KerberSim CMPT 495 Fall 2004 Jerry Frederick

Project Goals Become familiar with Kerberos flow Create a simple Kerberos simulation

Kerberos Began as a research project at MIT in the early 1980s As computer networks changed and client server models became prevalent, the need arose for secure authentication

Important Terms KDC (Key Distribution Center) –Database –Authentication Server –Ticket Granting Server Ticket Granting Ticket Ticket Credential Cache

Basic Flow DB Kerberos Server User TGS Service Requests TGT Returns encrypted TGT and session key Requests a service ticket Returns encrypted service ticket and session key Sends ticket and authenticator to service Returns authentication response

Conclusion Does not solve all security issues If KDC is compromised gives full control over the system If admin’s credentials are compromised, an attacker has full access to the Kerberos database