BEHAVE WG                                                   P. Srisuresh
Internet Draft                                                Consultant
Expires: April 4, 2007                                           B. Ford
                                                                  M.I.T.
                                                            S. Sivakumar
                                                           Cisco Systems
                                                                 S. Guha
                                                              Cornell U.
                                                         October 4, 2006


                NAT Behavioral Requirements for ICMP protocol
                <draft-ietf-behave-nat-icmp-01.txt>


Status of this Memo

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Abstract

   This document identifies the behavioral properties required of the
   Network Address Translator (NAT) devices in conjunction with the
   ICMP protocol. The objective of this memo is to make NAT devices
   more predictable and compatible with diverse application protocols
   that traverse the devices. Companion documents provide behavioral
   recommendations specific to TCP, UDP and other protocols.




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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction and Scope .......................................
   2.  Terminology ..................................................
   3.  ICMP Query Handling ..........................................
       3.1. ICMP Query Mapping .....,,...............................
       3.2. ICMP Query Session Timeouts .............................
   4.  ICMP Error Forwarding ........................................
       4.1. ICMP Error Payload Validation .....,,....................
       4.2. ICMP Error Packet Translation ...........................
           4.2.1. ICMP Error Packet Received from External Realm ....
           4.2.2. ICMP Error Packet Received from Private Realm .....
       4.3. NAT Sessions Pertaining to ICMP Error Payload ...........
   5.  Hairpinning Support for ICMP packets .........................
   6.  Rejection of Outbound Flows Disallowed by NAT ................
   7.  Conformance to RFC 1812 ......................................
       7.1. IP packet fragmentation .................................
           7.1.1. Generating "Packet too Big" ICMP error Message ....
           7.1.2. Forwarding "Packet too big" ICMP Error Message ....
       7.2. Generating "Time Exceeded" Error Message ................
       7.3. RFC 1812 Conformance Requirements summary ...............
   8.  Summary of Requirements ......................................
   9.  Security Considerations ......................................
   10. IANA Considerations ..........................................
   11. Acknowledgements .............................................


1. Introduction and Scope

   As pointed out in RFC 3424 [UNSAF], NAT implementations vary
   widely in terms of how they handle different traffic. The purpose
   of this document is to define a specific set of requirements for NAT
   behavior with regard to ICMP messages. The objective is to reduce
   the unpredictability and brittleness the NAT devices (NATs)
   introduce. This document is an adjunct to [BEH-UDP] and [BEH-TCP],
   and other protocol specific behave document(s) in the future which
   define requirements for NATs when handling protocol specific traffic.

   The requirements of this specification apply to Traditional NATs as
   described in [NAT-TRAD]. Traditional NAT has two variations, namely,
   Basic NAT and Network Address Port Translator (NAPT). Of these, NAPT
   is by far the most commonly deployed NAT device. NAPT allows
   multiple private hosts to share a single public IP address
   simultaneously.

   This document only covers the ICMP aspects of NAT traversal.
   Traditional NAT inherently mandates a certain level of firewall like



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   functionality. However, firewall functionality in general or any
   other middlebox functionality is out of the scope of this
   specification.

   This document focuses strictly on the behavior of the NAT device,
   and not on the behavior of applications that traverse NATs.
   A separate document [BEH-APP] provides recommendations for
   application designers on how to make applications work robustly over
   NATs that follow the behavioral requirements specified here and the
   adjunct Behave documents.

   Even though ICMP is a transport protocol on top of IP, ICMP message
   processing is often considered an integral of IP and is independent
   of other transport protocols. As such, many of the ICMP behavioral
   requirements discussed in this document apply to all IP protocols.

   In case a requirement in this document conflicts with protocol
   specific behave requirement(s), protocol specific behave documents
   will take precedence. Note, the authors are not aware of any
   conflicts between this and any other IETF document at the time of
   this writing.

   Section 2 describes the terminology used throughout the document.
   Sections 3, 4 and 5 discuss the behavioral requirements for a NAT
   device when processing ICMP packets. Section 3 summarizes all the
   requirements in one place.

2. Terminology

   Definitions for majority of the NAT terms used throughout the
   document may be found in [NAT-TERM] and [BEH-UDP]. The term
   "NAT Session" is adapted from [NAT-MIB] and denotes the entity
   within a NAT device that represents the translation glue for a
   session traversing the NAT device.

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [RFC2119].

   ICMP messages are broadly grouped into two classes, namely "ICMP
   Query" messages and "ICMP Error" messages in section 3.2.2 of
   [RFC1122]. The following explanations further illustrate these
   ICMP message classes.

   ICMP Query Messages - All ICMP query messages are characterized
   by an Identifier field in the ICMP header. The Identifier field used
   by the ICMP Query messages is also referred as "Query Identifier" or
   "Query Id", for short throughout the document. A Query Id is used by



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   query senders and responders as the equivalent of a TCP/UDP port to
   identify an ICMP Query session.

   ICMP Error Messages - All ICMP error messages are characterized by
   the fact that they embed an IP packet (which includes IP header plus
   a minimum of 64 bits of transport data) that triggered the ICMP
   error message. Unlike ICMP Query messages, ICMP error messages do
   not have a Query Id in the ICMP header.


3. ICMP Query Handling

   This section lists the behavioral requirements for a NAT device
   when processing ICMP Query packets. The following sub sections
   discuss requirements specific to ICMP Query handling in detail.

3.1. ICMP Query Mapping

   A NAT device MUST permit ICMP query based applications to be
   initiated from private hosts to the external hosts. Specifically,
   a NAT device must transparently forward any ICMP Query packets
   initiated from the nodes behind NAT devices and the responses to
   these Query packets in the opposite direction. As specified in
   [NAT-TRAD], this requires translating the IP header. A NAPT device
   further translates the ICMP Query Id and the associated checksum in
   the ICMP header prior to forwarding.

   The mapping of ICMP Query identifier within the NAT device SHOULD
   be external endpoint independent. Say, an internal host A sent an
   ICMP query out to an external host B using Query Id X. And, say,
   the NAT assigned this an external mapping of Query id X' on the
   NAT's public address. If host A reused the Query Id X to send ICMP
   queries to the same or different external host, the NAT device
   SHOULD reuse the same Query Id mapping (i.e.,  map private host's
   Query id X to Query id X' on NAT's public IP address) instead of
   assigning a different mapping. This is similar to the "endpoint
   independent mapping" requirement specified in the TCP and UDP
   behave requirements [BEH-TCP, BEH-UDP].

   Below is justification for making the endpoint independent mapping
   for ICMP query IDs a SHOULD [RFC2119] requirement. ICMP Ping and
   ICMP traceroute ([RFC1147]) are two most commonly known legacy
   applications built on top of ICMP query messages. Neither of these
   applications require the ICMP Query Id to be retained across
   different sessions with external hosts. But, that may not be case
   with future applications. In the future, when an endhost
   application reuses the same Query identifier in sessions with
   different target hosts, the endhost application might require that



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   the endpoint identity (i.e., the tuple of IP address and Query
   Identifier) appears the same across all its target hosts. Such a
   requirement will be valid to make in an IP network without NAT
   devices. When NAT devices enforce endpoint mapping that is external
   host independent, the above assumption will be valid to make even in
   the world with NAT devices. Given the dichotomy between legacy
   applications not requiring endpoint independent mapping and future
   applications that might require it, the requirement level is kept
   at SHOULD [RFC2119].

   REQ-1: A NAT device MUST permit ICMP query based applications to be
   initiated from private hosts to the external hosts.
   a) NAT mapping of ICMP Query identifiers SHOULD be external host
   independent.


3.2. ICMP Query Session Timeouts

   When an application initiates an ICMP query transiting a NAT device,
   the NAT associates a timer to the ICMP query NAT session. This is
   so the ICMP query NAT session is freed up if the NAT session remains
   idle for longer than the timeout set by the timer. Query response
   times can vary. Ideally speaking, the timeout should be set to
   round trip time (RTT). RTT is 2x MSL (Maximum Segment Lifetime).
   As per RFC 793, MSL is the maximum amount of time a TCP segment can
   exist in a network before being delivered to the recipient. This is
   the maximum duration of time you wait for a packet to reach the
   target node before declaring that the packet will no longer be
   delivered. The recommended value for MSL is 120 seconds, even though
   several implementations set this to 60 seconds or 30 seconds. When
   MSL is 120 seconds, the RTT (2x MSL) would be 240 seconds.

   In practice, ICMP Ping and ICMP traceroute ([RFC1147]), the two most
   commonly known legacy applications built on top of ICMP query
   messages take less than 10 seconds when run to successful
   completion.

   Setting the ICMP NAT session timeout to a very large duration (say,
   240 seconds) could potentially tie up precious NAT resources such as
   query mappings and NAT Sessions for the whole duration. On the other
   hand, setting the timeout very low can result in premature freeing
   of NAT resources and applications failing to complete. The ICMP Query
   session timeout needs to be a balance between the two extremes.
   60 seconds timemout is a balance between the two extremes. ICMP
   query session timer MUST not expire in less than 60 seconds. We
   RECOMMEND however that the administrator(s) be allowed to configure
   the timer.




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   REQ-2: An ICMP Query session timer MUST NOT expire in less than 60
   seconds.
   a) It is RECOMMENDED that the ICMP Query session timer be made
   configurable.

4. ICMP Error Forwarding

   Applications depend on ICMP error messages from end hosts and
   intermediate devices being forwarded reliably by the NAT devices.
   A NAT device MUST conform to a number of requirements to ensure
   reliable forwarding. The following sub-sections discuss the
   requirements in detail.

4.1. ICMP Error Payload Validation

   Appendix C of [ICMP-ATK] points out that newer revision end host
   TCP stacks do not accept ICMP error messages with a mismatched
   IP or TCP checksum in the embedded payload. NAT devices should
   ensure that the embedded payload is not corrupted. Only after the
   embedded payload is validated, should the NAT proceed to consider
   the error packet for forwarding.

   If the IP checksum of the embedded payload does not validate, the
   NAT device SHOULD simply drop the error packet. [ICMP] stipulates
   that an ICMP error message should embed IP header and a minimum of
   64 bits of the IP payload. Section 4.3.2.3 of [RFC1812] further
   recommends that an ICMP error originator SHOULD include as much of
   the original packet as possible in the payload without the length of
   the ICMP datagram exceeding 576 bytes. If the embedded packet is a
   complete IP packet, including the entire transport segment, and the
   transport protocol of the embedded packet requires the recipient to
   validate the checksum, the NAT device SHOULD validate the transport
   checksum. If the transport checksum fails, the NAT device SHOULD
   drop the error packet. If the transport protocol is UDP and the
   checksum is set to zero, the UDP protocol does not require the
   recipient to validate the UDP checksum.

   When the IP packet embedded within the ICMP error message includes
   IP options, the NAT device must not assume that the transport header
   of the embedded packet is at a fixed offset (as would be the case
   when there are no IP options associated with the packet) from the
   start of the embedded packet. Specifically, the NAT device MUST
   index past all IP options when locating the start of transport
   header for the embedded packet.

   REQ-3:  When an ICMP error packet is received, the NAT device
   SHOULD do the following.
   a) If the IP checksum of the embedded packet fails to validate, drop



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   the error packet; and
   b) If the embedded packet includes IP options, traverse past the
   IP options to locate the start of transport header for the embedded
   packet.
   c) If the embedded packet contains the entire transport segment,
   and the transport protocol of the embedded packet requires the
   recipient to validate the transport checksum, and the checksum
   fails to validate, drop the error packet.


4.2. ICMP Error Packet Translation

   Section 4.3 of the RFC 3022 describes the various fields within
   an ICMP error message a NAT device translates. In this section,
   we describe the requirements a NAT device must conform to while
   doing the translations.

   Consider the following scenario in figure 1. Say, NAT-xy is a NAT
   device connecting hosts in private and external networks.
   Router-x and Host-x are in the external network. Router-y and
   Host-y are in the private network. The subnets in the external
   network are routable from the private as well as the external
   domains. Whereas, the subnets in the private network are only
   routable within the private domain. When Host-y initiated a session
   to Host-x, let us say that the NAT device assigned a mapping of
   Host-y' to associate with Host-y in the external network. The
   following subsections describe the processing of ICMP error
   messages on the NAT device(NAT-xy), when the NAT device receives an
   ICMP error message in response to a packet pertaining to this
   session.





















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                                  Host-x
                                     |
                             ---------------+-------------------
                                            |
                                     +-------------+
                                     |  Router-x   |
                                     +-------------+
               External Network             |
               --------------------+--------+-------------------
                                   |   ^
                                   |   | (Host-y', Host-x)
                                   |   |
                             +-------------+
                             |    NAT-xy   |
                             +-------------+
                                   |
       Private Network             |
      ----------------+------------+----------------
                      |
               +-------------+
               | Router-y    |
               +-------------+
                      |
      ----------------+-------+--------
                              | ^
                              | | (Host-y, Host-x)
                              | |
                            Host-y

   Figure 1. A Session from a private host traversing a NAT device.


4.2.1. ICMP Error Packet Received from External Realm

   Say, a packet from Host-y to Host-x triggered an ICMP error message
   from one of Router-x or Host-x (both of which are in the external
   domain). Such an ICMP error packet will have one of Router-x or
   Host-x as the source IP address and Host-y' as the destination IP
   address as described in figure 2 below.












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                                  Host-x
                                     |
                             ---------------+-------------------
                                            |
                                     +-------------+
                                     |  Router-x   |
                                     +-------------+
               External Network             |
               --------------------+--------+-------------------
                                   |
                                   |  | ICMP Error Packet to Host-y'
                                   |  v
                             +-------------+
                             |    NAT-xy   |
                             +-------------+
                                   |
       Private Network             |
      ----------------+------------+----------------
                      |
               +-------------+
               | Router-y    |
               +-------------+
                      |
      ----------------+-------+--------
                              |
                            Host-y

   Figure 2. ICMP error Packet Received from External Network


   When the NAT device receives the ICMP error packet, the NAT device
   must use the packet embedded within the ICMP error message (i.e.,
   the IP packet from Host-y to Host-x) to look up the NAT Session the
   embedded packet belongs to. If the NAT device does not have an
   active mapping for the embedded payload, the NAT SHOULD silently
   drop the ICMP error packet. Otherwise, the NAT device SHOULD use
   the matching NAT Session to translate the embedded payload. Note,
   when the payload is modified, the ICMP checksums will also need
   updating.

   The NAT device SHOULD also use the matching NAT Session to translate
   the destination IP address in the outer IP header. In the outer
   header, the source IP address will remain unchanged because the
   originator of the ICMP error message (Host-x or Router-x) is in
   external domain and routable from the private domain.

   REQ-4: If a NAT device receives an ICMP error packet from external
   realm, and the NAT does not have an active mapping for the embedded



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   payload, the NAT SHOULD silently drop the ICMP error packet. If the
   the NAT has active mapping for the embedded payload, then the NAT
   MUST do the following prior to forwarding the packet.
   a) Revert the IP and transport headers of the embedded IP packet to
   their original form, using the matching mapping; and
   b) Leave the ICMP error type and code unchanged; and
   c) Modify the destination IP address of the outer IP header to be
   same as the source IP address of the embedded packet after
   translation.


4.2.2. ICMP Error Packet Received from Private Realm

   Now, say, a packet from Host-x to Host-y triggered an ICMP error
   message from one of Router-y or Host-y (both of which are in the
   private domain). Such an ICMP error packet will have one of
   Router-y or Host-y as the source IP address and Host-x as the
   destination IP address as specified in figure 3 below.

                                  Host-x
                                     |
                             ---------------+-------------------
                                            |
                                     +-------------+
                                     |  Router-x   |
                                     +-------------+
               External Network             |
               --------------------+--------+-------------------
                                   |
                                   |
                                   |
                             +-------------+
                             |    NAT-xy   |
                             +-------------+
                                   |  ^
                                   |  | ICMP Error Packet to Host-x
       Private Network             |
      ----------------+------------+----------------
                      |
               +-------------+
               | Router-y    |
               +-------------+
                      |
      ----------------+-------+--------
                              |
                            Host-y

   Figure 3. ICMP Error Packet Received from Private Network



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   When the NAT device receives the ICMP error packet, the NAT device
   must use the packet embedded within the ICMP error message (i.e.,
   the IP packet from Host-x to Host-y) to look up the NAT Session the
   embedded packet belongs to. If the NAT device does not have an
   active mapping for the embedded payload, the NAT SHOULD silently
   drop the ICMP error packet. Otherwise, the NAT device MUST use
   the matching NAT Session to translate the embedded payload. Note,
   when the payload is modified, the ICMP checksums will also need
   updating.

   In the outer header, the destination IP address will remain
   unchanged, as the IP addresses for Host-x is already in the external
   domain. If the ICMP error message is generated by Host-y, the NAT
   a NAPT device must simply use the NAT Session to translate the
   source IP address Host-y to Host-y'. However, if the ICMP error
   message is originated by the intermediate node Router-y, and the
   NAT device is a Basic NAT ([NAT-TRAD]), and it has active mapping
   for the IP address that sent the ICMP error, the NAT device MUST
   translate the source IP address of the ICMP error packet with the
   public IP address in the mapping. Otherwise, the NAT device MUST
   simply use its own IP address in the external domain to translate
   the source IP address.

   REQ-5: If a NAT device receives an ICMP error packet from private
   realm, and the NAT does not have an active mapping for the embedded
   payload, the NAT SHOULD silently drop the ICMP error packet. If the
   the NAT has active mapping for the embedded payload, then the NAT
   MUST do the following prior to forwarding the packet.
   a) Revert the IP and transport headers of the embedded
   IP packet to their original form, using the matching mapping; and
   b) Leave the ICMP error type and code unchanged; and
   c) If the NAT is a Basic NAT ([NAT-TRAD]), and the NAT has active
   mapping for the IP address that sent the ICMP error, translate the
   source IP address of the ICMP error packet with the public IP address
   in the mapping. In all other cases, translate the source IP address
   of the ICMP error packet with its own public IP address.


4.3. NAT Sessions Pertaining to ICMP Error Payload

   While processing an ICMP error packet, a NAT device MUST NOT
   refresh or delete the NAT Session that pertains to the embedded
   payload within the ICMP error packet. This is in spite of the
   fact that the NAT device uses the NAT Session to translate the
   embedded payload. By not effecting the NAT Sessions, the NAT
   device is able to retain them, even as someone spoofs ICMP error



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   messages pertaining to the NAT Sessions.

   REQ-6: While processing an ICMP error packet, a NAT device MUST NOT
   refresh or delete the NAT Session that pertains to the embedded
   payload within the ICMP error packet.


5. Hairpinning Support for ICMP packets

   [BEH-UDP] and [BEH-TCP] mandate support for hairpinning for UDP and
   TCP sessions respectively on NAT devices. A NAT device also needs to
   support hairpinning for ICMP Query sessions as well. Specifically,
   ICMP query hairpinning MUST be supported on Basic NATs. Say, for
   example, individual private hosts register their NAT assigned
   external IP address with a rendezvous server. Other hosts that wish
   to initiate ICMP Query sessions to the registered hosts might do so
   using the public address registered with the Rendezvous server. For
   this reason, Basic NAT devices MUST support the traversal of
   hairpinned ICMP query sessions.

   Packets belonging to any of the hairpinned sessions could in turn
   trigger ICMP error messages directed to the source of hairpinned
   IP packets. Such hairpinned ICMP error messages will traverse the
   NAT devices enroute. All NAT devices  (i.e, Basic NAT as well as
   NAPT devices) MUST support the traversal of hairpinned ICMP error
   messages. Specifically, the NAT device must translate not only the
   embedded hairpinned packet, but also the outer IP header that is
   hairpinned.

   A hairpinned ICMP error message is received from a node in private
   network. As such, the ICMP error processing requirement specified
   in Req-5 is applicable in its entirety in processing the ICMP
   error message. In addition, the NAT device MUST translate the
   destination IP address of the outer IP header to be same as the
   source IP address of the embedded IP packet after the translation.

   REQ-7: NAT devices enforcing Basic NAT ([NAT-TRAD]) MUST support the
   traversal of hairpinned ICMP query sessions. All NAT devices (i.e,
   Basic NAT as well as NAPT devices) MUST support the traversal of
   hairpinned ICMP error messages.
   a) When forwarding a hairpinned ICMP error message, the NAT device
   MUST translate the destination IP address of the outer IP header to
   be same as the source IP address of the embedded IP packet after
   the translation.


6. Rejection of Outbound Flows Disallowed by NAT




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   A NAT device typically permits all outbound sessions. However,
   a NAT device may disallow some outbound sessions due to resource
   constraints or administration considerations. For example, a NAT
   device may not permit the first packet of a new outbound session,
   if the NAT device is out of resources (out of addresses or TCP/UDP
   ports or a NAT Session resource) to set up a state for the session,
   or, the specific session is administratively restricted by the NAT
   device.

   When the first packet of an outbound flow is prohibited by a NAT
   device due to resource constraints or administration considerations,
   the NAT device SHOULD send ICMP destination unreachable message.
   Section 5.2.7.1 of [RFC1812] recommends routers to use ICMP code 13
   (Communication administratively prohibited) when they
   administratively filter packets. As such, a NAT device MUST use
   ICMP code 13 when generating an ICMP error message.

   REQ-8: When a NAT device is unable to establish a NAT Session for a
   new flow due to resource constraints or administrative restrictions,
   the NAT device SHOULD send an ICMP destination unreachable message,
   with a code of 13 (Communication administratively prohibited) to the
   sender, and drop the original packet.

7. Conformance to RFC 1812

   A NAT device is inherently an intermediate router that forwards
   IP packets between private and public realms. As such, the NAT
   device MUST conform to all the requirements of a router, as
   specified in [RFC1812]. Section 5.2.7.1 of [RFC1812] states that
   a router MUST also be able to generate ICMP Destination Unreachable
   messages and SHOULD choose a response code that most closely matches
   the reason the message is being generated.

   Note, however, NAT devices also function as hosts on the Internet
   and are bound by the conformance requirements in [RFC1122]. Protocol
   specific Behave documents ([BEH-UDP], [BEH-TCP]) identify instances
   where a NAT device should deviate from RFC 1122. As such, the host
   behavior requirements of NAT devices specified in the protocol
   specific behave drafts take precedence over RFC 1122.

   The focus of this section is on conformance to router requirements.
   The following sub sections identify specific instances where a NAT
   device would be expected to conform to RFC 1812.

7.1. IP packet fragmentation

   Many networking applications (which include TCP as well as UDP based
   applications) depend on ICMP error messages from the network to



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   perform end-to-end path MTU discovery [PMTU]. Once path MTU is
   discovered, an application that chooses to avoid fragmentation may
   do so by originating IP packets that fit within the maximum Path MTU
   enroute and setting the DF (Don't Fragment) bit in the IP header, so
   the intermediate nodes enroute do not fragment the IP packets. The
   following sub-sections discuss the need for NAT devices to honor the
   DF bit in the IP header and be able to generate "Packet too big"
   ICMP error message when they cannot forward the IP packet without
   fragmentation. Also discussed is the need to seamlessly forward
   ICMP error messages generated by other intermediate devices.


7.1.1. Generating "Packet too Big" ICMP error Message

   When a router is unable to forward a datagram because it exceeds
   the MTU of the nexthop network and its Don't Fragment (DF) bit is
   set, the router is required to return an ICMP Destination
   Unreachable message to the source of the datagram, with the Code
   indicating "fragmentation needed and DF set". Further, the router
   MUST include the MTU of that nexthop network in the low order
   16 bits of the ICMP header, as specified in [PMTU].

   A NAT device MUST honor the DF bit in the IP header of the
   packets transiting the device. If the DF bit is set and the
   MTU on the forwarding interface of the NAT device is such that
   the IP datagram cannot be forwarded without fragmentation, the
   NAT device MUST issue a "packet too big" ICMP message (ICMP
   type 3, Code 4) with a suggested MTU back to the sender and
   drop the original IP packet. The sender will resend after
   taking the appropriate corrective action.

   If the DF bit is not set and the MTU on the forwarding interface
   of the NAT device mandates fragmentation, the NAT device must
   simply send this fragmented, just as any router does [RFC1812].

7.1.2. Forwarding "Packet too big" ICMP Error Message

   This is flip side of the argument for the above section. By
   virtue of the address translation NAT performs, NAT may end
   up being the recipient of "Packet too big" message.

   When NAT device is the recipient of "Packet too big"
   ICMP message from the network, the NAT device MUST forward the
   ICMP message back to the intended recipient, pursuant to the
   previously stated requirements REQ-3, REQ-4, REQ-5 and REQ-6.


7.2. Generating "Time Exceeded" Error Message



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   Section 5.2.7.3 of RFC 1812 says that a router MUST generate
   "Time Exceeded" ICMP error message when it discards a packet due
   to an expired TTL field. A router MAY have a per interface option
   to disable origination of these messages on that interface, but that
   option MUST default to allowing the messages to be originated.

7.3. RFC 1812 Conformance Requirements summary

   REQ-9: A NAT device MUST conform to RFC 1812 in IP packet handling.
   Below are specific instances where a NAT device MUST conform to
   RFC 1812.
   a) If DF bit is set on a transit IP packet and the NAT
   device cannot forward the packet without fragmentation, the
   NAT device MUST send a "Packet too big" ICMP message (ICMP
   type 3, Code 4) with a suggested MTU back to the sender and
   drop the original IP packet.
   b) A NAT device  MUST, by default, generate "Time Exceeded" ICMP
   error message when it discards a packet due to an expired TTL field,
   unless explicitly configured otherwise.

8. Summary of Requirements

   This section summarizes the requirements discussed in the preceding
   sections.

   REQ-1: A NAT device MUST permit ICMP query based applications to be
   initiated from private hosts to the external hosts.
   a) NAT mapping of ICMP Query identifiers SHOULD be external host
   independent.

   REQ-2: An ICMP Query session timer MUST NOT expire in less than 60
   seconds.
   a) It is RECOMMENDED that the ICMP Query session timer be made
   configurable.

   REQ-3:  When an ICMP error packet is received, the NAT device
   SHOULD do the following.
   a) If the IP checksum of the embedded packet fails to validate, drop
   the error packet; and
   b) If the embedded packet includes IP options, traverse past the
   IP options to locate the start of transport header for the embedded
   packet.
   c) If the embedded packet contains the entire transport segment,
   and the transport protocol of the embedded packet requires the
   recipient to validate the transport checksum, and the checksum
   fails to validate, drop the error packet.




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   REQ-4: If a NAT device receives an ICMP error packet from external
   realm, and the NAT does not have an active mapping for the embedded
   payload, the NAT SHOULD silently drop the ICMP error packet. If the
   the NAT has active mapping for the embedded payload, then the NAT
   MUST do the following prior to forwarding the packet.
   a) Revert the IP and transport headers of the embedded IP packet to
   their original form, using the matching mapping; and
   b) Leave the ICMP error type and code unchanged; and
   c) Modify the destination IP address of the outer IP header to be
   same as the source IP address of the embedded packet after
   translation.

  REQ-5: If a NAT device receives an ICMP error packet from private
   realm, and the NAT does not have an active mapping for the embedded
   payload, the NAT SHOULD silently drop the ICMP error packet. If the
   the NAT has active mapping for the embedded payload, then the NAT
   MUST do the following prior to forwarding the packet.
   a) Revert the IP and transport headers of the embedded
   IP packet to their original form, using the matching mapping; and
   b) Leave the ICMP error type and code unchanged; and
   c) If the NAT is a Basic NAT ([NAT-TRAD]), and the NAT has active
   mapping for the IP address that sent the ICMP error, translate the
   source IP address of the ICMP error packet with the public IP address
   in the mapping. In all other cases, translate the source IP address
   of the ICMP error packet with its own public IP address.

   REQ-6: While processing an ICMP error packet, a NAT device MUST NOT
   refresh or delete the NAT Session that pertains to the embedded
   payload within the ICMP error packet.

   REQ-7: NAT devices enforcing Basic NAT ([NAT-TRAD]) MUST support the
   traversal of hairpinned ICMP query sessions. All NAT devices (i.e,
   Basic NAT as well as NAPT devices) MUST support the traversal of
   hairpinned ICMP error messages.
   a) When forwarding a hairpinned ICMP error message, the NAT device
   MUST translate the destination IP address of the outer IP header to
   be same as the source IP address of the embedded IP packet after
   the translation.

   REQ-8: When a NAT device is unable to establish a NAT Session for a
   new flow due to resource constraints or administrative restrictions,
   the NAT device SHOULD send an ICMP destination unreachable message,
   with a code of 13 (Communication administratively prohibited) to the
   sender, and drop the original packet.

   REQ-9: A NAT device MUST conform to RFC 1812 in IP packet handling.
   Below are specific instances where a NAT device MUST conform to
   RFC 1812.



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   a) If DF bit is set on a transit IP packet and the NAT
   device cannot forward the packet without fragmentation, the
   NAT device MUST send a "Packet too big" ICMP message (ICMP
   type 3, Code 4) with a suggested MTU back to the sender and
   drop the original IP packet.
   b) A NAT device  MUST, by default, generate "Time Exceeded" ICMP
   error message when it discards a packet due to an expired TTL field,
   unless explicitly configured otherwise.


9. Security Considerations

   This document does not introduce any new security concerns related
   to ICMP error message handling in the NAT devices. However, the
   document does propose counter measures to mitigate security concerns
   that already exist with ICMP error messages.

   [ICMP-ATK] lists a number of ICMP attacks that can be directed
   against end host TCP stacks and suggests remedies to counter the
   attacks. [TCP-SOFT] describes improvements to the handling of
   ICMP error messages in many of the existing TCP/IP stacks, including
   Linux. Section 4 of this document describes a number of measures by
   which NAT devices should validate and update the embedded payload
   in ICMP error messages prior to forwarding. These measure ensure
   that NATs forward the ICMP error messages reliably, as stipulated
   in [ICMP-ATK].

   For example, a rogue entity could bombard the NAT device with a
   large number of ICMP errors. If the NAT device did not
   validate the legitimacy of the ICMP error packets, the ICMP errors
   would be forwarded directly to the end nodes. End hosts not capable
   of defending themselves against such bogus ICMP error attacks could
   be adversely impacted by such attacks. Req-3 recommends validating
   embedded payload prior to forwarding. Checksum validation by itself
   does not protect end hosts from attacks. However, checksum
   validation mitigates endhosts from malformed ICMP error attacks.
   Req-4 and Req-5 further mandate that when a NAT device does not find
   a mapping selection for the embedded payload, the NAT should drop
   the ICMP error packets, without forwarding.

   A rogue source could also try and send bogus ICMP error messages for
   the active NAT sessions, with an intent to destroy the sessions.
   Req-6 averts such an attack by ensuring that an ICMP error message
   does not effect the state of a session on the NAT device.


10.  IANA Considerations




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   There are no IANA considerations.


11. Acknowledgements

   The authors wish to thank Fernando Gont and Dan Wing for providing
   valuable input and offering generous amount of their time in shaping
   the ICMP requirements. Their valuable feedback makes this document a
   better read. The authors highly appreciate that.


Normative References

[BEH-UDP]   Audet, F. and Jennings, C., "NAT Behavioral Requirements for
            Unicast UDP", draft-ietf-behave-nat-udp-04.txt (Work In
            Progress), September 2005.

[ICMP]      Postel, J., "Internet Control Message Protocol", STD 5,
            RFC 792, September 1981.

[NAT-MIB]   Rohit, R., Srisuresh, P., Raghunarayan, R., Pai, N.,
            and Wang, C., "Definitions of Managed Objects for Network
            Address Translators (NAT)", RFC 4008, March 2005.

[NAT-TERM]  Srisuresh, P. and Holdrege, M., "IP Network Address
            Translator (NAT) Terminology and Considerations", RFC 2663,
            August 1999.

[NAT-TRAD]  Srisuresh, P., and Egevang, K., "Traditional IP Network
            Address Translator (Traditional NAT)", RFC 3022,
            January 2001.

[RFC1147]   Stine, R., "FYI on a Network Management Tool Catalog: Tools
            for Monitoring and Debugging TCP/IP Internets and
            Interconnected Devices", RFC 1147, April 1990.

[RFC1812]   Baker, F., "Requirements for IP Version 4 Routers",
            RFC 1812, June 1995.

[RFC2119]   Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
            Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.


Informative References

[BEH-APP]   Ford, B., Srisuresh, P., and Kegel, D., "Application Design
            Guidelines for Traversal through Network Address
            Translators", draft-ford-behave-app-02.txt (Work In



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            Progress), March 2006.

[BEH-TCP]   Guha, S., Biswas, K., Ford, B., Francis, P., Sivakumar, S.,
            and Srisuresh, P., "NAT Behavioral Requirements for
            Unicast TCP", draft-ietf-behave-tcp-00.txt (Work In
            Progress), February 2006.

[ICMP-ATK]  Gont, F., "ICMP attacks against TCP",
            draft-ietf-tcpm-icmp-attacks-00.txt (Work In Progress),
            February 2006.

[PMTU]      Mogul, J. and S. Deering, "Path MTU discovery", RFC 1191,
            November 1990.

[RFC1122]   Braden, R., "Requirements for Internet Hosts --
            Communication Layers", RFC 1122, October 1989.

[TCP-SOFT]  Gont, F., "TCP's Reaction to Soft Errors",
            draft-ietf-tcpm-tcp-soft-errors-00.txt (Work In Progress),
            February 2006.

[UNSAF]     Daigle, L., and IAB, "IAB Considerations for UNilateral
            Self-Address Fixing (UNSAF) Across Network Address
            Translation", RFC 3424, November 2002.


Author's Addresses:

   Pyda Srisuresh
   Consultant
   20072 Pacifica Dr.
   Cupertino, CA 95014
   U.S.A.
   Phone: (408)836-4773
   E-mail: srisuresh@yahoo.com

   Bryan Ford
   Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
   Massachusetts Institute of Technology
   77 Massachusetts Ave.
   Cambridge, MA 02139
   U.S.A.
   Phone: (617) 253-5261
   E-mail: baford@mit.edu
   Web: http://www.brynosaurus.com/

   Senthil Sivakumar
   Cisco Systems, Inc.



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   7100-8 Kit Creek Road
   PO Box 14987
   Research Triangle Park, NC  27709-4987
   U.S.A.
   Phone: +1 919 392 5158
   Email: ssenthil@cisco.com

   Saikat Guha
   Cornell University
   331 Upson Hall
   Ithaca, NY  14853
   U.S.A.
   Email: saikat@cs.cornell.edu

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