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+Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) N. Swamy
+Request for Comments: 6842 Samsung India
+Updates: 2131 G. Halwasia
+Category: Standards Track P. Jhingran
+ISSN: 2070-1721 Cisco Systems
+ January 2013
+
+
+ Client Identifier Option in DHCP Server Replies
+
+Abstract
+
+ This document updates RFC 2131 "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol"
+ by addressing the issues arising from that document's specification
+ that the server MUST NOT return the 'client identifier' option to the
+ client.
+
+Status of This Memo
+
+ This is an Internet Standards Track document.
+
+ This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
+ (IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has
+ received public review and has been approved for publication by the
+ Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Further information on
+ Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.
+
+ Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
+ and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
+ http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6842.
+
+Copyright Notice
+
+ Copyright (c) 2013 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
+ document authors. All rights reserved.
+
+ This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
+ Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
+ (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
+ publication of this document. Please review these documents
+ carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
+ to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must
+ include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
+ the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
+ described in the Simplified BSD License.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Swamy, et al. Standards Track [Page 1]
+
+RFC 6842 Client Identifier Option January 2013
+
+
+Table of Contents
+
+ 1. Introduction ....................................................2
+ 1.1. Requirements Language ......................................2
+ 2. Problem Statement ...............................................2
+ 3. Modification to RFC 2131 ........................................3
+ 4. Security Considerations .........................................4
+ 5. Acknowledgments .................................................4
+ 6. Normative References ............................................4
+
+1. Introduction
+
+ The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) defined in [RFC2131]
+ provides configuration parameters to hosts on an IP-based network.
+ DHCP is built on a client-server model, where designated DHCP servers
+ allocate network addresses and deliver configuration parameters to
+ dynamically configured hosts.
+
+ The changes to [RFC2131] defined in this document clarify the use of
+ the 'client identifier' option by the DHCP servers. The
+ clarification addresses the issues (as mentioned in Problem
+ Statement) arising out of the point specified by [RFC2131] that the
+ server MUST NOT return the 'client identifier' option to the client.
+
+1.1. Requirements Language
+
+ 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 [RFC2119].
+
+2. Problem Statement
+
+ [RFC2131] specifies that a combination of 'client identifier' or
+ 'chaddr' and assigned network address constitute a unique identifier
+ for the client's lease and are used by both the client and server to
+ identify a lease referred in any DHCP messages. [RFC2131] also
+ specifies that the server MUST NOT return the 'client identifier'
+ option in DHCPOFFER and DHCPACK messages. Furthermore, DHCP relay
+ agents and servers implementing [RFC2131] MAY drop the DHCP packets
+ in the absence of both the 'client identifier' and 'chaddr' option.
+
+ In some cases, a client may not have a valid hardware address to
+ populate the 'chaddr' field and may set the field to all zeroes. One
+ such example is when DHCP is used to assign an IP address to a mobile
+ phone or a tablet and where the 'chaddr' field is set to zero in DHCP
+ request packets. In such cases, the client usually sets the 'client
+
+
+
+
+
+Swamy, et al. Standards Track [Page 2]
+
+RFC 6842 Client Identifier Option January 2013
+
+
+ identifier' option field (to a value as permitted in [RFC2131]), and
+ both the client and server use this field to uniquely identify the
+ client with in a subnet.
+
+ Note that due to aforementioned recommendations in [RFC2131], valid
+ downstream DHCP packets (DHCPOFFER, DHCPACK, and DHCPNAK) from the
+ server MAY get dropped at the DHCP relay agent in the absence of the
+ 'client identifier' option when the 'chaddr' field is set to zero.
+
+ The problem may get aggravated when a client receives a response from
+ the server without 'client identifier' and with the 'chaddr' value
+ set to zero, as it cannot guarantee that the response is intended for
+ it. This is due to the fact that even though the 'xid' field is
+ present to map responses with requests, this field alone cannot
+ guarantee that a particular response is for a particular client, as
+ 'xid' values generated by multiple clients within a subnet need not
+ be unique.
+
+ Lack of the 'client identifier' option in DHCP reply messages also
+ affects the scenario where multiple DHCP clients may be running on
+ the same host sharing the same 'chaddr'.
+
+ This document attempts to address these problems faced by the DHCP
+ relay agent and client by proposing modification to DHCP server
+ behavior. The solution specified in this document is in line with
+ DHCPv6 [RFC3315] where the server always includes the Client
+ Identifier option in the Reply messages.
+
+ The requirement for DHCP servers not to return the 'client
+ identifier' option was made purely to conserve the limited space in
+ the packet. It is possible, though unlikely, that clients will drop
+ packets that contain this formerly unexpected option. There are no
+ known client implementations that will drop packets, but the benefit
+ provided by this change outweighs any small risk of such behavior.
+ More harm is being done by not having the 'client identifier' option
+ present than might be done by adding it now.
+
+3. Modification to RFC 2131
+
+ If the 'client identifier' option is present in a message received
+ from a client, the server MUST return the 'client identifier' option,
+ unaltered, in its response message.
+
+ The following table is extracted from Section 4.3.1 of [RFC2131] and
+ relevant fields are modified accordingly to overcome the problems
+ mentioned in this document.
+
+
+
+
+
+Swamy, et al. Standards Track [Page 3]
+
+RFC 6842 Client Identifier Option January 2013
+
+
+ Option DHCPOFFER DHCPACK DHCPNAK
+ ------ --------- ------- -------
+ Client identifier (if MUST MUST MUST
+ sent by client)
+ Client identifier (if MUST NOT MUST NOT MUST NOT
+ not sent by client)
+
+
+ When a client receives a DHCP message containing a 'client
+ identifier' option, the client MUST compare that client identifier to
+ the one it is configured to send. If the two client identifiers do
+ not match, the client MUST silently discard the message.
+
+4. Security Considerations
+
+ This specification does not add any new security considerations other
+ than the ones already mentioned in [RFC2131]. It is worth noting
+ that DHCP clients routinely connect to different IP networks managed
+ by different network providers. DHCP clients have no a priori
+ knowledge of which network they are connecting to. Consequently, the
+ client identifier will, by definition, be routinely shared with
+ network operators and could be used in ways that violate the user's
+ privacy. This is a problem that existed in [RFC2131]. This document
+ does nothing to address this problem.
+
+5. Acknowledgments
+
+ The authors would like to thank Bernie Volz, Ted Lemon, Barr Hibbs,
+ Richard Johnson, Barry Leiba, Stephen Farrell, and Adrian Farrel for
+ insightful discussions and review.
+
+6. Normative References
+
+ [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
+ Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
+
+ [RFC2131] Droms, R., "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol",
+ RFC 2131, March 1997.
+
+ [RFC3315] Droms, R., Bound, J., Volz, B., Lemon, T., Perkins, C.,
+ and M. Carney, "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for
+ IPv6 (DHCPv6)", RFC 3315, July 2003.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Swamy, et al. Standards Track [Page 4]
+
+RFC 6842 Client Identifier Option January 2013
+
+
+Authors' Addresses
+
+ Narasimha Swamy Nelakuditi
+ Samsung India
+ Block-B, Bagmane Lakeview,
+ 66/1, Bagmane Tech Park,
+ Byrasandra, C.V. Raman Nagar, Bangalore, 560093
+ India
+
+ Phone: +91 80 4181 9999
+ EMail: nn.swamy@samsung.com
+
+
+ Gaurav Halwasia
+ Cisco Systems
+ SEZ Unit, Cessna Business Park
+ Sarjapur Marathalli Outer Ring Road
+ Bangalore, 560103
+ India
+
+ Phone: +91 80 4426 1321
+ EMail: ghalwasi@cisco.com
+
+
+ Prashant Jhingran
+ Cisco Systems
+ SEZ Unit, Cessna Business Park
+ Sarjapur Marathalli Outer Ring Road
+ Bangalore, 560103
+ India
+
+ Phone: +91 80 4426 1800
+ EMail: pjhingra@cisco.com
+
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+Swamy, et al. Standards Track [Page 5]
+