Username based authentication security

• US 20090300364A1
• Filed: 05/29/2008
• Published: 12/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Schneider, James Paul
• Granted Patent: US 8,156,333 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/178
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3297 involving time stamps, e.g. generation of time stamps

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for an authentication protocol. In one embodiment, a client requests for an authentication challenge from a server. The server generates the authentication challenge and sends it to the client. The authentication challenge includes the authentication context identifier, a random string, a timestamp, and a signature value. The client computes a salt value based on a username and the authentication context identifier from the authentication challenge. The signature value is computed based on the authentication context identifier, the random string, and the timestamp. The client computes a hashed password value based on the computed salt value, and a message authentication code based on the hashed password value and the random string. The client sends a response to the server. The response includes the username, the message authentication code, the random string, the timestamp, and the signature value.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving at a server a request for an authentication challenge from a client;

generating and sending the authentication challenge to the client;

receiving a response to the authentication challenge from the client; and

authenticating the client based on the response, the response based on a salt value, the salt value based on a username and an authentication context identifier.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein generating the authentication challenge further comprises:

generating a random string, the authentication context identifier, a timestamp, and a signature value.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 wherein the signature value is computed based on the authentication context identifier, the random string, and the timestamp.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 wherein the response further comprises the username, a client message authentication code, the random string, the timestamp, and the signature value.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 further comprising:

verifying the validity of the timestamp and the signature value;

retrieving a hashed password associated with the username provided in the response;

computing a server message authentication code based on the random string and the retrieved hashed password, or the random string, the timestamp, and the retrieved hashed password; and

comparing the server message authentication code with the client message authentication code to authenticate the client.

6. An article of manufacture comprising:

a computer-accessible storage medium including data that, when accessed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method comprising;

receiving at a server a request for an authentication challenge from a client;

generating and sending the authentication challenge to the client;

receiving a response to the authentication challenge from the client; and

authenticating the client based on the response, the response based on a salt value, the salt value based on a username and an authentication context identifier.

7. The article of manufacture of claim 6 wherein generating the authentication challenge further comprises:

generating a random string, the authentication context identifier, a timestamp, and a signature value.

8. The article of manufacture of claim 7 wherein the signature value is computed based on the authentication context identifier, the random string, and the timestamp.

9. The article of manufacture of claim 8 wherein the response further comprises the username, a client message authentication code, the random string, the timestamp, and the signature value.

10. The article of manufacture of claim 9 further comprising:

verifying the validity of the timestamp and the signature value;

retrieving a hashed password associated with the username provided in the response;

computing a server message authentication code based on the random string and the retrieved hashed password, or the random string, the timestamp, and the retrieved hashed password; and

comparing the server message authentication code with the client message authentication code to authenticate the client.

11. A server comprising:

an authentication challenge generator configured to generate a random string and generate an authentication challenge comprising an authentication context identifier, the random string, a timestamp, a signature value based on the authentication context identifier, the random string, and the timestamp;

a time stamp verifier coupled to the authentication challenge generator, the time stamp verifier configured to verify the validity of the timestamp in a response, the response based on a salt value, the salt value based on a username and the authentication context identifier;

a signature value verifier coupled to the time stamp verifier, the signature value verifier configured to verify the validity of a signature value in the response; and

a message authentication code verifier coupled to the time stamp verifier, the message authentication code verifier configured to verify the validity of a client message authentication code in the response.

12. The server of claim 11 wherein the signature value is computed based on the authentication context identifier, the random string, and the timestamp.

13. The server of claim 12 wherein the response further comprises the username, the client message authentication code, the random string, the timestamp, and the signature value.

14. The server of claim 13 wherein the message authentication code verifier is configured to retrieve a hashed password associated with the username provided in the response, to compute a server message authentication code based on the random string and the retrieve hashed password, or the random string, the timestamp, and the retrieved hashed password, and to compare the server message authentication code with the client message authentication code to authenticate the client.

15. The server of claim 13 wherein the server is configured to communicate with a client comprising:

an authentication challenge requestor configured to request an authentication challenge;

a salt computation engine coupled to the authentication challenge requestor, the salt computation engine configured to compute the salt value based on the username and the authentication context identifier of the authentication challenge;

a hashed password computation engine coupled to the salt computation engine, the hashed password computation engine configured to compute a hashed password value based on the salt value; and

a message authentication code computation engine coupled to the salt computation engine, the message authentication code computation engine configured to compute the message authentication code based on a random string of the authentication challenge and the hashed password value, or the random string, the timestamp, and the hashed password value.

16. A computer-implemented method comprising:

requesting by a client for an authentication challenge from a server;

receiving the authentication challenge from the server, and

computing a salt value based on a username and an authentication context identifier of the authentication challenge.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16 wherein the authentication challenge comprises the authentication context identifier, a random string, a timestamp, and a signature value.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17 wherein the signature value is computed based on the authentication context identifier, the random string, and the timestamp.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18 further comprising:

computing a hashed password value based on the computed salt value;

computing a message authentication code based on the random string and the hashed password value, or the random string, the timestamp, and the hashed password value; and

returning a response to the server.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 16 wherein the response comprises the username, the message authentication code, the random string, the timestamp, and the signature value.