compatibility with broken peers using
priority strings (see @ref{Priority Strings}). A conservative priority
string that would disable certain @acronym{TLS} protocol
options that are known to cause compatibility problems, is shown below.
@verbatim
NORMAL:%COMPAT
@end verbatim
For broken peers that do not tolerate TLS version numbers over TLS 1.0
another priority string is:
@verbatim
NORMAL:-VERS-TLS-ALL:+VERS-TLS1.0:+VERS-SSL3.0:%COMPAT
@end verbatim
This priority string will in addition to above, only enable SSL 3.0 and
TLS 1.0 as protocols.
@node Compatibility with the OpenSSL library
@subsection Compatibility with the OpenSSL library
@cindex OpenSSL
To ease @acronym{GnuTLS}' integration with existing applications, a
compatibility layer with the OpenSSL library is included
in the @code{gnutls-openssl} library. This compatibility layer is not
complete and it is not intended to completely re-implement the OpenSSL
API with @acronym{GnuTLS}. It only provides limited source-level
compatibility.
The prototypes for the compatibility functions are in the
@file{gnutls/openssl.h} header file. The limitations
imposed by the compatibility layer include:
@itemize
@item Error handling is not thread safe.
@end itemize
|