Bug 528493 - [RFE] FreeRADIUS: Add SHA1 algorithm use recommendation for certificate generation
Summary: [RFE] FreeRADIUS: Add SHA1 algorithm use recommendation for certificate gener...
Keywords:
Status: CLOSED ERRATA
Alias: None
Product: Fedora
Classification: Fedora
Component: freeradius
Version: 12
Hardware: All
OS: Linux
low
low
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: John Dennis
QA Contact: Fedora Extras Quality Assurance
URL: https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug....
Whiteboard:
Depends On:
Blocks:
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2009-10-12 14:05 UTC by Jan Lieskovsky
Modified: 2010-01-12 23:48 UTC (History)
1 user (show)

Fixed In Version: 2.1.8-2.fc12
Clone Of:
Environment:
Last Closed: 2010-01-07 19:22:53 UTC
Type: ---
Embargoed:


Attachments (Terms of Use)

Description Jan Lieskovsky 2009-10-12 14:05:14 UTC
From Fedora 11's FreeRADIUS /etc/raddb/certs/README file:

The default certificate configuration files uses MD5 for message
digests, to maintain compatibility with network equipment that
supports only this algorithm.

While the md5 -> sha1 signature algorithm transition was refused 
by upstream (yet) due compatibility reasons:

http://www.mail-archive.com/freeradius-users@lists.freeradius.org/msg56843.html

Fedora 11's FreeRADIUS etc/raddb/certs/README contains recommendation
to use SHA1 signature algorithm instead of MD5 where possible.

Add the same "SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS" to F10's FreeRADIUS
/etc/raddb/certs/README file:


                SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS

The default certificate configuration files uses MD5 for message
digests, to maintain compatibility with network equipment that
supports only this algorithm.

MD5 has known weaknesses and is discouraged in favor of SHA1 (see
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/836068 for details). If your network
equipment supports the SHA1 signature algorithm, we recommend that you
change the "ca.cnf", "server.cnf", and "client.cnf" files to specify
the use of SHA1 for the certificates. To do this, change the
'default_md' entry in those files from 'md5' to 'sha1'.

References:
-----------
http://www.mail-archive.com/freeradius-users@lists.freeradius.org/msg56846.html

Comment 1 Bug Zapper 2009-11-18 12:55:28 UTC
This message is a reminder that Fedora 10 is nearing its end of life.
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Comment 2 John Dennis 2010-01-07 19:22:53 UTC
fixed in 2.1.8-2

The /etc/raddb/certs/{ca.cnf,server.cnf,client.cnf} files were all patched to use sha1 instead of md5.

At the same time I reduced the validity period from 1 year to 2 months because the certificate configuration is for temporary certificates useful only for initial testing.

BTW, the certificates are now generated automatically on first install, see bug #526559

Comment 3 Fedora Update System 2010-01-08 19:00:07 UTC
freeradius-2.1.8-2.fc12 has been submitted as an update for Fedora 12.
http://admin.fedoraproject.org/updates/freeradius-2.1.8-2.fc12

Comment 4 Fedora Update System 2010-01-12 23:48:03 UTC
freeradius-2.1.8-2.fc12 has been pushed to the Fedora 12 stable repository.  If problems still persist, please make note of it in this bug report.


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