class Net::IMAP::SASL::ScramAuthenticator

Abstract base class for the “SCRAM-*” family of SASL mechanisms, defined in RFC5802. Use via Net::IMAP#authenticate.

Directly supported:

SCRAM-SHA-1 — ScramSHA1Authenticator
SCRAM-SHA-256 — ScramSHA256Authenticator

New SCRAM-* mechanisms can easily be added for any hash algorithm supported by OpenSSL::Digest. Subclasses need only set an appropriate DIGEST_NAME constant.

SCRAM algorithm

See the documentation and method definitions on ScramAlgorithm for an overview of the algorithm. The different mechanisms differ only by which hash function that is used (or by support for channel binding with -PLUS).

Server messages

As server messages are received, they are validated and loaded into the various attributes, e.g: snonce, salt, iterations, #verifier, server_error, etc.

Unlike many other SASL mechanisms, the SCRAM-* family supports mutual authentication and can return server error data in the server messages. If process raises an Error for the server-final-message, then server_error may contain error details.

TLS Channel binding

The SCRAM-*-PLUS mechanisms and channel binding are not supported yet.

Caching SCRAM secrets

Caching of salted_password, client_key, stored_key, and server_key is not supported yet.

Attributes

authcid [R]

Authentication identity: the identity that matches the password.

RFC-2831 uses the term username. “Authentication identity” is the generic term used by RFC-4422. RFC-4616 and many later RFCs abbreviate this to authcid.

authzid [R]

Authorization identity: an identity to act as or on behalf of. The identity form is application protocol specific. If not provided or left blank, the server derives an authorization identity from the authentication identity. For example, an administrator or superuser might take on another role:

imap.authenticate "SCRAM-SHA-256", "root", passwd, authzid: "user"

The server is responsible for verifying the client’s credentials and verifying that the identity it associates with the client’s authentication identity is allowed to act as (or on behalf of) the authorization identity.

cnonce [R]

The client nonce, generated by SecureRandom

iterations [R]

The iteration count for the selected hash function and user

max_iterations [R]

The maximal allowed iteration count. Higher iterations will raise an Error.

As noted in RFC5802

A hostile server can perform a computational denial-of-service attack on clients by sending a big iteration count value.

WARNING: The default value is 2³¹ - 1, the maximum signed 32-bit integer. This is large enough for the computation to take several minutes, and insufficient protection against hostile servers.

Note that OpenSSL::KDF.pbkdf2_hmac is implemented by a blocking C function, and cannot be interrupted by Timeout or Thread.raise. And it keeps the Global VM lock, as of v4.0 of the openssl gem, so other ruby threads will not be able to run.

To prevent a denial of service attack, this must be set to a safe value, depending on hardware and version of OpenSSL. It is the user’s responsibility to enforce minimum and maximum iteration counts that are appropriate for their security context.

min_iterations [R]

The minimal allowed iteration count. Lower iterations will raise an Error.

WARNING: The default value (4096) is set to match guidance from both RFC5802 and RFC7677, but modern recommendations are significantly higher.

It is ultimately the server’s responsibility to securely store password hashes. While this parameter can alert the user to insecure password storage and prevent insecure authentication exchange, updating the iteration count generally requires resetting the password on the server.

password [R]

A password or passphrase that matches the username.

salt [R]

The salt used by the server for this user

secret [R]

A password or passphrase that matches the username.

server_error [R]

An error reported by the server during the SASL exchange.

Does not include errors reported by the protocol, e.g. Net::IMAP::NoResponseError.

snonce [R]

The server nonce, which must start with cnonce

username [R]

Authentication identity: the identity that matches the password.

RFC-2831 uses the term username. “Authentication identity” is the generic term used by RFC-4422. RFC-4616 and many later RFCs abbreviate this to authcid.

Public Class Methods

new(username, password, **options) → auth_ctx

new(username:, password:, **options) → auth_ctx

new(authcid:, password:, **options) → auth_ctx

Source

# File lib/net/imap/sasl/scram_authenticator.rb, line 85
def initialize(username_arg = nil, password_arg = nil,
               authcid: nil, username: nil,
               authzid: nil,
               password: nil, secret: nil,
               min_iterations: 4096, # see both RFC5802 and RFC7677
               max_iterations: 2**31 - 1,  # max int32
               cnonce: nil, # must only be set in tests
               **options)
  @username = username || username_arg || authcid or
    raise ArgumentError, "missing username (authcid)"
  @password = password || secret || password_arg or
    raise ArgumentError, "missing password"
  @authzid = authzid

  @min_iterations = Integer min_iterations
  @min_iterations.positive? or
    raise ArgumentError, "min_iterations must be positive"

  @max_iterations = Integer max_iterations.to_int
  @min_iterations <= @max_iterations or
    raise ArgumentError, "max_iterations must be more than min_iterations"

  @cnonce = cnonce || SecureRandom.base64(32)

  # These attrs are set from the server challenges
  @server_first_message = @snonce = @salt = @iterations = nil
  @server_error = nil

  # Memoized after @salt and @iterations have been sent.
  @salted_password = @client_key = @server_key = nil

  # These values are created and cached in response to server challenges
  @client_first_message_bare = nil
  @client_final_message_without_proof = nil
end

Creates an authenticator for one of the “SCRAM-*” SASL mechanisms. Each subclass defines digest to match a specific mechanism.

Called by Net::IMAP#authenticate and similar methods on other clients.

Parameters

authcid ― Identity whose password is used.

username - An alias for authcid.
password ― Password or passphrase associated with this username.
optional authzid ― Alternate identity to act as or on behalf of.
optional min_iterations - Overrides the default value (4096).
optional max_iterations - Overrides the default value (2³¹ - 1).

Any other keyword parameters are quietly ignored.

NOTE: It is the user’s responsibility to enforce minimum and maximum iteration counts that are appropriate for their security context.

Public Instance Methods

client_key

Source

# File lib/net/imap/sasl/scram_authenticator.rb, line 210
def client_key = @client_key ||= compute_salted { super }

Memoized ScramAlgorithm#client_key (needs salt and iterations)

Calls superclass method Net::IMAP::SASL::ScramAlgorithm#client_key

digest

Source

# File lib/net/imap/sasl/scram_authenticator.rb, line 220
def digest; OpenSSL::Digest.new self.class::DIGEST_NAME end

Returns a new OpenSSL::Digest object, set to the appropriate hash function for the chosen mechanism.

The class’s DIGEST_NAME constant must be set to the name of an algorithm supported by OpenSSL::Digest.

done?

Source

# File lib/net/imap/sasl/scram_authenticator.rb, line 250
def done?; @state == :done end

Is the authentication exchange complete?

If false, another server continuation is required.

initial_client_response

Source

# File lib/net/imap/sasl/scram_authenticator.rb, line 224
def initial_client_response
  "#{gs2_header}#{client_first_message_bare}"
end

See RFC5802 §7 client-first-message.

process (challenge)

Source

# File lib/net/imap/sasl/scram_authenticator.rb, line 229
def process(challenge)
  case (@state ||= :initial_client_response)
  when :initial_client_response
    initial_client_response.tap { @state = :server_first_message }
  when :server_first_message
    recv_server_first_message challenge
    final_message_with_proof.tap { @state = :server_final_message }
  when :server_final_message
    recv_server_final_message challenge
    "".tap { @state = :done }
  else
    raise Error, "server sent after complete, %p" % [challenge]
  end
rescue Exception => ex
  @state = ex
  raise
end

responds to the server’s challenges

salted_password

Source

# File lib/net/imap/sasl/scram_authenticator.rb, line 207
def salted_password = @salted_password ||= compute_salted { super }

Memoized ScramAlgorithm#salted_password (needs salt and iterations)

Calls superclass method Net::IMAP::SASL::ScramAlgorithm#salted_password

server_key

Source

# File lib/net/imap/sasl/scram_authenticator.rb, line 213
def server_key = @server_key ||= compute_salted { super }

Memoized ScramAlgorithm#server_key (needs salt and iterations)

Calls superclass method Net::IMAP::SASL::ScramAlgorithm#server_key