FIDO2 Facing Kleptographic Threats By-Design

We analyze the popular in practice FIDO2 authentication scheme from the point of view of kleptographic threats that have not been addressed so far in the literature. We show that despite its spartan design and apparent efforts to make it immune to dishonest protocol participants, the unlinkability f...

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Main Authors: Mirosław Kutyłowski, Anna Lauks-Dutka, Przemysław Kubiak, Marcin Zawada
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/23/11371
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author Mirosław Kutyłowski
Anna Lauks-Dutka
Przemysław Kubiak
Marcin Zawada
author_facet Mirosław Kutyłowski
Anna Lauks-Dutka
Przemysław Kubiak
Marcin Zawada
author_sort Mirosław Kutyłowski
collection DOAJ
description We analyze the popular in practice FIDO2 authentication scheme from the point of view of kleptographic threats that have not been addressed so far in the literature. We show that despite its spartan design and apparent efforts to make it immune to dishonest protocol participants, the unlinkability features of FIDO2 can be effectively broken without a chance to detect it by observing protocol executions. Moreover, we show that a malicious authenticator can enable an adversary to seize the authenticator’s private keys, thereby enabling the impersonation of the authenticator’s owner. As a few components of the FIDO2 protocol are the source of the problem, we argue that either their implementation details must be scrutinized during a certification process or the standardization bodies introduce necessary updates in FIDO2 (preferably, minor ones), making it resilient to kleptographic attacks.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2076-3417
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publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Applied Sciences
spelling doaj-art-7e0f4be3ff264334be80c8c013f26b082024-12-13T16:23:42ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172024-12-0114231137110.3390/app142311371FIDO2 Facing Kleptographic Threats By-DesignMirosław Kutyłowski0Anna Lauks-Dutka1Przemysław Kubiak2Marcin Zawada3NASK National Research Institute, Kolska 12, 01-045 Warsaw, PolandFaculty of Computer Science and Telecommunication, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, PolandNASK National Research Institute, Kolska 12, 01-045 Warsaw, PolandFaculty of Computer Science and Telecommunication, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, PolandWe analyze the popular in practice FIDO2 authentication scheme from the point of view of kleptographic threats that have not been addressed so far in the literature. We show that despite its spartan design and apparent efforts to make it immune to dishonest protocol participants, the unlinkability features of FIDO2 can be effectively broken without a chance to detect it by observing protocol executions. Moreover, we show that a malicious authenticator can enable an adversary to seize the authenticator’s private keys, thereby enabling the impersonation of the authenticator’s owner. As a few components of the FIDO2 protocol are the source of the problem, we argue that either their implementation details must be scrutinized during a certification process or the standardization bodies introduce necessary updates in FIDO2 (preferably, minor ones), making it resilient to kleptographic attacks.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/23/11371FIDO2authenticationkleptographylinkabilityimpersonationhidden channel
spellingShingle Mirosław Kutyłowski
Anna Lauks-Dutka
Przemysław Kubiak
Marcin Zawada
FIDO2 Facing Kleptographic Threats By-Design
Applied Sciences
FIDO2
authentication
kleptography
linkability
impersonation
hidden channel
title FIDO2 Facing Kleptographic Threats By-Design
title_full FIDO2 Facing Kleptographic Threats By-Design
title_fullStr FIDO2 Facing Kleptographic Threats By-Design
title_full_unstemmed FIDO2 Facing Kleptographic Threats By-Design
title_short FIDO2 Facing Kleptographic Threats By-Design
title_sort fido2 facing kleptographic threats by design
topic FIDO2
authentication
kleptography
linkability
impersonation
hidden channel
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/23/11371
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AT annalauksdutka fido2facingkleptographicthreatsbydesign
AT przemysławkubiak fido2facingkleptographicthreatsbydesign
AT marcinzawada fido2facingkleptographicthreatsbydesign