[Bitcoin-development] Miners MiTM

[Laszlo Hanyecz]

Mutual CHAP could work.  This is commonly done in PPP and iSCSI.  The idea is simply that both sides authenticate.  The server expects the client to provide a password, and the client expects the server to provide a (different) password.  If you masquerade as the server, you won't be able to authenticate because every client has a different password they expect from the server, so they won't do work for you. MITM on the server can capture the exchange but CHAP protects against replay.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge-Handshake_Authentication_Protocol

-Laszlo


On Aug 8, 2014, at 6:21 PM, Jeff Garzik <jgarzik at bitpay.com> wrote:

> gmaxwell noted on IRC that enabling TLS could be functionally, if not
> literally, a DoS on the pool servers.  Hence the thought towards a
> more lightweight method that simply prevents client payout redirection
> + server impersonation.
> 
> 
> On Fri, Aug 8, 2014 at 5:53 AM, Mike Hearn <mike at plan99.net> wrote:
>>> Certificate validation isn't needed unless the attacker can do a direct
>>> MITM
>>> at connection time, which is a lot harder to maintain than injecting a
>>> client.reconnect.
>> 
>> 
>> Surely the TCP connection will be reset once the route reconfiguration is
>> completed, either by the MITM server or by the client TCP stack when it
>> discovers the server doesn't know about the connection anymore?
>> 
>> TLS without cert validation defeats the point, you can still be connected to
>> a MITM at any point by anyone who can simply interrupt or corrupt the
>> stream, forcing a reconnect.
>> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Jeff Garzik
> Bitcoin core developer and open source evangelist
> BitPay, Inc.      https://bitpay.com/
> 
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