1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
|
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) T. Finch
Request for Comments: 7673 University of Cambridge
Category: Standards Track M. Miller
ISSN: 2070-1721 Cisco Systems, Inc.
P. Saint-Andre
&yet
October 2015
Using DNS-Based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE)
TLSA Records with SRV Records
Abstract
The DNS-Based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE) specification
(RFC 6698) describes how to use TLSA resource records secured by
DNSSEC (RFC 4033) to associate a server's connection endpoint with
its Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificate (thus enabling
administrators of domain names to specify the keys used in that
domain's TLS servers). However, application protocols that use SRV
records (RFC 2782) to indirectly name the target server connection
endpoints for a service domain name cannot apply the rules from RFC
6698. Therefore, this document provides guidelines that enable such
protocols to locate and use TLSA records.
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/rfc7673.
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 1]
^L
RFC 7673 TLSA and SRV October 2015
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.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................3
2. Terminology .....................................................4
3. DNS Checks ......................................................4
3.1. SRV Query ..................................................4
3.2. Address Queries ............................................5
3.3. TLSA Queries ...............................................6
3.4. Impact on TLS Usage ........................................6
4. TLS Checks ......................................................7
4.1. SRV Records Only ...........................................7
4.2. TLSA Records ...............................................8
5. Guidance for Protocol Authors ...................................8
6. Guidance for Server Operators ...................................8
7. Guidance for Application Developers .............................9
8. Internationalization Considerations .............................9
9. Security Considerations ........................................10
9.1. Mixed Security Status .....................................10
9.2. Certificate Subject Name Matching .........................10
10. References ....................................................11
10.1. Normative References .....................................11
10.2. Informative References ...................................12
Appendix A. Examples ..............................................13
A.1. IMAP .......................................................13
A.2. XMPP .......................................................13
Appendix B. Rationale .............................................14
Acknowledgements ..................................................15
Authors' Addresses ................................................16
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 2]
^L
RFC 7673 TLSA and SRV October 2015
1. Introduction
The base DNS-Based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE)
specification [RFC6698] describes how to use TLSA resource records
secured by DNSSEC [RFC4033] to associate a target server's connection
endpoint with its Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificate (thus
enabling administrators of domain names to specify the keys used in
that domain's TLS servers). Some application protocols locate
connection endpoints indirectly via SRV records [RFC2782]. As a
result of this indirection, the rules specified in [RFC6698] cannot
be directly applied to such application protocols. (Rules for SMTP
[RFC5321], which uses MX resource records instead of SRV records, are
described in [RFC7672].)
This document describes how to use DANE TLSA records with SRV
records. To summarize:
o We rely on DNSSEC to secure SRV records that map the desired
service, transport protocol, and service domain name to the
corresponding target server connection endpoints (i.e., the target
server hostnames and port numbers returned in the SRV records for
that service type).
o Although in accordance with [RFC2782] a service domain name can
advertise a number of SRV records (some of which might map to
connection endpoints that do not support TLS), the intent of this
specification is for a client to securely discover connection
endpoints that support TLS.
o The TLSA records for each connection endpoint are located using
the transport protocol, port number, and hostname for the target
server (not the service domain name).
o When DNSSEC-validated TLSA records are published for a given
connection endpoint, clients always use TLS when connecting (even
if the connection endpoint supports cleartext communication).
o If there is at least one usable TLSA record for a given connection
endpoint, the connection endpoint's TLS certificate or public key
needs to match at least one of those usable TLSA records.
o If there are no usable TLSA records for a given connection
endpoint, the target server hostname is used as one of the
acceptable reference identifiers, as described in [RFC6125].
Other reference identifiers might arise through CNAME expansion of
either the service domain name or target server hostname, as
detailed in [RFC7671].
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 3]
^L
RFC 7673 TLSA and SRV October 2015
o If there are no usable TLSA records for any connection endpoint
(and thus the client cannot securely discover a connection
endpoint that supports TLS), the client's behavior is a matter for
the application protocol or client implementation; this might
involve a fallback to non-DANE behavior using the public key
infrastructure [RFC5280].
2. Terminology
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
"OPTIONAL" in this memo are to be interpreted as described in
[RFC2119].
This document uses the definitions for "secure", "insecure", "bogus",
and "indeterminate" from Section 4.3 of [RFC4035]. This document
uses the acronyms from [RFC7218] for the values of TLSA fields where
appropriate.
Additionally, this document uses the following terms:
connection endpoint: A tuple of a fully qualified DNS hostname,
transport protocol, and port number that a client uses to
establish a connection to the target server.
service domain name: The fully qualified DNS domain name that
identifies an application service; corresponds to the term "source
domain" from [RFC6125].
This document uses the term "target server hostname" in place of the
term "derived domain" from the so-called CertID specification
[RFC6125].
3. DNS Checks
3.1. SRV Query
When the client makes an SRV query, a successful result will
typically be a list of one or more SRV records (or possibly a chain
of CNAME/DNAME aliases leading to such a list).
NOTE: Implementers need to be aware that unsuccessful results can
occur because of various DNS-related errors; guidance on avoiding
downgrade attacks can be found in Section 2.1 of [RFC7672].
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 4]
^L
RFC 7673 TLSA and SRV October 2015
For this specification to apply, the entire chain of DNS RRset(s)
returned MUST be "secure" according to DNSSEC validation (Section 5
of [RFC4035]). In the case where the answer is obtained via a chain
of CNAME and/or DNAME aliases, the whole chain of CNAME and DNAME
RRsets MUST also be secure.
If the SRV lookup fails because the RRset is "bogus" (or the lookup
fails for reasons other than no records), the client MUST abort its
attempt to connect to the desired service. If the lookup result is
"insecure" (or no SRV records exist), this protocol does not apply
and the client SHOULD fall back to its non-DNSSEC, non-DANE (and
possibly non-SRV) behavior.
When the lookup returns a "secure" RRset (possibly via a chain of
"secure" CNAME/DNAME records), the client now has an authentic list
of target server connection endpoints with weight and priority
values. It performs server ordering and selection using the weight
and priority values without regard to the presence or absence of
DNSSEC or TLSA records. It also takes note of the DNSSEC validation
status of the SRV response for use when checking certificate names
(see Section 4). The client can then proceed to making address
queries on the target server hostnames as described in the following
section.
3.2. Address Queries
For each SRV target server connection endpoint, the client makes
A and/or AAAA queries, performs DNSSEC validation on the address
(A or AAAA) response, and continues as follows, based on the results:
o If a returned RRSet is "secure", the client MUST perform a TLSA
query for that target server connection endpoint, as described in
the next section.
o If no returned RRsets are "secure", the client MUST NOT perform a
TLSA query for that target server connection endpoint; the TLSA
query will most likely fail or produce spurious results.
o If the address record lookup fails (a validation status of either
"bogus" or "indeterminate"), the client MUST NOT connect to this
connection endpoint; instead, it uses the next most appropriate
SRV target. This helps prevent downgrade attacks.
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 5]
^L
RFC 7673 TLSA and SRV October 2015
3.3. TLSA Queries
The client SHALL construct the TLSA query name as described in
Section 3 of [RFC6698], based on the fields from the SRV record: the
port number from the SRV RDATA, the transport protocol from the SRV
query name, and the TLSA base domain from the SRV target server
hostname.
For example, the following SRV record for IMAP (see [RFC6186])
_imap._tcp.example.com. 86400 IN SRV 10 0 9143 imap.example.net.
leads to the TLSA query shown below:
_9143._tcp.imap.example.net. IN TLSA ?
3.4. Impact on TLS Usage
The client SHALL determine if the TLSA records returned in the
previous step are usable according to Section 4.1 of [RFC6698]. This
affects the use of TLS as follows:
o If the TLSA response is "secure" and usable, then the client MUST
use TLS when connecting to the target server. The TLSA records
are used when validating the server's certificate as described in
Section 4.
o If the TLSA response is "bogus" or "indeterminate" (or the lookup
fails for reasons other than no records), then the client MUST NOT
connect to the target server (the client can still use other SRV
targets).
o If the TLSA response is "insecure" (or no TLSA records exist),
then the client SHALL proceed as if the target server had no TLSA
records. It MAY connect to the target server with or without TLS,
subject to the policies of the application protocol or client
implementation.
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 6]
^L
RFC 7673 TLSA and SRV October 2015
4. TLS Checks
When connecting to a server, the client MUST use TLS if the responses
to the SRV and TLSA queries were "secure" as described above. The
rules described in the next two sections -- Section 4.2 for cases
where there is at least one usable TLSA record, and Section 4.1
otherwise -- apply to such secure responses.
4.1. SRV Records Only
If the client received zero usable TLSA certificate associations, it
SHALL validate the server's TLS certificate using the normal PKIX
rules [RFC5280] or protocol-specific rules (e.g., following
[RFC6125]) without further input from the TLSA records. In this
case, the client uses the information in the server certificate and
the DNSSEC validation status of the SRV query in its authentication
checks. It SHOULD use the Server Name Indication extension (TLS SNI)
[RFC6066] or its functional equivalent in the relevant application
protocol (e.g., in the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol
(XMPP) [RFC6120], this is the 'to' address of the initial stream
header). The preferred name SHALL be chosen as follows, and the
client SHALL verify the identity asserted by the server's certificate
according to Section 6 of [RFC6125], using a list of reference
identifiers constructed as follows (note again that in RFC 6125 the
terms "source domain" and "derived domain" refer to the same things
as "service domain name" and "target server hostname" in this
document). The examples below assume a service domain name of
"im.example.com" and a target server hostname of
"xmpp23.hosting.example.net".
SRV is insecure: The reference identifiers SHALL include the service
domain name and MUST NOT include the SRV target server hostname
(e.g., include "im.example.com" but not
"xmpp23.hosting.example.net"). The service domain name is the
preferred name for TLS SNI or its equivalent.
SRV is secure: The reference identifiers SHALL include both the
service domain name and the SRV target server hostname (e.g.,
include both "im.example.com" and "xmpp23.hosting.example.net").
The service domain name is still the preferred name for TLS SNI or
its equivalent (this reduces code complexity and the possibility
of interoperability problems).
In the latter case, the client will accept either identity to ensure
compatibility with servers that support this specification as well as
servers that do not support this specification.
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 7]
^L
RFC 7673 TLSA and SRV October 2015
4.2. TLSA Records
If the client received one or more usable TLSA certificate
associations, it SHALL process them as described in Section 2.1 of
[RFC6698].
If the TLS server's certificate -- or the public key of the server's
certificate -- matches a usable TLSA record with certificate usage
DANE-EE, the client MUST ignore validation checks from [RFC5280] and
reference identifier checks from [RFC6125]. The information in such
a TLSA record supersedes the non-key information in the certificate.
5. Guidance for Protocol Authors
This document describes how to use DANE with application protocols in
which target servers are discovered via SRV records. Although this
document attempts to provide generic guidance applying to all such
protocols, additional documents for particular application protocols
could cover related topics, such as:
o Fallback logic in the event that a client is unable to connect
securely to a target server by following the procedures defined in
this document.
o How clients ought to behave if (1) they do not support SRV lookups
or (2) they do support SRV lookups and encounter service domain
names that do not offer SRV records.
o Whether or not the application protocol has a functional
equivalent for TLS SNI that is preferred within that protocol.
o The use of SRV records with additional discovery technologies,
such as the use of both SRV records and NAPTR records [RFC3403]
for transport selection in the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).
For example, [XMPP-DNA] covers such topics for XMPP.
6. Guidance for Server Operators
To conform to this specification, the published SRV records and
subsequent address (A and AAAA) records MUST be secured with DNSSEC.
There SHOULD also be at least one TLSA record published that
authenticates the server's certificate.
When using TLSA records with certificate usage DANE-EE, it is not
necessary for the deployed certificate to contain an identifier for
either the source domain or target server hostname. However,
operators need to be aware that servers relying solely on validation
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 8]
^L
RFC 7673 TLSA and SRV October 2015
using certificate usage DANE-EE TLSA records might prevent clients
that do not support this specification from successfully connecting
with TLS.
For TLSA records with certificate usage types other than DANE-EE, the
certificate(s) MUST contain an identifier that matches:
o the service domain name (the "source domain" in [RFC6125] terms,
which is the SRV query domain), and/or
o the target server hostname (the "derived domain" in [RFC6125]
terms, which is the SRV target hostname).
Servers that support multiple service domain names (i.e., so-called
"multi-tenanted environments") can implement TLS SNI [RFC6066] or its
functional equivalent to determine which certificate to offer.
Clients that do not support this specification will indicate a
preference for the service domain name, while clients that support
this specification will indicate the target server hostname.
However, the server determines what certificate to present in the TLS
handshake; e.g., the presented certificate might only authenticate
the target server hostname.
7. Guidance for Application Developers
Developers of application clients that depend on DANE-SRV often would
like to prepare as quickly as possible for making a connection to the
intended service, thus reducing the wait time for end users. To make
this optimization possible, a DNS library might perform the address
queries and TLSA queries in parallel. (Because a TLSA record can be
ignored if it turns out that the address record on which it depends
is not secure, performing the TLSA queries in parallel with the
address queries is not harmful from a security perspective and can
yield some operational benefits.)
8. Internationalization Considerations
If any of the DNS queries are for an internationalized domain name,
then they need to use the A-label form [RFC5890].
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 9]
^L
RFC 7673 TLSA and SRV October 2015
9. Security Considerations
9.1. Mixed Security Status
We do not specify that all of the target server connection endpoints
for a service domain name need to be consistent in whether they have
or do not have TLSA records. This is so that partial or incremental
deployment does not break the service. Different levels of
deployment are likely if a service domain name has a third-party
fallback server, for example.
The SRV sorting rules are unchanged; in particular, they have not
been altered in order to prioritize secure connection endpoints over
insecure connection endpoints. If a site wants to be secure, it
needs to deploy this protocol completely; a partial deployment is not
secure, and we make no special effort to support it.
9.2. Certificate Subject Name Matching
Section 4 of the TLSA specification [RFC6698] leaves the details of
checking names in certificates to higher-level application protocols,
though it suggests the use of [RFC6125].
Name checks are not necessary if the matching TLSA record is of
certificate usage DANE-EE. Because such a record identifies the
specific certificate (or public key of the certificate), additional
checks are superfluous and potentially conflicting.
Otherwise, while DNSSEC provides a secure binding between the server
name and the TLSA record, and the TLSA record provides a binding to a
certificate, this latter step can be indirect via a chain of
certificates. For example, a certificate usage PKIX-TA TLSA record
only authenticates the Certification Authority (CA) that issued the
certificate, and third parties can obtain certificates from the same
CA. Therefore, clients need to check to see whether or not the
server's certificate matches one of the expected reference
identifiers to ensure that the certificate was issued by the CA to
the server the client expects (naturally, this is in addition to
standard certificate-related checks as specified in [RFC5280],
including but not limited to certificate syntax, certificate
extensions such as name constraints and extended key usage, and
handling of certification paths).
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 10]
^L
RFC 7673 TLSA and SRV October 2015
10. References
10.1. Normative References
[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>.
[RFC2782] Gulbrandsen, A., Vixie, P., and L. Esibov, "A DNS RR for
specifying the location of services (DNS SRV)", RFC 2782,
DOI 10.17487/RFC2782, February 2000,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2782>.
[RFC4033] Arends, R., Austein, R., Larson, M., Massey, D., and S.
Rose, "DNS Security Introduction and Requirements",
RFC 4033, DOI 10.17487/RFC4033, March 2005,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4033>.
[RFC4035] Arends, R., Austein, R., Larson, M., Massey, D., and S.
Rose, "Protocol Modifications for the DNS Security
Extensions", RFC 4035, DOI 10.17487/RFC4035, March 2005,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4035>.
[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,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5280>.
[RFC5890] Klensin, J., "Internationalized Domain Names for
Applications (IDNA): Definitions and Document Framework",
RFC 5890, DOI 10.17487/RFC5890, August 2010,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5890>.
[RFC6066] Eastlake 3rd, D., "Transport Layer Security (TLS)
Extensions: Extension Definitions", RFC 6066,
DOI 10.17487/RFC6066, January 2011,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6066>.
[RFC6125] Saint-Andre, P. and J. Hodges, "Representation and
Verification of Domain-Based Application Service Identity
within Internet Public Key Infrastructure Using X.509
(PKIX) Certificates in the Context of Transport Layer
Security (TLS)", RFC 6125, DOI 10.17487/RFC6125,
March 2011, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6125>.
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 11]
^L
RFC 7673 TLSA and SRV October 2015
[RFC6698] Hoffman, P. and J. Schlyter, "The DNS-Based Authentication
of Named Entities (DANE) Transport Layer Security (TLS)
Protocol: TLSA", RFC 6698, DOI 10.17487/RFC6698,
August 2012, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6698>.
[RFC7218] Gudmundsson, O., "Adding Acronyms to Simplify
Conversations about DNS-Based Authentication of Named
Entities (DANE)", RFC 7218, DOI 10.17487/RFC7218,
April 2014, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7218>.
[RFC7671] Dukhovni, V. and W. Hardaker, "The DNS-Based
Authentication of Named Entities (DANE) Protocol: Updates
and Operational Guidance", RFC 7671, DOI 10.17487/RFC7671,
October 2015, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7671>.
[RFC7672] Dukhovni, V. and W. Hardaker, "SMTP Security via
Opportunistic DNS-Based Authentication of Named Entities
(DANE) Transport Layer Security (TLS)", RFC 7672,
DOI 10.17487/RFC7672, October 2015,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7672>.
10.2. Informative References
[RFC3403] Mealling, M., "Dynamic Delegation Discovery System (DDDS)
Part Three: The Domain Name System (DNS) Database",
RFC 3403, DOI 10.17487/RFC3403, October 2002,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3403>.
[RFC5321] Klensin, J., "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol", RFC 5321,
DOI 10.17487/RFC5321, October 2008,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5321>.
[RFC6120] Saint-Andre, P., "Extensible Messaging and Presence
Protocol (XMPP): Core", RFC 6120, DOI 10.17487/RFC6120,
March 2011, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6120>.
[RFC6186] Daboo, C., "Use of SRV Records for Locating Email
Submission/Access Services", RFC 6186,
DOI 10.17487/RFC6186, March 2011,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6186>.
[XMPP-DNA] Saint-Andre, P., Miller, M., and P. Hancke, "Domain Name
Associations (DNA) in the Extensible Messaging and
Presence Protocol (XMPP)", Work in Progress,
draft-ietf-xmpp-dna-11, September 2015.
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 12]
^L
RFC 7673 TLSA and SRV October 2015
Appendix A. Examples
In the following, most of the DNS resource data is elided for
simplicity.
A.1. IMAP
; mail domain
_imap._tcp.example.com. SRV 10 0 9143 imap.example.net.
example.com. RRSIG SRV ...
; target server hostname
imap.example.net. A 192.0.2.1
imap.example.net. RRSIG A ...
imap.example.net. AAAA 2001:db8:212:8::e:1
imap.example.net. RRSIG ...
; TLSA resource record
_9143._tcp.imap.example.net. TLSA ...
_9143._tcp.imap.example.net. RRSIG TLSA ...
Mail messages received for addresses at example.com are retrieved via
IMAP at imap.example.net. Connections to imap.example.net port 9143
that use STARTTLS will get a server certificate that authenticates
the name imap.example.net.
A.2. XMPP
; XMPP domain
_xmpp-client._tcp.example.com. SRV 1 0 5222 im.example.net.
_xmpp-client._tcp.example.com. RRSIG SRV ...
; target server hostname
im.example.net. A 192.0.2.3
im.example.net. RRSIG A ...
im.example.net. AAAA 2001:db8:212:8::e:4
im.example.net. RRSIG AAAA ...
; TLSA resource record
_5222._tcp.im.example.net. TLSA ...
_5222._tcp.im.example.net. RRSIG TLSA ...
XMPP sessions for addresses at example.com are established at
im.example.net. Connections to im.example.net port 5222 that use
STARTTLS will get a server certificate that authenticates the name
im.example.net.
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 13]
^L
RFC 7673 TLSA and SRV October 2015
Appendix B. Rationale
The long-term goal of this specification is to settle on TLS
certificates that verify the target server hostname rather than the
service domain name, since this is more convenient for servers
hosting multiple domains (so-called "multi-tenanted environments")
and scales up more easily to larger numbers of service domain names.
There are a number of other reasons for doing it this way:
o The certificate is part of the server configuration, so it makes
sense to associate it with the target server hostname rather than
the service domain name.
o In the absence of TLS SNI, if the certificate identifies the
target server hostname, then it does not need to list all the
possible service domain names.
o When the server certificate is replaced, it is much easier if
there is one part of the DNS that needs updating to match, instead
of an unbounded number of hosted service domain names.
o The same TLSA records work with this specification, and with
direct connections to the connection endpoint in the style of
[RFC6698].
o Some application protocols, such as SMTP, allow a client to
perform transactions with multiple service domain names in the
same connection. It is not, in general, feasible for the client
to specify the service domain name using TLS SNI when the
connection is established, and the server might not be able to
present a certificate that authenticates all possible service
domain names. See [RFC7672] for details.
o It is common for SMTP servers to act in multiple roles -- for
example, as outgoing relays or as incoming MX servers, depending
on the client identity. It is simpler if the server can present
the same certificate regardless of the role in which it is to act.
Sometimes the server does not know its role until the client has
authenticated, which usually occurs after TLS has been
established. See [RFC7672] for details.
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 14]
^L
RFC 7673 TLSA and SRV October 2015
This specification does not provide an option to put TLSA records
under the service domain name, because that would add complexity
without providing any benefit; security protocols are best kept
simple. As described above, there are real-world cases where
authenticating the service domain name cannot be made to work, so
there would be complicated criteria regarding when service domain
name TLSA records might be used and when they cannot. This is all
avoided by putting the TLSA records under the target server hostname.
The disadvantage is that clients that do not complete DNSSEC
validation must, according to [RFC6125] rules, check the server
certificate against the service domain name, since they have no other
way to authenticate the server. This means that SNI support or its
functional equivalent is necessary for backward compatibility.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Mark Andrews for arguing that authenticating the target
server hostname is the right thing, and that we ought to rely on
DNSSEC to secure the SRV lookup. Thanks to Stephane Bortzmeyer,
James Cloos, Viktor Dukhovni, Ned Freed, Olafur Gudmundsson, Paul
Hoffman, Phil Pennock, Hector Santos, Jonas Schneider, and Alessandro
Vesely for helpful suggestions.
Carl Wallace completed an insightful review on behalf of the Security
Directorate.
Ben Campbell, Brian Haberman, and Alvaro Retana provided helpful
feedback during IESG review.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Olafur
Gudmundsson and Warren Kumari as the working group chairs and Stephen
Farrell as the sponsoring Area Director.
Peter Saint-Andre wishes to acknowledge Cisco Systems, Inc., for
employing him during his work on earlier draft versions of this
document.
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 15]
^L
RFC 7673 TLSA and SRV October 2015
Authors' Addresses
Tony Finch
University of Cambridge Information Services
Roger Needham Building
7 JJ Thomson Avenue
Cambridge CB3 0RB
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 797 040 1426
Email: dot@dotat.at
URI: http://dotat.at/
Matthew Miller
Cisco Systems, Inc.
1899 Wynkoop Street, Suite 600
Denver, CO 80202
United States
Email: mamille2@cisco.com
Peter Saint-Andre
&yet
Email: peter@andyet.com
URI: https://andyet.com/
Finch, et al. Standards Track [Page 16]
^L
|