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diff --git a/doc/rfc/rfc7541.txt b/doc/rfc/rfc7541.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4c9c202 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/rfc/rfc7541.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3083 @@ + + + + + + +Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) R. Peon +Request for Comments: 7541 Google, Inc +Category: Standards Track H. Ruellan +ISSN: 2070-1721 Canon CRF + May 2015 + + + HPACK: Header Compression for HTTP/2 + +Abstract + + This specification defines HPACK, a compression format for + efficiently representing HTTP header fields, to be used in HTTP/2. + +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/rfc7541. + +Copyright Notice + + Copyright (c) 2015 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. + + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 1] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + +Table of Contents + + 1. Introduction ....................................................4 + 1.1. Overview ...................................................4 + 1.2. Conventions ................................................5 + 1.3. Terminology ................................................5 + 2. Compression Process Overview ....................................6 + 2.1. Header List Ordering .......................................6 + 2.2. Encoding and Decoding Contexts .............................6 + 2.3. Indexing Tables ............................................6 + 2.3.1. Static Table ........................................6 + 2.3.2. Dynamic Table .......................................6 + 2.3.3. Index Address Space .................................7 + 2.4. Header Field Representation ................................8 + 3. Header Block Decoding ...........................................8 + 3.1. Header Block Processing ....................................8 + 3.2. Header Field Representation Processing .....................9 + 4. Dynamic Table Management ........................................9 + 4.1. Calculating Table Size ....................................10 + 4.2. Maximum Table Size ........................................10 + 4.3. Entry Eviction When Dynamic Table Size Changes ............11 + 4.4. Entry Eviction When Adding New Entries ....................11 + 5. Primitive Type Representations .................................11 + 5.1. Integer Representation ....................................11 + 5.2. String Literal Representation .............................13 + 6. Binary Format ..................................................14 + 6.1. Indexed Header Field Representation .......................14 + 6.2. Literal Header Field Representation .......................15 + 6.2.1. Literal Header Field with Incremental Indexing .....15 + 6.2.2. Literal Header Field without Indexing ..............16 + 6.2.3. Literal Header Field Never Indexed .................17 + 6.3. Dynamic Table Size Update .................................18 + 7. Security Considerations ........................................19 + 7.1. Probing Dynamic Table State ...............................19 + 7.1.1. Applicability to HPACK and HTTP ....................20 + 7.1.2. Mitigation .........................................20 + 7.1.3. Never-Indexed Literals .............................21 + 7.2. Static Huffman Encoding ...................................22 + 7.3. Memory Consumption ........................................22 + 7.4. Implementation Limits .....................................23 + 8. References .....................................................23 + 8.1. Normative References ......................................23 + 8.2. Informative References ....................................24 + Appendix A. Static Table Definition ...............................25 + Appendix B. Huffman Code ..........................................27 + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 2] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Appendix C. Examples ..............................................33 + C.1. Integer Representation Examples ............................33 + C.1.1. Example 1: Encoding 10 Using a 5-Bit Prefix ............33 + C.1.2. Example 2: Encoding 1337 Using a 5-Bit Prefix ..........33 + C.1.3. Example 3: Encoding 42 Starting at an Octet Boundary ...34 + C.2. Header Field Representation Examples .......................34 + C.2.1. Literal Header Field with Indexing .....................34 + C.2.2. Literal Header Field without Indexing ..................35 + C.2.3. Literal Header Field Never Indexed .....................36 + C.2.4. Indexed Header Field ...................................37 + C.3. Request Examples without Huffman Coding ....................37 + C.3.1. First Request ..........................................37 + C.3.2. Second Request .........................................38 + C.3.3. Third Request ..........................................39 + C.4. Request Examples with Huffman Coding .......................41 + C.4.1. First Request ..........................................41 + C.4.2. Second Request .........................................42 + C.4.3. Third Request ..........................................43 + C.5. Response Examples without Huffman Coding ...................45 + C.5.1. First Response .........................................45 + C.5.2. Second Response ........................................46 + C.5.3. Third Response .........................................47 + C.6. Response Examples with Huffman Coding ......................49 + C.6.1. First Response .........................................49 + C.6.2. Second Response ........................................51 + C.6.3. Third Response .........................................52 + Acknowledgments ...................................................55 + Authors' Addresses ................................................55 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 3] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + +1. Introduction + + In HTTP/1.1 (see [RFC7230]), header fields are not compressed. As + web pages have grown to require dozens to hundreds of requests, the + redundant header fields in these requests unnecessarily consume + bandwidth, measurably increasing latency. + + SPDY [SPDY] initially addressed this redundancy by compressing header + fields using the DEFLATE [DEFLATE] format, which proved very + effective at efficiently representing the redundant header fields. + However, that approach exposed a security risk as demonstrated by the + CRIME (Compression Ratio Info-leak Made Easy) attack (see [CRIME]). + + This specification defines HPACK, a new compressor that eliminates + redundant header fields, limits vulnerability to known security + attacks, and has a bounded memory requirement for use in constrained + environments. Potential security concerns for HPACK are described in + Section 7. + + The HPACK format is intentionally simple and inflexible. Both + characteristics reduce the risk of interoperability or security + issues due to implementation error. No extensibility mechanisms are + defined; changes to the format are only possible by defining a + complete replacement. + +1.1. Overview + + The format defined in this specification treats a list of header + fields as an ordered collection of name-value pairs that can include + duplicate pairs. Names and values are considered to be opaque + sequences of octets, and the order of header fields is preserved + after being compressed and decompressed. + + Encoding is informed by header field tables that map header fields to + indexed values. These header field tables can be incrementally + updated as new header fields are encoded or decoded. + + In the encoded form, a header field is represented either literally + or as a reference to a header field in one of the header field + tables. Therefore, a list of header fields can be encoded using a + mixture of references and literal values. + + Literal values are either encoded directly or use a static Huffman + code. + + The encoder is responsible for deciding which header fields to insert + as new entries in the header field tables. The decoder executes the + modifications to the header field tables prescribed by the encoder, + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 4] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + reconstructing the list of header fields in the process. This + enables decoders to remain simple and interoperate with a wide + variety of encoders. + + Examples illustrating the use of these different mechanisms to + represent header fields are available in Appendix C. + +1.2. Conventions + + 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 [RFC2119]. + + All numeric values are in network byte order. Values are unsigned + unless otherwise indicated. Literal values are provided in decimal + or hexadecimal as appropriate. + +1.3. Terminology + + This specification uses the following terms: + + Header Field: A name-value pair. Both the name and value are + treated as opaque sequences of octets. + + Dynamic Table: The dynamic table (see Section 2.3.2) is a table that + associates stored header fields with index values. This table is + dynamic and specific to an encoding or decoding context. + + Static Table: The static table (see Section 2.3.1) is a table that + statically associates header fields that occur frequently with + index values. This table is ordered, read-only, always + accessible, and it may be shared amongst all encoding or decoding + contexts. + + Header List: A header list is an ordered collection of header fields + that are encoded jointly and can contain duplicate header fields. + A complete list of header fields contained in an HTTP/2 header + block is a header list. + + Header Field Representation: A header field can be represented in + encoded form either as a literal or as an index (see Section 2.4). + + Header Block: An ordered list of header field representations, + which, when decoded, yields a complete header list. + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 5] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + +2. Compression Process Overview + + This specification does not describe a specific algorithm for an + encoder. Instead, it defines precisely how a decoder is expected to + operate, allowing encoders to produce any encoding that this + definition permits. + +2.1. Header List Ordering + + HPACK preserves the ordering of header fields inside the header list. + An encoder MUST order header field representations in the header + block according to their ordering in the original header list. A + decoder MUST order header fields in the decoded header list according + to their ordering in the header block. + +2.2. Encoding and Decoding Contexts + + To decompress header blocks, a decoder only needs to maintain a + dynamic table (see Section 2.3.2) as a decoding context. No other + dynamic state is needed. + + When used for bidirectional communication, such as in HTTP, the + encoding and decoding dynamic tables maintained by an endpoint are + completely independent, i.e., the request and response dynamic tables + are separate. + +2.3. Indexing Tables + + HPACK uses two tables for associating header fields to indexes. The + static table (see Section 2.3.1) is predefined and contains common + header fields (most of them with an empty value). The dynamic table + (see Section 2.3.2) is dynamic and can be used by the encoder to + index header fields repeated in the encoded header lists. + + These two tables are combined into a single address space for + defining index values (see Section 2.3.3). + +2.3.1. Static Table + + The static table consists of a predefined static list of header + fields. Its entries are defined in Appendix A. + +2.3.2. Dynamic Table + + The dynamic table consists of a list of header fields maintained in + first-in, first-out order. The first and newest entry in a dynamic + table is at the lowest index, and the oldest entry of a dynamic table + is at the highest index. + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 6] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + The dynamic table is initially empty. Entries are added as each + header block is decompressed. + + The dynamic table can contain duplicate entries (i.e., entries with + the same name and same value). Therefore, duplicate entries MUST NOT + be treated as an error by a decoder. + + The encoder decides how to update the dynamic table and as such can + control how much memory is used by the dynamic table. To limit the + memory requirements of the decoder, the dynamic table size is + strictly bounded (see Section 4.2). + + The decoder updates the dynamic table during the processing of a list + of header field representations (see Section 3.2). + +2.3.3. Index Address Space + + The static table and the dynamic table are combined into a single + index address space. + + Indices between 1 and the length of the static table (inclusive) + refer to elements in the static table (see Section 2.3.1). + + Indices strictly greater than the length of the static table refer to + elements in the dynamic table (see Section 2.3.2). The length of the + static table is subtracted to find the index into the dynamic table. + + Indices strictly greater than the sum of the lengths of both tables + MUST be treated as a decoding error. + + For a static table size of s and a dynamic table size of k, the + following diagram shows the entire valid index address space. + + <---------- Index Address Space ----------> + <-- Static Table --> <-- Dynamic Table --> + +---+-----------+---+ +---+-----------+---+ + | 1 | ... | s | |s+1| ... |s+k| + +---+-----------+---+ +---+-----------+---+ + ^ | + | V + Insertion Point Dropping Point + + Figure 1: Index Address Space + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 7] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + +2.4. Header Field Representation + + An encoded header field can be represented either as an index or as a + literal. + + An indexed representation defines a header field as a reference to an + entry in either the static table or the dynamic table (see + Section 6.1). + + A literal representation defines a header field by specifying its + name and value. The header field name can be represented literally + or as a reference to an entry in either the static table or the + dynamic table. The header field value is represented literally. + + Three different literal representations are defined: + + o A literal representation that adds the header field as a new entry + at the beginning of the dynamic table (see Section 6.2.1). + + o A literal representation that does not add the header field to the + dynamic table (see Section 6.2.2). + + o A literal representation that does not add the header field to the + dynamic table, with the additional stipulation that this header + field always use a literal representation, in particular when re- + encoded by an intermediary (see Section 6.2.3). This + representation is intended for protecting header field values that + are not to be put at risk by compressing them (see Section 7.1.3 + for more details). + + The selection of one of these literal representations can be guided + by security considerations, in order to protect sensitive header + field values (see Section 7.1). + + The literal representation of a header field name or of a header + field value can encode the sequence of octets either directly or + using a static Huffman code (see Section 5.2). + +3. Header Block Decoding + +3.1. Header Block Processing + + A decoder processes a header block sequentially to reconstruct the + original header list. + + A header block is the concatenation of header field representations. + The different possible header field representations are described in + Section 6. + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 8] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Once a header field is decoded and added to the reconstructed header + list, the header field cannot be removed. A header field added to + the header list can be safely passed to the application. + + By passing the resulting header fields to the application, a decoder + can be implemented with minimal transitory memory commitment in + addition to the memory required for the dynamic table. + +3.2. Header Field Representation Processing + + The processing of a header block to obtain a header list is defined + in this section. To ensure that the decoding will successfully + produce a header list, a decoder MUST obey the following rules. + + All the header field representations contained in a header block are + processed in the order in which they appear, as specified below. + Details on the formatting of the various header field representations + and some additional processing instructions are found in Section 6. + + An _indexed representation_ entails the following actions: + + o The header field corresponding to the referenced entry in either + the static table or dynamic table is appended to the decoded + header list. + + A _literal representation_ that is _not added_ to the dynamic table + entails the following action: + + o The header field is appended to the decoded header list. + + A _literal representation_ that is _added_ to the dynamic table + entails the following actions: + + o The header field is appended to the decoded header list. + + o The header field is inserted at the beginning of the dynamic + table. This insertion could result in the eviction of previous + entries in the dynamic table (see Section 4.4). + +4. Dynamic Table Management + + To limit the memory requirements on the decoder side, the dynamic + table is constrained in size. + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 9] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + +4.1. Calculating Table Size + + The size of the dynamic table is the sum of the size of its entries. + + The size of an entry is the sum of its name's length in octets (as + defined in Section 5.2), its value's length in octets, and 32. + + The size of an entry is calculated using the length of its name and + value without any Huffman encoding applied. + + Note: The additional 32 octets account for an estimated overhead + associated with an entry. For example, an entry structure using + two 64-bit pointers to reference the name and the value of the + entry and two 64-bit integers for counting the number of + references to the name and value would have 32 octets of overhead. + +4.2. Maximum Table Size + + Protocols that use HPACK determine the maximum size that the encoder + is permitted to use for the dynamic table. In HTTP/2, this value is + determined by the SETTINGS_HEADER_TABLE_SIZE setting (see + Section 6.5.2 of [HTTP2]). + + An encoder can choose to use less capacity than this maximum size + (see Section 6.3), but the chosen size MUST stay lower than or equal + to the maximum set by the protocol. + + A change in the maximum size of the dynamic table is signaled via a + dynamic table size update (see Section 6.3). This dynamic table size + update MUST occur at the beginning of the first header block + following the change to the dynamic table size. In HTTP/2, this + follows a settings acknowledgment (see Section 6.5.3 of [HTTP2]). + + Multiple updates to the maximum table size can occur between the + transmission of two header blocks. In the case that this size is + changed more than once in this interval, the smallest maximum table + size that occurs in that interval MUST be signaled in a dynamic table + size update. The final maximum size is always signaled, resulting in + at most two dynamic table size updates. This ensures that the + decoder is able to perform eviction based on reductions in dynamic + table size (see Section 4.3). + + This mechanism can be used to completely clear entries from the + dynamic table by setting a maximum size of 0, which can subsequently + be restored. + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 10] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + +4.3. Entry Eviction When Dynamic Table Size Changes + + Whenever the maximum size for the dynamic table is reduced, entries + are evicted from the end of the dynamic table until the size of the + dynamic table is less than or equal to the maximum size. + +4.4. Entry Eviction When Adding New Entries + + Before a new entry is added to the dynamic table, entries are evicted + from the end of the dynamic table until the size of the dynamic table + is less than or equal to (maximum size - new entry size) or until the + table is empty. + + If the size of the new entry is less than or equal to the maximum + size, that entry is added to the table. It is not an error to + attempt to add an entry that is larger than the maximum size; an + attempt to add an entry larger than the maximum size causes the table + to be emptied of all existing entries and results in an empty table. + + A new entry can reference the name of an entry in the dynamic table + that will be evicted when adding this new entry into the dynamic + table. Implementations are cautioned to avoid deleting the + referenced name if the referenced entry is evicted from the dynamic + table prior to inserting the new entry. + +5. Primitive Type Representations + + HPACK encoding uses two primitive types: unsigned variable-length + integers and strings of octets. + +5.1. Integer Representation + + Integers are used to represent name indexes, header field indexes, or + string lengths. An integer representation can start anywhere within + an octet. To allow for optimized processing, an integer + representation always finishes at the end of an octet. + + An integer is represented in two parts: a prefix that fills the + current octet and an optional list of octets that are used if the + integer value does not fit within the prefix. The number of bits of + the prefix (called N) is a parameter of the integer representation. + + If the integer value is small enough, i.e., strictly less than 2^N-1, + it is encoded within the N-bit prefix. + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 11] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + | ? | ? | ? | Value | + +---+---+---+-------------------+ + + Figure 2: Integer Value Encoded within the Prefix (Shown for N = 5) + + Otherwise, all the bits of the prefix are set to 1, and the value, + decreased by 2^N-1, is encoded using a list of one or more octets. + The most significant bit of each octet is used as a continuation + flag: its value is set to 1 except for the last octet in the list. + The remaining bits of the octets are used to encode the decreased + value. + + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + | ? | ? | ? | 1 1 1 1 1 | + +---+---+---+-------------------+ + | 1 | Value-(2^N-1) LSB | + +---+---------------------------+ + ... + +---+---------------------------+ + | 0 | Value-(2^N-1) MSB | + +---+---------------------------+ + + Figure 3: Integer Value Encoded after the Prefix (Shown for N = 5) + + Decoding the integer value from the list of octets starts by + reversing the order of the octets in the list. Then, for each octet, + its most significant bit is removed. The remaining bits of the + octets are concatenated, and the resulting value is increased by + 2^N-1 to obtain the integer value. + + The prefix size, N, is always between 1 and 8 bits. An integer + starting at an octet boundary will have an 8-bit prefix. + + Pseudocode to represent an integer I is as follows: + + if I < 2^N - 1, encode I on N bits + else + encode (2^N - 1) on N bits + I = I - (2^N - 1) + while I >= 128 + encode (I % 128 + 128) on 8 bits + I = I / 128 + encode I on 8 bits + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 12] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Pseudocode to decode an integer I is as follows: + + decode I from the next N bits + if I < 2^N - 1, return I + else + M = 0 + repeat + B = next octet + I = I + (B & 127) * 2^M + M = M + 7 + while B & 128 == 128 + return I + + Examples illustrating the encoding of integers are available in + Appendix C.1. + + This integer representation allows for values of indefinite size. It + is also possible for an encoder to send a large number of zero + values, which can waste octets and could be used to overflow integer + values. Integer encodings that exceed implementation limits -- in + value or octet length -- MUST be treated as decoding errors. + Different limits can be set for each of the different uses of + integers, based on implementation constraints. + +5.2. String Literal Representation + + Header field names and header field values can be represented as + string literals. A string literal is encoded as a sequence of + octets, either by directly encoding the string literal's octets or by + using a Huffman code (see [HUFFMAN]). + + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + | H | String Length (7+) | + +---+---------------------------+ + | String Data (Length octets) | + +-------------------------------+ + + Figure 4: String Literal Representation + + A string literal representation contains the following fields: + + H: A one-bit flag, H, indicating whether or not the octets of the + string are Huffman encoded. + + String Length: The number of octets used to encode the string + literal, encoded as an integer with a 7-bit prefix (see + Section 5.1). + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 13] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + String Data: The encoded data of the string literal. If H is '0', + then the encoded data is the raw octets of the string literal. If + H is '1', then the encoded data is the Huffman encoding of the + string literal. + + String literals that use Huffman encoding are encoded with the + Huffman code defined in Appendix B (see examples for requests in + Appendix C.4 and for responses in Appendix C.6). The encoded data is + the bitwise concatenation of the codes corresponding to each octet of + the string literal. + + As the Huffman-encoded data doesn't always end at an octet boundary, + some padding is inserted after it, up to the next octet boundary. To + prevent this padding from being misinterpreted as part of the string + literal, the most significant bits of the code corresponding to the + EOS (end-of-string) symbol are used. + + Upon decoding, an incomplete code at the end of the encoded data is + to be considered as padding and discarded. A padding strictly longer + than 7 bits MUST be treated as a decoding error. A padding not + corresponding to the most significant bits of the code for the EOS + symbol MUST be treated as a decoding error. A Huffman-encoded string + literal containing the EOS symbol MUST be treated as a decoding + error. + +6. Binary Format + + This section describes the detailed format of each of the different + header field representations and the dynamic table size update + instruction. + +6.1. Indexed Header Field Representation + + An indexed header field representation identifies an entry in either + the static table or the dynamic table (see Section 2.3). + + An indexed header field representation causes a header field to be + added to the decoded header list, as described in Section 3.2. + + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + | 1 | Index (7+) | + +---+---------------------------+ + + Figure 5: Indexed Header Field + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 14] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + An indexed header field starts with the '1' 1-bit pattern, followed + by the index of the matching header field, represented as an integer + with a 7-bit prefix (see Section 5.1). + + The index value of 0 is not used. It MUST be treated as a decoding + error if found in an indexed header field representation. + +6.2. Literal Header Field Representation + + A literal header field representation contains a literal header field + value. Header field names are provided either as a literal or by + reference to an existing table entry, either from the static table or + the dynamic table (see Section 2.3). + + This specification defines three forms of literal header field + representations: with indexing, without indexing, and never indexed. + +6.2.1. Literal Header Field with Incremental Indexing + + A literal header field with incremental indexing representation + results in appending a header field to the decoded header list and + inserting it as a new entry into the dynamic table. + + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + | 0 | 1 | Index (6+) | + +---+---+-----------------------+ + | H | Value Length (7+) | + +---+---------------------------+ + | Value String (Length octets) | + +-------------------------------+ + + Figure 6: Literal Header Field with Incremental Indexing -- Indexed + Name + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 15] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + | 0 | 1 | 0 | + +---+---+-----------------------+ + | H | Name Length (7+) | + +---+---------------------------+ + | Name String (Length octets) | + +---+---------------------------+ + | H | Value Length (7+) | + +---+---------------------------+ + | Value String (Length octets) | + +-------------------------------+ + + Figure 7: Literal Header Field with Incremental Indexing -- New Name + + A literal header field with incremental indexing representation + starts with the '01' 2-bit pattern. + + If the header field name matches the header field name of an entry + stored in the static table or the dynamic table, the header field + name can be represented using the index of that entry. In this case, + the index of the entry is represented as an integer with a 6-bit + prefix (see Section 5.1). This value is always non-zero. + + Otherwise, the header field name is represented as a string literal + (see Section 5.2). A value 0 is used in place of the 6-bit index, + followed by the header field name. + + Either form of header field name representation is followed by the + header field value represented as a string literal (see Section 5.2). + +6.2.2. Literal Header Field without Indexing + + A literal header field without indexing representation results in + appending a header field to the decoded header list without altering + the dynamic table. + + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Index (4+) | + +---+---+-----------------------+ + | H | Value Length (7+) | + +---+---------------------------+ + | Value String (Length octets) | + +-------------------------------+ + + Figure 8: Literal Header Field without Indexing -- Indexed Name + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 16] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | + +---+---+-----------------------+ + | H | Name Length (7+) | + +---+---------------------------+ + | Name String (Length octets) | + +---+---------------------------+ + | H | Value Length (7+) | + +---+---------------------------+ + | Value String (Length octets) | + +-------------------------------+ + + Figure 9: Literal Header Field without Indexing -- New Name + + A literal header field without indexing representation starts with + the '0000' 4-bit pattern. + + If the header field name matches the header field name of an entry + stored in the static table or the dynamic table, the header field + name can be represented using the index of that entry. In this case, + the index of the entry is represented as an integer with a 4-bit + prefix (see Section 5.1). This value is always non-zero. + + Otherwise, the header field name is represented as a string literal + (see Section 5.2). A value 0 is used in place of the 4-bit index, + followed by the header field name. + + Either form of header field name representation is followed by the + header field value represented as a string literal (see Section 5.2). + +6.2.3. Literal Header Field Never Indexed + + A literal header field never-indexed representation results in + appending a header field to the decoded header list without altering + the dynamic table. Intermediaries MUST use the same representation + for encoding this header field. + + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Index (4+) | + +---+---+-----------------------+ + | H | Value Length (7+) | + +---+---------------------------+ + | Value String (Length octets) | + +-------------------------------+ + + Figure 10: Literal Header Field Never Indexed -- Indexed Name + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 17] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | + +---+---+-----------------------+ + | H | Name Length (7+) | + +---+---------------------------+ + | Name String (Length octets) | + +---+---------------------------+ + | H | Value Length (7+) | + +---+---------------------------+ + | Value String (Length octets) | + +-------------------------------+ + + Figure 11: Literal Header Field Never Indexed -- New Name + + A literal header field never-indexed representation starts with the + '0001' 4-bit pattern. + + When a header field is represented as a literal header field never + indexed, it MUST always be encoded with this specific literal + representation. In particular, when a peer sends a header field that + it received represented as a literal header field never indexed, it + MUST use the same representation to forward this header field. + + This representation is intended for protecting header field values + that are not to be put at risk by compressing them (see Section 7.1 + for more details). + + The encoding of the representation is identical to the literal header + field without indexing (see Section 6.2.2). + +6.3. Dynamic Table Size Update + + A dynamic table size update signals a change to the size of the + dynamic table. + + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + | 0 | 0 | 1 | Max size (5+) | + +---+---------------------------+ + + Figure 12: Maximum Dynamic Table Size Change + + A dynamic table size update starts with the '001' 3-bit pattern, + followed by the new maximum size, represented as an integer with a + 5-bit prefix (see Section 5.1). + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 18] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + The new maximum size MUST be lower than or equal to the limit + determined by the protocol using HPACK. A value that exceeds this + limit MUST be treated as a decoding error. In HTTP/2, this limit is + the last value of the SETTINGS_HEADER_TABLE_SIZE parameter (see + Section 6.5.2 of [HTTP2]) received from the decoder and acknowledged + by the encoder (see Section 6.5.3 of [HTTP2]). + + Reducing the maximum size of the dynamic table can cause entries to + be evicted (see Section 4.3). + +7. Security Considerations + + This section describes potential areas of security concern with + HPACK: + + o Use of compression as a length-based oracle for verifying guesses + about secrets that are compressed into a shared compression + context. + + o Denial of service resulting from exhausting processing or memory + capacity at a decoder. + +7.1. Probing Dynamic Table State + + HPACK reduces the length of header field encodings by exploiting the + redundancy inherent in protocols like HTTP. The ultimate goal of + this is to reduce the amount of data that is required to send HTTP + requests or responses. + + The compression context used to encode header fields can be probed by + an attacker who can both define header fields to be encoded and + transmitted and observe the length of those fields once they are + encoded. When an attacker can do both, they can adaptively modify + requests in order to confirm guesses about the dynamic table state. + If a guess is compressed into a shorter length, the attacker can + observe the encoded length and infer that the guess was correct. + + This is possible even over the Transport Layer Security (TLS) + protocol (see [TLS12]), because while TLS provides confidentiality + protection for content, it only provides a limited amount of + protection for the length of that content. + + Note: Padding schemes only provide limited protection against an + attacker with these capabilities, potentially only forcing an + increased number of guesses to learn the length associated with a + given guess. Padding schemes also work directly against + compression by increasing the number of bits that are transmitted. + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 19] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Attacks like CRIME [CRIME] demonstrated the existence of these + general attacker capabilities. The specific attack exploited the + fact that DEFLATE [DEFLATE] removes redundancy based on prefix + matching. This permitted the attacker to confirm guesses a character + at a time, reducing an exponential-time attack into a linear-time + attack. + +7.1.1. Applicability to HPACK and HTTP + + HPACK mitigates but does not completely prevent attacks modeled on + CRIME [CRIME] by forcing a guess to match an entire header field + value rather than individual characters. Attackers can only learn + whether a guess is correct or not, so they are reduced to brute-force + guesses for the header field values. + + The viability of recovering specific header field values therefore + depends on the entropy of values. As a result, values with high + entropy are unlikely to be recovered successfully. However, values + with low entropy remain vulnerable. + + Attacks of this nature are possible any time that two mutually + distrustful entities control requests or responses that are placed + onto a single HTTP/2 connection. If the shared HPACK compressor + permits one entity to add entries to the dynamic table and the other + to access those entries, then the state of the table can be learned. + + Having requests or responses from mutually distrustful entities + occurs when an intermediary either: + + o sends requests from multiple clients on a single connection toward + an origin server, or + + o takes responses from multiple origin servers and places them on a + shared connection toward a client. + + Web browsers also need to assume that requests made on the same + connection by different web origins [ORIGIN] are made by mutually + distrustful entities. + +7.1.2. Mitigation + + Users of HTTP that require confidentiality for header fields can use + values with entropy sufficient to make guessing infeasible. However, + this is impractical as a general solution because it forces all users + of HTTP to take steps to mitigate attacks. It would impose new + constraints on how HTTP is used. + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 20] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Rather than impose constraints on users of HTTP, an implementation of + HPACK can instead constrain how compression is applied in order to + limit the potential for dynamic table probing. + + An ideal solution segregates access to the dynamic table based on the + entity that is constructing header fields. Header field values that + are added to the table are attributed to an entity, and only the + entity that created a particular value can extract that value. + + To improve compression performance of this option, certain entries + might be tagged as being public. For example, a web browser might + make the values of the Accept-Encoding header field available in all + requests. + + An encoder without good knowledge of the provenance of header fields + might instead introduce a penalty for a header field with many + different values, such that a large number of attempts to guess a + header field value results in the header field no longer being + compared to the dynamic table entries in future messages, effectively + preventing further guesses. + + Note: Simply removing entries corresponding to the header field + from the dynamic table can be ineffectual if the attacker has a + reliable way of causing values to be reinstalled. For example, a + request to load an image in a web browser typically includes the + Cookie header field (a potentially highly valued target for this + sort of attack), and web sites can easily force an image to be + loaded, thereby refreshing the entry in the dynamic table. + + This response might be made inversely proportional to the length of + the header field value. Marking a header field as not using the + dynamic table anymore might occur for shorter values more quickly or + with higher probability than for longer values. + +7.1.3. Never-Indexed Literals + + Implementations can also choose to protect sensitive header fields by + not compressing them and instead encoding their value as literals. + + Refusing to generate an indexed representation for a header field is + only effective if compression is avoided on all hops. The never- + indexed literal (see Section 6.2.3) can be used to signal to + intermediaries that a particular value was intentionally sent as a + literal. + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 21] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + An intermediary MUST NOT re-encode a value that uses the never- + indexed literal representation with another representation that would + index it. If HPACK is used for re-encoding, the never-indexed + literal representation MUST be used. + + The choice to use a never-indexed literal representation for a header + field depends on several factors. Since HPACK doesn't protect + against guessing an entire header field value, short or low-entropy + values are more readily recovered by an adversary. Therefore, an + encoder might choose not to index values with low entropy. + + An encoder might also choose not to index values for header fields + that are considered to be highly valuable or sensitive to recovery, + such as the Cookie or Authorization header fields. + + On the contrary, an encoder might prefer indexing values for header + fields that have little or no value if they were exposed. For + instance, a User-Agent header field does not commonly vary between + requests and is sent to any server. In that case, confirmation that + a particular User-Agent value has been used provides little value. + + Note that these criteria for deciding to use a never-indexed literal + representation will evolve over time as new attacks are discovered. + +7.2. Static Huffman Encoding + + There is no currently known attack against a static Huffman encoding. + A study has shown that using a static Huffman encoding table created + an information leakage; however, this same study concluded that an + attacker could not take advantage of this information leakage to + recover any meaningful amount of information (see [PETAL]). + +7.3. Memory Consumption + + An attacker can try to cause an endpoint to exhaust its memory. + HPACK is designed to limit both the peak and state amounts of memory + allocated by an endpoint. + + The amount of memory used by the compressor is limited by the + protocol using HPACK through the definition of the maximum size of + the dynamic table. In HTTP/2, this value is controlled by the + decoder through the setting parameter SETTINGS_HEADER_TABLE_SIZE (see + Section 6.5.2 of [HTTP2]). This limit takes into account both the + size of the data stored in the dynamic table, plus a small allowance + for overhead. + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 22] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + A decoder can limit the amount of state memory used by setting an + appropriate value for the maximum size of the dynamic table. In + HTTP/2, this is realized by setting an appropriate value for the + SETTINGS_HEADER_TABLE_SIZE parameter. An encoder can limit the + amount of state memory it uses by signaling a lower dynamic table + size than the decoder allows (see Section 6.3). + + The amount of temporary memory consumed by an encoder or decoder can + be limited by processing header fields sequentially. An + implementation does not need to retain a complete list of header + fields. Note, however, that it might be necessary for an application + to retain a complete header list for other reasons; even though HPACK + does not force this to occur, application constraints might make this + necessary. + +7.4. Implementation Limits + + An implementation of HPACK needs to ensure that large values for + integers, long encoding for integers, or long string literals do not + create security weaknesses. + + An implementation has to set a limit for the values it accepts for + integers, as well as for the encoded length (see Section 5.1). In + the same way, it has to set a limit to the length it accepts for + string literals (see Section 5.2). + +8. References + +8.1. Normative References + + [HTTP2] Belshe, M., Peon, R., and M. Thomson, Ed., "Hypertext + Transfer Protocol Version 2 (HTTP/2)", RFC 7540, + DOI 10.17487/RFC7540, May 2015, + <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7540>. + + [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate + Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, + DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997, + <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>. + + [RFC7230] Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext + Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Message Syntax and + Routing", RFC 7230, DOI 10.17487/RFC7230, June 2014, + <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7230>. + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 23] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + +8.2. Informative References + + [CANONICAL] Schwartz, E. and B. Kallick, "Generating a canonical + prefix encoding", Communications of the ACM, Volume 7 + Issue 3, pp. 166-169, March 1964, <https://dl.acm.org/ + citation.cfm?id=363991>. + + [CRIME] Wikipedia, "CRIME", May 2015, <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/ + index.php?title=CRIME&oldid=660948120>. + + [DEFLATE] Deutsch, P., "DEFLATE Compressed Data Format + Specification version 1.3", RFC 1951, + DOI 10.17487/RFC1951, May 1996, + <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1951>. + + [HUFFMAN] Huffman, D., "A Method for the Construction of Minimum- + Redundancy Codes", Proceedings of the Institute of Radio + Engineers, Volume 40, Number 9, pp. 1098-1101, September + 1952, <http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/ + articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=4051119>. + + [ORIGIN] Barth, A., "The Web Origin Concept", RFC 6454, + DOI 10.17487/RFC6454, December 2011, + <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6454>. + + [PETAL] Tan, J. and J. Nahata, "PETAL: Preset Encoding + Table Information Leakage", April 2013, + <http://www.pdl.cmu.edu/PDL-FTP/associated/ + CMU-PDL-13-106.pdf>. + + [SPDY] Belshe, M. and R. Peon, "SPDY Protocol", Work in + Progress, draft-mbelshe-httpbis-spdy-00, February 2012. + + [TLS12] Dierks, T. and E. Rescorla, "The Transport Layer Security + (TLS) Protocol Version 1.2", RFC 5246, + DOI 10.17487/RFC5246, August 2008, + <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5246>. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 24] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + +Appendix A. Static Table Definition + + The static table (see Section 2.3.1) consists in a predefined and + unchangeable list of header fields. + + The static table was created from the most frequent header fields + used by popular web sites, with the addition of HTTP/2-specific + pseudo-header fields (see Section 8.1.2.1 of [HTTP2]). For header + fields with a few frequent values, an entry was added for each of + these frequent values. For other header fields, an entry was added + with an empty value. + + Table 1 lists the predefined header fields that make up the static + table and gives the index of each entry. + + +-------+-----------------------------+---------------+ + | Index | Header Name | Header Value | + +-------+-----------------------------+---------------+ + | 1 | :authority | | + | 2 | :method | GET | + | 3 | :method | POST | + | 4 | :path | / | + | 5 | :path | /index.html | + | 6 | :scheme | http | + | 7 | :scheme | https | + | 8 | :status | 200 | + | 9 | :status | 204 | + | 10 | :status | 206 | + | 11 | :status | 304 | + | 12 | :status | 400 | + | 13 | :status | 404 | + | 14 | :status | 500 | + | 15 | accept-charset | | + | 16 | accept-encoding | gzip, deflate | + | 17 | accept-language | | + | 18 | accept-ranges | | + | 19 | accept | | + | 20 | access-control-allow-origin | | + | 21 | age | | + | 22 | allow | | + | 23 | authorization | | + | 24 | cache-control | | + | 25 | content-disposition | | + | 26 | content-encoding | | + | 27 | content-language | | + | 28 | content-length | | + | 29 | content-location | | + | 30 | content-range | | + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 25] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + | 31 | content-type | | + | 32 | cookie | | + | 33 | date | | + | 34 | etag | | + | 35 | expect | | + | 36 | expires | | + | 37 | from | | + | 38 | host | | + | 39 | if-match | | + | 40 | if-modified-since | | + | 41 | if-none-match | | + | 42 | if-range | | + | 43 | if-unmodified-since | | + | 44 | last-modified | | + | 45 | link | | + | 46 | location | | + | 47 | max-forwards | | + | 48 | proxy-authenticate | | + | 49 | proxy-authorization | | + | 50 | range | | + | 51 | referer | | + | 52 | refresh | | + | 53 | retry-after | | + | 54 | server | | + | 55 | set-cookie | | + | 56 | strict-transport-security | | + | 57 | transfer-encoding | | + | 58 | user-agent | | + | 59 | vary | | + | 60 | via | | + | 61 | www-authenticate | | + +-------+-----------------------------+---------------+ + + Table 1: Static Table Entries + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 26] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + +Appendix B. Huffman Code + + The following Huffman code is used when encoding string literals with + a Huffman coding (see Section 5.2). + + This Huffman code was generated from statistics obtained on a large + sample of HTTP headers. It is a canonical Huffman code (see + [CANONICAL]) with some tweaking to ensure that no symbol has a unique + code length. + + Each row in the table defines the code used to represent a symbol: + + sym: The symbol to be represented. It is the decimal value of an + octet, possibly prepended with its ASCII representation. A + specific symbol, "EOS", is used to indicate the end of a string + literal. + + code as bits: The Huffman code for the symbol represented as a + base-2 integer, aligned on the most significant bit (MSB). + + code as hex: The Huffman code for the symbol, represented as a + hexadecimal integer, aligned on the least significant bit (LSB). + + len: The number of bits for the code representing the symbol. + + As an example, the code for the symbol 47 (corresponding to the ASCII + character "/") consists in the 6 bits "0", "1", "1", "0", "0", "0". + This corresponds to the value 0x18 (in hexadecimal) encoded in 6 + bits. + + code + code as bits as hex len + sym aligned to MSB aligned in + to LSB bits + ( 0) |11111111|11000 1ff8 [13] + ( 1) |11111111|11111111|1011000 7fffd8 [23] + ( 2) |11111111|11111111|11111110|0010 fffffe2 [28] + ( 3) |11111111|11111111|11111110|0011 fffffe3 [28] + ( 4) |11111111|11111111|11111110|0100 fffffe4 [28] + ( 5) |11111111|11111111|11111110|0101 fffffe5 [28] + ( 6) |11111111|11111111|11111110|0110 fffffe6 [28] + ( 7) |11111111|11111111|11111110|0111 fffffe7 [28] + ( 8) |11111111|11111111|11111110|1000 fffffe8 [28] + ( 9) |11111111|11111111|11101010 ffffea [24] + ( 10) |11111111|11111111|11111111|111100 3ffffffc [30] + ( 11) |11111111|11111111|11111110|1001 fffffe9 [28] + ( 12) |11111111|11111111|11111110|1010 fffffea [28] + ( 13) |11111111|11111111|11111111|111101 3ffffffd [30] + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 27] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + ( 14) |11111111|11111111|11111110|1011 fffffeb [28] + ( 15) |11111111|11111111|11111110|1100 fffffec [28] + ( 16) |11111111|11111111|11111110|1101 fffffed [28] + ( 17) |11111111|11111111|11111110|1110 fffffee [28] + ( 18) |11111111|11111111|11111110|1111 fffffef [28] + ( 19) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0000 ffffff0 [28] + ( 20) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0001 ffffff1 [28] + ( 21) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0010 ffffff2 [28] + ( 22) |11111111|11111111|11111111|111110 3ffffffe [30] + ( 23) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0011 ffffff3 [28] + ( 24) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0100 ffffff4 [28] + ( 25) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0101 ffffff5 [28] + ( 26) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0110 ffffff6 [28] + ( 27) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0111 ffffff7 [28] + ( 28) |11111111|11111111|11111111|1000 ffffff8 [28] + ( 29) |11111111|11111111|11111111|1001 ffffff9 [28] + ( 30) |11111111|11111111|11111111|1010 ffffffa [28] + ( 31) |11111111|11111111|11111111|1011 ffffffb [28] + ' ' ( 32) |010100 14 [ 6] + '!' ( 33) |11111110|00 3f8 [10] + '"' ( 34) |11111110|01 3f9 [10] + '#' ( 35) |11111111|1010 ffa [12] + '$' ( 36) |11111111|11001 1ff9 [13] + '%' ( 37) |010101 15 [ 6] + '&' ( 38) |11111000 f8 [ 8] + ''' ( 39) |11111111|010 7fa [11] + '(' ( 40) |11111110|10 3fa [10] + ')' ( 41) |11111110|11 3fb [10] + '*' ( 42) |11111001 f9 [ 8] + '+' ( 43) |11111111|011 7fb [11] + ',' ( 44) |11111010 fa [ 8] + '-' ( 45) |010110 16 [ 6] + '.' ( 46) |010111 17 [ 6] + '/' ( 47) |011000 18 [ 6] + '0' ( 48) |00000 0 [ 5] + '1' ( 49) |00001 1 [ 5] + '2' ( 50) |00010 2 [ 5] + '3' ( 51) |011001 19 [ 6] + '4' ( 52) |011010 1a [ 6] + '5' ( 53) |011011 1b [ 6] + '6' ( 54) |011100 1c [ 6] + '7' ( 55) |011101 1d [ 6] + '8' ( 56) |011110 1e [ 6] + '9' ( 57) |011111 1f [ 6] + ':' ( 58) |1011100 5c [ 7] + ';' ( 59) |11111011 fb [ 8] + '<' ( 60) |11111111|1111100 7ffc [15] + '=' ( 61) |100000 20 [ 6] + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 28] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + '>' ( 62) |11111111|1011 ffb [12] + '?' ( 63) |11111111|00 3fc [10] + '@' ( 64) |11111111|11010 1ffa [13] + 'A' ( 65) |100001 21 [ 6] + 'B' ( 66) |1011101 5d [ 7] + 'C' ( 67) |1011110 5e [ 7] + 'D' ( 68) |1011111 5f [ 7] + 'E' ( 69) |1100000 60 [ 7] + 'F' ( 70) |1100001 61 [ 7] + 'G' ( 71) |1100010 62 [ 7] + 'H' ( 72) |1100011 63 [ 7] + 'I' ( 73) |1100100 64 [ 7] + 'J' ( 74) |1100101 65 [ 7] + 'K' ( 75) |1100110 66 [ 7] + 'L' ( 76) |1100111 67 [ 7] + 'M' ( 77) |1101000 68 [ 7] + 'N' ( 78) |1101001 69 [ 7] + 'O' ( 79) |1101010 6a [ 7] + 'P' ( 80) |1101011 6b [ 7] + 'Q' ( 81) |1101100 6c [ 7] + 'R' ( 82) |1101101 6d [ 7] + 'S' ( 83) |1101110 6e [ 7] + 'T' ( 84) |1101111 6f [ 7] + 'U' ( 85) |1110000 70 [ 7] + 'V' ( 86) |1110001 71 [ 7] + 'W' ( 87) |1110010 72 [ 7] + 'X' ( 88) |11111100 fc [ 8] + 'Y' ( 89) |1110011 73 [ 7] + 'Z' ( 90) |11111101 fd [ 8] + '[' ( 91) |11111111|11011 1ffb [13] + '\' ( 92) |11111111|11111110|000 7fff0 [19] + ']' ( 93) |11111111|11100 1ffc [13] + '^' ( 94) |11111111|111100 3ffc [14] + '_' ( 95) |100010 22 [ 6] + '`' ( 96) |11111111|1111101 7ffd [15] + 'a' ( 97) |00011 3 [ 5] + 'b' ( 98) |100011 23 [ 6] + 'c' ( 99) |00100 4 [ 5] + 'd' (100) |100100 24 [ 6] + 'e' (101) |00101 5 [ 5] + 'f' (102) |100101 25 [ 6] + 'g' (103) |100110 26 [ 6] + 'h' (104) |100111 27 [ 6] + 'i' (105) |00110 6 [ 5] + 'j' (106) |1110100 74 [ 7] + 'k' (107) |1110101 75 [ 7] + 'l' (108) |101000 28 [ 6] + 'm' (109) |101001 29 [ 6] + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 29] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + 'n' (110) |101010 2a [ 6] + 'o' (111) |00111 7 [ 5] + 'p' (112) |101011 2b [ 6] + 'q' (113) |1110110 76 [ 7] + 'r' (114) |101100 2c [ 6] + 's' (115) |01000 8 [ 5] + 't' (116) |01001 9 [ 5] + 'u' (117) |101101 2d [ 6] + 'v' (118) |1110111 77 [ 7] + 'w' (119) |1111000 78 [ 7] + 'x' (120) |1111001 79 [ 7] + 'y' (121) |1111010 7a [ 7] + 'z' (122) |1111011 7b [ 7] + '{' (123) |11111111|1111110 7ffe [15] + '|' (124) |11111111|100 7fc [11] + '}' (125) |11111111|111101 3ffd [14] + '~' (126) |11111111|11101 1ffd [13] + (127) |11111111|11111111|11111111|1100 ffffffc [28] + (128) |11111111|11111110|0110 fffe6 [20] + (129) |11111111|11111111|010010 3fffd2 [22] + (130) |11111111|11111110|0111 fffe7 [20] + (131) |11111111|11111110|1000 fffe8 [20] + (132) |11111111|11111111|010011 3fffd3 [22] + (133) |11111111|11111111|010100 3fffd4 [22] + (134) |11111111|11111111|010101 3fffd5 [22] + (135) |11111111|11111111|1011001 7fffd9 [23] + (136) |11111111|11111111|010110 3fffd6 [22] + (137) |11111111|11111111|1011010 7fffda [23] + (138) |11111111|11111111|1011011 7fffdb [23] + (139) |11111111|11111111|1011100 7fffdc [23] + (140) |11111111|11111111|1011101 7fffdd [23] + (141) |11111111|11111111|1011110 7fffde [23] + (142) |11111111|11111111|11101011 ffffeb [24] + (143) |11111111|11111111|1011111 7fffdf [23] + (144) |11111111|11111111|11101100 ffffec [24] + (145) |11111111|11111111|11101101 ffffed [24] + (146) |11111111|11111111|010111 3fffd7 [22] + (147) |11111111|11111111|1100000 7fffe0 [23] + (148) |11111111|11111111|11101110 ffffee [24] + (149) |11111111|11111111|1100001 7fffe1 [23] + (150) |11111111|11111111|1100010 7fffe2 [23] + (151) |11111111|11111111|1100011 7fffe3 [23] + (152) |11111111|11111111|1100100 7fffe4 [23] + (153) |11111111|11111110|11100 1fffdc [21] + (154) |11111111|11111111|011000 3fffd8 [22] + (155) |11111111|11111111|1100101 7fffe5 [23] + (156) |11111111|11111111|011001 3fffd9 [22] + (157) |11111111|11111111|1100110 7fffe6 [23] + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 30] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + (158) |11111111|11111111|1100111 7fffe7 [23] + (159) |11111111|11111111|11101111 ffffef [24] + (160) |11111111|11111111|011010 3fffda [22] + (161) |11111111|11111110|11101 1fffdd [21] + (162) |11111111|11111110|1001 fffe9 [20] + (163) |11111111|11111111|011011 3fffdb [22] + (164) |11111111|11111111|011100 3fffdc [22] + (165) |11111111|11111111|1101000 7fffe8 [23] + (166) |11111111|11111111|1101001 7fffe9 [23] + (167) |11111111|11111110|11110 1fffde [21] + (168) |11111111|11111111|1101010 7fffea [23] + (169) |11111111|11111111|011101 3fffdd [22] + (170) |11111111|11111111|011110 3fffde [22] + (171) |11111111|11111111|11110000 fffff0 [24] + (172) |11111111|11111110|11111 1fffdf [21] + (173) |11111111|11111111|011111 3fffdf [22] + (174) |11111111|11111111|1101011 7fffeb [23] + (175) |11111111|11111111|1101100 7fffec [23] + (176) |11111111|11111111|00000 1fffe0 [21] + (177) |11111111|11111111|00001 1fffe1 [21] + (178) |11111111|11111111|100000 3fffe0 [22] + (179) |11111111|11111111|00010 1fffe2 [21] + (180) |11111111|11111111|1101101 7fffed [23] + (181) |11111111|11111111|100001 3fffe1 [22] + (182) |11111111|11111111|1101110 7fffee [23] + (183) |11111111|11111111|1101111 7fffef [23] + (184) |11111111|11111110|1010 fffea [20] + (185) |11111111|11111111|100010 3fffe2 [22] + (186) |11111111|11111111|100011 3fffe3 [22] + (187) |11111111|11111111|100100 3fffe4 [22] + (188) |11111111|11111111|1110000 7ffff0 [23] + (189) |11111111|11111111|100101 3fffe5 [22] + (190) |11111111|11111111|100110 3fffe6 [22] + (191) |11111111|11111111|1110001 7ffff1 [23] + (192) |11111111|11111111|11111000|00 3ffffe0 [26] + (193) |11111111|11111111|11111000|01 3ffffe1 [26] + (194) |11111111|11111110|1011 fffeb [20] + (195) |11111111|11111110|001 7fff1 [19] + (196) |11111111|11111111|100111 3fffe7 [22] + (197) |11111111|11111111|1110010 7ffff2 [23] + (198) |11111111|11111111|101000 3fffe8 [22] + (199) |11111111|11111111|11110110|0 1ffffec [25] + (200) |11111111|11111111|11111000|10 3ffffe2 [26] + (201) |11111111|11111111|11111000|11 3ffffe3 [26] + (202) |11111111|11111111|11111001|00 3ffffe4 [26] + (203) |11111111|11111111|11111011|110 7ffffde [27] + (204) |11111111|11111111|11111011|111 7ffffdf [27] + (205) |11111111|11111111|11111001|01 3ffffe5 [26] + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 31] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + (206) |11111111|11111111|11110001 fffff1 [24] + (207) |11111111|11111111|11110110|1 1ffffed [25] + (208) |11111111|11111110|010 7fff2 [19] + (209) |11111111|11111111|00011 1fffe3 [21] + (210) |11111111|11111111|11111001|10 3ffffe6 [26] + (211) |11111111|11111111|11111100|000 7ffffe0 [27] + (212) |11111111|11111111|11111100|001 7ffffe1 [27] + (213) |11111111|11111111|11111001|11 3ffffe7 [26] + (214) |11111111|11111111|11111100|010 7ffffe2 [27] + (215) |11111111|11111111|11110010 fffff2 [24] + (216) |11111111|11111111|00100 1fffe4 [21] + (217) |11111111|11111111|00101 1fffe5 [21] + (218) |11111111|11111111|11111010|00 3ffffe8 [26] + (219) |11111111|11111111|11111010|01 3ffffe9 [26] + (220) |11111111|11111111|11111111|1101 ffffffd [28] + (221) |11111111|11111111|11111100|011 7ffffe3 [27] + (222) |11111111|11111111|11111100|100 7ffffe4 [27] + (223) |11111111|11111111|11111100|101 7ffffe5 [27] + (224) |11111111|11111110|1100 fffec [20] + (225) |11111111|11111111|11110011 fffff3 [24] + (226) |11111111|11111110|1101 fffed [20] + (227) |11111111|11111111|00110 1fffe6 [21] + (228) |11111111|11111111|101001 3fffe9 [22] + (229) |11111111|11111111|00111 1fffe7 [21] + (230) |11111111|11111111|01000 1fffe8 [21] + (231) |11111111|11111111|1110011 7ffff3 [23] + (232) |11111111|11111111|101010 3fffea [22] + (233) |11111111|11111111|101011 3fffeb [22] + (234) |11111111|11111111|11110111|0 1ffffee [25] + (235) |11111111|11111111|11110111|1 1ffffef [25] + (236) |11111111|11111111|11110100 fffff4 [24] + (237) |11111111|11111111|11110101 fffff5 [24] + (238) |11111111|11111111|11111010|10 3ffffea [26] + (239) |11111111|11111111|1110100 7ffff4 [23] + (240) |11111111|11111111|11111010|11 3ffffeb [26] + (241) |11111111|11111111|11111100|110 7ffffe6 [27] + (242) |11111111|11111111|11111011|00 3ffffec [26] + (243) |11111111|11111111|11111011|01 3ffffed [26] + (244) |11111111|11111111|11111100|111 7ffffe7 [27] + (245) |11111111|11111111|11111101|000 7ffffe8 [27] + (246) |11111111|11111111|11111101|001 7ffffe9 [27] + (247) |11111111|11111111|11111101|010 7ffffea [27] + (248) |11111111|11111111|11111101|011 7ffffeb [27] + (249) |11111111|11111111|11111111|1110 ffffffe [28] + (250) |11111111|11111111|11111101|100 7ffffec [27] + (251) |11111111|11111111|11111101|101 7ffffed [27] + (252) |11111111|11111111|11111101|110 7ffffee [27] + (253) |11111111|11111111|11111101|111 7ffffef [27] + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 32] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + (254) |11111111|11111111|11111110|000 7fffff0 [27] + (255) |11111111|11111111|11111011|10 3ffffee [26] + EOS (256) |11111111|11111111|11111111|111111 3fffffff [30] + +Appendix C. Examples + + This appendix contains examples covering integer encoding, header + field representation, and the encoding of whole lists of header + fields for both requests and responses, with and without Huffman + coding. + +C.1. Integer Representation Examples + + This section shows the representation of integer values in detail + (see Section 5.1). + +C.1.1. Example 1: Encoding 10 Using a 5-Bit Prefix + + The value 10 is to be encoded with a 5-bit prefix. + + o 10 is less than 31 (2^5 - 1) and is represented using the 5-bit + prefix. + + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + | X | X | X | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 stored on 5 bits + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + +C.1.2. Example 2: Encoding 1337 Using a 5-Bit Prefix + + The value I=1337 is to be encoded with a 5-bit prefix. + + 1337 is greater than 31 (2^5 - 1). + + The 5-bit prefix is filled with its max value (31). + + I = 1337 - (2^5 - 1) = 1306. + + I (1306) is greater than or equal to 128, so the while loop + body executes: + + I % 128 == 26 + + 26 + 128 == 154 + + 154 is encoded in 8 bits as: 10011010 + + I is set to 10 (1306 / 128 == 10) + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 33] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + I is no longer greater than or equal to 128, so the while + loop terminates. + + I, now 10, is encoded in 8 bits as: 00001010. + + The process ends. + + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + | X | X | X | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Prefix = 31, I = 1306 + | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1306>=128, encode(154), I=1306/128 + | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10<128, encode(10), done + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + +C.1.3. Example 3: Encoding 42 Starting at an Octet Boundary + + The value 42 is to be encoded starting at an octet boundary. This + implies that a 8-bit prefix is used. + + o 42 is less than 255 (2^8 - 1) and is represented using the 8-bit + prefix. + + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 stored on 8 bits + +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + +C.2. Header Field Representation Examples + + This section shows several independent representation examples. + +C.2.1. Literal Header Field with Indexing + + The header field representation uses a literal name and a literal + value. The header field is added to the dynamic table. + + Header list to encode: + + custom-key: custom-header + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 400a 6375 7374 6f6d 2d6b 6579 0d63 7573 | @.custom-key.cus + 746f 6d2d 6865 6164 6572 | tom-header + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 34] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Decoding process: + + 40 | == Literal indexed == + 0a | Literal name (len = 10) + 6375 7374 6f6d 2d6b 6579 | custom-key + 0d | Literal value (len = 13) + 6375 7374 6f6d 2d68 6561 6465 72 | custom-header + | -> custom-key: + | custom-header + + Dynamic Table (after decoding): + + [ 1] (s = 55) custom-key: custom-header + Table size: 55 + + Decoded header list: + + custom-key: custom-header + +C.2.2. Literal Header Field without Indexing + + The header field representation uses an indexed name and a literal + value. The header field is not added to the dynamic table. + + Header list to encode: + + :path: /sample/path + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 040c 2f73 616d 706c 652f 7061 7468 | ../sample/path + + Decoding process: + + 04 | == Literal not indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 4) + | :path + 0c | Literal value (len = 12) + 2f73 616d 706c 652f 7061 7468 | /sample/path + | -> :path: /sample/path + + Dynamic table (after decoding): empty. + + Decoded header list: + + :path: /sample/path + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 35] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + +C.2.3. Literal Header Field Never Indexed + + The header field representation uses a literal name and a literal + value. The header field is not added to the dynamic table and must + use the same representation if re-encoded by an intermediary. + + Header list to encode: + + password: secret + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 1008 7061 7373 776f 7264 0673 6563 7265 | ..password.secre + 74 | t + + Decoding process: + + 10 | == Literal never indexed == + 08 | Literal name (len = 8) + 7061 7373 776f 7264 | password + 06 | Literal value (len = 6) + 7365 6372 6574 | secret + | -> password: secret + + Dynamic table (after decoding): empty. + + Decoded header list: + + password: secret + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 36] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + +C.2.4. Indexed Header Field + + The header field representation uses an indexed header field from the + static table. + + Header list to encode: + + :method: GET + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 82 | . + + Decoding process: + + 82 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 2 + | -> :method: GET + + Dynamic table (after decoding): empty. + + Decoded header list: + + :method: GET + +C.3. Request Examples without Huffman Coding + + This section shows several consecutive header lists, corresponding to + HTTP requests, on the same connection. + +C.3.1. First Request + + Header list to encode: + + :method: GET + :scheme: http + :path: / + :authority: www.example.com + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 8286 8441 0f77 7777 2e65 7861 6d70 6c65 | ...A.www.example + 2e63 6f6d | .com + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 37] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Decoding process: + + 82 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 2 + | -> :method: GET + 86 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 6 + | -> :scheme: http + 84 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 4 + | -> :path: / + 41 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 1) + | :authority + 0f | Literal value (len = 15) + 7777 772e 6578 616d 706c 652e 636f 6d | www.example.com + | -> :authority: + | www.example.com + + Dynamic Table (after decoding): + + [ 1] (s = 57) :authority: www.example.com + Table size: 57 + + Decoded header list: + + :method: GET + :scheme: http + :path: / + :authority: www.example.com + +C.3.2. Second Request + + Header list to encode: + + :method: GET + :scheme: http + :path: / + :authority: www.example.com + cache-control: no-cache + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 8286 84be 5808 6e6f 2d63 6163 6865 | ....X.no-cache + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 38] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Decoding process: + + 82 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 2 + | -> :method: GET + 86 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 6 + | -> :scheme: http + 84 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 4 + | -> :path: / + be | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 62 + | -> :authority: + | www.example.com + 58 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 24) + | cache-control + 08 | Literal value (len = 8) + 6e6f 2d63 6163 6865 | no-cache + | -> cache-control: no-cache + + Dynamic Table (after decoding): + + [ 1] (s = 53) cache-control: no-cache + [ 2] (s = 57) :authority: www.example.com + Table size: 110 + + Decoded header list: + + :method: GET + :scheme: http + :path: / + :authority: www.example.com + cache-control: no-cache + +C.3.3. Third Request + + Header list to encode: + + :method: GET + :scheme: https + :path: /index.html + :authority: www.example.com + custom-key: custom-value + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 39] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 8287 85bf 400a 6375 7374 6f6d 2d6b 6579 | ....@.custom-key + 0c63 7573 746f 6d2d 7661 6c75 65 | .custom-value + + Decoding process: + + 82 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 2 + | -> :method: GET + 87 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 7 + | -> :scheme: https + 85 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 5 + | -> :path: /index.html + bf | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 63 + | -> :authority: + | www.example.com + 40 | == Literal indexed == + 0a | Literal name (len = 10) + 6375 7374 6f6d 2d6b 6579 | custom-key + 0c | Literal value (len = 12) + 6375 7374 6f6d 2d76 616c 7565 | custom-value + | -> custom-key: + | custom-value + + Dynamic Table (after decoding): + + [ 1] (s = 54) custom-key: custom-value + [ 2] (s = 53) cache-control: no-cache + [ 3] (s = 57) :authority: www.example.com + Table size: 164 + + Decoded header list: + + :method: GET + :scheme: https + :path: /index.html + :authority: www.example.com + custom-key: custom-value + + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 40] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + +C.4. Request Examples with Huffman Coding + + This section shows the same examples as the previous section but uses + Huffman encoding for the literal values. + +C.4.1. First Request + + Header list to encode: + + :method: GET + :scheme: http + :path: / + :authority: www.example.com + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 8286 8441 8cf1 e3c2 e5f2 3a6b a0ab 90f4 | ...A......:k.... + ff | . + + Decoding process: + + 82 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 2 + | -> :method: GET + 86 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 6 + | -> :scheme: http + 84 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 4 + | -> :path: / + 41 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 1) + | :authority + 8c | Literal value (len = 12) + | Huffman encoded: + f1e3 c2e5 f23a 6ba0 ab90 f4ff | .....:k..... + | Decoded: + | www.example.com + | -> :authority: + | www.example.com + + Dynamic Table (after decoding): + + [ 1] (s = 57) :authority: www.example.com + Table size: 57 + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 41] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Decoded header list: + + :method: GET + :scheme: http + :path: / + :authority: www.example.com + +C.4.2. Second Request + + Header list to encode: + + :method: GET + :scheme: http + :path: / + :authority: www.example.com + cache-control: no-cache + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 8286 84be 5886 a8eb 1064 9cbf | ....X....d.. + + Decoding process: + + 82 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 2 + | -> :method: GET + 86 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 6 + | -> :scheme: http + 84 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 4 + | -> :path: / + be | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 62 + | -> :authority: + | www.example.com + 58 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 24) + | cache-control + 86 | Literal value (len = 6) + | Huffman encoded: + a8eb 1064 9cbf | ...d.. + | Decoded: + | no-cache + | -> cache-control: no-cache + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 42] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Dynamic Table (after decoding): + + [ 1] (s = 53) cache-control: no-cache + [ 2] (s = 57) :authority: www.example.com + Table size: 110 + + Decoded header list: + + :method: GET + :scheme: http + :path: / + :authority: www.example.com + cache-control: no-cache + +C.4.3. Third Request + + Header list to encode: + + :method: GET + :scheme: https + :path: /index.html + :authority: www.example.com + custom-key: custom-value + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 8287 85bf 4088 25a8 49e9 5ba9 7d7f 8925 | ....@.%.I.[.}..% + a849 e95b b8e8 b4bf | .I.[.... + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 43] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Decoding process: + + 82 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 2 + | -> :method: GET + 87 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 7 + | -> :scheme: https + 85 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 5 + | -> :path: /index.html + bf | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 63 + | -> :authority: + | www.example.com + 40 | == Literal indexed == + 88 | Literal name (len = 8) + | Huffman encoded: + 25a8 49e9 5ba9 7d7f | %.I.[.}. + | Decoded: + | custom-key + 89 | Literal value (len = 9) + | Huffman encoded: + 25a8 49e9 5bb8 e8b4 bf | %.I.[.... + | Decoded: + | custom-value + | -> custom-key: + | custom-value + + Dynamic Table (after decoding): + + [ 1] (s = 54) custom-key: custom-value + [ 2] (s = 53) cache-control: no-cache + [ 3] (s = 57) :authority: www.example.com + Table size: 164 + + Decoded header list: + + :method: GET + :scheme: https + :path: /index.html + :authority: www.example.com + custom-key: custom-value + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 44] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + +C.5. Response Examples without Huffman Coding + + This section shows several consecutive header lists, corresponding to + HTTP responses, on the same connection. The HTTP/2 setting parameter + SETTINGS_HEADER_TABLE_SIZE is set to the value of 256 octets, causing + some evictions to occur. + +C.5.1. First Response + + Header list to encode: + + :status: 302 + cache-control: private + date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:21 GMT + location: https://www.example.com + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 4803 3330 3258 0770 7269 7661 7465 611d | H.302X.privatea. + 4d6f 6e2c 2032 3120 4f63 7420 3230 3133 | Mon, 21 Oct 2013 + 2032 303a 3133 3a32 3120 474d 546e 1768 | 20:13:21 GMTn.h + 7474 7073 3a2f 2f77 7777 2e65 7861 6d70 | ttps://www.examp + 6c65 2e63 6f6d | le.com + + Decoding process: + + 48 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 8) + | :status + 03 | Literal value (len = 3) + 3330 32 | 302 + | -> :status: 302 + 58 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 24) + | cache-control + 07 | Literal value (len = 7) + 7072 6976 6174 65 | private + | -> cache-control: private + 61 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 33) + | date + 1d | Literal value (len = 29) + 4d6f 6e2c 2032 3120 4f63 7420 3230 3133 | Mon, 21 Oct 2013 + 2032 303a 3133 3a32 3120 474d 54 | 20:13:21 GMT + | -> date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 + | 20:13:21 GMT + 6e | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 46) + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 45] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + | location + 17 | Literal value (len = 23) + 6874 7470 733a 2f2f 7777 772e 6578 616d | https://www.exam + 706c 652e 636f 6d | ple.com + | -> location: + | https://www.example.com + + Dynamic Table (after decoding): + + [ 1] (s = 63) location: https://www.example.com + [ 2] (s = 65) date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:21 GMT + [ 3] (s = 52) cache-control: private + [ 4] (s = 42) :status: 302 + Table size: 222 + + Decoded header list: + + :status: 302 + cache-control: private + date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:21 GMT + location: https://www.example.com + +C.5.2. Second Response + + The (":status", "302") header field is evicted from the dynamic table + to free space to allow adding the (":status", "307") header field. + + Header list to encode: + + :status: 307 + cache-control: private + date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:21 GMT + location: https://www.example.com + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 4803 3330 37c1 c0bf | H.307... + + Decoding process: + + 48 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 8) + | :status + 03 | Literal value (len = 3) + 3330 37 | 307 + | - evict: :status: 302 + | -> :status: 307 + c1 | == Indexed - Add == + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 46] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + | idx = 65 + | -> cache-control: private + c0 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 64 + | -> date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 + | 20:13:21 GMT + bf | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 63 + | -> location: + | https://www.example.com + + Dynamic Table (after decoding): + + [ 1] (s = 42) :status: 307 + [ 2] (s = 63) location: https://www.example.com + [ 3] (s = 65) date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:21 GMT + [ 4] (s = 52) cache-control: private + Table size: 222 + + Decoded header list: + + :status: 307 + cache-control: private + date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:21 GMT + location: https://www.example.com + +C.5.3. Third Response + + Several header fields are evicted from the dynamic table during the + processing of this header list. + + Header list to encode: + + :status: 200 + cache-control: private + date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:22 GMT + location: https://www.example.com + content-encoding: gzip + set-cookie: foo=ASDJKHQKBZXOQWEOPIUAXQWEOIU; max-age=3600; version=1 + + + + + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 47] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 88c1 611d 4d6f 6e2c 2032 3120 4f63 7420 | ..a.Mon, 21 Oct + 3230 3133 2032 303a 3133 3a32 3220 474d | 2013 20:13:22 GM + 54c0 5a04 677a 6970 7738 666f 6f3d 4153 | T.Z.gzipw8foo=AS + 444a 4b48 514b 425a 584f 5157 454f 5049 | DJKHQKBZXOQWEOPI + 5541 5851 5745 4f49 553b 206d 6178 2d61 | UAXQWEOIU; max-a + 6765 3d33 3630 303b 2076 6572 7369 6f6e | ge=3600; version + 3d31 | =1 + + Decoding process: + + 88 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 8 + | -> :status: 200 + c1 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 65 + | -> cache-control: private + 61 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 33) + | date + 1d | Literal value (len = 29) + 4d6f 6e2c 2032 3120 4f63 7420 3230 3133 | Mon, 21 Oct 2013 + 2032 303a 3133 3a32 3220 474d 54 | 20:13:22 GMT + | - evict: cache-control: + | private + | -> date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 + | 20:13:22 GMT + c0 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 64 + | -> location: + | https://www.example.com + 5a | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 26) + | content-encoding + 04 | Literal value (len = 4) + 677a 6970 | gzip + | - evict: date: Mon, 21 Oct + | 2013 20:13:21 GMT + | -> content-encoding: gzip + 77 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 55) + | set-cookie + 38 | Literal value (len = 56) + 666f 6f3d 4153 444a 4b48 514b 425a 584f | foo=ASDJKHQKBZXO + 5157 454f 5049 5541 5851 5745 4f49 553b | QWEOPIUAXQWEOIU; + 206d 6178 2d61 6765 3d33 3630 303b 2076 | max-age=3600; v + 6572 7369 6f6e 3d31 | ersion=1 + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 48] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + | - evict: location: + | https://www.example.com + | - evict: :status: 307 + | -> set-cookie: foo=ASDJKHQ + | KBZXOQWEOPIUAXQWEOIU; ma + | x-age=3600; version=1 + + Dynamic Table (after decoding): + + [ 1] (s = 98) set-cookie: foo=ASDJKHQKBZXOQWEOPIUAXQWEOIU; + max-age=3600; version=1 + [ 2] (s = 52) content-encoding: gzip + [ 3] (s = 65) date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:22 GMT + Table size: 215 + + Decoded header list: + + :status: 200 + cache-control: private + date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:22 GMT + location: https://www.example.com + content-encoding: gzip + set-cookie: foo=ASDJKHQKBZXOQWEOPIUAXQWEOIU; max-age=3600; version=1 + +C.6. Response Examples with Huffman Coding + + This section shows the same examples as the previous section but uses + Huffman encoding for the literal values. The HTTP/2 setting + parameter SETTINGS_HEADER_TABLE_SIZE is set to the value of 256 + octets, causing some evictions to occur. The eviction mechanism uses + the length of the decoded literal values, so the same evictions occur + as in the previous section. + +C.6.1. First Response + + Header list to encode: + + :status: 302 + cache-control: private + date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:21 GMT + location: https://www.example.com + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 4882 6402 5885 aec3 771a 4b61 96d0 7abe | H.d.X...w.Ka..z. + 9410 54d4 44a8 2005 9504 0b81 66e0 82a6 | ..T.D. .....f... + 2d1b ff6e 919d 29ad 1718 63c7 8f0b 97c8 | -..n..)...c..... + e9ae 82ae 43d3 | ....C. + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 49] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Decoding process: + + 48 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 8) + | :status + 82 | Literal value (len = 2) + | Huffman encoded: + 6402 | d. + | Decoded: + | 302 + | -> :status: 302 + 58 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 24) + | cache-control + 85 | Literal value (len = 5) + | Huffman encoded: + aec3 771a 4b | ..w.K + | Decoded: + | private + | -> cache-control: private + 61 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 33) + | date + 96 | Literal value (len = 22) + | Huffman encoded: + d07a be94 1054 d444 a820 0595 040b 8166 | .z...T.D. .....f + e082 a62d 1bff | ...-.. + | Decoded: + | Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:21 + | GMT + | -> date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 + | 20:13:21 GMT + 6e | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 46) + | location + 91 | Literal value (len = 17) + | Huffman encoded: + 9d29 ad17 1863 c78f 0b97 c8e9 ae82 ae43 | .)...c.........C + d3 | . + | Decoded: + | https://www.example.com + | -> location: + | https://www.example.com + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 50] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Dynamic Table (after decoding): + + [ 1] (s = 63) location: https://www.example.com + [ 2] (s = 65) date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:21 GMT + [ 3] (s = 52) cache-control: private + [ 4] (s = 42) :status: 302 + Table size: 222 + + Decoded header list: + + :status: 302 + cache-control: private + date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:21 GMT + location: https://www.example.com + +C.6.2. Second Response + + The (":status", "302") header field is evicted from the dynamic table + to free space to allow adding the (":status", "307") header field. + + Header list to encode: + + :status: 307 + cache-control: private + date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:21 GMT + location: https://www.example.com + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 4883 640e ffc1 c0bf | H.d..... + + Decoding process: + + 48 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 8) + | :status + 83 | Literal value (len = 3) + | Huffman encoded: + 640e ff | d.. + | Decoded: + | 307 + | - evict: :status: 302 + | -> :status: 307 + c1 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 65 + | -> cache-control: private + c0 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 64 + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 51] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + | -> date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 + | 20:13:21 GMT + bf | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 63 + | -> location: + | https://www.example.com + + Dynamic Table (after decoding): + + [ 1] (s = 42) :status: 307 + [ 2] (s = 63) location: https://www.example.com + [ 3] (s = 65) date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:21 GMT + [ 4] (s = 52) cache-control: private + Table size: 222 + + Decoded header list: + + :status: 307 + cache-control: private + date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:21 GMT + location: https://www.example.com + +C.6.3. Third Response + + Several header fields are evicted from the dynamic table during the + processing of this header list. + + Header list to encode: + + :status: 200 + cache-control: private + date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:22 GMT + location: https://www.example.com + content-encoding: gzip + set-cookie: foo=ASDJKHQKBZXOQWEOPIUAXQWEOIU; max-age=3600; version=1 + + Hex dump of encoded data: + + 88c1 6196 d07a be94 1054 d444 a820 0595 | ..a..z...T.D. .. + 040b 8166 e084 a62d 1bff c05a 839b d9ab | ...f...-...Z.... + 77ad 94e7 821d d7f2 e6c7 b335 dfdf cd5b | w..........5...[ + 3960 d5af 2708 7f36 72c1 ab27 0fb5 291f | 9`..'..6r..'..). + 9587 3160 65c0 03ed 4ee5 b106 3d50 07 | ..1`e...N...=P. + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 52] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + Decoding process: + + 88 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 8 + | -> :status: 200 + c1 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 65 + | -> cache-control: private + 61 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 33) + | date + 96 | Literal value (len = 22) + | Huffman encoded: + d07a be94 1054 d444 a820 0595 040b 8166 | .z...T.D. .....f + e084 a62d 1bff | ...-.. + | Decoded: + | Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:22 + | GMT + | - evict: cache-control: + | private + | -> date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 + | 20:13:22 GMT + c0 | == Indexed - Add == + | idx = 64 + | -> location: + | https://www.example.com + 5a | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 26) + | content-encoding + 83 | Literal value (len = 3) + | Huffman encoded: + 9bd9 ab | ... + | Decoded: + | gzip + | - evict: date: Mon, 21 Oct + | 2013 20:13:21 GMT + | -> content-encoding: gzip + 77 | == Literal indexed == + | Indexed name (idx = 55) + | set-cookie + ad | Literal value (len = 45) + | Huffman encoded: + 94e7 821d d7f2 e6c7 b335 dfdf cd5b 3960 | .........5...[9` + d5af 2708 7f36 72c1 ab27 0fb5 291f 9587 | ..'..6r..'..)... + 3160 65c0 03ed 4ee5 b106 3d50 07 | 1`e...N...=P. + | Decoded: + | foo=ASDJKHQKBZXOQWEOPIUAXQ + | WEOIU; max-age=3600; versi + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 53] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + + | on=1 + | - evict: location: + | https://www.example.com + | - evict: :status: 307 + | -> set-cookie: foo=ASDJKHQ + | KBZXOQWEOPIUAXQWEOIU; ma + | x-age=3600; version=1 + + Dynamic Table (after decoding): + + [ 1] (s = 98) set-cookie: foo=ASDJKHQKBZXOQWEOPIUAXQWEOIU; + max-age=3600; version=1 + [ 2] (s = 52) content-encoding: gzip + [ 3] (s = 65) date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:22 GMT + Table size: 215 + + Decoded header list: + + :status: 200 + cache-control: private + date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:13:22 GMT + location: https://www.example.com + content-encoding: gzip + set-cookie: foo=ASDJKHQKBZXOQWEOPIUAXQWEOIU; max-age=3600; version=1 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 54] + +RFC 7541 HPACK May 2015 + + +Acknowledgments + + This specification includes substantial input from the following + individuals: + + o Mike Bishop, Jeff Pinner, Julian Reschke, and Martin Thomson + (substantial editorial contributions). + + o Johnny Graettinger (Huffman code statistics). + +Authors' Addresses + + Roberto Peon + Google, Inc + + EMail: fenix@google.com + + + Herve Ruellan + Canon CRF + + EMail: herve.ruellan@crf.canon.fr + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Peon & Ruellan Standards Track [Page 55] + |