1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000
1001
1002
1003
1004
1005
1006
1007
1008
1009
1010
1011
1012
1013
1014
1015
1016
1017
1018
1019
1020
1021
1022
1023
1024
1025
1026
1027
1028
1029
1030
1031
1032
1033
1034
1035
1036
1037
1038
1039
1040
1041
1042
1043
1044
1045
1046
1047
1048
1049
1050
1051
1052
1053
1054
1055
1056
1057
1058
1059
1060
1061
1062
1063
1064
1065
1066
1067
1068
1069
1070
1071
1072
1073
1074
1075
1076
1077
1078
1079
1080
1081
1082
1083
1084
1085
1086
1087
1088
1089
1090
1091
1092
1093
1094
1095
1096
1097
1098
1099
1100
1101
1102
1103
1104
1105
1106
1107
1108
1109
1110
1111
1112
1113
1114
1115
1116
1117
1118
1119
1120
1121
1122
1123
1124
1125
1126
1127
1128
1129
1130
1131
1132
1133
1134
1135
1136
1137
1138
1139
1140
1141
1142
1143
1144
1145
1146
1147
1148
1149
1150
1151
1152
1153
1154
1155
1156
1157
1158
1159
1160
1161
1162
1163
1164
1165
1166
1167
1168
1169
1170
1171
1172
1173
1174
1175
1176
1177
1178
1179
1180
1181
1182
1183
1184
1185
1186
1187
1188
1189
1190
1191
1192
1193
1194
1195
1196
1197
1198
1199
1200
1201
1202
1203
1204
1205
1206
1207
1208
1209
1210
1211
1212
1213
1214
1215
1216
1217
1218
1219
1220
1221
1222
1223
1224
1225
1226
1227
1228
1229
1230
1231
1232
1233
1234
1235
1236
1237
1238
1239
1240
1241
1242
1243
1244
1245
1246
1247
1248
1249
1250
1251
1252
1253
1254
1255
1256
1257
1258
1259
1260
1261
1262
1263
1264
1265
1266
1267
1268
1269
1270
1271
1272
1273
1274
1275
1276
1277
1278
1279
1280
1281
1282
1283
1284
1285
1286
1287
1288
1289
1290
1291
1292
1293
1294
1295
1296
1297
1298
1299
1300
1301
1302
1303
1304
1305
1306
1307
1308
1309
1310
1311
1312
1313
1314
1315
1316
1317
1318
1319
1320
1321
1322
1323
1324
1325
1326
1327
1328
1329
1330
1331
1332
1333
1334
1335
1336
1337
1338
1339
1340
1341
1342
1343
1344
1345
1346
1347
1348
1349
1350
1351
1352
1353
1354
1355
1356
1357
1358
1359
1360
1361
1362
1363
1364
1365
1366
1367
1368
1369
1370
1371
1372
1373
1374
1375
1376
1377
1378
1379
1380
1381
1382
1383
1384
1385
1386
1387
1388
1389
1390
1391
1392
1393
1394
1395
1396
1397
1398
1399
1400
1401
1402
1403
1404
1405
1406
1407
1408
1409
1410
1411
1412
1413
1414
1415
1416
1417
1418
1419
1420
1421
1422
1423
1424
1425
1426
1427
1428
1429
1430
1431
1432
1433
1434
1435
1436
1437
1438
1439
1440
1441
1442
1443
1444
1445
1446
1447
1448
1449
1450
1451
1452
1453
1454
1455
1456
1457
1458
1459
1460
1461
1462
1463
1464
1465
1466
1467
1468
1469
1470
1471
1472
1473
1474
1475
1476
1477
1478
1479
1480
1481
1482
1483
1484
1485
1486
1487
1488
1489
1490
1491
1492
1493
1494
1495
1496
1497
1498
1499
1500
1501
1502
1503
1504
1505
1506
1507
1508
1509
1510
1511
1512
1513
1514
1515
1516
1517
1518
1519
1520
1521
1522
1523
1524
1525
1526
1527
1528
1529
1530
1531
1532
1533
1534
1535
1536
1537
1538
1539
1540
1541
1542
1543
1544
1545
1546
1547
1548
1549
1550
1551
1552
1553
1554
1555
1556
1557
1558
1559
1560
1561
1562
1563
1564
1565
1566
1567
1568
1569
1570
1571
1572
1573
1574
1575
1576
1577
1578
1579
1580
1581
1582
1583
1584
1585
1586
1587
1588
1589
1590
1591
1592
1593
1594
1595
1596
1597
1598
1599
1600
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
1681
1682
1683
|
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) A. Begen
Request for Comments: 6284 D. Wing
Category: Standards Track Cisco
ISSN: 2070-1721 T. Van Caenegem
Alcatel-Lucent
June 2011
Port Mapping between Unicast and Multicast RTP Sessions
Abstract
This document presents a port mapping solution that allows RTP
receivers to choose their own ports for an auxiliary unicast session
in RTP applications using both unicast and multicast services. The
solution provides protection against denial-of-service or packet
amplification attacks that could be used to cause one or more RTP
packets to be sent to a victim client.
Status of This Memo
This is an Internet Standards Track document.
This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has
received public review and has been approved for publication by the
Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Further information on
Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.
Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6284.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2011 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
(http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
publication of this document. Please review these documents
carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must
include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
described in the Simplified BSD License.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 1]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Requirements Notation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. Token-Based Port Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.1. Motivating Scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2. Normative Behavior and Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4. Message Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.1. Port Mapping Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.2. Port Mapping Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.3. Token Verification Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.3.1. Where to Include Token . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.4. Token Verification Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5. Procedures for Token Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
6. Validating Tokens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
7. SDP Signaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.1. The 'portmapping-req' Attribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.1.1. ABNF Definition of 'portmapping-req' . . . . . . . . . 21
7.1.2. Offer/Answer Model Considerations . . . . . . . . . . 22
7.2. Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
7.3. Example and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
8. Address Pooling NATs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
9. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
9.1. Tokens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
9.2. The 'portmapping-req' Attribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
10. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
10.1. Registration of SDP Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
10.2. Registration of RTCP Control Packet Types . . . . . . . . 27
10.3. SMT Values for TOKEN Packet Type Registry . . . . . . . . 27
10.4. RAMS Response Code Space Registry . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
11. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
12. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
12.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
12.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 2]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
1. Introduction
In (any-source or source-specific) multicast RTP applications,
destination ports (i.e., the ports on which the multicast receivers
receive the RTP and RTP Control Protocol (RTCP) packets) are defined
declaratively. In other words, the receivers cannot choose their
receive ports, and the sender(s) use the predefined ports.
In unicast RTP applications, the receiving end needs to choose its
ports for RTP and RTCP since these ports are local resources and only
the receiving end can determine which ports are available to use. In
addition, Network Address Port Translation (NAPT, hereafter simply
called NAT) devices are commonly deployed in networks; thus, static
port assignments cannot be used. The receiving end may convey its
request to the sending end through different ways, one of which is
the Offer/Answer Model [RFC3264] for the Session Description Protocol
(SDP) [RFC4566]. However, the Offer/Answer Model requires offer/
answer exchange(s) between the endpoints, and the resulting delay may
not be desirable in delay-sensitive real-time applications.
Furthermore, the Offer/Answer Model may be burdensome for the
endpoints that are concurrently running a large number of unicast
sessions with other endpoints.
In this specification, we consider an RTP application that uses one
or more unicast and multicast RTP sessions together. While the
declaration and selection of the ports are well defined and work well
for multicast and unicast RTP applications, respectively, the usage
of the ports introduces complications when a receiving end mixes
unicast and multicast RTP sessions within the same RTP application.
An example scenario is where the RTP packets are distributed through
source-specific multicast (SSM) [RFC4607] and a receiver sends
unicast RTCP NACK feedback [RFC4585] to a local repair server (also
functioning as a unicast RTCP feedback target) [RFC5760] asking for a
retransmission of the packets it is missing, and the local repair
server sends the retransmission packets over a unicast RTP session
[RETRANSMISSION-FOR-SSM].
Another scenario is where a receiver wants to rapidly acquire a new
primary multicast RTP session and receives one or more RTP burst
packets over a unicast session before joining the SSM session; see
[RFC6285] regarding Rapid Acquisition of Multicast RTP Sessions
(RAMS). Similar scenarios exist in applications where some part of
the content is distributed through multicast while the receivers get
additional and/or auxiliary content through one or more unicast
connections, as illustrated in Figure 1.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 3]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
In this document, we discuss this problem and introduce a solution
that we refer to as port mapping. This solution allows receivers to
choose their desired UDP ports for RTP and RTCP in every unicast
session when they are running RTP applications using both unicast and
multicast services and offer/answer exchange is not available. The
solution includes a Token-based protection mechanism against denial-
of-service (DoS) or packet amplification attacks that could be used
to cause one or more RTP packets to be sent to a victim client. This
solution is not applicable in cases where TCP is used as the
transport protocol in the unicast sessions. For such scenarios,
refer to [RFC4145].
-----------
| Unicast |................
| Source |............. :
| (Server) | : :
----------- : :
v v
----------- ---------- -----------
| Multicast |------->| Router |---------->|Client RTP |
| Source | | |..........>|Application|
----------- ---------- -----------
| :
| : -----------
| :..............>|Client RTP |
+---------------->|Application|
-----------
-------> Multicast RTP Flow
.......> Unicast RTP Flow
Figure 1: RTP Applications Simultaneously Using Both Unicast and
Multicast Services
In the remainder of this document, we refer to the RTP endpoints that
serve other RTP endpoints over a unicast session as the Servers. The
receiving RTP endpoints are referred to as Clients. This terminology
also reflects the fact that when port mapping is used, the RTP
packets can only flow in one direction (from the server to the
client) in the unicast sessions.
2. Requirements Notation
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
"OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in
[RFC2119].
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 4]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
3. Token-Based Port Mapping
Token-based port mapping consists of the server providing the client
a Token that can be used to establish a unicast session without the
possibility of an attacker redirecting traffic to an unsuspecting
third party to create a DoS attack. The Token is essentially an
opaque encapsulation that is based on the client's IP address (as
seen by the server), a time-to-live value, and a random nonce
provided by the client.
Token-based port mapping consists of two steps: (i) Token request and
retrieval, and (ii) unicast session establishment.
When a Token request is received, the server creates a Token for this
particular client and sends it back to the client.
Once a Token is retrieved from a particular server, it can be used
for all the unicast sessions the client will be running with this
particular server until the Token expires. By default, Tokens are
server specific. However, the client can use the same Token to
communicate with different servers if these servers are provided with
the same secret key and algorithm used to generate the Token and are
at least loosely clock-synchronized.
The Token becomes invalid if the client's IP address (as seen by the
server) changes (note that the client cannot necessarily detect this
in a timely manner) or if the server expires the Token. In these
cases, the client has to request a new Token.
As the second step, when the client wants to establish a unicast
session, the client includes the Token with its RTCP feedback
message. The server validates the Token, making sure that the IP
address information matches. This is effective against DoS attacks,
e.g., an attacker cannot simply spoof another client's IP address and
start a unicast transmission towards random clients. If the
validation passes, the unicast session gets established. Otherwise,
the server notifies the client that the validation has failed, and in
this case, the unicast session will not be established.
Upon successful validation and once the unicast session is
established, all the RTP and RTCP rules specified in [RFC3550] and
other relevant specifications also apply in this session until it is
terminated. During the lifetime of a unicast session, a client might
need to send RTCP messages that require authorization. Since such
messages require a valid Token for authorization, the client needs to
include the Token along with such RTCP messages as explained in
detail in later sections of this document.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 5]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
Below, we first present a motivating scenario for port mapping and
then describe the normative behavior and requirements.
3.1. Motivating Scenario
Consider an SSM distribution network where a distribution source
multicasts RTP packets to a large number of clients, and one or more
retransmission servers function as feedback targets to collect
unicast RTCP feedback from these clients [RFC5760]. The
retransmission servers also join the multicast session to receive the
multicast packets and cache them for a certain time period. When a
client detects missing packets in the multicast session, it requests
a retransmission from one of the retransmission servers by using an
RTCP NACK message [RFC4585]. The retransmission server pulls the
requested packet(s) out of the cache and retransmits them to the
requesting client [RETRANSMISSION-FOR-SSM].
The RTP and RTCP flows pertaining to the scenario described above are
illustrated in Figure 2. Between the client and server, we assume
there exists at least one NAT device [RFC4787]. (If there are no NAT
devices between the server and client, the method still works in the
same fashion.) The multicast and unicast sessions are clearly
identified with their individual RTP and RTCP flows and port numbers.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 6]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
-------------- --- ----------
| |-------------------------------| |-->|P1 |
| |-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-| |.->|P2 |
| | | | | |
| Distribution | ---------------- | | | |
| Source | | | | | | |
| |---->|P1 | | | | |
| |.-.->|P2 | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
-------------- | P3|<.=.=.=.| |=.=|*c0 |
| P3|<~~~~~~~| |~~~|*c1 |
MULTICAST RTP | | | | | |
SESSION with | | | N | | |
UNICAST FEEDBACK | | | A | | |
| Retransmission | | T | | Client |
- - - - - - - - - - -| - - - - - - - -| - - - -| - |- -| - - - - -|-
| Server | | | | |
| | | | | |
PORT MAPPING | PT|<~~~~~~~| |~~>|*cT |
| | | | | |
- - - - - - - - - - -| - - - - - - - -| - - - -| - |- -| - - - - -|-
| | | | | |
AUXILIARY UNICAST | | | | | |
RTP SESSION | | | | | |
| P3|........| |..>|*c1 |
| P3|=.=.=.=.| |=.>|*c1 |
| P4|<.=.=.=.| |=.=|*c2 |
| | | | | |
---------------- --- ----------
-------> Multicast RTP Flow
.-.-.-.> Multicast RTCP Flow
.=.=.=.> Unicast RTCP Reports
~~~~~~~> Unicast RTCP (Feedback) Messages
.......> Unicast RTP Flow
Figure 2: Example Scenario Showing an SSM Distribution with Support
for Retransmissions from a Server
In Figure 2, we have the following multicast and unicast ports:
o Ports P1 and P2 denote the destination RTP and RTCP ports in the
multicast session, respectively. The clients listen to these
ports to receive the multicast RTP and RTCP packets. Ports P1 and
P2 are defined declaratively.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 7]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
o Port P3 denotes the RTCP port on the feedback target running on
the retransmission server to collect any RTCP packet sent by the
clients, including feedback messages and RTCP receiver and
extended reports. This is also the port that the retransmission
server uses to send the RTP packets and RTCP sender reports in the
unicast session. Port P3 is defined declaratively.
o Port P4 denotes the RTCP port on the retransmission server used to
collect the RTCP receiver and extended reports for the unicast
session. Port P4 is defined declaratively.
o Ports *c0, *c1, and *c2 are chosen by the client. (Note: "*"
indicates that the port can be chosen randomly; once chosen, the
"*" is no longer used.) *c0 denotes the port on the client used to
send the RTCP reports for the multicast session. *c1 denotes the
port on the client used to send the unicast RTCP feedback messages
in the multicast session and to receive the RTP packets and RTCP
sender reports in the unicast session. *c2 denotes the port on the
client used to send the RTCP receiver and extended reports in the
unicast session. Ports c0, c1, and c2 could be the same port or
different ports. There are two advantages of using the same port
for both c0 and c1:
1. Some NATs only keep bindings active when a packet goes from
the inside to the outside of the NAT (see REQ-6 of Section 4.3
of [RFC4787]). When the gap between the packets sent from the
client to the server is long, this can exceed the timeout
limit. If c0=c1, the occasional (periodic) RTCP receiver
reports sent from port c0 (for the multicast session's RTCP
port P3) will ensure the NAT does not time out the public port
associated with the incoming unicast traffic to port c1.
2. Having c0=c1 conserves NAT port bindings.
o Ports PT and *cT denote the ports through which the Token request
and retrieval occur at the server and client sides, respectively.
Port PT is declared on a per-unicast-session basis, although the
same port could be used for two or more unicast sessions sourced
by the server. A Token once requested and retrieved by a client
from port PT remains valid until its expiration time.
We assume that the information declaratively defined is available as
part of the session description information and is provided to the
clients. The Session Description Protocol (SDP) [RFC4566] and other
session description methods can be used for this purpose.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 8]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
3.2. Normative Behavior and Requirements
In this section, we describe the normative behavior and requirements.
To simplify the presentation, we refer to the port numbers described
in the example presented in Figure 2. However, the behavior and
requirements described here are not specific to that particular
example and can be applied to any scenario where analogous ports can
be identified.
First of all, a client compliant with this specification MUST be able
to include a Token with any type of RTCP message (as described below)
when it is needed.
Second, the solution provided in this specification is not applicable
in cases where there is RTP traffic flowing from the client to the
server in the unicast session. In other words, the direction of RTP
traffic MUST be only from the server to the client in the unicast
session. If the client wants to send RTP traffic back to the server,
the regular session establishment methods such as [RFC3264] need to
be used.
The following steps summarize the Token-based solution:
1. The client ascertains server address and port numbers (P3, P4 and
PT) from the session description. Port P4 MUST be different from
port P3. Port PT MAY be equal to port P3.
2. The client selects its local port numbers (*c0, *c1, *c2 and
*cT). It is strongly RECOMMENDED that the client uses the same
port for c0 and c1. Port cT MAY be equal to ports c0 and c1.
3. If the client does not have a Token (or the existing Token has
expired):
A. The client first sends a Port Mapping Request message
(Section 4.1) to port PT. This message is sent from port cT
on the client side. The server learns the client's IP
address from the received message. The client can send this
message anytime it wants (e.g., during initialization) and
does not normally ever need to resend this message (see
Section 6).
B. The server generates an opaque encapsulation (i.e., the
Token) based on certain information, including the client's
IP address.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 9]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
C. The server sends the Token back to the client using a Port
Mapping Response message (Section 4.2). This message MUST be
sent from port PT towards port cT.
4. The client needs to provide the Token to the server using a Token
Verification Request message (Section 4.3) whenever the client
sends an RTCP feedback message for triggering or controlling a
unicast session (see Section 4.3.1). If the Token is invalid or
missing, the server sends a Token Verification Failure message
(Section 4.4) to the client.
Note that the unicast session is only established after the
server has received a feedback message (along with a valid Token)
from the client for which it needs to react by sending unicast
data. Until a unicast session is established, neither the server
nor the client needs to send RTCP reports for the unicast
session.
5. Normal flows ensue as shown in Figure 2. It is strongly
RECOMMENDED that the client uses the same port for both c0 and
c1, as this causes the periodic RTCP reports to keep the NAT
mapping alive. However, if the client uses different ports for
c0 and c1, the client MUST keep its own NAT mapping alive for the
P3->c1 session (see [RFC6263] for additional information).
In the unicast session, traffic from the server to the client
(i.e., both the RTP and RTCP packets sent from port P3 towards
port c1) MUST be multiplexed on the same port [RFC5761].
The client sends the RTCP receiver and extended reports in the
unicast session from port c2 towards port P4. The server
correlates these reports with the reports received in the
multicast session based on the client's RTCP Canonical Name
(CNAME). Thus, the client MUST use the same RTCP CNAME in both
sessions, and its RTCP CNAME MUST be unique [RFC6222].
A unicast session on a particular receive port c1 can last as long as
the associated multicast session lasts. However, a client cannot
keep using the same receive port c1 for different subsequent unicast
sessions since there could be packet leakage when switching from one
unicast session to another unless each received unicast stream has
its own distinct Synchronization Source (SSRC) identifier to allow
the client to filter out the undesired packets. Unless this is
guaranteed (which is not often easy), a client SHOULD use separate
receive ports for subsequent unicast sessions. After a sufficient
time (two minutes is RECOMMENDED, similar to one TCP Maximum Segment
Lifetime specified in [RFC0793]), a previously used receive port can
be used again.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 10]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
The established unicast session can be explicitly terminated by the
procedures specified by an application or extension using the port
mapping approach described in this document. In addition, the
unicast session can also be terminated by the procedure defined
below, which is based on timing all participants out following the
timeout rules of [RFC3550]. Both the server and client periodically
check the liveness of the other peer, and if there is no RTCP traffic
from the other peer for a certain amount of time (Section 6.3.5 of
[RFC3550] suggests five RTCP reporting intervals), the unicast
session SHOULD be considered terminated, and no further RTP and/or
RTCP packets SHOULD be sent in that session. The client can attempt
to establish a new unicast session if needed. If no explicit
procedure for session termination exists, the client MAY stop sending
RTCP to the server to accomplish session termination. However, the
server SHALL NOT stop sending RTCP until the unicast session is
terminated. If Token-based authentication is also signaled to be
allowed in the unicast session, i.e., in the RTCP messages sent from
port c2 towards port P4, the client SHOULD terminate the unicast
session by sending an RTCP BYE message for each SSRC it has used in
that unicast session.
4. Message Formats
This section defines the formats of the RTCP messages that are
exchanged between a server and a client for the purpose of port
mapping. A new RTCP control packet type is introduced, and four port
mapping messages using this control packet are defined:
1. Port Mapping Request
2. Port Mapping Response
3. Token Verification Request
4. Token Verification Failure
Each message has a fixed-length field for version (V), padding (P),
sub-message type (SMT), packet type (PT), length, and SSRC of packet
sender. Messages have other fields as defined below. In all
messages defined in this section, the PT field is set to TOKEN (210).
Individual messages are identified by the SMT field. The length
field indicates the message size in 32-bit words minus one, including
the header and any padding. This definition is in line with the
definition of the Length field used in RTCP sender and receiver
reports. In all messages, any Reserved field SHALL be set to zero
and ignored.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 11]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
Following the rules specified in [RFC3550], all integer fields in the
messages defined below are carried in network-byte order, that is,
most significant byte (octet) first, also known as big-endian.
Unless otherwise stated, numeric constants are in decimal (base 10).
Note that RTCP is not a timely or reliable protocol. The RTCP
packets might get lost or reordered in the network, and it is not
easy to detect these events. When sending a new Port Mapping Request
message, the scheduling rules that apply to sending initial RTCP
messages [RFC4585] apply. When a client sends a Port Mapping Request
or Token Verification Request message but it does not receive a
response back from the server (either a Port Mapping Response or
Token Verification Failure message), it MAY resend its request by
following the timer rules defined for RTCP feedback messages in
Section 3.5 of [RFC4585] as a good practice. However,
implementations are advised to avoid sending spurious RTCP messages
just because the timer rules (based on some RTCP configuration
parameters) allow. Reasonably safe practices are to be used to
detect RTCP message loss. When sending an RTCP (feedback) message
bundled with a Token Verification Request message, the timer rules of
[RFC4585] apply as usual.
4.1. Port Mapping Request
The Port Mapping Request message is identified by SMT=1. This
message is transmitted by the client to a dedicated server port (and
possibly a dedicated address) to request a Token. In the Port
Mapping Request message, the packet sender's SSRC is set to the
client's SSRC, which is chosen randomly by the client. The packet
format has the structure depicted in Figure 3.
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|V=2|P| SMT=1 | PT=TOKEN | Length=3 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| SSRC of Packet Sender |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Random |
| Nonce |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 3: Packet Format for the Port Mapping Request Message
o Random Nonce (64 bits): Field that contains a random value
generated by the client following the procedures of [RFC4086].
This nonce is taken into account by the server when generating a
Token for the client to enable better security for clients that
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 12]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
share the same IP address (such clients need to produce a random
value extremely unlikely to collide with other clients sharing the
same IP address). If the same Port Mapping Request message is
transmitted multiple times for redundancy reasons, the random
nonce value MUST remain the same in these duplicated messages.
However, the client MUST generate a new random nonce for every new
Port Mapping Request message.
4.2. Port Mapping Response
The Port Mapping Response message is identified by SMT=2. This
message is sent by the server and delivers the Token to the client as
a response to the Port Mapping Request message. In the Port Mapping
Response message, the packet sender's SSRC is set to the server's
SSRC. The packet format has the structure depicted in Figure 4.
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|V=2|P| SMT=2 | PT=TOKEN | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| SSRC of Packet Sender |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| SSRC of Requesting Client |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Associated |
| Nonce |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
: Token Element :
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Absolute |
| Expiration Time |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Relative Expiration Time |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
: Packet Types Element :
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 4: Packet Format for the Port Mapping Response Message
o SSRC of Requesting Client (32 bits): Field that contains the SSRC
of the client who sent the request.
o Associated Nonce (64 bits): Field that contains the nonce received
in the Port Mapping Request message and used in Token
construction.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 13]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
o Token Element (variable size): Element that is used to carry the
Token generated by the server. This element is a 32-bit aligned
Length-Value element. The Length field, which is 16 bits,
indicates the length (in octets) of the Value field that follows
the Length field. While a 16-bit length allows for Tokens with a
size of up to 65535 bytes, using Tokens of sizes that make the
RTCP compound packet larger than the MTU might have a negative
impact on functionality because of IP fragmentation. Some NATs or
other middleboxes do not pass IP fragments; thus, a large Token
can cause the whole mechanism to fail. In addition, fragmentation
increases the risk for packet loss.
The length does not include any padding that is required for
alignment. The Value field carries the Token (or more accurately,
the output of the encoding process on the server). If the Token
element does not fall on a 32-bit boundary, the last word MUST be
padded to the boundary using further bits set to zero.
o Absolute Expiration Time (64 bits): Field that contains the
absolute expiration time of the Token. The absolute expiration
time is expressed as a Network Time Protocol (NTP) timestamp value
in seconds since the year 1900 [RFC5905]. The client does not
need to use this element directly and thus does not need to
synchronize its clock with the server. However, the client needs
to send this element back to the server along with the associated
nonce in the Token Verification Request message and thus needs to
keep it associated with the Token.
o Relative Expiration Time (32 bits): Field that contains the
relative expiration time of the Token. The relative expiration
time is expressed in seconds from the time the Token was
generated. Whenever a server decides to not grant a Token to a
requesting client, the relative expiration time will be set to
zero (and hence, the accompanying Token will be invalid).
The server conveys the relative expiration time in the clear to
the client to allow the client to request a new Token well before
the expiration time.
o Packet Types Element (variable size): Element that is used to
signal which RTCP packet types require Token-based authentication.
This element is a 32-bit aligned Length-Value element. The Length
field, which is 8 bits, indicates the length (in octets) of the
Value field that follows the Length field. This length does not
include any padding that is required for alignment. The Value
field carries zero or more 8-bit sub-fields, each carrying an RTCP
packet type. If the Packet Types element does not fall on a
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 14]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
32-bit boundary, the last word MUST be padded to the boundary
using further bits set to zero. An example Packet Types element
is shown in Figure 5.
A server MAY change its policy on which RTCP packet types would
require Token-based authentication based on observations,
configuration, or other policies. However, upon such a change,
the server SHALL NOT send a new Port Mapping Response message to
the clients who requested a Token earlier. A client learns about
this change when and if it gets a Token Verification Failure
message.
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length=4 | 205 | 206 | 203 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 204 | Padding |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 5: Example Packet Types Element
4.3. Token Verification Request
The Token Verification Request message is identified by SMT=3. This
message contains the Token and accompanies any RTCP message that
would trigger a new unicast session or control an existing unicast
session. For a list of such messages, see Section 4.3.1.
In the Token Verification Request message, the packet sender's SSRC
is set to the client's SSRC. The client MUST NOT send a Token
Verification Request message with a Token that has expired. The
packet format has the structure depicted in Figure 6.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 15]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|V=2|P| SMT=3 | PT=TOKEN | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| SSRC of Packet Sender |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Associated |
| Nonce |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
: Token Element :
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Associated Absolute |
| Expiration Time |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 6: Packet Format for the Token Verification Request Message
o Associated Nonce (64 bits): Field that contains the nonce
associated with the Token below.
o Token Element (variable size): Token element that was previously
received in the Port Mapping Response message.
o Associated Absolute Expiration Time (64 bits): Field that contains
the absolute expiration time associated with the Token above.
4.3.1. Where to Include Token
This section provides guidelines about which RTCP packet types would
need to be accompanied by a Token Verification Request message.
However, since a server might determine in real time that other RTCP
messages also need to be authenticated by a Token, a client MUST act
according to the up-to-date list provided to the client in the Port
Mapping Response message (in the Packet Types element). Clients need
to support the use of Token-based authentication with any necessary
RTCP message (see Section 3.2).
As a general rule, when the Token capability is declared in the
session description, the RTCP messages that trigger transmission of
RTP packets in a port mapped unicast session are REQUIRED to be
authenticated by using a Token. Such messages include but are not
limited to:
o NACK messages [RFC4585]
o RAMS Request (RAMS-R) messages [RFC6285]
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 16]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
Additionally, some RTCP messages might directly or indirectly control
an existing unicast session associated with a multicast session.
Unless another authentication method as described in their respective
specifications is used, implementations MUST support authenticating
such RTCP messages by using a Token.
Examples are:
o BYE messages [RFC3550]
o RAMS Termination (RAMS-T) messages [RFC6285]
o Codec Control Messages (CCMs) [RFC5104]
Note that even if a packet type is listed to require Token-based
authentication, it does not need to be authenticated when it does not
control the unicast session. For example, if BYE (203) is listed in
the Port Mapping Response message as one of the packet types that
requires authentication, the client does not need to bundle the RTCP
BYE message with a Token when it is sending it for the multicast
session.
The Token Verification Request message might also be bundled with
packets carrying RTCP receiver and/or extended reports. While such
packets do not have a strong security impact, a specific application
might desire to have a more controlled reporting scheme from the
clients. In this case, the server lists the packet types for the
receiver (201) and/or extended reports (207) in the Port Mapping
Response message.
4.4. Token Verification Failure
The Token Verification Failure message is identified by SMT=4. This
message is sent by the server and notifies the client that the Token
was invalid or that the client did not include a Token Verification
Request message in the RTCP packet although it was supposed to (the
message is sent from port P3 towards port c1). The packet format has
the structure depicted in Figure 7.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 17]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|V=2|P| SMT=4 | PT=TOKEN | Length=5 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| SSRC of Packet Sender |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| SSRC of Requesting Client |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Failed PT | FMT | Reserved |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Associated |
| Nonce |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 7: Packet Format for the Token Verification Failure Message
o SSRC of Packet Sender: This is the server's SSRC, which equals the
SSRC of the respective multicast stream. Note that this SSRC
value is from a different SSRC space than the one used in the
unicast session.
o SSRC of Requesting Client (32 bits): Field that contains the SSRC
of the client.
o Failed PT (8 bits): Field that indicates the type of the RTCP
packet that caused this failure message.
o FMT (5 bits): Field that indicates the feedback message type (FMT)
value of the RTCP packet that caused this failure. Together with
the field above, the client can infer which RTCP message it had
previously sent caused this failure message to be sent by the
server. For example, if the client did not include a valid Token
with an RTCP NACK message, the Failed PT field will indicate 205
(RTPFB) and the FMT field will indicate 1 (Generic NACK). If the
RTCP message did not have an associated FMT value (such as an RTCP
BYE message), the FMT field SHALL be set to zero.
o Associated Nonce (64 bits): Field that contains the nonce received
in the Token Verification Request message. If there was no Token
Verification Request message included by the client, this field is
set to zero.
5. Procedures for Token Construction
The Token encoding is known to the server but opaque to the client.
Implementations MUST encode the following information into the Token
as a minimum, in order to provide adequate security:
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 18]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
o Client's IP address as seen by the server (32/128 bits for IPv4/
IPv6 addresses)
o The nonce generated and inserted in the Port Mapping Request
message by the client (64 bits)
o The absolute expiration time chosen by the server indicated as an
NTP timestamp value in seconds since the year 1900 [RFC5905] (64
bits, to protect against replay attacks)
The RECOMMENDED way for constructing Tokens is to perform HMAC-SHA1
[RFC2104] on the concatenated values of the information listed above
(implementations might adopt different approaches). If HMAC-SHA1 is
used, the Hashed Message Authentication Code (HMAC) key MUST be at
least 160 bits long and generated using a cryptographically secure
random source [RFC4086].
In addition to the information listed above, implementations are
encouraged to encode whatever additional information is deemed
necessary or useful. For example, key rollover is simplified by
encoding a key-id into the Token. As another example, a cluster of
anycast servers could find advantage by encoding a server identifier
into the Token. As another example, while HMAC-SHA1 provides a level
of security that is widely regarded as being more than sufficient for
providing message authentication and it is secure against all known
cryptanalytic attacks that use computational resources that are
currently economically feasible, a replacement HMAC algorithm (e.g.,
HMAC-SHA256) could be used instead if HMAC-SHA1 has been compromised.
To protect from offline attacks, the server SHOULD occasionally
choose a new HMAC key. To ease implementation, a key-id can be
assigned to each HMAC key. This can be encoded as simply as one bit
(where the new key is X (e.g., 1) and the old key is the inverted
value of X (e.g., 0)), or if several keys are supported at once, the
key-id could be encoded into several bits. As the encoding of the
Token is entirely private to the server and opaque to the clients,
any encoding can be used. By encoding the key-id into the Token
element, the server can reject an old key without bothering to do
HMAC validation (saving CPU cycles). The key-id can be encoded into
the Value field of the Token element by simply concatenating the
(plaintext) key-id with the hashed information (i.e., the Token
itself).
For example, the Value field in the Token element can be computed as:
key-id || mac-alg (client-ip | nonce | abs-expiration)
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 19]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
During Token construction, the expiration time has to be chosen
carefully based on the intended service duration. Tokens that are
valid for an unnecessarily long period of time (e.g., several hours)
might impose security risks. Depending on the application and use
cases, a reasonable value needs to be chosen by the server. Note
that using shorter lifetimes requires the clients to acquire Tokens
more frequently. However, since a client can acquire a new Token
well before it will need to use it, the client will not necessarily
be penalized for the acquisition delay.
Finally, be aware that NTP timestamps will wrap around in the year
2036. Refer to Section 6 of [RFC5905] for further details.
6. Validating Tokens
The server MUST validate the Token upon receipt of an RTCP feedback
message along with the Token Verification Request message that
contains a Token, nonce, and absolute expiration time.
The server first applies its own procedure for constructing the
Tokens by using the client's IP address from the received Token
Verification Request message and the nonce and absolute expiration
time values reported in the received Token Verification Request
message. The server then compares the resulting output with the
Token sent by the client in the Token Verification Request message.
If they match and the absolute expiration time has not passed yet,
the server declares that the Token is valid.
Note that if the client's IP address changes, the Token will not
validate. Similarly, if the client inserts an incorrect nonce or
absolute expiration time value in the Token Verification Request
message, validation will fail. It is also possible that the server
wants to expire the Token prematurely. In these cases, the server
MUST reply back to the client with a Token Verification Failure
message (that goes from port P3 on the server towards port c1 on the
client).
In addition to the Token Verification Failure message, it is
RECOMMENDED that applications define an application-specific error
response to be sent by the server when the server detects that the
Token is invalid. For applications using [RFC6285], this document
defines a new 4xx-level response code in the RAMS Response Code Space
Registry. A client that receives a Token Verification Failure
message can request a new Token from the server.
If a client receives a Port Mapping Response message with an invalid
Token (i.e., the relative expiration time is set to zero) two or more
times for a particular Port Mapping Request message or the client
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 20]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
receives a Token Verification Failure message two or more times for
the same Token Verification Request message, the client SHOULD do the
following:
1. Check whether or not the session description has been updated.
If it was updated, act according to the new session description.
2. Exponentially back off for the third and subsequent attempts.
Exponential back-off does not apply when the client sends a Port
Mapping Request or Token Verification Request message to a new
address and/or port.
7. SDP Signaling
7.1. The 'portmapping-req' Attribute
This attribute is used declaratively in any media block that
describes an RTP session that uses Token-based authentication for one
or more RTCP messages relating to that session. It indicates the
port and optionally the address for obtaining a Token.
The presence of the 'portmapping-req' attribute indicates that (i) a
Token MUST be included in certain RTCP messages sent to the server
triggering or controlling a unicast session (see Section 4.3.1) and
(ii) the client MUST receive the unicast session's RTP and RTCP
packets from the server on the port from which it sent the RTCP
message triggering the unicast session.
Note: This does not imply that Token Verification Request messages
always need to be sent in the unicast session. Token Verification
Request messages accompany RTCP messages that trigger or control
this unicast session and are sent either in the multicast session
or the unicast session, depending on the RTCP message (see
Section 4.3.1).
7.1.1. ABNF Definition of 'portmapping-req'
The formal description of the 'portmapping-req' attribute is defined
by the following ABNF [RFC5234] syntax:
portmapping-req-attr = "a=portmapping-req:" port [SP nettype SP
addrtype SP connection-address] CRLF
Here, 'port', 'nettype', 'addrtype', and 'connection-address' are
defined as specified in Section 9 of [RFC4566].
The 'portmapping-req' attribute SHALL only be used as a media-level
attribute.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 21]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
In the optional address value, only unicast addresses SHOULD be used
unless one wants to use a multicast address after evaluating the
additional security risks such as non-legit servers generating fake
Tokens. If the address is not specified, the (source) address in the
"c" line applicable to the media description SHALL be used.
7.1.2. Offer/Answer Model Considerations
When using the 'portmapping-req' attribute in SDP offer/answer
exchanges [RFC3264], the following considerations apply. When an
offerer sends an answerer an offer of an SDP description making use
of the Token approach described in this specification, the
'portmapping-req' attribute is included declaratively. There will
not be offer/answer exchanges between the answerer and the actual
server providing the unicast service(s).
When the answerer supports the Token approach, it MUST echo in its
answer back to the offerer the 'portmapping-req' attribute from the
offer including the same port number and address (if any). If the
answerer does not implement this specification, it follows normal SDP
parsing of unknown attributes (they are ignored and are not sent in
the answer). This means that the answerer can still join the
multicast session but will not be able to use the unicast service(s)
that require the use of Tokens.
7.2. Requirements
The use of SDP for the port mapping solution normatively requires
support for:
o The SDP grouping framework and flow identification (FID) semantics
[RFC5888]
o The RTP/Audio-Visual Profile with Feedback (AVPF) profile
[RFC4585]
o The 'rtcp-mux' attribute (to multiplex RTP and RTCP on a single
port on both endpoints in the unicast session [RFC5761])
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 22]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
7.3. Example and Discussion
The declarative SDP describing the scenario given in Figure 2 is
written as:
v=0
o=ali 1122334455 1122334466 IN IP4 nack.example.com
s=Local Retransmissions
t=0 0
a=group:FID 1 2
a=rtcp-unicast:rsi
m=video 41000 RTP/AVPF 98
i=Multicast Stream
c=IN IP4 233.252.0.2/255
a=source-filter:incl IN IP4 233.252.0.2 198.51.100.1 ; Note 1
a=rtpmap:98 MP2T/90000
a=multicast-rtcp:41500 ; Note 1
a=rtcp:42000 IN IP4 192.0.2.1 ; Note 2
a=rtcp-fb:98 nack ; Note 2
a=portmapping-req:30000 IN IP4 192.0.2.1 ; Note 3
a=mid:1
m=video 42000 RTP/AVPF 99 ; Note 4
i=Unicast Retransmission Stream
c=IN IP4 192.0.2.1
a=sendonly
a=rtpmap:99 rtx/90000
a=rtcp-mux ; Note 5
a=rtcp:42500 ; Note 6
a=fmtp:99 apt=98; rtx-time=5000
a=portmapping-req:30001 ; Note 3
a=mid:2
Figure 8: SDP Describing an SSM Distribution with Support for
Retransmissions from a Local Server
In this description, we highlight the following notes:
Note 1: The source stream is multicast from a distribution source
with a source IP address of 198.51.100.1 to the multicast destination
address of 233.252.0.2 and port 41000 (P1). The associated RTCP
packets are multicast in the same group to port 41500 (P2).
Note 2: A retransmission server including feedback target
functionality with an IP address of 192.0.2.1 and port of 42000 (P3)
is specified with the 'rtcp' attribute. The feedback functionality
is enabled for the RTP stream with payload type 98 through the
'rtcp-fb' attribute [RFC4585].
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 23]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
Note 3: The "a=portmapping-req" line indicates that one or more RTCP
messages relating to the RTP session described in this media block
uses Token-based authentication, and a Token needs to be retrieved
first from the designated port (PT) before the unicast session can be
established. In the first appearance, an explicit address is
provided. In the second appearance, there is no address indicated in
this line and the client needs to send the Token request to the
address specified in the "c" line in the unicast media block.
Note 4: The port specified in the second "m" line (for the unicast
stream) does not mean anything in this scenario as the client does
not send any RTP traffic back to the server.
Note 5: The server multiplexes RTP and RTCP packets sent towards c1
on the same port.
Note 6: The server uses port 42500 (P4) for the unicast session.
8. Address Pooling NATs
Large-scale NAT devices have a pool of public IPv4 addresses and map
internal hosts to one of those public IPv4 addresses. As long as an
internal host maintains an active mapping in the NAT, the same IPv4
address is assigned to new connections. However, once all of the
host's mappings have been deleted (e.g., because of timeout), it is
possible that a new connection from that same host will be assigned a
different IPv4 address from the pool. When that occurs, the Token
will be considered invalid by the server, causing an additional round
trip for the client to acquire a fresh Token.
Any traffic from the host that traverses the NAT will prevent this
problem. As the host is sending RTCP receiver reports at least every
5 seconds (Section 6.2 of [RFC3550]) for the multicast session it is
receiving, those RTCP messages will be sufficient to prevent this
problem.
9. Security Considerations
9.1. Tokens
The Token, which is generated based on a client's IP address and
expiration date, provides protection against off-path denial-of-
service (DoS) attacks. An attacker using a certain IP address cannot
cause one or more RTP packets to be sent to a victim client who has a
different IP address. However, if the attacker acquires a valid
Token for a victim and can spoof the victim's source address, this
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 24]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
approach becomes vulnerable to replay attacks. This is especially
easy if the attacker and victim are behind a large-scale NAT and
share the same IP address.
Multicast is deployed on managed networks, not the Internet. These
managed networks will choose whether or not to enable network ingress
filtering [RFC2827]. If ingress filtering is enabled on a network,
an attacker cannot spoof a victim's IP address to use a Token to
initiate an attack against a victim. However, if ingress filtering
is not enabled on a network, an attacker could obtain a Token and
spoof the victim's address, causing traffic to flood the victim. On
such a network, the server can reduce the time period for such an
attack by expiring a Token in a short period of time. In the extreme
case, the server can expire the Token in such a short period of time
that the client will have to acquire a new Token immediately before
using it in a Token Verification Request message. One should,
however, note that such a behavior might have an adverse effect on
the delay in establishing or controlling a unicast session.
RTCP messages could be subject to on-path or man-in-the-middle
attacks. For example, an attacker can modify a value in one or more
fields in the Port Mapping Response or the Token Verification Request
message that are used in Token construction. This will result in
Token validation failure. Consequently, the client ends up asking
the server to generate a new Token. The resulting delay and extra
processing on the server is undesirable.
Alternatively, the attacker can modify a value in a field that is not
used in Token construction. For example, the attacker can reduce the
value in the Relative Expiration Time field in the Port Mapping
Response message from two hours to two minutes. While the Token will
still validate, this attack will result in more frequent requests to
the server for a new Token. Oppositely, the attacker can increase
the value in the Relative Expiration Time field and make the client
think the Token will be valid for a longer time. This attack can be
only detected by monitoring the activity on the server. Note that
using the relative expiration time in Token construction does not
necessarily make this attack easier to detect since the attacker
might revert the modified value back to its original value in the
Token Verification Request message. This allows the Token to still
validate on the server. In this case, the attack is still only
detectable by monitoring the server activity.
If there is a risk or concern for on-path or man-in-the-middle
attacks, RTCP messages SHOULD be protected by Secure RTCP (SRTCP)
[RFC3711].
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 25]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
To minimize the risk of cross-protocol attacks, a server MUST NOT use
the same secret key it used for Token construction for other
purposes.
9.2. The 'portmapping-req' Attribute
The 'portmapping-req' attribute is not believed to introduce any
significant security risk to multimedia applications. A malevolent
third party could use this attribute to redirect the Port Mapping
Request messages by altering the port number or cause the unicast
session establishment to fail by removing it from the SDP
description. However, this requires intercepting and rewriting the
packets carrying the SDP description, and if an interceptor can do
that, many more attacks are possible, including a wholesale change of
the addresses and port numbers at which the media will be sent.
In order to avoid attacks of this sort, the SDP description needs to
be integrity protected and provided with source authentication. This
can, for example, be achieved on an end-to-end basis using Secure/
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) [RFC5652] [RFC5751]
when SDP is used in a signaling packet using MIME types (application/
sdp). Alternatively, HTTPS [RFC2818] or the authentication method in
the Session Announcement Protocol (SAP) [RFC2974] could be used as
well.
10. IANA Considerations
The following contact information is used for all registrations in
this document:
Ali Begen
abegen@cisco.com
10.1. Registration of SDP Attributes
This document registers one new attribute name in SDP.
SDP Attribute ("att-field"):
Attribute name: portmapping-req
Long form: Port and address for requesting Token
Type of name: att-field
Type of attribute: Media level
Subject to charset: No
Purpose: See this document
Reference: [RFC6284]
Values: See this document
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 26]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
10.2. Registration of RTCP Control Packet Types
In accordance with Section 15 of [RFC3550], this specification adds
the following value to the RTCP Control Packet types sub-registry in
the Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) Parameters registry:
Value Abbrev. Name Reference
-------- --------- ------------------------------------- ---------
210 TOKEN Port Mapping [RFC6284]
10.3. SMT Values for TOKEN Packet Type Registry
This document creates a new sub-registry for the sub-message type
(SMT) values to be used with the TOKEN packet type. The registry is
called the SMT Values for TOKEN Packet Type Registry. This registry
is managed by the IANA according to the IETF Review policy of
[RFC5226].
The length of the SMT field is five bits, allowing 32 values. The
registry is initialized with the following entries:
Value Name Reference
----- -------------------------------------------------- ------------
0 Reserved [RFC6284]
1 Port Mapping Request [RFC6284]
2 Port Mapping Response [RFC6284]
3 Token Verification Request [RFC6284]
4 Token Verification Failure [RFC6284]
5-30 Unassigned IETF Review
31 Reserved [RFC6284]
The SMT values 0 and 31 are reserved for future use.
10.4. RAMS Response Code Space Registry
This document adds the following entry to the RAMS Response Code
Space Registry.
Code Description Reference
----- -------------------------------------------------- ------------
405 Invalid Token [RFC6284]
This response code is used when the Token included by the RTP_Rx in
the RAMS-R message is invalid.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 27]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
11. Acknowledgments
The approach presented in this document came out after discussions
with various individuals in the AVT and MMUSIC WGs and the breakout
session held at the Anaheim meeting. We thank each of these
individuals, particularly Magnus Westerlund and Colin Perkins.
12. References
12.1. Normative References
[RFC2104] Krawczyk, H., Bellare, M., and R. Canetti, "HMAC: Keyed-
Hashing for Message Authentication", RFC 2104,
February 1997.
[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
[RFC3550] Schulzrinne, H., Casner, S., Frederick, R., and V.
Jacobson, "RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time
Applications", STD 64, RFC 3550, July 2003.
[RFC3711] Baugher, M., McGrew, D., Naslund, M., Carrara, E., and K.
Norrman, "The Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP)",
RFC 3711, March 2004.
[RFC4086] Eastlake, D., Schiller, J., and S. Crocker, "Randomness
Requirements for Security", BCP 106, RFC 4086, June 2005.
[RFC4566] Handley, M., Jacobson, V., and C. Perkins, "SDP: Session
Description Protocol", RFC 4566, July 2006.
[RFC4585] Ott, J., Wenger, S., Sato, N., Burmeister, C., and J. Rey,
"Extended RTP Profile for Real-time Transport Control
Protocol (RTCP)-Based Feedback (RTP/AVPF)", RFC 4585,
July 2006.
[RFC5234] Crocker, D. and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for Syntax
Specifications: ABNF", STD 68, RFC 5234, January 2008.
[RFC5760] Ott, J., Chesterfield, J., and E. Schooler, "RTP Control
Protocol (RTCP) Extensions for Single-Source Multicast
Sessions with Unicast Feedback", RFC 5760, February 2010.
[RFC5761] Perkins, C. and M. Westerlund, "Multiplexing RTP Data and
Control Packets on a Single Port", RFC 5761, April 2010.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 28]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
[RFC5888] Camarillo, G. and H. Schulzrinne, "The Session Description
Protocol (SDP) Grouping Framework", RFC 5888, June 2010.
[RFC5905] Mills, D., Martin, J., Burbank, J., and W. Kasch, "Network
Time Protocol Version 4: Protocol and Algorithms
Specification", RFC 5905, June 2010.
[RFC6222] Begen, A., Perkins, C., and D. Wing, "Guidelines for
Choosing RTP Control Protocol (RTCP) Canonical Names
(CNAMEs)", RFC 6222, April 2011.
12.2. Informative References
[RETRANSMISSION-FOR-SSM]
Van Caenegem, T., Ver Steeg, B., and A. Begen,
"Retransmission for Source-Specific Multicast (SSM)
Sessions", Work in Progress, May 2011.
[RFC0793] Postel, J., "Transmission Control Protocol", STD 7,
RFC 793, September 1981.
[RFC2818] Rescorla, E., "HTTP Over TLS", RFC 2818, May 2000.
[RFC2827] Ferguson, P. and D. Senie, "Network Ingress Filtering:
Defeating Denial of Service Attacks which employ IP Source
Address Spoofing", BCP 38, RFC 2827, May 2000.
[RFC2974] Handley, M., Perkins, C., and E. Whelan, "Session
Announcement Protocol", RFC 2974, October 2000.
[RFC3264] Rosenberg, J. and H. Schulzrinne, "An Offer/Answer Model
with Session Description Protocol (SDP)", RFC 3264,
June 2002.
[RFC4145] Yon, D. and G. Camarillo, "TCP-Based Media Transport in
the Session Description Protocol (SDP)", RFC 4145,
September 2005.
[RFC4607] Holbrook, H. and B. Cain, "Source-Specific Multicast for
IP", RFC 4607, August 2006.
[RFC4787] Audet, F. and C. Jennings, "Network Address Translation
(NAT) Behavioral Requirements for Unicast UDP", BCP 127,
RFC 4787, January 2007.
[RFC5104] Wenger, S., Chandra, U., Westerlund, M., and B. Burman,
"Codec Control Messages in the RTP Audio-Visual Profile
with Feedback (AVPF)", RFC 5104, February 2008.
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 29]
^L
RFC 6284 Port Mapping June 2011
[RFC5226] Narten, T. and H. Alvestrand, "Guidelines for Writing an
IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26, RFC 5226,
May 2008.
[RFC5652] Housley, R., "Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS)", STD 70,
RFC 5652, September 2009.
[RFC5751] Ramsdell, B. and S. Turner, "Secure/Multipurpose Internet
Mail Extensions (S/MIME) Version 3.2 Message
Specification", RFC 5751, January 2010.
[RFC6263] Marjou, X. and A. Sollaud, "Application Mechanism for
Keeping Alive the NAT Mappings Associated with RTP / RTP
Control Protocol (RTCP) Flows", RFC 6263, June 2011.
[RFC6285] Ver Steeg, B., Begen, A., Van Caenegem, T., and Z. Vax,
"Unicast-Based Rapid Acquisition of Multicast RTP
Sessions", RFC 6285, June 2011.
Authors' Addresses
Ali Begen
Cisco
181 Bay Street
Toronto, ON M5J 2T3
Canada
EMail: abegen@cisco.com
Dan Wing
Cisco
170 West Tasman Dr.
San Jose, CA 95134
USA
EMail: dwing@cisco.com
Tom Van Caenegem
Alcatel-Lucent
Copernicuslaan 50
Antwerpen 2018
Belgium
EMail: Tom.Van_Caenegem@alcatel-lucent.com
Begen, et al. Standards Track [Page 30]
^L
|