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NAME

       ipsec_prng_init - initialize IPsec pseudorandom-number generator
       ipsec prng_bytes - get bytes from IPsec pseudorandom-number generator
       ipsec prng_final - close down IPsec pseudorandom-number generator

SYNOPSIS

       #include <freeswan.h>

       void prng_init(struct prng *prng,
           const unsigned char *key, size_t keylen);
       void prng_bytes(struct prng *prng, char *dst,
           size_t dstlen);
       unsigned long prng_count(struct prng *prng);
       void prng_final(struct prng *prng);

DESCRIPTION

       Prng_init  initializes  a crypto-quality pseudo-random-number generator
       from a key; prng_bytes obtains pseudo-random bytes from it;  prng_count
       reports  the  number  of  bytes  extracted  from it to date; prng_final
       closes it down.  It is the user’s responsibility to initialize  a  PRNG
       before using it, and not to use it again after it is closed down.

       Prng_init  initializes,  or re-initializes, the specified prng from the
       key, whose length is given by  keylen.   The  user  must  allocate  the
       struct  prng  pointed to by prng.  There is no particular constraint on
       the length of the  key,  although  a  key  longer  than  256  bytes  is
       unnecessary  because  only the first 256 would be used.  Initialization
       requires on the order of 3000 integer operations,  independent  of  key
       length.

       Prng_bytes  obtains  dstlen  pseudo-random bytes from the PRNG and puts
       them in buf.  This is quite fast, on the order of 10 integer operations
       per byte.

       Prng_count  reports the number of bytes obtained from the PRNG since it
       was (last) initialized.

       Prng_final  closes  down  a  PRNG  by  zeroing  its  internal   memory,
       obliterating  all  trace  of  the  state  used to generate its previous
       output.  This requires on the order of 250 integer operations.

       The <freeswan.h> header  file  supplies  the  definition  of  the  prng
       structure.   Examination  of  its  innards  is discouraged, as they may
       change.

       The PRNG algorithm used by these functions is  currently  identical  to
       that   of   RC4(TM).    This  algorithm  is  cryptographically  strong,
       sufficiently unpredictable that  even  a  hostile  observer  will  have
       difficulty  determining  the  next  byte  of  output from past history,
       provided it is initialized from a  reasonably  large  key  composed  of
       highly random bytes (see random(4)).  The usual run of software pseudo-
       random-number generators (e.g.  random(3))  are  not  cryptographically
       strong.

       The  well-known attacks against RC4(TM), e.g. as found in 802.11b’s WEP
       encryption system, apply only if multiple PRNGs  are  initialized  with
       closely-related  keys  (e.g.,  using a counter appended to a base key).
       If such keys are used, the first few hundred pseudo-random  bytes  from
       each  PRNG should be discarded, to give the PRNGs a chance to randomize
       their innards properly.  No useful attacks are known if the key is well
       randomized to begin with.

SEE ALSO

       random(3), random(4)
       Bruce   Schneier,   Applied   Cryptography,   2nd   ed.,   1996,   ISBN
       0-471-11709-9, pp. 397-8.

HISTORY

       Written for the FreeS/WAN project by Henry Spencer.

BUGS

       If  an  attempt  is  made  to  obtain  more  than  4e9  bytes   between
       initializations, the PRNG will continue to work but prng_count’s output
       will stick at 4000000000.  Fixing this would require a  longer  integer
       type and does not seem worth the trouble, since you should probably re-
       initialize before then anyway...

       ‘‘RC4’’ is a trademark of RSA Data Security, Inc.

                                 1 April 2002               IPSEC_PRNG_INIT(3)