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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, EAPGTC, sometimes EAPTLS Password or OTP or cert (inner) Crackable (MSCHAPv2), OTP (GTC), None with inner EAPTLS Ubiquitous; simple to deploy with AD passwords (PEAP‑MSCHAPv2).
EAPTTLS Tunnel PAP, CHAP, MS‑CHAP/v2, EAP (e.g., EAPTLS) Password, OTP, or cert Plaintext (PAP), Crackable (CHAP/MS‑CHAP/v2), None with inner EAPTLS Very flexible; supports non‑EAP inners.
TEAP Tunnel EAP‑MSCHAPv2, EAPTLS, others Password or cert (inner) Crackable with password inners; None with inner EAPTLS Adds EAP chaining (e.g., machine+user in one run) and cryptobinding; good for onboarding.
EAPFAST Tunnel (TLS‑like via PAC) EAP‑MSCHAPv2, EAPGTC, EAPTLS Password, OTP, or cert Crackable (MSCHAPv2), OTP (GTC), None with inner EAPTLS 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
EAPTLS Direct Client+server certificates None (no reusable secret) Widest vendor support; WPA3‑Enterprise 192‑bit profile uses EAPTLS only; TLS 1.3 encrypts client cert for privacy.
EAPPWD Direct Shared password (PAKE) None (no reusable secret; resistant to offline attack) Not common on Wi‑Fi; no server cert required.
EAPMD5 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/EAPFAST/EAPTLS.
EAPSIM Direct SIM (2G) long‑term key (Ki) None (mutual auth; no password to steal) Used for carrier offload/Passpoint.
EAPAKA Direct USIM (3G) long‑term key None Carrier/Passpoint; stronger than EAPSIM.
EAPAKA Direct USIM (LTE) long‑term key None Modern cellular offload/Passpoint.
EAPIKEv2 Direct Cert or PSK (via IKEv2) None with cert; PSK depends on policy Rare in Wi‑Fi; strong but less common.
EAPGPSK / EAPPSK / EAPSAKE 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)
EAPTLS (inner) EAP inner Cert‑based proof None; still more complex than using EAPTLS directly

Methods and WiFi Type Support

Method WPA2‑E WPA3‑E (128‑bit) WPA3‑E (192‑bit/CNSA) Evil‑Twin exposure (misvalidated server)
EAPTLS Yes Yes Required None
PEAP‑MSCHAPv2 Yes Yes No Crackable
TTLSPAP / TTLSCHAP / TTLS‑MSCHAPv2 Yes Yes No Plaintext / Crackable
PEAP/TTLS/TEAP with EAPTLS inner Yes Yes No None, but adds complexity
EAPFAST‑MSCHAPv2 / FASTGTC Yes Yes No Crackable / OTP
EAPMD5 / LEAP Legacy only No No Crackable
EAPSIM/AKA/AKA Passpoint/Carrier Passpoint/Carrier N/A None