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Date:      Thu, 10 Feb 2022 15:46:27 -0000 (UTC)
From:      Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de>
To:        freebsd-security@freebsd.org
Subject:   Post-quantum crypto now in SSH
Message-ID:  <slrnt0acqj.elc.naddy@lorvorc.mips.inka.de>

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Ed Maste has MFCed OpenSSH 8.7 to 13-STABLE, so I thought I'd point
out a new feature.

If you are concerned that adversaries might record SSH sessions and
later decrypt them should quantum computers become practical in a
number of years, well, you can take action now:

KexAlgorithms ^sntrup761x25519-sha512@openssh.com

This key exchange algorithm combines sntrup761 and x25519 (aka
curve25519).  The strength of the combined algorithm is determined
by the stronger component.  sntrup761 should be able to withstand
attacks by quantum computers, but has not been as thoroughly
researched.  x25519 is a classical algorithm and vulnerable to
quantum attack, but it is well established (it's already the default
SSH KEX).

There is no downside to enabling this KEX, other than a slightly
larger overhead when a connection is established. This is measurable
but not noticeable on a machine as slow as a PCEngines APU2.

For the server, add

  KexAlgorithms +sntrup761x25519-sha512@openssh.com

to /etc/ssh/sshd_config.  (This will no longer be necessary starting
with OpenSSH 8.9.)

For the client, add

  KexAlgorithms ^sntrup761x25519-sha512@openssh.com

to ~/.ssh/config.

Note that the code has been in OpenSSH since 8.5, so there are any
number of non-FreeBSD machines where this can also be enabled.

-- 
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber                          naddy@mips.inka.de



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