: Rate-limit DCCP-Syncs

[DCCP]: Rate-limit DCCP-Syncs

This implements a SHOULD from RFC 4340, 7.5.4:
"To protect against denial-of-service attacks, DCCP implementations SHOULD
impose a rate limit on DCCP-Syncs sent in response to sequence-invalid packets, such as not more than eight DCCP-Syncs per second."

The rate-limit is maintained on a per-socket basis. This is a more stringent policy than enforcing the rate-limit on a per-source-address basis and protects against attacks with forged source addresses.

Moreover, the mechanism is deliberately kept simple. In contrast to xrlim_allow(), bursts of Sync packets in reply to sequence-invalid packets are not supported. This foils such attacks where the receipt of a Sync triggers further sequence-invalid packets. (I have tested this mechanism against xrlim_allow algorithm for Syncs, permitting bursts just increases the problems.)

In order to keep flexibility, the timeout parameter can be set via sysctl; and the whole mechanism can even be disabled (which is however not recommended).

---
 Documentation/networking/dccp.txt |    5 +++++
 include/linux/dccp.h              |    2 ++
 net/dccp/dccp.h                   |    1 +
 net/dccp/input.c                  |   15 ++++++++++++---
 net/dccp/proto.c                  |    1 +
 net/dccp/sysctl.c                 |   10 ++++++++++
 6 files changed, 31 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

@@ -123,6 +123,11 @@ tx_qlen = 5
 	The size of the transmit buffer in packets. A value of 0 corresponds
 	to an unbounded transmit buffer.
 
+sync_ratelimit = HZ/8
+	The timeout between subsequent DCCP-Sync packets sent in response to
+	sequence-invalid packets on the same socket (RFC 4340, 7.5.4). The unit
+	of this parameter is jiffies; a value of 0 disables rate-limiting.
+
 Notes
 == 
--- a/net/dccp/sysctl.c
+++ b/net/dccp/sysctl.c

@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@
 #error This file should not be compiled without CONFIG_SYSCTL defined
 #endif
 
+/* rate-limit for syncs in reply to sequence-invalid packets; RFC 4340, 7.5.4 */
+int sysctl_dccp_sync_ratelimit	__read_mostly = HZ / 8;
+
 static struct ctl_table dccp_default_table[] = {
 	{
 		.procname	= "seq_window",

@@ -89,6 +92,13 @@ static struct ctl_table dccp_default_tab
 		.mode		= 0644,
 		.proc_handler	= proc_dointvec,
 	},
+	{
+		.procname	= "sync_ratelimit",
+		.data		= &sysctl_dccp_sync_ratelimit,
+		.maxlen		= sizeof(sysctl_dccp_sync_ratelimit),
+		.mode		= 0644,
+		.proc_handler	= proc_dointvec,
+	},
 
 	{ .ctl_name = 0, }
 };

@@ -101,6 +101,7 @@ extern int  sysctl_dccp_feat_ack_ratio;
 extern int  sysctl_dccp_feat_send_ack_vector;
 extern int  sysctl_dccp_feat_send_ndp_count;
 extern int  sysctl_dccp_tx_qlen;
+extern int  sysctl_dccp_sync_ratelimit;
 
 /*
  *	48-bit sequence number arithmetic (signed and unsigned)

@@ -486,6 +486,7 @@ struct dccp_ackvec;
  * @dccps_pcrlen - receiver partial checksum coverage (via sockopt)
  * @dccps_ndp_count - number of Non Data Packets since last data packet
  * @dccps_mss_cache - current value of MSS (path MTU minus header sizes)
+ * @dccps_rate_last - timestamp for rate-limiting DCCP-Sync (RFC 4340, 7.5.4)
  * @dccps_minisock - associated minisock (accessed via dccp_msk)
  * @dccps_hc_rx_ackvec - rx half connection ack vector
  * @dccps_hc_rx_ccid - CCID used for the receiver (or receiving half-connection)

@@ -522,6 +523,7 @@ struct dccp_sock {
 	__u16				dccps_pcrlen;
 	unsigned long			dccps_ndp_count;
 	__u32				dccps_mss_cache;
+	unsigned long			dccps_rate_last;
 	struct dccp_minisock		dccps_minisock;
 	struct dccp_ackvec		*dccps_hc_rx_ackvec;
 	struct ccid			*dccps_hc_rx_ccid;

@@ -226,6 +226,7 @@ int dccp_init_sock(struct sock *sk, cons
 	sk->sk_write_space	= dccp_write_space;
 	icsk->icsk_sync_mss	= dccp_sync_mss;
 	dp->dccps_mss_cache	= 536;
+	dp->dccps_rate_last	= jiffies;
 	dp->dccps_role		= DCCP_ROLE_UNDEFINED;
 	dp->dccps_service	= DCCP_SERVICE_CODE_IS_ABSENT;
 	dp->dccps_l_ack_ratio	= dp->dccps_r_ack_ratio = 1;

@@ -149,6 +149,8 @@ static int dccp_check_seqno(struct sock 
 		    (ackno != DCCP_PKT_WITHOUT_ACK_SEQ))
 			dp->dccps_gar = ackno;
 	} else {
+		unsigned long now = jiffies;
+
 		DCCP_WARN("DCCP: Step 6 failed for %s packet, "
 			  "(LSWL(%llu) <= P.seqno(%llu) <= S.SWH(%llu)) and "
 			  "(P.ackno %s or LAWL(%llu) <= P.ackno(%llu) <= S.AWH(%llu), "

@@ -167,10 +169,17 @@ static int dccp_check_seqno(struct sock 
 		 *         Otherwise,
 		 *            Send Sync packet acknowledging P.seqno
 		 *      Drop packet and return
+		 *
+		 *   These Syncs are rate-limited as per RFC 4340, 7.5.4:
+		 *   at most 1 / (dccp_sync_rate_limit * HZ) Syncs per second.
 		 */
-		if (dh->dccph_type = DCCP_PKT_RESET)
-			seqno = dp->dccps_gsr;
-		dccp_send_sync(sk, seqno, DCCP_PKT_SYNC);
+		if (now - dp->dccps_rate_last >= sysctl_dccp_sync_ratelimit) {
+			dp->dccps_rate_last = now;
+
+			if (dh->dccph_type = DCCP_PKT_RESET)
+				seqno = dp->dccps_gsr;
+			dccp_send_sync(sk, seqno, DCCP_PKT_SYNC);
+		}
 		return -1;
 	}
 

OK I take back my comment earlier about doing rate limiting in earlier message as I hadn't read the justification for it.

Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/
Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz
WAND Network Research Group

Quoting Ian McDonald:

|  > +sync_ratelimit = HZ/8
|  > +       The timeout between subsequent DCCP-Sync packets sent in response to
|  > +       sequence-invalid packets on the same socket (RFC 4340, 7.5.4). The unit
|  > +       of this parameter is jiffies; a value of 0 disables rate-limiting.
|  > +
|  
|  No, no, no. A userspace parameter in jiffies is just wrong I think.
|  You change HZ and this doesn't automatically change. You could be
|  doing this with different kernels on your machine even and setting
|  sysctls in a file. Take a bit of time and put this in milliseconds.

The default value is set at compilation time when HZ is known. I used jiffies for the main reason to make this sysctl consistent with the other, similar, runtime variables which are also in units of jiffies (cf. Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.txt):

* inet_peer_minttl / inet_peer_maxttl / inet_peer_gc_mintime / inet_peer_gc_maxtime

* icmp_ratelimit - which is semantically the closest to this sysctl

Would you still rather have this in milliseconds?

Actually these are in seconds, they use proc_dointvec_jiffies, which takes seconds and converts to jiffies.

This unfortunately really is in jiffies.

I agree with Ian that userspace interfaces should use fixed units that don't depend on compile-time options.

|  > The default value is set at compilation time when HZ is known. I used jiffies for the
|  > main reason to make this sysctl consistent with the other, similar, runtime variables
|  > which are also in units of jiffies (cf. Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.txt):
|  > 
|  >  * inet_peer_minttl / inet_peer_maxttl / inet_peer_gc_mintime / inet_peer_gc_maxtime
|  
|  Actually these are in seconds, they use proc_dointvec_jiffies, which
|  takes seconds and converts to jiffies.

I haven't looked at the code - it may be that the information in ip-sysctl.txt is outdated.

<snip>

|  I agree with Ian that userspace interfaces should use fixed units that
|  don't depend on compile-time options.
|  

Ok, will convert patch & Documentation to use milliseconds, and send an update later.

Thank you for the input.

[DCCP]: Rate-limit DCCP-Syncs

This implements a SHOULD from RFC 4340, 7.5.4:
"To protect against denial-of-service attacks, DCCP implementations SHOULD
impose a rate limit on DCCP-Syncs sent in response to sequence-invalid packets, such as not more than eight DCCP-Syncs per second."

The rate-limit is maintained on a per-socket basis. This is a more stringent policy than enforcing the rate-limit on a per-source-address basis and protects against attacks with forged source addresses.

Moreover, the mechanism is deliberately kept simple. In contrast to xrlim_allow(), bursts of Sync packets in reply to sequence-invalid packets are not supported. This foils such attacks where the receipt of a Sync triggers further sequence-invalid packets. (I have tested this mechanism against xrlim_allow algorithm for Syncs, permitting bursts just increases the problems.)

In order to keep flexibility, the timeout parameter can be set via sysctl; and the whole mechanism can even be disabled (which is however not recommended).

---
 Documentation/networking/dccp.txt |    5 +++++
 include/linux/dccp.h              |    2 ++
 net/dccp/dccp.h                   |    1 +
 net/dccp/input.c                  |   15 ++++++++++++---
 net/dccp/proto.c                  |    1 +
 net/dccp/sysctl.c                 |   10 ++++++++++
 6 files changed, 31 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

@@ -112,6 +112,11 @@ tx_qlen = 5
 	The size of the transmit buffer in packets. A value of 0 corresponds
 	to an unbounded transmit buffer.
 
+sync_ratelimit = 125 ms
+	The timeout between subsequent DCCP-Sync packets sent in response to
+	sequence-invalid packets on the same socket (RFC 4340, 7.5.4). The unit
+	of this parameter is milliseconds; a value of 0 disables rate-limiting.
+
 Notes
 == 
--- a/net/dccp/sysctl.c
+++ b/net/dccp/sysctl.c

@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@
 #error This file should not be compiled without CONFIG_SYSCTL defined
 #endif
 
+/* rate-limit for syncs in reply to sequence-invalid packets; RFC 4340, 7.5.4 */
+int sysctl_dccp_sync_ratelimit	__read_mostly = HZ / 8;
+
 static struct ctl_table dccp_default_table[] = {
 	{
 		.procname	= "seq_window",

@@ -89,6 +92,13 @@ static struct ctl_table dccp_default_tab
 		.mode		= 0644,
 		.proc_handler	= proc_dointvec,
 	},
+	{
+		.procname	= "sync_ratelimit",
+		.data		= &sysctl_dccp_sync_ratelimit,
+		.maxlen		= sizeof(sysctl_dccp_sync_ratelimit),
+		.mode		= 0644,
+		.proc_handler	= proc_dointvec_ms_jiffies,
+	},
 
 	{ .ctl_name = 0, }
 };

@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ extern int  sysctl_dccp_feat_ack_ratio;
 extern int  sysctl_dccp_feat_send_ack_vector;
 extern int  sysctl_dccp_feat_send_ndp_count;
 extern int  sysctl_dccp_tx_qlen;
+extern int  sysctl_dccp_sync_ratelimit;
 
 /*
  *	48-bit sequence number arithmetic (signed and unsigned)

@@ -471,6 +471,7 @@ struct dccp_ackvec;
  * @dccps_pcrlen - receiver partial checksum coverage (via sockopt)
  * @dccps_ndp_count - number of Non Data Packets since last data packet
  * @dccps_mss_cache - current value of MSS (path MTU minus header sizes)
+ * @dccps_rate_last - timestamp for rate-limiting DCCP-Sync (RFC 4340, 7.5.4)
  * @dccps_minisock - associated minisock (accessed via dccp_msk)
  * @dccps_hc_rx_ackvec - rx half connection ack vector
  * @dccps_hc_rx_ccid - CCID used for the receiver (or receiving half-connection)

@@ -506,6 +507,7 @@ struct dccp_sock {
 	__u16				dccps_pcrlen;
 	unsigned long			dccps_ndp_count;
 	__u32				dccps_mss_cache;
+	unsigned long			dccps_rate_last;
 	struct dccp_minisock		dccps_minisock;
 	struct dccp_ackvec		*dccps_hc_rx_ackvec;
 	struct ccid			*dccps_hc_rx_ccid;

@@ -220,6 +220,7 @@ int dccp_init_sock(struct sock *sk, cons
 	sk->sk_write_space	= dccp_write_space;
 	icsk->icsk_sync_mss	= dccp_sync_mss;
 	dp->dccps_mss_cache	= 536;
+	dp->dccps_rate_last	= jiffies;
 	dp->dccps_role		= DCCP_ROLE_UNDEFINED;
 	dp->dccps_service	= DCCP_SERVICE_CODE_IS_ABSENT;
 	dp->dccps_l_ack_ratio	= dp->dccps_r_ack_ratio = 1;

@@ -122,6 +122,8 @@ static int dccp_check_seqno(struct sock 
 		    (ackno != DCCP_PKT_WITHOUT_ACK_SEQ))
 			dp->dccps_gar = ackno;
 	} else {
+		unsigned long now = jiffies;
+
 		DCCP_WARN("DCCP: Step 6 failed for %s packet, "
 			  "(LSWL(%llu) <= P.seqno(%llu) <= S.SWH(%llu)) and "
 			  "(P.ackno %s or LAWL(%llu) <= P.ackno(%llu) <= S.AWH(%llu), "

@@ -140,10 +142,17 @@ static int dccp_check_seqno(struct sock 
 		 *         Otherwise,
 		 *            Send Sync packet acknowledging P.seqno
 		 *      Drop packet and return
+		 *
+		 *   These Syncs are rate-limited as per RFC 4340, 7.5.4:
+		 *   at most 1 / (dccp_sync_rate_limit * HZ) Syncs per second.
 		 */
-		if (dh->dccph_type = DCCP_PKT_RESET)
-			seqno = dp->dccps_gsr;
-		dccp_send_sync(sk, seqno, DCCP_PKT_SYNC);
+		if (now - dp->dccps_rate_last >= sysctl_dccp_sync_ratelimit) {
+			dp->dccps_rate_last = now;
+
+			if (dh->dccph_type = DCCP_PKT_RESET)
+				seqno = dp->dccps_gsr;
+			dccp_send_sync(sk, seqno, DCCP_PKT_SYNC);
+		}
 		return -1;
 	}
 

Em Wed, Jun 20, 2007 at 10:56:03AM +0100, Gerrit Renker escreveu:

Algorigthm is fine, just use time_after when comparing jiffies based timestamps, here:

        if (time_after(jiffies, tp->last_synq_overflow + TCP_TIMEOUT_INIT) ||
            (mss = cookie_check(skb, cookie)) = 0) {
                NET_INC_STATS_BH(LINUX_MIB_SYNCOOKIESFAILED);
                goto out;
        }