RFC 3715 (rfc3715) - Page 2 of 18

IPsec-Network Address Translation (NAT) Compatibility Requirements

Alternative Format: Original Text Document

RFC 3715          IPsec-NAT Compatibility Requirements        March 2004


Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
       1.1.  Requirements Language. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
   2.  Known Incompatibilities between NA(P)T and IPsec . . . . . . .  3
       2.1.  Intrinsic NA(P)T Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
       2.2.  NA(P)T Implementation Weaknesses . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
       2.3.  Helper Incompatibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
   3.  Requirements for IPsec-NAT Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . .  8
   4.  Existing Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
       4.1.  IPsec Tunnel Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
       4.2.  RSIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
       4.3.  6to4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
   5.  Security Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
   6.  References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
       6.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
       6.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
   7.  Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
   8.  Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
   9 . Full Copyright Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

1.  Introduction

   Perhaps the most common use of IPsec [RFC 2401] is in providing
   virtual private networking (VPN) capabilities.  One very popular use
   of VPNs is to provide telecommuter access to the corporate Intranet.
   Today, Network Address Translations (NATs) as described in [RFC 3022]
   and [RFC 2663], are widely deployed in home gateways, as well as in
   other locations likely to be used by telecommuters, such as hotels.
   The result is that IPsec-NAT incompatibilities have become a major
   barrier in the deployment of IPsec in one of its principal uses.
   This document describes known incompatibilities between NAT and
   IPsec, and describes the requirements for addressing them.

1.1.  Requirements Language

   In this document, the key words "MAY", "MUST, "MUST NOT", "optional",
   "recommended", "SHOULD", and "SHOULD NOT", are to be interpreted as
   described in [RFC 2119].

   Please note that the requirements specified in this document are to
   be used in evaluating protocol submissions.  As such, the
   requirements language refers to capabilities of these protocols; the
   protocol documents will specify whether these features are required,
   recommended, or optional.  For example, requiring that a protocol
   support confidentiality is not the same thing as requiring that all
   protocol traffic be encrypted.




Aboba & Dixon                Informational
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