diff options
author | Thomas Voss <mail@thomasvoss.com> | 2024-11-27 20:54:24 +0100 |
---|---|---|
committer | Thomas Voss <mail@thomasvoss.com> | 2024-11-27 20:54:24 +0100 |
commit | 4bfd864f10b68b71482b35c818559068ef8d5797 (patch) | |
tree | e3989f47a7994642eb325063d46e8f08ffa681dc /doc/rfc/rfc2487.txt | |
parent | ea76e11061bda059ae9f9ad130a9895cc85607db (diff) |
doc: Add RFC documents
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/rfc/rfc2487.txt')
-rw-r--r-- | doc/rfc/rfc2487.txt | 451 |
1 files changed, 451 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/doc/rfc/rfc2487.txt b/doc/rfc/rfc2487.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fb1305f --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/rfc/rfc2487.txt @@ -0,0 +1,451 @@ + + + + + + +Network Working Group P. Hoffman +Request for Comments: 2487 Internet Mail Consortium +Category: Standards Track January 1999 + + + SMTP Service Extension for Secure SMTP over TLS + +Status of this Memo + + This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the + Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for + improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet + Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state + and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. + +Copyright Notice + + Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1999). All Rights Reserved. + +1. Abstract + + This document describes an extension to the SMTP service that allows + an SMTP server and client to use transport-layer security to provide + private, authenticated communication over the Internet. This gives + SMTP agents the ability to protect some or all of their + communications from eavesdroppers and attackers. + +2. Introduction + + SMTP [RFC-821] servers and clients normally communicate in the clear + over the Internet. In many cases, this communication goes through one + or more router that is not controlled or trusted by either entity. + Such an untrusted router might allow a third party to monitor or + alter the communications between the server and client. + + Further, there is often a desire for two SMTP agents to be able to + authenticate each others' identities. For example, a secure SMTP + server might only allow communications from other SMTP agents it + knows, or it might act differently for messages received from an + agent it knows than from one it doesn't know. + + TLS [TLS], more commonly known as SSL, is a popular mechanism for + enhancing TCP communications with privacy and authentication. TLS is + in wide use with the HTTP protocol, and is also being used for adding + security to many other common protocols that run over TCP. + + + + + + +Hoffman Standards Track [Page 1] + +RFC 2487 SMTP Service Extension January 1999 + + +2.1 Terminology + + The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", + "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this + document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC-2119]. + +3. STARTTLS Extension + + The STARTTLS extension to SMTP is laid out as follows: + + (1) the name of the SMTP service defined here is STARTTLS; + + (2) the EHLO keyword value associated with the extension is STARTTLS; + + (3) the STARTTLS keyword has no parameters; + + (4) a new SMTP verb, "STARTTLS", is defined; + + (5) no additional parameters are added to any SMTP command. + +4. The STARTTLS Keyword + + The STARTTLS keyword is used to tell the SMTP client that the SMTP + server allows use of TLS. It takes no parameters. + +5. The STARTTLS Command + + The format for the STARTTLS command is: + + STARTTLS + + with no parameters. + + After the client gives the STARTTLS command, the server responds with + one of the following reply codes: + + 220 Ready to start TLS + 501 Syntax error (no parameters allowed) + 454 TLS not available due to temporary reason + + A publicly-referenced SMTP server MUST NOT require use of the + STARTTLS extension in order to deliver mail locally. This rule + prevents the STARTTLS extension from damaging the interoperability of + the Internet's SMTP infrastructure. A publicly-referenced SMTP server + is an SMTP server which runs on port 25 of an Internet host listed in + the MX record (or A record if an MX record is not present) for the + domain name on the right hand side of an Internet mail address. + + + + +Hoffman Standards Track [Page 2] + +RFC 2487 SMTP Service Extension January 1999 + + + Any SMTP server may refuse to accept messages for relay based on + authentication supplied during the TLS negotiation. An SMTP server + that is not publicly referenced may refuse to accept any messages for + relay or local delivery based on authentication supplied during the + TLS negotiation. + + A SMTP server that is not publicly referenced may choose to require + that the client perform a TLS negotiation before accepting any + commands. In this case, the server SHOULD return the reply code: + + 530 Must issue a STARTTLS command first + + to every command other than NOOP, EHLO, STARTTLS, or QUIT. If the + client and server are using the ENHANCEDSTATUSCODES ESMTP extension + [RFC-2034], the status code to be returned SHOULD be 5.7.0. + + After receiving a 220 response to a STARTTLS command, the client + SHOULD start the TLS negotiation before giving any other SMTP + commands. + + If the SMTP client is using pipelining as defined in RFC 1854, the + STARTTLS command must be the last command in a group. + +5.1 Processing After the STARTTLS Command + + After the TLS handshake has been completed, both parties MUST + immediately decide whether or not to continue based on the + authentication and privacy achieved. The SMTP client and server may + decide to move ahead even if the TLS negotiation ended with no + authentication and/or no privacy because most SMTP services are + performed with no authentication and no privacy, but some SMTP + clients or servers may want to continue only if a particular level of + authentication and/or privacy was achieved. + + If the SMTP client decides that the level of authentication or + privacy is not high enough for it to continue, it SHOULD issue an + SMTP QUIT command immediately after the TLS negotiation is complete. + If the SMTP server decides that the level of authentication or + privacy is not high enough for it to continue, it SHOULD reply to + every SMTP command from the client (other than a QUIT command) with + the 554 reply code (with a possible text string such as "Command + refused due to lack of security"). + + The decision of whether or not to believe the authenticity of the + other party in a TLS negotiation is a local matter. However, some + general rules for the decisions are: + + + + + +Hoffman Standards Track [Page 3] + +RFC 2487 SMTP Service Extension January 1999 + + + - A SMTP client would probably only want to authenticate an SMTP + server whose server certificate has a domain name that is the + domain name that the client thought it was connecting to. + - A publicly-referenced SMTP server would probably want to accept + any certificate from an SMTP client, and would possibly want to + put distinguishing information about the certificate in the + Received header of messages that were relayed or submitted from + the client. + +5.2 Result of the STARTTLS Command + + Upon completion of the TLS handshake, the SMTP protocol is reset to + the initial state (the state in SMTP after a server issues a 220 + service ready greeting). The server MUST discard any knowledge + obtained from the client, such as the argument to the EHLO command, + which was not obtained from the TLS negotiation itself. The client + MUST discard any knowledge obtained from the server, such as the list + of SMTP service extensions, which was not obtained from the TLS + negotiation itself. The client SHOULD send an EHLO command as the + first command after a successful TLS negotiation. + + The list of SMTP service extensions returned in response to an EHLO + command received after the TLS handshake MAY be different than the + list returned before the TLS handshake. For example, an SMTP server + might not want to advertise support for a particular SASL mechanism + [SASL] unless a client has sent an appropriate client certificate + during a TLS handshake. + + Both the client and the server MUST know if there is a TLS session + active. A client MUST NOT attempt to start a TLS session if a TLS + session is already active. A server MUST NOT return the TLS extension + in response to an EHLO command received after a TLS handshake has + completed. + +6. Usage Example + + The following dialog illustrates how a client and server can start a + TLS session: + + S: <waits for connection on TCP port 25> + C: <opens connection> + S: 220 mail.imc.org SMTP service ready + C: EHLO mail.ietf.org + S: 250-mail.imc.org offers a warm hug of welcome + S: 250 STARTTLS + C: STARTTLS + S: 220 Go ahead + C: <starts TLS negotiation> + + + +Hoffman Standards Track [Page 4] + +RFC 2487 SMTP Service Extension January 1999 + + + C & S: <negotiate a TLS session> + C & S: <check result of negotiation> + C: <continues by sending an SMTP command> + . . . + +7. Security Considerations + + It should be noted that SMTP is not an end-to-end mechanism. Thus, if + an SMTP client/server pair decide to add TLS privacy, they are not + securing the transport from the originating mail user agent to the + recipient. Further, because delivery of a single piece of mail may + go between more than two SMTP servers, adding TLS privacy to one pair + of servers does not mean that the entire SMTP chain has been made + private. Further, just because an SMTP server can authenticate an + SMTP client, it does not mean that the mail from the SMTP client was + authenticated by the SMTP client when the client received it. + + Both the STMP client and server must check the result of the TLS + negotiation to see whether acceptable authentication or privacy was + achieved. Ignoring this step completely invalidates using TLS for + security. The decision about whether acceptable authentication or + privacy was achieved is made locally, is implementation-dependant, + and is beyond the scope of this document. + + The SMTP client and server should note carefully the result of the + TLS negotiation. If the negotiation results in no privacy, or if it + results in privacy using algorithms or key lengths that are deemed + not strong enough, or if the authentication is not good enough for + either party, the client may choose to end the SMTP session with an + immediate QUIT command, or the server may choose to not accept any + more SMTP commands. + + A server announcing in an EHLO response that it uses a particular TLS + protocol should not pose any security issues, since any use of TLS + will be at least as secure as no use of TLS. + + A man-in-the-middle attack can be launched by deleting the "250 + STARTTLS" response from the server. This would cause the client not + to try to start a TLS session. An SMTP client can protect against + this attack by recording the fact that a particular SMTP server + offers TLS during one session and generating an alarm if it does not + appear in the EHLO response for a later session. The lack of TLS + during a session SHOULD NOT result in the bouncing of email, although + it could result in delayed processing. + + + + + + + +Hoffman Standards Track [Page 5] + +RFC 2487 SMTP Service Extension January 1999 + + + Before the TLS handshake has begun, any protocol interactions are + performed in the clear and may be modified by an active attacker. For + this reason, clients and servers MUST discard any knowledge obtained + prior to the start of the TLS handshake upon completion of the TLS + handshake. + + The STARTTLS extension is not suitable for authenticating the author + of an email message unless every hop in the delivery chain, including + the submission to the first SMTP server, is authenticated. Another + proposal [SMTP-AUTH] can be used to authenticate delivery and MIME + security multiparts [MIME-SEC] can be used to authenticate the author + of an email message. In addition, the [SMTP-AUTH] proposal offers + simpler and more flexible options to authenticate an SMTP client and + the SASL EXTERNAL mechanism [SASL] MAY be used in conjunction with + the STARTTLS command to provide an authorization identity. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Hoffman Standards Track [Page 6] + +RFC 2487 SMTP Service Extension January 1999 + + +A. References + + [RFC-821] Postel, J., "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol", RFC 821, + August 1982. + + [RFC-1869] Klensin, J., Freed, N, Rose, M, Stefferud, E. and D. + Crocker, "SMTP Service Extensions", STD 10, RFC 1869, + November 1995. + + [RFC-2034] Freed, N., "SMTP Service Extension for Returning Enhanced + Error Codes", RFC 2034, October 1996. + + [RFC-2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate + Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997. + + [SASL] Myers, J., "Simple Authentication and Security Layer + (SASL)", RFC 2222, October 1997. + + [SMTP-AUTH] "SMTP Service Extension for Authentication", Work in + Progress. + + [TLS] Dierks, T. and C. Allen, "The TLS Protocol Version 1.0", + RFC 2246, January 1999. + +B. Author's Address + + Paul Hoffman + Internet Mail Consortium + 127 Segre Place + Santa Cruz, CA 95060 + + Phone: (831) 426-9827 + EMail: phoffman@imc.org + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Hoffman Standards Track [Page 7] + +RFC 2487 SMTP Service Extension January 1999 + + +C. Full Copyright Statement + + Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1999). All Rights Reserved. + + This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to + others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it + or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published + and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any + kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are + included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this + document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing + the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other + Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of + developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for + copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be + followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than + English. + + The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be + revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns. + + This document and the information contained herein is provided on an + "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING + TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING + BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION + HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF + MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Hoffman Standards Track [Page 8] + |