This new flag gives the kernel-interface a hint how it should priorize the
use of newly installed SAs during rekeying.
Consider the following rekey procedure in IKEv2:
Initiator --- Responder
I1 -------CREATE-------> R1
I2 <------CREATE--------
-------DELETE-------> R2
I3 <------DELETE--------
SAs are always handled as pairs, the following happens at the SA level:
* Initiator starts the exchange at I1
* Responder installs new SA pair at R1
* Initiator installs new SA pair at I2
* Responder removes old SA pair at R2
* Initiator removes old SA pair at I3
This makes sure SAs get installed/removed overlapping during rekeying. However,
to avoid any packet loss, it is crucial that the new outbound SA gets
activated at the correct position:
* as exchange initiator, in I2
* as exchange responder, in R2
This should guarantee that we don't use the new outbound SA before the peer
could install its corresponding inbound SA.
The new parameter allows the kernel backend to install the new SA with
appropriate priorities, i.e. it should:
* as exchange inititator, have the new outbound SA installed with higher
priority than the old SA
* as exchange responder, have the new outbound SA installed with lower
priority than the old SA
While we could split up the SA installation at the responder, this approach
has another advantage: it allows the kernel backend to switch SAs based on
other criteria, for example when receiving traffic on the new inbound SA.
While this was problematic in earlier releases, it seems that it works just
fine the way we handle compression now. So there is no need to disable it over
NATed connections or when using forceencaps.
According to RFC5996, implementations should just ignore the KE payload
if they select a non-PFS proposals. Some implementations don't, but
return MODP_NONE in INVALID_KE_PAYLOAD, hence we accept that, too.
Tobias Brunner