A security enforcement kernel for OpenFlow networks

TLDR

Software‑defined networks enable rapid innovation but also create security challenges, notably the need to detect and reconcile conflicting flow rules in dynamic OpenFlow environments. This work introduces FortNOX, a software extension that provides role‑based authorization and security constraint enforcement for the NOX OpenFlow controller. FortNOX real‑time checks for flow rule contradictions and employs a novel analysis algorithm that remains robust even when adversarial OpenFlow applications attempt to insert rules that bypass security constraints. Prototype experiments demonstrate that FortNOX effectively detects rule conflicts and improves the performance and efficiency of the NOX controller framework.

Abstract

Software-defined networks facilitate rapid and open innovation at the network control layer by providing a programmable network infrastructure for computing flow policies on demand. However, the dynamism of programmable networks also introduces new security challenges that demand innovative solutions. A critical challenge is efficient detection and reconciliation of potentially conflicting flow rules imposed by dynamic OpenFlow (OF) applications. To that end, we introduce FortNOX, a software extension that provides role-based authorization and security constraint enforcement for the NOX OpenFlow controller. FortNOX enables NOX to check flow rule contradictions in real time, and implements a novel analysis algorithm that is robust even in cases where an adversarial OF application attempts to strategically insert flow rules that would otherwise circumvent flow rules imposed by OF security applications. We demonstrate the utility of FortNOX through a prototype implementation and use it to examine performance and efficiency aspects of the proposed framework.