Cross Protocol Attack on IPSec-based VPN
S Amaldeep, Sriram Sankaran · 2023
Network layer protocols that provide privacy, such as IPSec, are widely used in Virtual Private Network(VPN) services to provide security between two networks or hosts. This work analyzes the security of Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) based open-source VPNs and the vulnerabilities that may compromise their security. VPNs were configured with user IDs and RSA Certificates for authentication and username-password combinations to conduct security analysis of the IPSec setup. This work was tested only with IPSec-based VPNs and may not be generalizable to other VPNs or non-VPN applications utilizing IPSec. IPSec is a network layer protocol designed to increase data privacy between two networks. Application layer utilities may require this added privacy on the network layer. This work adds to the body of knowledge on the security of IPSec and provides valuable information for organizations using IPSec and for security professionals looking to improve its security. It highlights the importance of using certificate-based authentication rather than a Pre-Shared Key for authentication in ensuring the security of IPSec.