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+Network Working Group D. Eastlake 3rd
+Request for Comments: 2137 CyberCash, Inc.
+Updates: 1035 April 1997
+Category: Standards Track
+
+
+ Secure Domain Name System Dynamic Update
+
+Status of this Memo
+
+ This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
+ Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
+ improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
+ Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
+ and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
+
+Abstract
+
+ Domain Name System (DNS) protocol extensions have been defined to
+ authenticate the data in DNS and provide key distribution services
+ [RFC2065]. DNS Dynamic Update operations have also been defined
+ [RFC2136], but without a detailed description of security for the
+ update operation. This memo describes how to use DNSSEC digital
+ signatures covering requests and data to secure updates and restrict
+ updates to those authorized to perform them as indicated by the
+ updater's possession of cryptographic keys.
+
+Acknowledgements
+
+ The contributions of the following persons (who are listed in
+ alphabetic order) to this memo are gratefully acknowledged:
+
+ Olafur Gudmundsson (ogud@tis.com>
+ Charlie Kaufman <Charlie_Kaufman@iris.com>
+ Stuart Kwan <skwan@microsoft.com>
+ Edward Lewis <lewis@tis.com>
+
+Table of Contents
+
+ 1. Introduction............................................2
+ 1.1 Overview of DNS Dynamic Update.........................2
+ 1.2 Overview of DNS Security...............................2
+ 2. Two Basic Modes.........................................3
+ 3. Keys....................................................5
+ 3.1 Update Keys............................................6
+ 3.1.1 Update Key Name Scope................................6
+ 3.1.2 Update Key Class Scope...............................6
+ 3.1.3 Update Key Signatory Field...........................6
+
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+ 3.2 Zone Keys and Update Modes.............................8
+ 3.3 Wildcard Key Punch Through.............................9
+ 4. Update Signatures.......................................9
+ 4.1 Update Request Signatures..............................9
+ 4.2 Update Data Signatures................................10
+ 5. Security Considerations................................10
+ References................................................10
+ Author's Address..........................................11
+
+1. Introduction
+
+ Dynamic update operations have been defined for the Domain Name
+ System (DNS) in RFC 2136, but without a detailed description of
+ security for those updates. Means of securing the DNS and using it
+ for key distribution have been defined in RFC 2065.
+
+ This memo proposes techniques based on the defined DNS security
+ mechanisms to authenticate DNS updates.
+
+ Familiarity with the DNS system [RFC 1034, 1035] is assumed.
+ Familiarity with the DNS security and dynamic update proposals will
+ be helpful.
+
+1.1 Overview of DNS Dynamic Update
+
+ DNS dynamic update defines a new DNS opcode, new DNS request and
+ response structure if that opcode is used, and new error codes. An
+ update can specify complex combinations of deletion and insertion
+ (with or without pre-existence testing) of resource records (RRs)
+ with one or more owner names; however, all testing and changes for
+ any particular DNS update request are restricted to a single zone.
+ Updates occur at the primary server for a zone.
+
+ The primary server for a secure dynamic zone must increment the zone
+ SOA serial number when an update occurs or the next time the SOA is
+ retrieved if one or more updates have occurred since the previous SOA
+ retrieval and the updates themselves did not update the SOA.
+
+1.2 Overview of DNS Security
+
+ DNS security authenticates data in the DNS by also storing digital
+ signatures in the DNS as SIG resource records (RRs). A SIG RR
+ provides a digital signature on the set of all RRs with the same
+ owner name and class as the SIG and whose type is the type covered by
+ the SIG. The SIG RR cryptographically binds the covered RR set to
+ the signer, time signed, signature expiration date, etc. There are
+ one or more keys associated with every secure zone and all data in
+ the secure zone is signed either by a zone key or by a dynamic update
+
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+ key tracing its authority to a zone key.
+
+ DNS security also defines transaction SIGs and request SIGs.
+ Transaction SIGs appear at the end of a response. Transaction SIGs
+ authenticate the response and bind it to the corresponding request
+ with the key of the host where the responding DNS server is. Request
+ SIGs appear at the end of a request and authenticate the request with
+ the key of the submitting entity.
+
+ Request SIGs are the primary means of authenticating update requests.
+
+ DNS security also permits the storage of public keys in the DNS via
+ KEY RRs. These KEY RRs are also, of course, authenticated by SIG
+ RRs. KEY RRs for zones are stored in their superzone and subzone
+ servers, if any, so that the secure DNS tree of zones can be
+ traversed by a security aware resolver.
+
+2. Two Basic Modes
+
+ A dynamic secure zone is any secure DNS zone containing one or more
+ KEY RRs that can authorize dynamic updates, i.e., entity or user KEY
+ RRs with the signatory field non-zero, and whose zone KEY RR
+ signatory field indicates that updates are implemented. There are two
+ basic modes of dynamic secure zone which relate to the update
+ strategy, mode A and mode B. A summary comparison table is given
+ below and then each mode is described.
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+ SUMMARY OF DYNAMIC SECURE ZONE MODES
+
+ CRITERIA: | MODE A | MODE B
+ =========================+====================+===================
+ Definition: | Zone Key Off line | Zone Key On line
+ =========================+====================+===================
+ Server Workload | Low | High
+ -------------------------+--------------------+-------------------
+ Static Data Security | Very High | Medium-High
+ -------------------------+--------------------+-------------------
+ Dynamic Data Security | Medium | Medium-High
+ -------------------------+--------------------+-------------------
+ Key Restrictions | Fine grain | Coarse grain
+ -------------------------+--------------------+-------------------
+ Dynamic Data Temporality | Transient | Permanent
+ -------------------------+--------------------+-------------------
+ Dynamic Key Rollover | No | Yes
+ -------------------------+--------------------+-------------------
+
+ For mode A, the zone owner key and static zone master file are always
+ kept off-line for maximum security of the static zone contents.
+
+ As a consequence, any dynamicly added or changed RRs are signed in
+ the secure zone by their authorizing dynamic update key and they are
+ backed up, along with this SIG RR, in a separate online dynamic
+ master file. In this type of zone, server computation is minimized
+ since the server need only check signatures on the update data and
+ request, which have already been signed by the updater, generally a
+ much faster operation than signing data. However, the AXFR SIG and
+ NXT RRs which covers the zone under the zone key will not cover
+ dynamically added data. Thus, for type A dynamic secure zones, zone
+ transfer security is not automatically provided for dynamically added
+ RRs, where they could be omitted, and authentication is not provided
+ for the server denial of the existence of a dynamically added type.
+ Because the dynamicly added RRs retain their update KEY signed SIG,
+ finer grained control of updates can be implemented via bits in the
+ KEY RR signatory field. Because dynamic data is only stored in the
+ online dynamic master file and only authenticated by dynamic keys
+ which expire, updates are transient in nature. Key rollover for an
+ entity that can authorize dynamic updates is more cumbersome since
+ the authority of their key must be traceable to a zone key and so, in
+ general, they must securely communicate a new key to the zone
+ authority for manual transfer to the off line static master file.
+ NOTE: for this mode the zone SOA must be signed by a dynamic update
+ key and that private key must be kept on line so that the SOA can be
+ changed for updates.
+
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+ For mode B, the zone owner key and master file are kept on-line at
+ the zone primary server. When authenticated updates succeed, SIGs
+ under the zone key for the resulting data (including the possible NXT
+ type bit map changes) are calculated and these SIG (and possible NXT)
+ changes are entered into the zone and the unified on-line master
+ file. (The zone transfer AXFR SIG may be recalculated for each
+ update or on demand when a zone transfer is requested and it is out
+ of date.)
+
+ As a consequence, this mode requires considerably more computational
+ effort on the part of the server as the public/private keys are
+ generally arranged so that signing (calculating a SIG) is more effort
+ than verifying a signature. The security of static data in the zone
+ is decreased because the ultimate state of the static data being
+ served and the ultimate zone authority private key are all on-line on
+ the net. This means that if the primary server is subverted, false
+ data could be authenticated to secondaries and other
+ servers/resolvers. On the other hand, this mode of operation means
+ that data added dynamically is more secure than in mode A. Dynamic
+ data will be covered by the AXFR SIG and thus always protected during
+ zone transfers and will be included in NXT RRs so that it can be
+ falsely denied by a server only to the same extent that static data
+ can (i.e., if it is within a wild card scope). Because the zone key
+ is used to sign all the zone data, the information as to who
+ originated the current state of dynamic RR sets is lost, making
+ unavailable the effects of some of the update control bits in the KEY
+ RR signatory field. In addition, the incorporation of the updates
+ into the primary master file and their authentication by the zone key
+ makes then permanent in nature. Maintaining the zone key on-line
+ also means that dynamic update keys which are signed by the zone key
+ can be dynamically updated since the zone key is available to
+ dynamically sign new values.
+
+ NOTE: The Mode A / Mode B distinction only effects the validation
+ and performance of update requests. It has no effect on retrievals.
+ One reasonable operational scheme may be to keep a mostly static main
+ zone operating in Mode A and have one or more dynamic subzones
+ operating in Mode B.
+
+3. Keys
+
+ Dynamic update requests depend on update keys as described in section
+ 3.1 below. In addition, the zone secure dynamic update mode and
+ availability of some options is indicated in the zone key. Finally,
+ a special rule is used in searching for KEYs to validate updates as
+ described in section 3.3.
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+3.1 Update Keys
+
+ All update requests to a secure zone must include signatures by one
+ or more key(s) that together can authorize that update. In order for
+ the Domain Name System (DNS) server receiving the request to confirm
+ this, the key or keys must be available to and authenticated by that
+ server as a specially flagged KEY Resource Record.
+
+ The scope of authority of such keys is indicated by their KEY RR
+ owner name, class, and signatory field flags as described below. In
+ addition, such KEY RRs must be entity or user keys and not have the
+ authentication use prohibited bit on. All parts of the actual update
+ must be within the scope of at least one of the keys used for a
+ request SIG on the update request as described in section 4.
+
+3.1.1 Update Key Name Scope
+
+ The owner name of any update authorizing KEY RR must (1) be the same
+ as the owner name of any RRs being added or deleted or (2) a wildcard
+ name including within its extended scope (see section 3.3) the name
+ of any RRs being added or deleted and those RRs must be in the same
+ zone.
+
+3.1.2 Update Key Class Scope
+
+ The class of any update authorizing KEY RR must be the same as the
+ class of any RR's being added or deleted.
+
+3.1.3 Update Key Signatory Field
+
+ The four bit "signatory field" (see RFC 2065) of any update
+ authorizing KEY RR must be non-zero. The bits have the meanings
+ described below for non-zone keys (see section 3.2 for zone type
+ keys).
+
+ UPDATE KEY RR SIGNATORY FIELD BITS
+
+ 0 1 2 3
+ +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
+ | zone | strong | unique | general |
+ +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
+
+ Bit 0, zone control - If nonzero, this key is authorized to attach,
+ detach, and move zones by creating and deleting NS, glue A, and
+ zone KEY RR(s). If zero, the key can not authorize any update
+ that would effect such RRs. This bit is meaningful for both
+ type A and type B dynamic secure zones.
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+ NOTE: do not confuse the "zone" signatory field bit with the
+ "zone" key type bit.
+
+ Bit 1, strong update - If nonzero, this key is authorized to add and
+ delete RRs even if there are other RRs with the same owner name
+ and class that are authenticated by a SIG signed with a
+ different dynamic update KEY. If zero, the key can only
+ authorize updates where any existing RRs of the same owner and
+ class are authenticated by a SIG using the same key. This bit
+ is meaningful only for type A dynamic zones and is ignored in
+ type B dynamic zones.
+
+ Keeping this bit zero on multiple KEY RRs with the same or
+ nested wild card owner names permits multiple entities to exist
+ that can create and delete names but can not effect RRs with
+ different owner names from any they created. In effect, this
+ creates two levels of dynamic update key, strong and weak, where
+ weak keys are limited in interfering with each other but a
+ strong key can interfere with any weak keys or other strong
+ keys.
+
+ Bit 2, unique name update - If nonzero, this key is authorized to add
+ and update RRs for only a single owner name. If there already
+ exist RRs with one or more names signed by this key, they may be
+ updated but no new name created until the number of existing
+ names is reduced to zero. This bit is meaningful only for mode
+ A dynamic zones and is ignored in mode B dynamic zones. This bit
+ is meaningful only if the owner name is a wildcard. (Any
+ dynamic update KEY with a non-wildcard name is, in effect, a
+ unique name update key.)
+
+ This bit can be used to restrict a KEY from flooding a zone with
+ new names. In conjunction with a local administratively imposed
+ limit on the number of dynamic RRs with a particular name, it
+ can completely restrict a KEY from flooding a zone with RRs.
+
+ Bit 3, general update - The general update signatory field bit has no
+ special meaning. If the other three bits are all zero, it must
+ be one so that the field is non-zero to designate that the key
+ is an update key. The meaning of all values of the signatory
+ field with the general bit and one or more other signatory field
+ bits on is reserved.
+
+ All the signatory bit update authorizations described above only
+ apply if the update is within the name and class scope as per
+ sections 3.1.1 and 3.1.2.
+
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+3.2 Zone Keys and Update Modes
+
+ Zone type keys are automatically authorized to sign anything in their
+ zone, of course, regardless of the value of their signatory field.
+ For zone keys, the signatory field bits have different means than
+ they they do for update keys, as shown below. The signatory field
+ MUST be zero if dynamic update is not supported for a zone and MUST
+ be non-zero if it is.
+
+ ZONE KEY RR SIGNATORY FIELD BITS
+
+ 0 1 2 3
+ +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
+ | mode | strong | unique | general |
+ +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
+
+ Bit 0, mode - This bit indicates the update mode for this zone. Zero
+ indicates mode A while a one indicates mode B.
+
+ Bit 1, strong update - If nonzero, this indicates that the "strong"
+ key feature described in section 3.1.3 above is implemented and
+ enabled for this secure zone. If zero, the feature is not
+ available. Has no effect if the zone is a mode B secure update
+ zone.
+
+ Bit 2, unique name update - If nonzero, this indicates that the
+ "unique name" feature described in section 3.1.3 above is
+ implemented and enabled for this secure zone. If zero, this
+ feature is not available. Has no effect if the zone is a mode B
+ secure update zone.
+
+ Bit 3, general - This bit has no special meeting. If dynamic update
+ for a zone is supported and the other bits in the zone key
+ signatory field are zero, it must be a one. The meaning of zone
+ keys where the signatory field has the general bit and one or
+ more other bits on is reserved.
+
+ If there are multiple dynamic update KEY RRs for a zone and zone
+ policy is in transition, they might have different non-zero signatory
+ fields. In that case, strong and unique name restrictions must be
+ enforced as long as there is a non-expired zone key being advertised
+ that indicates mode A with the strong or unique name bit on
+ respectively. Mode B updates MUST be supported as long as there is a
+ non-expired zone key that indicates mode B. Mode A updates may be
+ treated as mode B updates at server option if non-expired zone keys
+ indicate that both are supported.
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+ A server that will be executing update operations on a zone, that is,
+ the primary master server, MUST not advertize a zone key that will
+ attract requests for a mode or features that it can not support.
+
+3.3 Wildcard Key Punch Through
+
+ Just as a zone key is valid throughout the entire zone, update keys
+ with wildcard names are valid throughout their extended scope, within
+ the zone. That is, they remain valid for any name that would match
+ them, even existing specific names within their apparent scope.
+
+ If this were not so, then whenever a name within a wildcard scope was
+ created by dynamic update, it would be necessary to first create a
+ copy of the KEY RR with this name, because otherwise the existence of
+ the more specific name would hide the authorizing KEY RR and would
+ make later updates impossible. An updater could create such a KEY RR
+ but could not zone sign it with their authorizing signer. They would
+ have to sign it with the same key using the wildcard name as signer.
+ Thus in creating, for example, one hundred type A RRs authorized by a
+ *.1.1.1.in-addr.arpa. KEY RR, without key punch through 100 As, 100
+ KEYs, and 200 SIGs would have to be created as opposed to merely 100
+ As and 100 SIGs with key punch through.
+
+4. Update Signatures
+
+ Two kinds of signatures can appear in updates. Request signatures,
+ which are always required, cover the entire request and authenticate
+ the DNS header, including opcode, counts, etc., as well as the data.
+ Data signatures, on the other hand, appear only among the RRs to be
+ added and are only required for mode A operation. These two types of
+ signatures are described further below.
+
+4.1 Update Request Signatures
+
+ An update can effect multiple owner names in a zone. It may be that
+ these different names are covered by different dynamic update keys.
+ For every owner name effected, the updater must know a private key
+ valid for that name (and the zone's class) and must prove this by
+ appending request SIG RRs under each such key.
+
+ As specified in RFC 2065, a request signature is a SIG RR occurring
+ at the end of a request with a type covered field of zero. For an
+ update, request signatures occur in the Additional information
+ section. Each request SIG signs the entire request, including DNS
+ header, but excluding any other request SIG(s) and with the ARCOUNT
+ in the DNS header set to what it wold be without the request SIGs.
+
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+4.2 Update Data Signatures
+
+ Mode A dynamic secure zones require that the update requester provide
+ SIG RRs that will authenticate the after update state of all RR sets
+ that are changed by the update and are non-empty after the update.
+ These SIG RRs appear in the request as RRs to be added and the
+ request must delete any previous data SIG RRs that are invalidated by
+ the request.
+
+ In Mode B dynamic secure zones, all zone data is authenticated by
+ zone key SIG RRs. In this case, data signatures need not be included
+ with the update. A resolver can determine which mode an updatable
+ secure zone is using by examining the signatory field bits of the
+ zone KEY RR (see section 3.2).
+
+5. Security Considerations
+
+ Any zone permitting dynamic updates is inherently less secure than a
+ static secure zone maintained off line as recommended in RFC 2065. If
+ nothing else, secure dynamic update requires on line change to and
+ re-signing of the zone SOA resource record (RR) to increase the SOA
+ serial number. This means that compromise of the primary server host
+ could lead to arbitrary serial number changes.
+
+ Isolation of dynamic RRs to separate zones from those holding most
+ static RRs can limit the damage that could occur from breach of a
+ dynamic zone's security.
+
+References
+
+ [RFC2065] Eastlake, D., and C. Kaufman, "Domain Name System Security
+ Extensions", RFC 2065, CyberCash, Iris, January 1997.
+
+ [RFC2136] Vixie, P., Editor, Thomson, T., Rekhter, Y., and J. Bound,
+ "Dynamic Updates in the Domain Name System (DNS UPDATE)", RFC 2136,
+ April 1997.
+
+ [RFC1035] Mockapetris, P., "Domain Names - Implementation and
+ Specifications", STD 13, RFC 1035, November 1987.
+
+ [RFC1034] Mockapetris, P., "Domain Names - Concepts and Facilities",
+ STD 13, RFC 1034, November 1987.
+
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+Author's Address
+
+ Donald E. Eastlake, 3rd
+ CyberCash, Inc.
+ 318 Acton Street
+ Carlisle, MA 01741 USA
+
+ Phone: +1 508-287-4877
+ +1 508-371-7148 (fax)
+ +1 703-620-4200 (main office, Reston, Virginia, USA)
+ EMail: dee@cybercash.com
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