Cisco Security Response

Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE Type 4 Passwords Issue

Document ID: 33464
http://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityResponse/cisco-sr-20130318-type4

Revision 1.2
Last Updated on 2015 April 7 19 : 54 UTC (GMT)
For Public Release 2013 March 18 16 : 00 UTC (GMT)

Contents
Response
Additional Information
Status of this Notice: Final
Revision History
Cisco Security Procedures

Cisco Response
This is the Cisco response to research performed by Mr. Philipp Schmidt and Mr. Jens Steube from the Hashcat Project on the weakness of Type 4 passwords on Cisco
IOS and Cisco IOS XE devices. Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Steube reported this issue to the Cisco PSIRT on March 12, 2013.
Cisco would like to thank Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Steube for sharing their research with Cisco and working toward a coordinated disclosure of this issue.
This Cisco Security Response is available at http://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityResponse/cisco-sr-20130318-type4

Additional Information
A limited number of Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE releases based on the Cisco IOS 15 code base include support for a new algorithm to hash user-provided plaintext
passwords. This algorithm is called Type 4, and a password hashed using this algorithm is referred to as a Type 4 password. The Type 4 algorithm was designed to be a
stronger alternative to the existing Type 5 and Type 7 algorithms to increase the resiliency of passwords used for the enable secret password and username username
secret password commands against brute-force attacks.
The design called for using Password-Based Key Derivation Function version 2 (PBKDF2), as described in RFC 2898 section 5.2, with the following input values:
Hash algorithm = SHA-256
Password = the user-provided plaintext password
Salt = 80 bits (generated by calling a cryptographically secure random number generator)
Iteration count = 1,000 (one thousand)
Due to an implementation issue, the Type 4 password algorithm does not use PBKDF2 and does not use a salt, but instead performs a single iteration of SHA-256 over
the user-provided plaintext password. This approach causes a Type 4 password to be less resilient to brute-force attacks than a Type 5 password of equivalent
complexity.
The following issues were also introduced because of the implementation of Type 4 passwords:
A device running a Cisco IOS or IOS XE release with support for Type 4 passwords lost the capability to create a Type 5 password from a user-provided
plaintext password
Backward compatibility problems may arise when downgrading from a device running a Cisco IOS or IOS XE release with Type 4 password support and Type 4
passwords configured to a Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release that does not support Type 4 passwords. Depending on the specific device configuration, the
administrator may not be able to log in to the device or to change into privileged EXEC mode, requiring a password recovery process to be performed.
All the preceding issues apply only to devices running Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE releases with support for Type 4 passwords, and only to the "enable secret
<password>" and "username <username> secret <password>" commands. No other Cisco IOS or IOS XE features use this algorithm to hash passwords or keys.
For example, these issues do not affect Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), Routing Information Protocol (RIP), any other routing
protocol keys, or pre-shared keys for IPsec.
These issues do not apply to devices running a Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release without support for Type 4 passwords.
This issue is documented in Cisco Bug ID CSCue95644 (registered customers only).

Determining Whether a Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE Release Supports Type 4 Passwords
Administrators can use the following procedure to determine whether the Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release running on a given device includes support for Type 4
passwords:
1) Log in to the device and execute the show version | include IOS command:
router#show version | include IOS
Cisco IOS Software, 1841 Software (C1841-ADVENTERPRISEK9-M), Version 15.3(1)T, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
router#
If the version number starts with "15" proceed to the next step. Otherwise, the Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release running on the device does not include support
for Type 4 passwords.
2) While logged in to the device as a privileged user, enter configuration mode and execute an enable secret ? command:
router#configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
router#(config)#enable secret ?
0
Specifies an UNENCRYPTED password will follow
4
Specifies an SHA256 ENCRYPTED secret will follow
5
Specifies a MD5 ENCRYPTED secret will follow
LINE
The UNENCRYPTED (cleartext) 'enable' secret
level Set exec level password
router(config)#
In the preceding example, the line "4 Specifies an SHA256 ENCRYPTED secret will follow" indicates the Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release running on the
device does supports Type 4 passwords.
router#conf t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
router#(config)#enable secret ?
0
Specifies an UNENCRYPTED password will follow
5
Specifies a MD5 ENCRYPTED secret will follow
LINE
The UNENCRYPTED (cleartext) 'enable' secret
level Set exec level password
router(config)#
In the preceding example, there is no "4 Specifies an SHA256 ENCRYPTED secret will follow" in the help output of the enable secret command. This output indicates
the Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release running on this device does not support Type 4 passwords.

Determining Whether a Device Has Any Type 4 Passwords Configured

A device running a Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release with support for Type 4 passwords may not actually have any Type 4 passwords in the device configuration. A
device that was upgraded from a Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release without support for Type 4 passwords to a Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release that does support
Type 4 passwords may contain an enable secret password command and zero or more username username secret password commands that have Type 5 passwords
because they were configured before the upgrade.
The following command can be used to determine whether any Type 4 passwords are present on the device configuration:
show running-config | include ^(enable secret 4|username.*secret.4)
The following example shows a device without any Type 4 passwords configured:
router#show running-config | include ^(enable secret 4|username.*secret.4)
router#
The following example shows a device with Type 4 passwords configured for both the "enable secret <password>" and the "username <username> secret <
password>" commands. The presence of a Type 4 password is indicated by the number 4 that immediately follows the secret keyword:
router#show running-config | include ^(enable secret 4|username.*secret.4)
enable secret 4 ohKCwRDiX5YiRkTbLspqXvQkxiL91lDUlt.JzPd33RY
username demo secret 4 ohKCwRDiX5YiRkTbLspqXvQkxiL91lDUlt.JzPd33RY
router#

Behavior of a Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE Release with Support for Type 4 Passwords
A device running a Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release with support for Type 4 passwords will exhibit the following behavior:
1) Configuring an enable secret password or username username secret password command (with password being a plaintext password) will cause a Type 4
password to be generated:
router#configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
router(config)#enable secret Th1z#1s+53kri7
router(config)#username demo secret Th1z#1s+53kri7
router(config)#do show running-config | include ^(enable|username)
enable secret 4 ohKCwRDiX5YiRkTbLspqXvQkxiL91lDUlt.JzPd33RY
username demo secret 4 ohKCwRDiX5YiRkTbLspqXvQkxiL91lDUlt.JzPd33RY
router(config)#
Note: There is no way to supply a plaintext password as an argument to either the enable secret password or username username secret password and indicate that a
Type 5 password should be generated. The only way to configure either an enable secret password or username username secret password with a Type 5 password is
using the enable secret 5 password or username username secret 5 password commands, where password is a previously generated Type 5 password.
2) Configuring an enable secret 5 password or username username secret 5 password (where password is a previously generated Type 5 password) will result in a
warning, but the password will be correctly parsed, added to the configuration, and fully functional. The generated warning can safely be ignored. An example follows:
router#configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
router(config)#enable secret 5 $1$YXEj$Fr7OC1Jh62xJRb/rdIm9d0
Warning: The CLI will be deprecated soon
'enable secret 5 $1$YXEj$Fr7OC1Jh62xJRb/rdIm9d0'
Please move to 'enable secret <password>' CLI
router(config)#username demo secret 5 $1$Gd0I$VJkZkCRG1d1FvY7we7dzM.
Warning: MD5 encryption will be deprecated soon.Please move to SHA256 encryption.
router(config)#do show running-config | include ^(enable|username)
enable secret 5 $1$YXEj$Fr7OC1Jh62xJRb/rdIm9d0
username demo secret 5 $1$Gd0I$VJkZkCRG1d1FvY7we7dzM.
router(config)#
3) If the device was upgraded from a previous Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release without support for Type 4 passwords, and the configuration included the commands
enable secret 5 password or username username secret 5 password, those Type 5 passwords will be parsed, added to the configuration, and fully functional. There is
no automatic conversion of existing Type 5 passwords to Type 4 passwords after upgrading a device to a Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release that has support
for Type 4 passwords.

Replacing a Type 4 Password with a Type 5 Password

Customers running a Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release with support for Type 4 passwords and currently using Type 4 passwords on their device configuration may
want to replace those Type 4 passwords with Type 5 passwords. Reasons include the following:
Preparation for a device downgrade to a Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release that does not support Type 4 passwords
Compatibility with network management systems or other tools that cannot handle a device configuration that includes Type 4 passwords
An organizational security policy that dictates the use of Type 5 passwords
Concerns about the resiliency of Type 4 passwords versus Type 5 passwords against brute-force attacks
As mentioned previously, a Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release with support for Type 4 passwords does not allow the generation of a Type 5 password from a
plaintext password on the device itself. Customers who need to replace a Type 4 password with a Type 5 password must generate the Type 5 password outside the
device and then copy the Type 5 password to the device configuration.
There are two options to generate a Type 5 password:
Using another device running a Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE release without Type 4 support
Using the openssl command-line tool (part of the OpenSSL Project)
In either case, administrators will need access to the plaintext version of the password to generate the Type 5 password.

Using Another Device to Generate a Type 5 Password

1) Either the enable secret password or the username username secret password command can be used to generate a Type 5 password from a plaintext password. The
administrator must log in to the device using credentials that allow the administrator to go into configuration mode and execute the chosen command. The following
example shows the username username secret password command and the string Th1z#1s+53kri7 as the plaintext password:
router#configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
router(config)#username demo secret Th1z#1s+53kri7
router(config)#do show running-config | include username demo.*secret 5
username demo secret 5 $1$M/wf$iqBnv/g3GuVUsCpWcDFS20
router(config)#no username demo
router(config)#
2) Copy the resulting Type 5 password (which is $1$M/wf$iqBnv/g3GuVUsCpWcDFS20 in the preceding example).

Using the openssl Tool to Generate a Type 5 Password

1) The openssl tool can generate a Type 5 password when using a specific set of command-line arguments, as follows:
openssl passwd -salt `openssl rand -base64 3` -1 PLAINTEXT_PASSWORD
Administrators must replace the string PLAINTEXT_PASSWORD with the appropriate plaintext password. The following example uses the string Th1z#1s+53kri7 as
the plaintext password:
hostname$ openssl passwd -salt `openssl rand -base64 3` -1 Th1z#1s+53kri7
$1$dxVt$FSJmj1O6JUZdbUjxZkIuD.
2) Copy the resulting Type 5 password (which is $1$dxVt$FSJmj1O6JUZdbUjxZkIuD. in the preceding example).
Note: Depending on the characters in the plaintext password, you may need to enclose it between quotes.

Copying the Type 5 Password to the Targeted Device

Paste the previously generated Type 5 password into the appropriate command, either enable secret 5 password or username username secret 5 password. Remember
to specify the type of encryption by adding the number 5 after the secret keyword in both commands. Otherwise, the provided password will be interpreted as a
plaintext password.
The following example uses the Type 5 password generated on another device as the enable secret password, and the Type 5 password generated by openssl becomes
the user password for the user named demo:
router#configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
router(config)#username demo secret 5 $1$dxVt$FSJmj1O6JUZdbUjxZkIuD.
Warning: MD5 encryption will be deprecated soon.Please move to SHA256 encryption.
router(config)#enable secret 5 $1$M/wf$iqBnv/g3GuVUsCpWcDFS20
Warning: The CLI will be deprecated soon
'enable secret 5 $1$M/wf$iqBnv/g3GuVUsCpWcDFS20'
Please move to 'enable secret <password>' CLI
router(config)#
Notes
A deprecation warning will be generated when using a Type 5 password for either the enable secret 5 command or the username username secret 5 password
command. This warning can be safely ignored.
If the deprecation warning for either the enable secret 5 command or the username username secret 5 password command does not occur, the device is not
interpreting the provided password as a Type 5 password. Make sure the number 5 is included after the secret keyword in either command.

The Future of Type 4 Passwords on Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE

Because of the issues discussed in this Security Response, Cisco is taking the following actions for future Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE releases:
Type 4 passwords will be deprecated: Future Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE releases will not generate Type 4 passwords. However, to maintain backward
compatibility, existing Type 4 passwords will be parsed and accepted. Customers will need to manually remove the existing Type 4 passwords from their
configuration.
The enable secret password and username username secret password commands will revert to their original behavior: Both commands, when provided with a
plaintext password, will generate a Type 5 password. This will be the same behavior as before the introduction of Type 4 passwords. This step is being taken to
preserve backward compatibility.
Type 5 passwords will not be deprecated: This will be done to preserve backward compatibility. The deprecation warning for Type 5 passwords will be
removed.
A new password type will be introduced: This new password type will implement the original design intended for Type 4 passwords, which is PBKDF2 with
SHA-256, an 80-bit salt, and 1,000 iterations. The exact type is yet to be determined.
New command-line interface commands will be introduced: The new commands will allow Cisco customers to configure the new password type for both enable
secret password and username username secret password. This will allow Cisco customers to gradually migrate to the new password type, while allowing them
to use the existing syntax to preserve backward compatibility. The exact syntax for the new commands is yet to be determined.

Affected Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE Releases

The following table lists the Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE releases affected by this issue as of March 22, 2013:
Affected 15.0-Based Cisco
IOS and Cisco IOS XE
Releases

Affected Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE Versions

15.0EA

15.0(2)EA

15.0EB

15.0(2)EB

15.0EC

15.0(2)EC

15.0ED

15.0(2)ED

15.0EX

15.0(1)EX, 15.0(1)EX1, 15.0(2)EX, 15.0(2)EX1

15.0EY

15.0(2)EY, 15.0(2)EY1

15.0EZ

15.0(1)EZ, 15.0(2)EZ

15.0MR

15.0(1)MR, 15.0(2)MR

15.0MRA

15.0(1)MRA

15.0S

15.0(1)S, 15.0(1)S1, 15.0(1)S10, 15.0(1)S2, 15.0(1)S3a, 15.0(1)S4, 15.0(1)S4a, 15.0(1)S5, 15.0(1)S6

15.0SE

15.0(2)SE, 15.0(2)SE1, 15.0(2)SE2, 15.0(2)SE3, 15.0(2)SE4

Affected 15.1-Based Cisco

IOS and Cisco IOS XE
Releases

Affected Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE Versions

15.1EY

15.1(2)EY, 15.1(2)EY1, 15.1(2)EY1a, 15.1(2)EY2, 15.1(2)EY2a, 15.1(2)EY3, 15.1(2)EY4

15.1GC

15.1(4)GC, 15.1(4)GC1

15.1M

15.1(4)M10, 15.1(4)M4, 15.1(4)M5, 15.1(4)M6, 15.1(4)M7, 15.1(4)M8

15.1MR

15.1(1)MR, 15.1(1)MR1, 15.1(1)MR2, 15.1(1)MR3, 15.1(1)MR4, 15.1(1)MR5, 15.1(1)MR6, 15.1(3)MR

15.1MRA

15.1(3)MRA, 15.1(3)MRA1

15.1S

15.1(1)S, 15.1(1)S1, 15.1(1)S2, 15.1(2)S, 15.1(2)S1, 15.1(2)S2, 15.1(3)S, 15.1(3)S0a, 15.1(3)S1, 15.1(3)S2, 15.1(3)S3, 15.1(3)S4,
15.1(3)S5, 15.1(3)S6

15.1SA

15.1(1)SA, 15.1(1)SA1, 15.1(1)SA2

15.1SG

15.1(1)SG, 15.1(1)SG1, 15.1(1)SG2, 15.1(2)SG, 15.1(2)SG1

15.1SNG

15.1(2)SNG

15.1SNH

15.1(2)SNH, 15.1(2)SNH1

15.1SNI

15.1(2)SNI

15.1SVA

15.1(3)SVA

15.1SVB

15.1(3)SVB, 15.1(3)SVB1

15.1SVC

15.1(3)SVC

15.1XB

15.1(4)XB8, 15.1(4)XB8a

Affected 15.2-Based Cisco

IOS and Cisco IOS XE
Releases

Affected Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE Versions

15.2E

15.2(1)E, 15.2(2)E

15.2GC

15.2(2)GC, 15.2(3)GC, 15.2(3)GC1

15.2GCA

15.2(3)GCA, 15.2(3r)GCA

15.2JA

15.2(4)JA

15.2M

15.2(4)M, 15.2(4)M1, 15.2(4)M10, 15.2(4)M2, 15.2(4)M3, 15.2(4)M4, 15.2(4)M5, 15.2(4)M6, 15.2(4)M7, 15.2(4)M8, 15.2(4)M9

15.2S

15.2(1)S, 15.2(1)S0a, 15.2(1)S1, 15.2(1)S2, 15.2(2)S, 15.2(2)S0a, 15.2(2)S0b, 15.2(2)S0c, 15.2(2)S0d, 15.2(2)S1, 15.2(2)S2,
15.2(4)S, 15.2(4)S0c, 15.2(4)S0xb, 15.2(4)S1, 15.2(4)S1c, 15.2(4)S2, 15.2(4)S2t, 15.2(4)S3, 15.2(4)S4, 15.2(4)S5, 15.2(4)S6

15.2SA

15.2(1)SA, 15.2(2)SA

15.2SB

15.2(1)SB, 15.2(1)SB1, 15.2(1)SB2, 15.2(1)SB3, 15.2(1)SB4

15.2SC

15.2(1)SC, 15.2(1)SC1

15.2SNG

15.2(2)SNG

15.2SNH

15.2(2)SNH, 15.2(2)SNH1

15.2SNI

15.2(2)SNI

15.2T

15.2(2)T1, 15.2(2)T2, 15.2(2)T3, 15.2(2)T4, 15.2(3)T1, 15.2(3)T2, 15.2(3)T3, 15.2(3)T4

15.2XB

15.2(4)XB10, 15.2(4)XB11

Affected 15.3-Based Cisco

IOS and Cisco IOS XE
Releases

Affected Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE Versions

15.3T

15.3(1)T, 15.3(1)T1, 15.3(1)T2, 15.3(1)T3, 15.3(1)T4, 15.3(2)T, 15.3(2)T1, 15.3(2)T2

15.3S

15.3(1)S, 15.3(2)S, 15.3(3)S

Affected 15.4-Based Cisco

IOS and Cisco IOS XE
Releases

Affected Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE Versions

15.4S

15.4(1)S

Status of this Notice: Final

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information or contain factual errors.

Revision History
Revision 1.2

2015-April-07

Corrected reference to PBKDF2 on RFC-2898.

Revision 1.1

2013-March-22

Added Bug ID and table of affected releases.

Revision 1.0

2013-March-18

Initial public release.

Cisco Security Procedures

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