diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/rfc/rfc9440.txt')
-rw-r--r-- | doc/rfc/rfc9440.txt | 734 |
1 files changed, 734 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/doc/rfc/rfc9440.txt b/doc/rfc/rfc9440.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..554b3c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/rfc/rfc9440.txt @@ -0,0 +1,734 @@ + + + + +Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) B. Campbell +Request for Comments: 9440 Ping Identity +Category: Informational M. Bishop, Ed. +ISSN: 2070-1721 Akamai + July 2023 + + + Client-Cert HTTP Header Field + +Abstract + + This document describes HTTP extension header fields that allow a TLS + terminating reverse proxy (TTRP) to convey the client certificate + information of a mutually authenticated TLS connection to the origin + server in a common and predictable manner. + +Status of This Memo + + This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is + published for informational purposes. + + 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). Not all documents + approved by the IESG are candidates for any level of Internet + Standard; see Section 2 of RFC 7841. + + Information about the current status of this document, any errata, + and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at + https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9440. + +Copyright Notice + + Copyright (c) 2023 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 + (https://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 Revised BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of the + Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as described + in the Revised BSD License. + +Table of Contents + + 1. Introduction + 1.1. Requirements Notation and Conventions + 1.2. Terminology and Applicability + 2. HTTP Header Fields and Processing Rules + 2.1. Encoding + 2.2. Client-Cert HTTP Header Field + 2.3. Client-Cert-Chain HTTP Header Field + 2.4. Processing Rules + 3. Deployment Considerations + 3.1. Header Field Compression + 3.2. Message Header Size + 3.3. TLS Session Resumption + 4. Security Considerations + 5. IANA Considerations + 5.1. HTTP Field Name Registrations + 6. References + 6.1. Normative References + 6.2. Informative References + Appendix A. Example + Appendix B. Select Design Considerations + B.1. Field Injection + B.2. The Forwarded HTTP Extension + B.3. The Whole Certificate and Certificate Chain + Acknowledgements + Authors' Addresses + +1. Introduction + + A fairly common deployment pattern for HTTPS applications is to have + the origin HTTP application servers sit behind a reverse proxy that + terminates TLS connections from clients. The proxy is accessible to + the Internet and dispatches client requests to the appropriate origin + server within a private or protected network. The origin servers are + not directly accessible by clients and are only reachable through the + reverse proxy. The backend details of this type of deployment are + typically opaque to clients who make requests to the proxy server and + see responses as though they originated from the proxy server itself. + Although HTTPS is also usually employed between the proxy and the + origin server, the TLS connection that the client establishes for + HTTPS is only between itself and the reverse proxy server. + + The deployment pattern is found in a number of varieties such as + n-tier architectures, content delivery networks, application load- + balancing services, and ingress controllers. + + Although not exceedingly prevalent, TLS client certificate + authentication is sometimes employed, and in such cases the origin + server often requires information about the client certificate for + its application logic. Such logic might include access control + decisions, audit logging, and binding issued tokens or cookies to a + certificate, including the respective validation of such bindings. + The specific details needed from the certificate also vary with the + application requirements. In order for these types of application + deployments to work in practice, the reverse proxy needs to convey + information about the client certificate to the origin application + server. At the time of writing, a common way this information is + conveyed is by using non-standard fields to carry the certificate (in + some encoding) or individual parts thereof in the HTTP request that + is dispatched to the origin server. This solution works, but + interoperability between independently developed components can be + cumbersome or even impossible depending on the implementation choices + respectively made (like what field names are used or are + configurable, which parts of the certificate are exposed, or how the + certificate is encoded). A well-known predictable approach to this + commonly occurring functionality could improve and simplify + interoperability between independent implementations. + + The scope of this document is to describe existing practice while + codifying specific details sufficient to facilitate improved and + lower-touch interoperability. As such, this document describes two + HTTP header fields, "Client-Cert" and "Client-Cert-Chain", which a + TLS terminating reverse proxy (TTRP) adds to requests sent to the + backend origin servers. The Client-Cert field value contains the + end-entity client certificate from the mutually authenticated TLS + connection between the originating client and the TTRP. Optionally, + the Client-Cert-Chain field value contains the certificate chain used + for validation of the end-entity certificate. This enables the + backend origin server to utilize the client certificate information + in its application logic. While there may be additional proxies or + hops between the TTRP and the origin server (potentially even with + mutually authenticated TLS connections between them), the scope of + the Client-Cert header field is intentionally limited to exposing to + the origin server the certificate that was presented by the + originating client in its connection to the TTRP. + +1.1. Requirements Notation and Conventions + + The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", + "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and + "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in + BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all + capitals, as shown here. + +1.2. Terminology and Applicability + + This document uses the following terminology from Section 3 of + [STRUCTURED-FIELDS] to specify syntax and parsing: List and Byte + Sequence. + + Phrases like "TLS client certificate authentication" or "mutually + authenticated TLS" are used throughout this document to refer to the + process whereby, in addition to the normal TLS server authentication + with a certificate, a client presents its X.509 certificate [RFC5280] + and proves possession of the corresponding private key to a server + when negotiating a TLS connection or the resumption of such a + connection. In contemporary versions of TLS [TLS] [TLS1.2], mutual + authentication requires the client to send the Certificate and + CertificateVerify messages during the handshake and the server to + verify the CertificateVerify and Finished messages. + + HTTP/2 restricts TLS 1.2 renegotiation (Section 9.2.1 of [HTTP/2]) + and prohibits TLS 1.3 post-handshake authentication (Section 9.2.3 of + [HTTP/2]). However, they are sometimes used to implement reactive + client certificate authentication in HTTP/1.1 [HTTP/1.1] where the + server decides whether to request a client certificate based on the + HTTP request. HTTP application data sent on such a connection after + receipt and verification of the client certificate is also mutually + authenticated and thus suitable for the mechanisms described in this + document. With post-handshake authentication, there is also the + possibility, though unlikely in practice, of multiple certificates + and certificate chains from the client on a connection. In this + case, only the certificate and chain of the last post-handshake + authentication are to be utilized for the header fields described + herein. + +2. HTTP Header Fields and Processing Rules + + This document designates the following headers, defined further in + Sections 2.2 and 2.3, respectively, to carry the client certificate + information of a mutually authenticated TLS connection. The headers + convey the information from the reverse proxy to the origin server. + + Client-Cert: + The end-entity certificate used by the client in the TLS handshake + with the reverse proxy. + + Client-Cert-Chain: + The certificate chain used for validation of the end-entity + certificate provided by the client in the TLS handshake with the + reverse proxy. + +2.1. Encoding + + The headers in this document encode certificates as Byte Sequences + (Section 3.3.5 of [STRUCTURED-FIELDS]) where the value of the binary + data is a DER-encoded [ITU.X690] X.509 certificate [RFC5280]. In + effect, this means that the binary DER certificate is encoded using + base64 (without line breaks, spaces, or other characters outside the + base64 alphabet) and delimited with colons on either side. + + Note that certificates are often stored in an encoded textual format, + such as the one described in Section 5.1 of [RFC7468], which is + already nearly compatible with a Byte Sequence. If certificates are + encoded as such, it will be sufficient to replace "---(BEGIN|END) + CERTIFICATE---" with ":" and remove line breaks in order to generate + an appropriate item. + +2.2. Client-Cert HTTP Header Field + + In the context of a TLS terminating reverse proxy deployment, the + proxy makes the TLS client certificate available to the backend + application with the Client-Cert HTTP header field. This field + contains the end-entity certificate used by the client in the TLS + handshake. + + Client-Cert is a Byte Sequence with the value of the header encoded + as described in Section 2.1. + + The Client-Cert header field is only for use in HTTP requests and + MUST NOT be used in HTTP responses. It is a singleton header field + value as defined in Section 5.5 of [HTTP], which MUST NOT have a list + of values or occur multiple times in a request. + + Figure 2 in Appendix A has an example of the Client-Cert header + field. + +2.3. Client-Cert-Chain HTTP Header Field + + In the context of a TLS terminating reverse proxy deployment, the + proxy MAY make the certificate chain available to the backend + application with the Client-Cert-Chain HTTP header field. + + Client-Cert-Chain is a List (Section 3.1 of [STRUCTURED-FIELDS]). + Each item in the List MUST be a Byte Sequence encoded as described in + Section 2.1. The order is the same as the ordering in TLS (as + described in Section 4.4.2 of [TLS]). + + Client-Cert-Chain MUST NOT appear unless Client-Cert is also present, + and it does not itself include the end-entity certificate that is + already present in Client-Cert. The root certificate MAY be omitted + from Client-Cert-Chain, provided that the target origin server is + known to possess the omitted trust anchor. + + The Client-Cert-Chain header field is only for use in HTTP requests + and MUST NOT be used in HTTP responses. It MAY have a list of values + or occur multiple times in a request. For header compression + purposes, it might be advantageous to split lists into multiple + instances. + + Figure 3 in Appendix A has an example of the Client-Cert-Chain header + field. + +2.4. Processing Rules + + This section outlines the applicable processing rules for a TTRP that + has negotiated a mutually authenticated TLS connection to convey the + client certificate from that connection to the backend origin + servers. This technique is to be used as a configuration or + deployment option, and the processing rules described herein are for + servers operating with that option enabled. + + A TTRP negotiates the use of a mutually authenticated TLS connection + with the client, such as is described in [TLS] or [TLS1.2], and + validates the client certificate per its policy and trusted + certificate authorities. Each HTTP request on the underlying TLS + connection is dispatched to the origin server with the following + modifications: + + 1. The client certificate is placed in the Client-Cert header field + of the dispatched request, as described in Section 2.2. + + 2. If so configured, the validation chain of the client certificate + is placed in the Client-Cert-Chain header field of the request, + as described in Section 2.3. + + 3. Any occurrence of the Client-Cert or Client-Cert-Chain header + fields in the original incoming request MUST be removed or + overwritten before forwarding the request. An incoming request + that has a Client-Cert or Client-Cert-Chain header field MAY be + rejected with an HTTP 400 response. + + Requests to the TTRP made over a TLS connection where the use of + client certificate authentication was not negotiated MUST be + sanitized by removing any and all occurrences of the Client-Cert and + Client-Cert-Chain header fields prior to dispatching the request to + the backend server. + + Backend origin servers may then use the Client-Cert header field of + the request to determine if the connection from the client to the + TTRP was mutually authenticated and, if so, the certificate thereby + presented by the client. Access control decisions based on the + client certificate (or lack thereof) can be conveyed by selecting + response content as appropriate or with an HTTP 403 response, if the + certificate is deemed unacceptable for the given context. Note that + TLS clients that rely on error indications at the TLS layer for an + unacceptable certificate will not receive those signals. + + When the value of the Client-Cert request header field is used to + select a response (e.g., the response content is access-controlled), + the response MUST either be uncacheable (e.g., by sending Cache- + Control: no-store) or be designated for selective reuse only for + subsequent requests with the same Client-Cert header field value by + sending a "Vary: Client-Cert" response header. If a TTRP encounters + a response with Client-Cert or Client-Cert-Chain in the Vary header + field (Section 12.5.5 of [HTTP]), it SHOULD prevent the user agent + from caching the response by transforming the value of the Vary + response header field to "*". + + Forward proxies and other intermediaries MUST NOT add the Client-Cert + or Client-Cert-Chain header fields to requests or modify an existing + Client-Cert or Client-Cert-Chain header field. Similarly, clients + MUST NOT employ the Client-Cert or Client-Cert-Chain header field in + requests. + +3. Deployment Considerations + +3.1. Header Field Compression + + If the connection between the TTRP and origin is capable of field + compression (e.g., HPACK [HPACK] or QPACK [QPACK]), and the TTRP + multiplexes more than one client's requests into that connection, the + size and variation of Client-Cert and Client-Cert-Chain field values + can reduce compression efficiency significantly. An origin could + mitigate the efficiency loss by increasing the size of the dynamic + table. If the TTRP determines that the origin dynamic table is not + sufficiently large, it may find it beneficial to always send the + field value as a literal rather than entering it into the table. + +3.2. Message Header Size + + A server in receipt of a larger message header than it is willing to + handle can send an HTTP 431 (Request Header Fields Too Large) status + code per Section 5 of [RFC6585]. Due to the typical size of the + field values containing certificate data, recipients may need to be + configured to allow for a larger maximum header size. An + intermediary generating client certificate header fields on + connections that allow for advertising the maximum acceptable header + size (e.g., HTTP/2 [HTTP/2] or HTTP/3 [HTTP/3]) should account for + the additional size of the header of the requests it sends, versus + the requests it receives, by advertising a value to its clients that + is sufficiently smaller so as to allow for the addition of + certificate data. + +3.3. TLS Session Resumption + + Some TLS implementations do not retain client certificate information + when resuming. Providing inconsistent values of Client-Cert and + Client-Cert-Chain when resuming might lead to errors, so + implementations that are unable to provide these values SHOULD either + disable resumption for connections with client certificates or + initially omit a Client-Cert or Client-Cert-Chain field if it might + not be available after resuming. + +4. Security Considerations + + The header fields described herein enable a TTRP and backend or + origin server to function together as though, from the client's + perspective, they are a single logical server-side deployment of + HTTPS over a mutually authenticated TLS connection. However, use of + the header fields outside that intended use case may undermine the + protections afforded by TLS client certificate authentication. + Therefore, steps such as those described below need to be taken to + prevent unintended use, both in sending the header field and in + relying on its value. + + Producing and consuming the Client-Cert and Client-Cert-Chain header + fields SHOULD be configurable options, respectively, in a TTRP and + backend server (or in an individual application in that server). The + default configuration for both should be to not use the header + fields, thus requiring an "opt-in" to the functionality. + + In order to prevent field injection, backend servers MUST only accept + the Client-Cert and Client-Cert-Chain header fields from a trusted + TTRP (or other proxy in a trusted path from the TTRP). A TTRP MUST + sanitize the incoming request before forwarding it on by removing or + overwriting any existing instances of the fields. Otherwise, + arbitrary clients can control the field values as seen and used by + the backend server. It is important to note that neglecting to + prevent field injection does not "fail safe" in that the nominal + functionality will still work as expected even when malicious actions + are possible. As such, extra care is recommended in ensuring that + proper field sanitation is in place. + + The communication between a TTRP and backend server needs to be + secured against eavesdropping and modification by unintended parties. + + The configuration options and request sanitization are necessary + functionalities of the respective servers. The other requirements + can be met in a number of ways, which will vary based on specific + deployments. The communication between a TTRP and backend or origin + server, for example, might be authenticated in some way with the + insertion and consumption of the Client-Cert and Client-Cert-Chain + header fields occurring only on that connection. Appendix B.3 of + [HTTPSIG] gives one example of this with an application of HTTP + Message Signatures. Alternatively, the network topology might + dictate a private network such that the backend application is only + able to accept requests from the TTRP and the proxy can only make + requests to that server. Other deployments that meet the + requirements set forth herein are also possible. + +5. IANA Considerations + +5.1. HTTP Field Name Registrations + + IANA has registered the following entries in the "Hypertext Transfer + Protocol (HTTP) Field Name Registry" defined by "HTTP Semantics" + [HTTP]: + + +===================+===========+=====================+ + | Field Name | Status | Reference | + +===================+===========+=====================+ + | Client-Cert | permanent | RFC 9440, Section 2 | + +-------------------+-----------+---------------------+ + | Client-Cert-Chain | permanent | RFC 9440, Section 2 | + +-------------------+-----------+---------------------+ + + Table 1: Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Field + Name Registry + +6. References + +6.1. Normative References + + [HTTP] Fielding, R., Ed., Nottingham, M., Ed., and J. Reschke, + Ed., "HTTP Semantics", STD 97, RFC 9110, + DOI 10.17487/RFC9110, June 2022, + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9110>. + + [ITU.X690] ITU-T, "Information technology - ASN.1 encoding rules: + Specification of Basic Encoding Rules (BER), Canonical + Encoding Rules (CER) and Distinguished Encoding Rules + (DER)", ITU-T Recommendation X.690, February 2021, + <https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.690/en>. + + [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate + Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, + DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997, + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>. + + [RFC5280] Cooper, D., Santesson, S., Farrell, S., Boeyen, S., + Housley, R., and W. Polk, "Internet X.509 Public Key + Infrastructure Certificate and Certificate Revocation List + (CRL) Profile", RFC 5280, DOI 10.17487/RFC5280, May 2008, + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5280>. + + [RFC8174] Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC + 2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174, + May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>. + + [STRUCTURED-FIELDS] + Nottingham, M. and P-H. Kamp, "Structured Field Values for + HTTP", RFC 8941, DOI 10.17487/RFC8941, February 2021, + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8941>. + +6.2. Informative References + + [HPACK] Peon, R. and H. Ruellan, "HPACK: Header Compression for + HTTP/2", RFC 7541, DOI 10.17487/RFC7541, May 2015, + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7541>. + + [HTTP/1.1] Fielding, R., Ed., Nottingham, M., Ed., and J. Reschke, + Ed., "HTTP/1.1", STD 99, RFC 9112, DOI 10.17487/RFC9112, + June 2022, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9112>. + + [HTTP/2] Thomson, M., Ed. and C. Benfield, Ed., "HTTP/2", RFC 9113, + DOI 10.17487/RFC9113, June 2022, + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9113>. + + [HTTP/3] Bishop, M., Ed., "HTTP/3", RFC 9114, DOI 10.17487/RFC9114, + June 2022, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9114>. + + [HTTPSIG] Backman, A., Ed., Richer, J., Ed., and M. Sporny, "HTTP + Message Signatures", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, + draft-ietf-httpbis-message-signatures-17, 2 May 2023, + <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-httpbis- + message-signatures-17>. + + [QPACK] Krasic, C., Bishop, M., and A. Frindell, Ed., "QPACK: + Field Compression for HTTP/3", RFC 9204, + DOI 10.17487/RFC9204, June 2022, + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9204>. + + [RFC6585] Nottingham, M. and R. Fielding, "Additional HTTP Status + Codes", RFC 6585, DOI 10.17487/RFC6585, April 2012, + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6585>. + + [RFC7239] Petersson, A. and M. Nilsson, "Forwarded HTTP Extension", + RFC 7239, DOI 10.17487/RFC7239, June 2014, + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7239>. + + [RFC7468] Josefsson, S. and S. Leonard, "Textual Encodings of PKIX, + PKCS, and CMS Structures", RFC 7468, DOI 10.17487/RFC7468, + April 2015, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7468>. + + [RFC8705] Campbell, B., Bradley, J., Sakimura, N., and T. + Lodderstedt, "OAuth 2.0 Mutual-TLS Client Authentication + and Certificate-Bound Access Tokens", RFC 8705, + DOI 10.17487/RFC8705, February 2020, + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8705>. + + [TLS] Rescorla, E., "The Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocol + Version 1.3", RFC 8446, DOI 10.17487/RFC8446, August 2018, + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8446>. + + [TLS1.2] Dierks, T. and E. Rescorla, "The Transport Layer Security + (TLS) Protocol Version 1.2", RFC 5246, + DOI 10.17487/RFC5246, August 2008, + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5246>. + +Appendix A. Example + + In a hypothetical example where a TLS client would present the client + and intermediate certificate from Figure 1 when establishing a + mutually authenticated TLS connection with the TTRP, the proxy would + send the Client-Cert field shown in Figure 2 to the backend. Note + that line breaks and extra spaces have been added to the field value + in Figures 2 and 3 for display and formatting purposes only. + + -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- + MIIBqDCCAU6gAwIBAgIBBzAKBggqhkjOPQQDAjA6MRswGQYDVQQKDBJMZXQncyBB + dXRoZW50aWNhdGUxGzAZBgNVBAMMEkxBIEludGVybWVkaWF0ZSBDQTAeFw0yMDAx + MTQyMjU1MzNaFw0yMTAxMjMyMjU1MzNaMA0xCzAJBgNVBAMMAkJDMFkwEwYHKoZI + zj0CAQYIKoZIzj0DAQcDQgAE8YnXXfaUgmnMtOXU/IncWalRhebrXmckC8vdgJ1p + 5Be5F/3YC8OthxM4+k1M6aEAEFcGzkJiNy6J84y7uzo9M6NyMHAwCQYDVR0TBAIw + ADAfBgNVHSMEGDAWgBRm3WjLa38lbEYCuiCPct0ZaSED2DAOBgNVHQ8BAf8EBAMC + BsAwEwYDVR0lBAwwCgYIKwYBBQUHAwIwHQYDVR0RAQH/BBMwEYEPYmRjQGV4YW1w + bGUuY29tMAoGCCqGSM49BAMCA0gAMEUCIBHda/r1vaL6G3VliL4/Di6YK0Q6bMje + SkC3dFCOOB8TAiEAx/kHSB4urmiZ0NX5r5XarmPk0wmuydBVoU4hBVZ1yhk= + -----END CERTIFICATE----- + -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- + MIIB5jCCAYugAwIBAgIBFjAKBggqhkjOPQQDAjBWMQswCQYDVQQGEwJVUzEbMBkG + A1UECgwSTGV0J3MgQXV0aGVudGljYXRlMSowKAYDVQQDDCFMZXQncyBBdXRoZW50 + aWNhdGUgUm9vdCBBdXRob3JpdHkwHhcNMjAwMTE0MjEzMjMwWhcNMzAwMTExMjEz + MjMwWjA6MRswGQYDVQQKDBJMZXQncyBBdXRoZW50aWNhdGUxGzAZBgNVBAMMEkxB + IEludGVybWVkaWF0ZSBDQTBZMBMGByqGSM49AgEGCCqGSM49AwEHA0IABJf+aA54 + RC5pyLAR5yfXVYmNpgd+CGUTDp2KOGhc0gK91zxhHesEYkdXkpS2UN8Kati+yHtW + CV3kkhCngGyv7RqjZjBkMB0GA1UdDgQWBBRm3WjLa38lbEYCuiCPct0ZaSED2DAf + BgNVHSMEGDAWgBTEA2Q6eecKu9g9yb5glbkhhVINGDASBgNVHRMBAf8ECDAGAQH/ + AgEAMA4GA1UdDwEB/wQEAwIBhjAKBggqhkjOPQQDAgNJADBGAiEA5pLvaFwRRkxo + mIAtDIwg9D7gC1xzxBl4r28EzmSO1pcCIQCJUShpSXO9HDIQMUgH69fNDEMHXD3R + RX5gP7kuu2KGMg== + -----END CERTIFICATE----- + -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- + MIICBjCCAaygAwIBAgIJAKS0yiqKtlhoMAoGCCqGSM49BAMCMFYxCzAJBgNVBAYT + AlVTMRswGQYDVQQKDBJMZXQncyBBdXRoZW50aWNhdGUxKjAoBgNVBAMMIUxldCdz + IEF1dGhlbnRpY2F0ZSBSb290IEF1dGhvcml0eTAeFw0yMDAxMTQyMTI1NDVaFw00 + MDAxMDkyMTI1NDVaMFYxCzAJBgNVBAYTAlVTMRswGQYDVQQKDBJMZXQncyBBdXRo + ZW50aWNhdGUxKjAoBgNVBAMMIUxldCdzIEF1dGhlbnRpY2F0ZSBSb290IEF1dGhv + cml0eTBZMBMGByqGSM49AgEGCCqGSM49AwEHA0IABFoaHU+Z5bPKmGzlYXtCf+E6 + HYj62fORaHDOrt+yyh3H/rTcs7ynFfGn+gyFsrSP3Ez88rajv+U2NfD0o0uZ4Pmj + YzBhMB0GA1UdDgQWBBTEA2Q6eecKu9g9yb5glbkhhVINGDAfBgNVHSMEGDAWgBTE + A2Q6eecKu9g9yb5glbkhhVINGDAPBgNVHRMBAf8EBTADAQH/MA4GA1UdDwEB/wQE + AwIBhjAKBggqhkjOPQQDAgNIADBFAiEAmAeg1ycKHriqHnaD4M/UDBpQRpkmdcRF + YGMg1Qyrkx4CIB4ivz3wQcQkGhcsUZ1SOImd/lq1Q0FLf09rGfLQPWDc + -----END CERTIFICATE----- + + Figure 1: Certificate Chain (with Client Certificate First) + + Client-Cert: :MIIBqDCCAU6gAwIBAgIBBzAKBggqhkjOPQQDAjA6MRswGQYDVQQKDBJ + MZXQncyBBdXRoZW50aWNhdGUxGzAZBgNVBAMMEkxBIEludGVybWVkaWF0ZSBDQTAeFw0 + yMDAxMTQyMjU1MzNaFw0yMTAxMjMyMjU1MzNaMA0xCzAJBgNVBAMMAkJDMFkwEwYHKoZ + Izj0CAQYIKoZIzj0DAQcDQgAE8YnXXfaUgmnMtOXU/IncWalRhebrXmckC8vdgJ1p5Be + 5F/3YC8OthxM4+k1M6aEAEFcGzkJiNy6J84y7uzo9M6NyMHAwCQYDVR0TBAIwADAfBgN + VHSMEGDAWgBRm3WjLa38lbEYCuiCPct0ZaSED2DAOBgNVHQ8BAf8EBAMCBsAwEwYDVR0 + lBAwwCgYIKwYBBQUHAwIwHQYDVR0RAQH/BBMwEYEPYmRjQGV4YW1wbGUuY29tMAoGCCq + GSM49BAMCA0gAMEUCIBHda/r1vaL6G3VliL4/Di6YK0Q6bMjeSkC3dFCOOB8TAiEAx/k + HSB4urmiZ0NX5r5XarmPk0wmuydBVoU4hBVZ1yhk=: + + Figure 2: Header Field in HTTP Request to Origin Server + + If the proxy were configured to also include the certificate chain, + it would also include the Client-Cert-Chain header field. Note that + while the following example does illustrate the TTRP inserting the + root certificate, many deployments will opt to omit the trust anchor. + + Client-Cert-Chain: :MIIB5jCCAYugAwIBAgIBFjAKBggqhkjOPQQDAjBWMQsw + CQYDVQQGEwJVUzEbMBkGA1UECgwSTGV0J3MgQXV0aGVudGljYXRlMSowKAYDVQQ + DDCFMZXQncyBBdXRoZW50aWNhdGUgUm9vdCBBdXRob3JpdHkwHhcNMjAwMTE0Mj + EzMjMwWhcNMzAwMTExMjEzMjMwWjA6MRswGQYDVQQKDBJMZXQncyBBdXRoZW50a + WNhdGUxGzAZBgNVBAMMEkxBIEludGVybWVkaWF0ZSBDQTBZMBMGByqGSM49AgEG + CCqGSM49AwEHA0IABJf+aA54RC5pyLAR5yfXVYmNpgd+CGUTDp2KOGhc0gK91zx + hHesEYkdXkpS2UN8Kati+yHtWCV3kkhCngGyv7RqjZjBkMB0GA1UdDgQWBBRm3W + jLa38lbEYCuiCPct0ZaSED2DAfBgNVHSMEGDAWgBTEA2Q6eecKu9g9yb5glbkhh + VINGDASBgNVHRMBAf8ECDAGAQH/AgEAMA4GA1UdDwEB/wQEAwIBhjAKBggqhkjO + PQQDAgNJADBGAiEA5pLvaFwRRkxomIAtDIwg9D7gC1xzxBl4r28EzmSO1pcCIQC + JUShpSXO9HDIQMUgH69fNDEMHXD3RRX5gP7kuu2KGMg==:, :MIICBjCCAaygAw + IBAgIJAKS0yiqKtlhoMAoGCCqGSM49BAMCMFYxCzAJBgNVBAYTAlVTMRswGQYDV + QQKDBJMZXQncyBBdXRoZW50aWNhdGUxKjAoBgNVBAMMIUxldCdzIEF1dGhlbnRp + Y2F0ZSBSb290IEF1dGhvcml0eTAeFw0yMDAxMTQyMTI1NDVaFw00MDAxMDkyMTI + 1NDVaMFYxCzAJBgNVBAYTAlVTMRswGQYDVQQKDBJMZXQncyBBdXRoZW50aWNhdG + UxKjAoBgNVBAMMIUxldCdzIEF1dGhlbnRpY2F0ZSBSb290IEF1dGhvcml0eTBZM + BMGByqGSM49AgEGCCqGSM49AwEHA0IABFoaHU+Z5bPKmGzlYXtCf+E6HYj62fOR + aHDOrt+yyh3H/rTcs7ynFfGn+gyFsrSP3Ez88rajv+U2NfD0o0uZ4PmjYzBhMB0 + GA1UdDgQWBBTEA2Q6eecKu9g9yb5glbkhhVINGDAfBgNVHSMEGDAWgBTEA2Q6ee + cKu9g9yb5glbkhhVINGDAPBgNVHRMBAf8EBTADAQH/MA4GA1UdDwEB/wQEAwIBh + jAKBggqhkjOPQQDAgNIADBFAiEAmAeg1ycKHriqHnaD4M/UDBpQRpkmdcRFYGMg + 1Qyrkx4CIB4ivz3wQcQkGhcsUZ1SOImd/lq1Q0FLf09rGfLQPWDc: + + Figure 3: Certificate Chain in HTTP Request to Origin Server + +Appendix B. Select Design Considerations + +B.1. Field Injection + + This document requires that the TTRP sanitize the fields of the + incoming request by removing or overwriting any existing instances of + the Client-Cert and Client-Cert-Chain header fields before + dispatching that request to the backend application. Otherwise, a + client could inject its own values that would appear to the backend + to have come from the TTRP. Although numerous other methods of + detecting and preventing field injection are possible, such as the + use of a unique secret value as part of the field name or value or + the application of a signature, HMAC, or AEAD, there is no common + general mechanism. The potential problem of client field injection + is not at all unique to the functionality of this document; + therefore, it would be inappropriate for this document to define a + one-off solution. Since a generic common solution does not currently + exist, stripping and sanitizing the fields is the de facto means of + protecting against field injection in practice. Sanitizing the + fields is sufficient when properly implemented and is a normative + requirement of Section 4. + +B.2. The Forwarded HTTP Extension + + The Forwarded HTTP header field defined in [RFC7239] allows proxy + components to disclose information lost in the proxying process. The + TLS client certificate information of concern to this document could + have been communicated with an extension parameter to the Forwarded + field; however, doing so would have had some disadvantages that this + document endeavored to avoid. The Forwarded field syntax allows for + information about a full chain of proxied HTTP requests, whereas the + Client-Cert and Client-Cert-Chain header fields of this document are + concerned only with conveying information about the certificate + presented by the originating client on the TLS connection to the TTRP + (which appears as the server from that client's perspective) to + backend applications. The multi-hop syntax of the Forwarded field is + expressive but also more complicated, which would make processing it + more cumbersome and, more importantly, would make properly sanitizing + its content, as required by Section 4 to prevent field injection, + considerably more difficult and error-prone. Thus, this document + opted for a flatter and more straightforward structure. + +B.3. The Whole Certificate and Certificate Chain + + Different applications will have varying requirements about what + information from the client certificate is needed, such as the + subject and/or issuer distinguished name, subject alternative + name(s), serial number, subject public key info, fingerprint, etc. + Furthermore, some applications, such as that described in [RFC8705], + make use of the entire certificate. In order to accommodate the + latter and ensure wide applicability by not trying to cherry-pick + particular certificate information, this document opted to pass the + full, encoded certificate as the value of the Client-Cert field. + + The validation of the client certificate and chain of the mutually + authenticated TLS connection is typically performed by the TTRP + during the handshake. With the responsibility of certificate + validation falling on the TTRP, the end-entity certificate is + oftentimes sufficient for the needs of the origin server. The + separate Client-Cert-Chain field can convey the certificate chain for + origin server deployments that require this additional information. + +Acknowledgements + + The authors would like to thank the following individuals who have + contributed to this document in various ways, ranging from just being + generally supportive of bringing forth the document to providing + specific feedback or content: + + * Evan Anderson + + * Annabelle Backman + + * Alan Frindell + + * Rory Hewitt + + * Fredrik Jeansson + + * Benjamin Kaduk + + * Torsten Lodderstedt + + * Kathleen Moriarty + + * Mark Nottingham + + * Erik Nygren + + * Mike Ounsworth + + * Lucas Pardue + + * Matt Peterson + + * Eric Rescorla + + * Justin Richer + + * Michael Richardson + + * Joe Salowey + + * Rich Salz + + * Mohit Sethi + + * Rifaat Shekh-Yusef + + * Travis Spencer + + * Nick Sullivan + + * Willy Tarreau + + * Martin Thomson + + * Peter Wu + + * Hans Zandbelt + +Authors' Addresses + + Brian Campbell + Ping Identity + Email: bcampbell@pingidentity.com + + + Mike Bishop (editor) + Akamai + Email: mbishop@evequefou.be |