System and method for switching security associations

A system and method for switching security associations between network devices. The system and method includes a first, a second, and a third network device, with a first secure communication being established between the first and second network devices, and a second secure communication being established between the first and third network devices. Both secure communications may have replay prevention enabled. In addition, the first secure communication has a security association and a pre-defined sequence number limit less than a maximum sequence number, while the second secure communication has the same security association as the first secure communication, but an initial sequence number greater than the pre-defined sequence number limit. The system and method may also have a fourth network device with security information corresponding to the security association. The fourth network device is capable of passing the security information from the first network device to the third network device.