802.1X / EAP Quick Reference (with Evil‑Twin Implications)
- Evil‑Twin exposure (if a client is tricked into talking to a rogue AP/RADIUS):
- None: no reusable secret leaks.
- OTP: one‑time code can be stolen and used immediately.
- Crackable: attacker gets a challenge/response that can be offline‑cracked to recover the password.
- Plaintext: attacker learns the actual password.
Tunnel (Outer) Methods
These build a TLS tunnel first, then run an inner method inside it. If clients don’t validate the server certificate, the tunnel protects nothing and inner credentials can be harvested.
| Abbrev |
Structure |
Typical inners |
Cred type (inner) |
Evil‑Twin exposure when server cert validation fails |
Notes |
| PEAP |
Tunnel |
EAP‑MSCHAPv2, EAP‑GTC, sometimes EAP‑TLS |
Password or OTP or cert (inner) |
Crackable (MSCHAPv2), OTP (GTC), None with inner EAP‑TLS |
Ubiquitous; simple to deploy with AD passwords (PEAP‑MSCHAPv2). |
| EAP‑TTLS |
Tunnel |
PAP, CHAP, MS‑CHAP/v2, EAP (e.g., EAP‑TLS) |
Password, OTP, or cert |
Plaintext (PAP), Crackable (CHAP/MS‑CHAP/v2), None with inner EAP‑TLS |
Very flexible; supports non‑EAP inners. |
| TEAP |
Tunnel |
EAP‑MSCHAPv2, EAP‑TLS, others |
Password or cert (inner) |
Crackable with password inners; None with inner EAP‑TLS |
Adds EAP chaining (e.g., machine+user in one run) and cryptobinding; good for onboarding. |
| EAP‑FAST |
Tunnel (TLS‑like via PAC) |
EAP‑MSCHAPv2, EAP‑GTC, EAP‑TLS |
Password, OTP, or cert |
Crackable (MSCHAPv2), OTP (GTC), None with inner EAP‑TLS |
Designed as LEAP replacement; supports PAC provisioning. |
Direct (Single‑Phase) Methods
These authenticate without a tunnel. Evil‑twin risk depends on whether the method provides mutual auth and whether it reveals a reusable secret.
| Abbrev |
Structure |
Cred type |
Evil‑Twin exposure |
Notes |
| EAP‑TLS |
Direct |
Client+server certificates |
None (no reusable secret) |
Widest vendor support; WPA3‑Enterprise 192‑bit profile uses EAP‑TLS only; TLS 1.3 encrypts client cert for privacy. |
| EAP‑PWD |
Direct |
Shared password (PAKE) |
None (no reusable secret; resistant to offline attack) |
Not common on Wi‑Fi; no server cert required. |
| EAP‑MD5 |
Direct |
Password (challenge/response) |
Crackable; no mutual auth |
Obsolete for WLAN; does not derive keying material. |
| LEAP |
Direct |
Password (MS‑CHAPv1‑like) |
Crackable; no robust mutual auth |
Obsolete; replaced by PEAP/EAP‑FAST/EAP‑TLS. |
| EAP‑SIM |
Direct |
SIM (2G) long‑term key (Ki) |
None (mutual auth; no password to steal) |
Used for carrier offload/Passpoint. |
| EAP‑AKA |
Direct |
USIM (3G) long‑term key |
None |
Carrier/Passpoint; stronger than EAP‑SIM. |
| EAP‑AKA′ |
Direct |
USIM (LTE) long‑term key |
None |
Modern cellular offload/Passpoint. |
| EAP‑IKEv2 |
Direct |
Cert or PSK (via IKEv2) |
None with cert; PSK depends on policy |
Rare in Wi‑Fi; strong but less common. |
| EAP‑GPSK / EAP‑PSK / EAP‑SAKE |
Direct |
Symmetric key |
None (no password disclosure) |
Niche in Wi‑Fi; more common in other access types. |
Common Inner Methods (used inside PEAP/TTLS/TEAP/FAST)
| Abbrev |
Type |
What’s sent |
Evil‑Twin exposure if outer server cert isn’t validated |
| PAP |
Non‑EAP |
Plaintext password |
Plaintext (attacker learns the password) |
| CHAP |
Non‑EAP |
Challenge/response |
Crackable (offline) |
| MS‑CHAPv2 |
Non‑EAP |
Challenge/response |
Crackable (offline) |
| GTC |
EAP inner |
One‑time code |
OTP (steal the code; usually not reusable) |
| EAP‑TLS (inner) |
EAP inner |
Cert‑based proof |
None; still more complex than using EAP‑TLS directly |
Methods and WiFi Type Support
| Method |
WPA2‑E |
WPA3‑E (128‑bit) |
WPA3‑E (192‑bit/CNSA) |
Evil‑Twin exposure (misvalidated server) |
| EAP‑TLS |
Yes |
Yes |
Required |
None |
| PEAP‑MSCHAPv2 |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Crackable |
| TTLS‑PAP / TTLS‑CHAP / TTLS‑MSCHAPv2 |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Plaintext / Crackable |
| PEAP/TTLS/TEAP with EAP‑TLS inner |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
None, but adds complexity |
| EAP‑FAST‑MSCHAPv2 / FAST‑GTC |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Crackable / OTP |
| EAP‑MD5 / LEAP |
Legacy only |
No |
No |
Crackable |
| EAP‑SIM/AKA/AKA′ |
Passpoint/Carrier |
Passpoint/Carrier |
N/A |
None |