Access List In Tcp/ip Network Standard

Chapter 7

Access Control List


Purpose


(Access Control List)

This chapter aims to introduce the reader to the following issues:

What is an access list?

How access lists work

Access lists in TCP/IP network standards

7.1 Introduction

The first routing networks connected a small set of LANs and computers together. Network administrators then extended the router connections to external networks. The growth of Internet use brought new challenges to access control. Newer technologies such as fiber-optic backbones to broadband services and high-speed switches have further increased the challenges of network access control.

Administrators are faced with dilemmas such as: How to deny unwanted connections while still allowing legitimate access? Although tools such as passwords, feedback devices, and physical security devices are useful, they often lack the flexibility and control mechanisms that most network administrators desire.

Figure 7.1 – Security issues in wide area networks

Access lists, also known as Access Control Lists, provide a powerful tool for network control. These lists provide a flexible mechanism for filtering the flow of packets as they enter and exit router interfaces. These lists extend the protection of network resources without affecting legitimate traffic. Access lists classify packet traffic into categories that are allowed or denied. Access lists can be used to:

Identify packets for prioritization or queuing Limit or reduce the content of routing update information.

Access lists also process packets for other security features such as:

Provides dynamic access control for IP packets based on advanced user identification, using key and keyless functionality.

Identify packets for encryption

Identify the Telnet service accesses allowed to configure the router.


7.2 Access List Definition

Access lists are statements that specify conditions that an administrator wants to establish so that the router will treat the transmissions described in the access list in a non-normal manner. Access lists impose controls for treating particular packets in a unique manner. There are two main types of access lists:

Standard access list: This list is used to check the sending address of the selected packets. The result is to allow or deny sending for a protocol suite based on the network/subnet address or host address.

o Example: Packets coming from interface E0 are checked for address and protocol. If allowed, the packets are forwarded out interface S0 which is grouped in the access list. If the packets are denied by the access list, all packets of the same type are dropped.

Figure 7.2 – Meaning of standard access list

Extended access list: Extended access list checks both the sending and receiving addresses of the packet. It also checks for specific protocols, port numbers, and other parameters. This gives network administrators more flexibility in describing what they want the access list to check. Packets are allowed or denied depending on where the packet originated and where it is going.

7.3 How Access Lists Work

An access list represents a set of rules that allow control over packets entering a router interface, packets temporarily residing on the router, and packets leaving a router interface. Access lists have no effect on packets originating from the router in question.


Figure 7.3 – How access lists work

The beginning of the process is the same regardless of whether an access list is used: When a packet enters an interface, the router checks to determine whether it can forward the packet. If it cannot, the packet is dropped. An entry in the routing table represents a destination on the network, along with the path length to the destination, and the router's interface toward that destination.

The router then checks to determine if the interface to the destination is in an access list. If not, the packet is sent out the appropriate output buffer, without being affected by any access list.

Suppose the receiving interface has been placed in an extended access list. The network administrator has used precise, logical expressions to establish this access list. Before a packet can be delivered to the egress interface, it must be checked against a set of rules defined in the access list assigned to the interface.

Based on the checks on the extended access list, a packet may be allowed for the inbound list, which means to continue processing the packet after receiving it on an interface, or for the outbound list, which means to send the packet to the corresponding buffer of the outgoing interface. Otherwise, the checks may deny permission, which means the packet is dropped. When dropping a packet, some protocols return the packet to the sender. This signals to the sender that the destination cannot be reached.


Figure 7.4- Filtering principle based on access list

Access list commands operate sequentially. They evaluate packets from top to bottom. If a packet header and an access list command match, the packet ignores the rest of the commands. If a condition is met, the packet is either allowed or denied. Only one access list per protocol per interface is allowed.

In the above example, suppose there is a match with the first check and the packet is denied access to the interface towards the destination. The packet is discarded and placed in a trash bin. The packet does not go through any further checks.

Only packets that do not match any of the conditions of the first check pass are passed to the second check pass. Assuming that another parameter of the packet matches the second check pass, which is a permit command, the packet is allowed to pass out the interface towards the destination.

Another packet does not match any of the conditions of the first and second check steps, but matches the third check condition with a result of being allowed.

Note that: To be logically complete, an access list must have conditions that produce a true result for all packets. A final set of conditions covers all packets for which the previous checks failed. This is the final check that matches all packets. It is a reject. This will cause all packets to be dropped.

7.3.1 Overview of Access List Commands

In practice, access list commands can be long strings of characters. Access lists can be complex to enter or interpret. However, we can simplify access list configuration commands by reducing them to two general types:

Type 1: Includes basic commands to handle general problems, the syntax is described as follows:

access-list access-list- number {permit|deny} {test conditions}

o access-list: is a required keyword

o access-list-number: This global command is used to identify the access list, usually a number. This number represents the type of access list.

o The terms permit or deny in general access list commands indicate how packets that match the test conditions are processed by the router's operating system. Allow typically means that the packet will be allowed to use one or more interfaces, which you will describe later.

o test conditions: This last term describes the test conditions used by the access list commands. A test step can be as simple as testing a source address. However, test conditions are often expanded to include several other test conditions. Use general access list commands with the same identifier to stack multiple test conditions into a logical chain or test list.

Type 2: Access list manipulation using an interface command. The syntax is as follows: {protocol} access-group access-list-number With:

Protocol: is the protocol that applies the access list. Access-group: is the keyword.

Access-list-number: The identification number of the defined access list.

previous meaning

All access list commands are identified by a number corresponding to one or more interfaces. Any packets that pass the access list checks can be granted permission to use any interface in the allowed interface group.

7.4 Access lists in TCP/IP network standards

7.4.1 Check packets with access lists

To filter TCP/IP packets, access lists in Cisco Internetworking OS examine the packet and upper-layer protocol headers.

This process includes the following checks on the packet:

o Check the source address using standard access lists. Identify these access lists by numbers ranging from 1 to 99.

o Check the destination and source addresses or protocols using extended access lists. Identify these lists by numbers ranging from 100 to 199.

o Check the port numbers of TCP or UDP protocols using conditions in the extended access lists. These lists are also identified by numbers with values ​​from 100 to 199.

Figure 7.5 – Example of an access list in a TCP/IP packet

For all of these TCP/IP protocol access lists, after a packet is checked for a match in the list, it can be denied or granted access to an interface in the group of accessed interfaces.

Some notes when setting up access lists:

o Network administrators must be very careful when specifying access controls and the order of commands to implement these access controls. Specify which protocols are allowed while the remaining TCP/IP protocols are denied.

o Specify the IP protocols to be checked. The remaining IP protocols do not need to be checked. o Use wildcards to describe IP address selection rules.

7.4.2 Using bits in wildcard masks

A wildcard mask is a 32-bit string that is used in conjunction with an IP address to determine which bits of the IP address are ignored when compared to other IP addresses. These wildcard masks are described when constructing access lists. The meanings of the bits in the wildcard mask are described as follows:

o A bit with a value of 0 in the mask means « check the bit of the IP address corresponding to this bit »

o A bit with a value of 1 in the mask means « do not check the bit of the IP address whose position corresponds to this bit »

By setting up wildcard masks, a network administrator can select one or more IP addresses for permission or denial checks. See the example in the figure below:


128

64

32

16

8

4

2

1

The position of bits in a byte and its address value

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Mask checks all address bits

0

0

1

1

1

1

1

1

The mask does not check the last 6 bits of the address.

only

0

0

0

0

1

1

1

1

The mask does not check the last 4 bits of the address.

only

1

1

1

1

1

1

0

0

Mask checks the last 2 bits of the address

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Mask does not check address

Maybe you are interested!

For example, given a class B network address 172.16.0.0. The network is divided into 256 subnets using the 8 bits in the third byte of the address as the subnet identifier. The administrator wants to check the IP addresses of the subnets from 172.16.16.0 to 172.16.31. The steps to derive the wildcard mask in this case are as follows:

o First the wildcard mask must check the first two bytes of the address (172.16). So the bits in the first two bytes of the wildcard mask must be zero. We have 0000 0000.0000 0000.-.-

o Since the addresses of the computers in the network are not checked, the bits of the last byte are ignored. Therefore, the bits of the last byte in the wildcard mask will be 1. We have 0000 0000.0000 0000.-.1111 1111

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