How does the KDC verify the identity of the user?

The KDC (Key Distribution Center) in Kerberos verifies the identity of the user by using the user’s password to encrypt and decrypt information exchanged during the authentication process. The process involves the following steps:

1. The user sends a request to the KDC for a TGT (Ticket Granting Ticket), including their username and the name of the target network resource they wish to access.
2. The KDC looks up the user’s account information in the Active Directory database and retrieves the user’s password hash.
3. The KDC uses the password hash to encrypt a message known as an AS_REQ (Authentication Service Request) and sends it to the user.
4. The user decrypts the AS_REQ message using their password to retrieve a timestamp and a random number (known as a nonce) encrypted within the message.
5. The user combines the timestamp and nonce with their password to create a new message, which is then encrypted using a secret key shared between the user and the KDC.
6. The encrypted message is sent back to the KDC, which decrypts it using the shared secret key and verifies that the timestamp and nonce match those originally sent by the KDC.
7. If the timestamps and nonces match, the KDC generates a TGT for the user, encrypts it using the user’s password, and sends it back to the user.

By using the user’s password to encrypt and decrypt information exchanged during the authentication process, the KDC can verify the identity of the user requesting a TGT and prevent unauthorized access to network resources. The KDC does not store the user’s password in plaintext, but instead stores a one-way hash of the password, which is used to encrypt and decrypt messages during the authentication process. This ensures that even if the KDC is compromised, an attacker cannot easily obtain the user’s password.

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