Random number generator

Random numbers are required when generating the Authenticator field of a RADIUS packet.

It is important to provide the best possible generator because an intruder could try to trick the RADIUS server into responding to a predicted request and then use the response to masquerade as that RADIUS server to a future access-request. The AIX® RADIUS Server uses the /dev/urandom kernel extension to generate pseudo random numbers. This kernel extension collects entropy samples from hardware sources by way of the pseudo device driver. This device has been through NIST testing to ensure proper randomness.