Internet DRAFT - draft-gould-regext-secure-authinfo-transfer

draft-gould-regext-secure-authinfo-transfer







Network Working Group                                           J. Gould
Internet-Draft                                                R. Wilhelm
Intended status: Best Current Practice                    VeriSign, Inc.
Expires: July 17, 2020                                  January 14, 2020


Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP) Secure Authorization Information
                              for Transfer
             draft-gould-regext-secure-authinfo-transfer-03

Abstract

   The Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP), in RFC 5730, defines the
   use of authorization information to authorize a transfer.  The
   authorization information is object-specific and has been defined in
   the EPP Domain Name Mapping, in RFC 5731, and the EPP Contact
   Mapping, in RFC 5733, as password-based authorization information.
   Other authorization mechanisms can be used, but in practice the
   password-based authorization information has been used at the time of
   object create, managed with the object update, and used to authorize
   an object transfer request.  What has not been fully considered is
   the security of the authorization information that includes the
   complexity of the authorization information, the time-to-live (TTL)
   of the authorization information, and where and how the authorization
   information is stored.  This document defines an operational
   practice, using the EPP RFCs, that leverages the use of strong random
   authorization information values that are short-lived, that are not
   stored by the client, and that are stored using a cryptographic hash
   by the server to provide for secure authorization information used
   for transfers.

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
   working documents as Internet-Drafts.  The list of current Internet-
   Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on July 17, 2020.




Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                 [Page 1]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2020 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 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
     1.1.  Conventions Used in This Document . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   2.  Registrant, Registrar, Registry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   3.  Secure Authorization Information  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     3.1.  Secure Random Authorization Information . . . . . . . . .   6
     3.2.  Authorization Information Time-To-Live (TTL)  . . . . . .   7
     3.3.  Authorization Information Storage and Transport . . . . .   7
     3.4.  Authorization Information Matching  . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   4.  Create, Transfer, and Secure Authorization Information  . . .   8
     4.1.  Create Command  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     4.2.  Update Command  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     4.3.  Info Command and Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
     4.4.  Transfer Request Command  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
   5.  Transition Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
     5.1.  Transition Phase 1 - Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
     5.2.  Transition Phase 2 - Storage  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
     5.3.  Transition Phase 3 - Enforcement  . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
   6.  Implementation Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
     6.1.  Verisign EPP SDK  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
     6.2.  RegistryEngine EPP Service  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
   7.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
   8.  Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
   9.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
     9.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
     9.2.  URIs  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
   Appendix A.  Change History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
     A.1.  Change from 00 to 01  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
     A.2.  Change from 01 to 02  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
     A.3.  Change from 02 to 03  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24




Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                 [Page 2]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


1.  Introduction

   The Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP), in [RFC5730], defines the
   use of authorization information to authorize a transfer.  The
   authorization information is object-specific and has been defined in
   the EPP Domain Name Mapping, in [RFC5731], and the EPP Contact
   Mapping, in [RFC5733], as password-based authorization information.
   Other authorization mechanisms can be used, but in practice the
   password-based authorization information has been used at the time of
   object create, managed with the object update, and used to authorize
   an object transfer request.  What has not been considered is the
   security of the authorization information that includes the
   complexity of the authorization information, the time-to-live (TTL)
   of the authorization information, and where and how the authorization
   information is stored.  This document defines an operational
   practice, using the EPP RFCs, that leverages the use of strong,
   random authorization information values that are short-lived, that
   are not stored by the client, and that are stored by the server using
   a cryptographic hash to provide, for secure authorization information
   used for transfers.  This operational practice can be used to support
   transfers of any EPP object, where the domain name object defined in
   [RFC5731] is used in this document for illustration purposes.
   Elements of the practice may be used to support the secure use of the
   authorization information for purposes other than transfer, but any
   other purposes and the applicable elements are out-of-scope for this
   document.

   The overall goal is to have strong, random authorization information
   values, that are short-lived, and that are either not stored or
   stored as a cryptographic hash values by the non-responsible parties.
   In a registrant, registrar, and registry model, the registrant
   registers the object through the registrar to the registry.  The
   registrant is the responsible party and the registrar and the
   registry are the non-responsible parties.  EPP is a protocol between
   the registrar and the registry, where the registrar is referred to as
   the client and the registry is referred to as the server.  The
   following are the elements of the operational practice and how the
   existing features of the EPP RFCs can be leveraged to satisfy them:

   "Strong Random Authorization Information":  The EPP RFCs define the
       password-based authorization information value using an XML
       schema "normalizedString" type, so they don't restrict what can
       be used in any way.  This operational practice defines the
       recommended mechanism for creating a strong random authorization
       value, that would be generated by the client.
   "Short-Lived Authorization Information":  The EPP RFCs don't
       explicitly support short-lived authorization information or a
       time-to-live (TTL) for authorization information, but there are



Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                 [Page 3]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


       EPP RFC features that can be leveraged to support short-lived
       authorization information.  If authorization information is set
       only when there is a transfer in process, the server needs to
       support empty authorization information on create, support
       setting and unsetting authorization information, and support
       automatically unsetting the authorization information upon a
       successful transfer.  All of these features can be supported by
       the EPP RFCs.
   "Storing Authorization Information Securely":  The EPP RFCs don't
       specify where and how the authorization information is stored in
       the client or the server, so there are no restrictions to define
       an operational practice for storing the authorization information
       securely.  The operational practice will not require the client
       to store the authorization information and will require the
       server to store the authorization information using a
       cryptographic hash, with at least a 256-bit hash function, such
       as SHA-256.  Returning the authorization information set in an
       EPP info response will not be supported.

1.1.  Conventions Used in This Document

   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].

   XML is case sensitive.  Unless stated otherwise, XML specifications
   and examples provided in this document MUST be interpreted in the
   character case presented in order to develop a conforming
   implementation.

   In examples, "C:" represents lines sent by a protocol client and "S:"
   represents lines returned by a protocol server.  Indentation and
   white space in examples are provided only to illustrate element
   relationships and are not a required feature of this protocol.

   The examples reference XML namespace prefixes that are used for the
   associated XML namespaces.  Implementations MUST NOT depend on the
   example XML namespaces and instead employ a proper namespace-aware
   XML parser and serializer to interpret and output the XML documents.
   The example namespace prefixes used and their associated XML
   namespaces include:

   "domain":  urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:domain-1.0
   "contact":  urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:contact-1.0







Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                 [Page 4]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


2.  Registrant, Registrar, Registry

   The EPP RFCs refer to client and server, but when it comes to
   transfers, there are three types of actors that are involved.  This
   document will refer to the actors as registrant, registrar, and
   registry.  [RFC8499] defines these terms formally for the Domain Name
   System (DNS).  The terms are further described below to cover their
   roles as actors of using the authorization information in the
   transfer process of any object in the registry, such as a domain name
   or a contact:

   "registrant":  [RFC8499] defines the registrant as "an individual or
       organization on whose behalf a name in a zone is registered by
       the registry".  The registrant can be the owner of any object in
       the registry, such as a domain name or a contact.  The registrant
       interfaces with the registrar for provisioning the objects.  A
       transfer is coordinated by the registrant to transfer the
       sponsorship of the object from one registrar to another.  The
       authorization information is meant to authenticate the registrant
       as the owner of the object to the non-sponsoring registrar and to
       authorize the transfer.
   "registrar":  [RFC8499] defines the registrar as "a service provider
       that acts as a go-between for registrants and registries".  The
       registrar interfaces with the registrant for the provisioning of
       objects, such as domain names and contacts, and with the
       registries to satisfy the registrant's provisioning requests.  A
       registrar may directly interface with the registrant or may
       indirectly interface with the registrant, typically through one
       or more resellers.  Implementing a transfer using secure
       authorization information extends through the registrar's
       reseller channel up to the direct interface with the registrant.
       The registrar's interface with the registries uses EPP.  The
       registrar's interface with its reseller channel or the registrant
       is registrar-specific.  In the EPP RFCs, the registrar is
       referred to as the "client", since EPP is the protocol used
       between the registrar and the registry.  The sponsoring registrar
       is the authorized registrar to manage objects on behalf of the
       registrant.  A non-sponsoring registrar is not authorized to
       manage objects on behalf of the registrant.  A transfer of an
       object's sponsorship is from one registrar, referred to as the
       losing registrar, to another registrar, referred to as the
       gaining registrar.
   "registry":  [RFC8499] defines the registry as "the administrative
       operation of a zone that allows registration of names within the
       zone".  The registry typically interfaces with the registrars
       over EPP and generally does not interact directly with the
       registrant.  In the EPP RFCs, the registry is referred to as the
       "server", since EPP is the protocol used between the registrar



Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                 [Page 5]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


       and the registry.  The registry has a record of the sponsoring
       registrar for each object and provides the mechanism (over EPP)
       to coordinate a transfer of an object's sponsorship between
       registrars.

3.  Secure Authorization Information

   The authorization information in the EPP RFCs ([RFC5731] and
   [RFC5733]) that support transfer use password-based authorization
   information.  Other EPP objects that support password-based
   authorization information for transfer can use the Secure
   Authorization Information defined in this document.  For the
   authorization information to be secure it must be a strong random
   value and must have a short time-to-live (TTL).  The security of the
   authorization information is defined in the following sections.

3.1.  Secure Random Authorization Information

   For authorization information to be secure, it MUST be generated
   using a secure random value.  The authorization information is
   treated as a password, where according to [RFC4086] a high-security
   password must have at least 49 bits of randomness or entropy.  The
   required length L of a password, rounded up to the largest whole
   number, is based on the set of characters N and the desired entropy
   H, in the equation L = ROUNDUP(H / log2 N).  With a target entropy of
   49, the required length can be calculated after deciding on the set
   of characters that will be randomized.  The following are a set of
   possible character sets and the calculation of the required length.

   Calculation of the required length with 49 bits of entropy and with
   the set of all printable ASCII characters except space (0x20), which
   consists of the 94 characters 0x21-0x7E.

   ROUNDUP(49 / log2 94) =~ ROUNDUP(49 / 6.55) =~ ROUNDUP(7.48) = 8

   Calculation of the required length with 49 bits of entropy and with
   the set of case-insensitive alphanumeric characters, which consists
   of 36 characters (a-z A-Z 0-9).

   ROUNDUP(49 / log2 36) =~ ROUNDUP(49 / 5.17) =~ ROUNDUP(9.48) = 10

   Considering the age of [RFC4086], the evolution of security
   practices, and that the authorization information is a machine-
   generated value, the recommendation is to use at least 128 bits of
   entropy.  The lengths are recalculated below using 128 bits of
   entropy.





Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                 [Page 6]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


   Calculation of the required length with 128 bits of entropy and with
   the set of all printable ASCII characters except space (0x20), which
   consists of the 94 characters 0x21-0x7E.

   ROUNDUP(128 / log2 94) =~ ROUNDUP(128 / 6.55) =~ ROUNDUP(19.54) = 20

   Calculation of the required length with 128 bits of entropy and with
   the set of case insensitive alphanumeric characters, which consists
   of 36 characters (a-z A-Z 0-9).

   ROUNDUP(128 / log2 36) =~ ROUNDUP(128 / 5.17) =~ ROUNDUP(24.76) = 25

   The strength of the random authorization information is dependent on
   the actual entropy of the underlying random number generator.  For
   the random number generator, the practices defined in [RFC4086] and
   section 4.7.1 of the NIST Federal Information Processing Standards
   (FIPS) Publication 140-2 [1] SHOULD be followed to produce random
   values that will be resistant to attack.  A random number generator
   (RNG) is preferable over the use of a pseudorandom number generator
   (PRNG) to reduce the predictability of the authorization information.
   The more predictable the random number generator is, the lower the
   true entropy, and the longer the required length for the
   authorization information.

3.2.  Authorization Information Time-To-Live (TTL)

   The authorization information SHOULD only be set when there is a
   transfer in process.  This implies that the authorization information
   has a Time-To-Live (TTL) by which the authorization information is
   cleared when the TTL expires.  The EPP RFCs have no definition of
   TTL, but since the server supports the setting and unsetting of the
   authorization information by the sponsoring registrar, then the
   sponsoring registrar can apply a TTL based on client policy.  The TTL
   client policy may be based on proprietary registrar-specific criteria
   which provides for a transfer-specific TTL tuned for the particular
   circumstances of the transaction.  The sponsoring registrar will be
   aware of the TTL and the sponsoring registrar MUST inform the
   registrant of the TTL when the authorization information is provided
   to the registrant.

3.3.  Authorization Information Storage and Transport

   To protect the disclosure of the authorization information, the
   following requirements apply:

   1.  The authorization information MUST be stored by the registry
       using a strong one-way cryptographic hash, with at least a
       256-bit hash function, such as SHA-256.



Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                 [Page 7]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


   2.  An empty authorization information MUST be stored with a NULL
       (undefined) value.
   3.  The authorization information MUST NOT be stored by the losing
       registrar.
   4.  The authorization information MUST only be stored by the gaining
       registrar as a "transient" value in support of the transfer
       process.
   5.  The plain text version of the authorization information MUST NOT
       be written to any logs by the registrar or the registry.
   6.  All communication that includes the authorization information
       MUST be over an encrypted channel, such as defined in [RFC5734]
       for EPP.
   7.  The registrar's interface for communicating the authorization
       information with the registrant MUST be over an authenticated and
       encrypted channel.

3.4.  Authorization Information Matching

   To support the authorization information TTL, as defined in
   Section 3.2, the authorization information must have either a set or
   unset state.  The unset authorization information is stored with a
   NULL (undefined) value.  Based on the requirement to store the
   authorization information using a strong one-way cryptographic hash,
   as defined in Section 3.3, a set authorization information is stored
   with a non-NULL hashed value.  The empty authorization information is
   used as input in both the create command (Section 4.1) and the update
   command (Section 4.2) to define the unset state.  The matching of the
   authorization information in the info command (Section 4.3) and the
   transfer request command (Section 4.4) is based on the following
   rules:

   1.  Any input authorization information value MUST NOT match an unset
       authorization information value.
   2.  An empty input authorization information value MUST NOT match any
       authorization information value.
   3.  A non-empty input authorization information value MUST be hashed
       and matched against the set authorization information value,
       which is stored using the same hash algorithm.

4.  Create, Transfer, and Secure Authorization Information

   To make the transfer process secure using secure authorization
   information, as defined in Section 3, the client and server need to
   implement steps where the authorization information is set only when
   a transfer is actively in process and ensure that the authorization
   information is stored securely and transported only over secure
   channels.  The steps in management of the authorization information
   for transfers include:



Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                 [Page 8]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


   1.  Registrant requests to register the object with the registrar.
       Registrar sends the create command, with empty authorization
       information, to the registry, as defined in Section 4.1.
   2.  Registrant requests from the losing registrar the authorization
       information to provide to the gaining registrar.
   3.  Losing registrar generates a secure random authorization
       information value, sends it to the registry as defined in
       Section 4.2, and provides it to the registrant.
   4.  Registrant provides the authorization information value to the
       gaining registrar.
   5.  Gaining registrar optionally verifies the authorization
       information with the info command to the registry, as defined in
       Section 4.3.
   6.  Gaining registrar sends the transfer request with the
       authorization information to the registry, as defined in
       Section 4.4.
   7.  If the transfer successfully completes, the registry
       automatically unsets the authorization information; otherwise the
       losing registrar unsets the authorization information when the
       TTL expires, as defined in Section 4.2.

   The following sections outline the practices of the EPP commands and
   responses between the registrar and the registry that supports secure
   authorization information for transfer.

4.1.  Create Command

   For a create command, the registry MUST allow for the passing of an
   empty authorization information and MAY disallow for the passing of a
   non-empty authorization information.  By having an empty
   authorization information on create, the object is initially not in
   the transfer process.  Any EPP object extension that supports setting
   the authorization information with a "eppcom:pwAuthInfoType" element,
   can have an empty authorization information passed, such as [RFC5731]
   and [RFC5733].
















Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                 [Page 9]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


   Example of passing empty authorization information in an [RFC5731]
   domain name create command.

   C:<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
   C:<epp xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:epp-1.0">
   C:  <command>
   C:    <create>
   C:      <domain:create
   C:        xmlns:domain="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:domain-1.0">
   C:        <domain:name>example.com</domain:name>
   C:        <domain:authInfo>
   C:          <domain:pw/>
   C:        </domain:authInfo>
   C:      </domain:create>
   C:    </create>
   C:    <clTRID>ABC-12345</clTRID>
   C:  </command>
   C:</epp>

   Example of passing empty authorization information in an [RFC5733]
   contact create command.

   C:<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
   C:<epp xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:epp-1.0">
   C:  <command>
   C:    <create>
   C:      <contact:create
   C:       xmlns:contact="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:contact-1.0">
   C:        <contact:id>sh8013</contact:id>
   C:        <contact:postalInfo type="int">
   C:          <contact:name>John Doe</contact:name>
   C:          <contact:addr>
   C:            <contact:city>Dulles</contact:city>
   C:            <contact:cc>US</contact:cc>
   C:          </contact:addr>
   C:        </contact:postalInfo>
   C:        <contact:email>jdoe@example.com</contact:email>
   C:        <contact:authInfo>
   C:          <contact:pw/>
   C:        </contact:authInfo>
   C:      </contact:create>
   C:    </create>
   C:    <clTRID>ABC-12345</clTRID>
   C:  </command>
   C:</epp>






Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                [Page 10]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


4.2.  Update Command

   For an update command, the registry MUST allow for the setting and
   unsetting of the authorization information.  The registrar sets the
   authorization information by first generating a strong, random
   authorization information value, based on Section 3.1, and setting it
   in the registry in the update command.  The registry SHOULD validate
   the randomness of the authorization information based on the length
   and character set required by the registry.  For example, a registry
   that requires 20 random printable ASCII characters except space
   (0x20), should validate that the authorization information contains
   at least one upper case alpha character, one lower case alpha
   character, and one non-alpha numeric character.  If the authorization
   information fails the randomness validation, the registry MUST return
   an EPP error result code of 2202.

   Often the registrar has the "clientTransferProhibited" status set, so
   to start the transfer process, the "clientTransferProhibited" status
   needs to be removed, and the strong, random authorization information
   value needs to be set.  The registrar MUST define a time-to-live
   (TTL), as defined in Section 3.2, where if the TTL expires the
   registrar will unset the authorization information.

   Example of removing the "clientTransferProhibited" status and setting
   the authorization information in an [RFC5731] domain name update
   command.

   C:<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
   C:<epp xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:epp-1.0">
   C:  <command>
   C:    <update>
   C:      <domain:update
   C:        xmlns:domain="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:domain-1.0">
   C:        <domain:name>example.com</domain:name>
   C:        <domain:rem>
   C:          <domain:status s="clientTransferProhibited"/>
   C:        </domain:rem>
   C:        <domain:chg>
   C:          <domain:authInfo>
   C:            <domain:pw>LuQ7Bu@w9?%+_HK3cayg$55$LSft3MPP
   C:            </domain:pw>
   C:          </domain:authInfo>
   C:        </domain:chg>
   C:      </domain:update>
   C:    </update>
   C:    <clTRID>ABC-12345-XYZ</clTRID>
   C:  </command>
   C:</epp>



Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                [Page 11]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


   When the registrar-defined TTL expires, the sponsoring registrar
   cancels the transfer process by unsetting the authorization
   information value and may add back statuses like the
   "clientTransferProbited" status.  Any EPP object extension that
   supports setting the authorization information with a
   "eppcom:pwAuthInfoType" element, can have an empty authorization
   information passed, such as [RFC5731] and [RFC5733].  Setting an
   empty authorization information unsets the value.  [RFC5731] supports
   an explicit mechanism of unsetting the authorization information, by
   passing the <domain:null> authorization information value.  The
   registry MUST support unsetting the authorization information by
   accepting an empty authorization information value and accepting an
   explicit unset element if it is supported by the object extension.

   Example of adding the "clientTransferProhibited" status and unsetting
   the authorization information explicitly in an [RFC5731] domain name
   update command.

   C:<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
   C:<epp xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:epp-1.0">
   C:  <command>
   C:    <update>
   C:      <domain:update
   C:        xmlns:domain="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:domain-1.0">
   C:        <domain:name>example.com</domain:name>
   C:        <domain:add>
   C:          <domain:status s="clientTransferProhibited"/>
   C:        </domain:add>
   C:        <domain:chg>
   C:          <domain:authInfo>
   C:            <domain:null/>
   C:          </domain:authInfo>
   C:        </domain:chg>
   C:      </domain:update>
   C:    </update>
   C:    <clTRID>ABC-12345-XYZ</clTRID>
   C:  </command>
   C:</epp>













Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                [Page 12]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


   Example of unsetting the authorization information with an empty
   authorization information in an [RFC5731] domain name update command.

   C:<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
   C:<epp xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:epp-1.0">
   C:  <command>
   C:    <update>
   C:      <domain:update
   C:        xmlns:domain="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:domain-1.0">
   C:        <domain:name>example.com</domain:name>
   C:        <domain:add>
   C:          <domain:status s="clientTransferProhibited"/>
   C:        </domain:add>
   C:        <domain:chg>
   C:          <domain:authInfo>
   C:            <domain:pw/>
   C:          </domain:authInfo>
   C:        </domain:chg>
   C:      </domain:update>
   C:    </update>
   C:    <clTRID>ABC-12345-XYZ</clTRID>
   C:  </command>
   C:</epp>

   Example of unsetting the authorization information with an empty
   authorization information in an [RFC5733] contact update command.

   C:<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
   C:<epp xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:epp-1.0">
   C:  <command>
   C:    <update>
   C:      <contact:update
   C:        xmlns:contact="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:contact-1.0">
   C:        <contact:id>sh8013</contact:id>
   C:        <contact:chg>
   C:          <contact:authInfo>
   C:            <contact:pw/>
   C:          </contact:authInfo>
   C:        </contact:chg>
   C:      </contact:update>
   C:    </update>
   C:    <clTRID>ABC-12345-XYZ</clTRID>
   C:  </command>
   C:</epp>







Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                [Page 13]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


4.3.  Info Command and Response

   For an info command, the registry MUST allow for the passing of a
   non-empty authorization information for verification.  The gaining
   registrar can pre-verify the authorization information provided by
   the registrant prior to submitting the transfer request with the use
   of the info command.  The registry compares the hash of the passed
   authorization information with the hashed authorization information
   value stored for the object.  When the authorization information is
   not set or the passed authorization information does not match the
   previously set value, the registry MUST return an EPP error result
   code of 2202 [RFC5730].

   Example of passing a non-empty authorization information in an
   [RFC5731] domain name info command to verify the authorization
   information value.

   C:<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
   C:<epp xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:epp-1.0">
   C:  <command>
   C:    <info>
   C:      <domain:info
   C:        xmlns:domain="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:domain-1.0">
   C:        <domain:name>example.com</domain:name>
   C:        <domain:authInfo>
   C:          <domain:pw>LuQ7Bu@w9?%+_HK3cayg$55$LSft3MPP
   C:          </domain:pw>
   C:        </domain:authInfo>
   C:      </domain:info>
   C:    </info>
   C:    <clTRID>ABC-12345</clTRID>
   C:  </command>
   C:</epp>

   The info response in object extensions, such as [RFC5731] and
   [RFC5733], MUST NOT include the optional authorization information
   element with a non-empty authorization value.  The authorization
   information is stored as a hash in the registry, so returning the
   plain text authorization information is not possible, unless a valid
   plain text authorization information is passed in the info command.
   The registry MUST NOT return any indication of whether the
   authorization information is set or unset to the non-sponsoring
   registrar by not returning the authorization information element in
   the response.  The registry MAY return an indication to the
   sponsoring registrar that the authorization information is set by
   using an empty authorization information value.  The registry MAY
   return an indication to the sponsoring registrar that the




Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                [Page 14]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


   authorization information is unset by not returning the authorization
   information element.

   Example of returning an empty authorization information in an
   [RFC5731] domain name info response to indicate to the sponsoring
   registrar that the authorization information is set.

   S:<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
   S:<epp xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:epp-1.0">
   S:  <response>
   S:    <result code="1000">
   S:      <msg>Command completed successfully</msg>
   S:    </result>
   S:    <resData>
   S:      <domain:infData
   S:       xmlns:domain="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:domain-1.0">
   S:        <domain:name>example.com</domain:name>
   S:        <domain:roid>EXAMPLE1-REP</domain:roid>
   S:        <domain:status s="ok"/>
   S:        <domain:clID>ClientX</domain:clID>
   S:        <domain:authInfo>
   S:          <domain:pw/>
   S:        </domain:authInfo>
   S:      </domain:infData>
   S:    </resData>
   S:    <trID>
   S:      <clTRID>ABC-12345</clTRID>
   S:      <svTRID>54322-XYZ</svTRID>
   S:    </trID>
   S:  </response>
   S:</epp>

4.4.  Transfer Request Command

   For a Transfer Request Command, the registry MUST allow for the
   passing of a non-empty authorization information to authorize a
   transfer.  The registry compares the hash of the passed authorization
   information with the hashed authorization information value stored
   for the object.  When the authorization information is not set or the
   passed authorization information does not match the previously set
   value, the registry MUST return an EPP error result code of 2202
   [RFC5730].  Whether the transfer occurs immediately or is pending is
   up to server policy.  When the transfer occurs immediately, the
   registry MUST return the EPP success result code of 1000 and when the
   transfer is pending, the registry MUST return the EPP success result
   code of 1001.  The losing registrar MUST be informed of a successful
   transfer request using an EPP poll message.




Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                [Page 15]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


   Example of passing a non-empty authorization information in an
   [RFC5731] domain name transfer request command to authorize the
   transfer.

   C:<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
   C:<epp xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:epp-1.0">
   C:  <command>
   C:    <transfer op="request">
   C:      <domain:transfer
   C:        xmlns:domain="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:domain-1.0">
   C:        <domain:name>example1.com</domain:name>
   C:        <domain:authInfo>
   C:          <domain:pw>LuQ7Bu@w9?%+_HK3cayg$55$LSft3MPP
   C:          </domain:pw>
   C:        </domain:authInfo>
   C:      </domain:transfer>
   C:    </transfer>
   C:    <clTRID>ABC-12345</clTRID>
   C:  </command>
   C:</epp>

   Upon successful completion of the transfer, the registry MUST
   automatically unset the authorization information.  If the transfer
   request is not submitted within the time-to-live (TTL) (Section 3.2)
   or the transfer is cancelled or rejected, the registrar MUST unset
   the authorization information as defined in Section 4.2.

5.  Transition Considerations

   The goal of the transition considerations to the practice defined in
   this document, referred to as the Secure Authorization Information
   Model, is to minimize the impact to the registrars by supporting
   incremental steps of adoption.  The transtion steps are dependent on
   the starting point of the registry.  Registries may have different
   starting points, since some of the elements of the Secure
   Authorization Information Model may have already been implemented.
   The considerations assume a starting point, referred to as the
   Classic Authorization Information Model, that have the following
   steps in the management of the authorization information for
   transfers:

   1.  Registrant requests to register the object with the registrar.
       Registrar sends the create command, with a non-empty
       authorization information, to the registry.  The registry stores
       the authorization information as an encrypted value and requires
       a non-empty authorization information for the life of the object.
       The registrar may store the long-lived authorization information.




Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                [Page 16]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


   2.  At the time of transfer, Registrant requests from the losing
       registrar the authorization information to provide to the gaining
       registrar.
   3.  Losing registrar retrieves the stored authorization information
       locally or queries the registry for authorization information
       using the info command, and provides it to the registrant.  If
       the registry is queried, the authorization information is
       decrypted and the plain text authorization information is
       returned in the info response to the registrar.
   4.  Registrant provides the authorization information value to the
       gaining registrar.
   5.  Gaining registrar optionally verifies the authorization
       information with the info command to the registry, by passing the
       authorization information in the info command to the registry.
   6.  Gaining registrar sends the transfer request with the
       authorization information to the registry.  The registry will
       decrypt the stored authorization information to compare to the
       passed authorization information.
   7.  If the transfer successfully completes, the authorization
       information is not touched by the registry and may be updated by
       the gaining registrar using the update command.  If the transfer
       is cancelled or rejected, the losing registrar may reset the
       authorization information using the update command.

   The gaps between the Classic Authorization Information Model and the
   Secure Authorization Information Model include:

   1.  Registry requirement for a non-empty authorization information on
       create and for the life of the object versus the authorization
       information not being set on create and only being set when a
       transfer is in process.
   2.  Registry not allowing the authorization information to be unset
       versus supporting the authorization to be unset in the update
       command.
   3.  Registry storing the authorization information as an encrypted
       value versus as a hashed value.
   4.  Registry support for returning the authorization information
       versus not returning the authorization information in the info
       response.
   5.  Registry not touching the authorization information versus the
       registry automatically unsetting the authorization information
       upon a successful transfer.
   6.  Registry may validate a shorter authorization information value
       using password complexity rules versus validating the randomness
       of a longer authorization information value that meets the
       required bits of entropy.





Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                [Page 17]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


   The transition can be handled in the three phases defined in the sub-
   sections Section 5.1, Section 5.2, Section 5.3.

5.1.  Transition Phase 1 - Features

   The goal of the "Transition Phase 1 - Features" is to implement the
   needed features in EPP so that the registrar can optionally implement
   the Secure Authorization Information Model.  The features to
   implement are broken out by the command and responses below:

   Create Command:  Change the create command to make the authorization
      information optional, by allowing both a non-empty value and an
      empty value.  This enables a registrar to optionally create
      objects without an authorization information value, as defined in
      Section 4.1.
   Update Command:  Change the update command to allow unsetting the
      authorization information, as defined in Section 4.2.  This
      enables the registrar to optionally unset the authorization
      information when the TTL expires or when the transfer is cancelled
      or rejected.
   Transfer Approve Command and Transfer Auto-Approve:  Change the
      transfer approve command and the transfer auto-approve to
      automatically unset the authorization information.  This sets the
      default state of the object to not have the authorization
      information set.  The registrar implementing the Secure
      Authorization Information Model will not set the authorization
      information for an inbound transfer and the registrar implementing
      the Classic Authorization Information Model will set the new
      authorization information upon the successful transfer.
   Info Response:  Change the info command to not return the
      authorization information in the info response, as defined in
      Section 4.3.  This sets up the implementation of "Transition Phase
      2 - Storage", since the dependency in returning the authorization
      information in the info response will be removed.  This feature is
      the only one that is not an optional change to the registrar.
   Info Command and Transfer Request:  Change the info command and the
      transfer request to ensure that a registrar cannot get an
      indication that the authorization information is set or not set by
      returning the EPP error result code of 2202 when comparing a
      passed authorization to a non-matching set authorization
      information value or an unset value.

5.2.  Transition Phase 2 - Storage

   The goal of the "Transition Phase 2 - Storage" is to transition the
   registry to use hashed authorization information instead of encrypted
   authorization information.  There is no direct impact to the
   registrars, since the only visible indication that the authorization



Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                [Page 18]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


   information has been hashed is by not returning the set authorization
   information in the info response, which is addressed in Transition
   Phase 1 - Features (Section 5.1).  There are three steps to
   transition the authorization information storage, which includes:

   Hash New Authorization Information Values:  Change the create command
      and the update command to hash instead of encyrpting the
      authorization information.
   Supporting Comparing Against Encrypted and Hashed Authorization
   Information:
      Change the info command and the transfer request command to be
      able to compare a passed authorization information value with
      either a hashed or encyrpted authorization information value.
   Hash Existing Encrypted Authorization Information Values:  Convert
      the encrypted authorization information values stored in the
      registry database to hashed values.  The update is not a visible
      change to the registrar.  The conversion can be done over a period
      of time depending on registry policy.

5.3.  Transition Phase 3 - Enforcement

   The goal of the "Transition Phase 3 - Enforcement" is to complete the
   implementation of the "Secure Authorization Information Model", by
   enforcing the following:

   Disallow Authorization Information on Create Command:  Change the
      create command to not allow for the passing of a non-empty
      authorization information value.
   Validate the Strong Random Authorization Information:  Change the
      validation of the authorization information in the update command
      to ensure at least 128 bits of entropy.

6.  Implementation Status

   Note to RFC Editor: Please remove this section and the reference to
   RFC 7942 [RFC7942] before publication.

   This section records the status of known implementations of the
   protocol defined by this specification at the time of posting of this
   Internet-Draft, and is based on a proposal described in RFC 7942
   [RFC7942].  The description of implementations in this section is
   intended to assist the IETF in its decision processes in progressing
   drafts to RFCs.  Please note that the listing of any individual
   implementation here does not imply endorsement by the IETF.
   Furthermore, no effort has been spent to verify the information
   presented here that was supplied by IETF contributors.  This is not
   intended as, and must not be construed to be, a catalog of available




Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                [Page 19]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


   implementations or their features.  Readers are advised to note that
   other implementations may exist.

   According to RFC 7942 [RFC7942], "this will allow reviewers and
   working groups to assign due consideration to documents that have the
   benefit of running code, which may serve as evidence of valuable
   experimentation and feedback that have made the implemented protocols
   more mature.  It is up to the individual working groups to use this
   information as they see fit".

6.1.  Verisign EPP SDK

   Organization: Verisign Inc.

   Name: Verisign EPP SDK

   Description: The Verisign EPP SDK includes both a full client
   implementation and a full server stub implementation of draft-gould-
   regext-secure-authinfo-transfer.

   Level of maturity: Development

   Coverage: All aspects of the protocol are implemented.

   Licensing: GNU Lesser General Public License

   Contact: jgould@verisign.com

   URL: https://www.verisign.com/en_US/channel-resources/domain-
   registry-products/epp-sdks

6.2.  RegistryEngine EPP Service

   Organization: CentralNic

   Name: RegistryEngine EPP Service

   Description: Generic high-volume EPP service for gTLDs, ccTLDs and
   SLDs

   Level of maturity: Deployed in CentralNic's production environment as
   well as two other gTLD registry systems, and two ccTLD registry
   systems.

   Coverage: Auhtorization Information is "write only" in that the
   registrars can set the Auhtorization Information, but not get the
   Auhtorization Information in the Info Response.




Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                [Page 20]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


   Licensing: Proprietary In-House software

   Contact: epp@centralnic.com

   URL: https://www.centralnic.com

7.  Security Considerations

   TBD

8.  Acknowledgements

   The authors wish to thank the following persons for their feedback
   and suggestions:

   o  Michael Bauland
   o  Martin Casanova
   o  Scott Hollenbeck
   o  Jody Kolker
   o  Patrick Mevzek
   o  Matthew Pozun
   o  Srikanth Veeramachaneni

9.  References

9.1.  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,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC4086]  Eastlake 3rd, D., Schiller, J., and S. Crocker,
              "Randomness Requirements for Security", BCP 106, RFC 4086,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC4086, June 2005,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4086>.

   [RFC5730]  Hollenbeck, S., "Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP)",
              STD 69, RFC 5730, DOI 10.17487/RFC5730, August 2009,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5730>.

   [RFC5731]  Hollenbeck, S., "Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP)
              Domain Name Mapping", STD 69, RFC 5731,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC5731, August 2009,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5731>.






Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                [Page 21]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


   [RFC5733]  Hollenbeck, S., "Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP)
              Contact Mapping", STD 69, RFC 5733, DOI 10.17487/RFC5733,
              August 2009, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5733>.

   [RFC5734]  Hollenbeck, S., "Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP)
              Transport over TCP", STD 69, RFC 5734,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC5734, August 2009,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5734>.

   [RFC7942]  Sheffer, Y. and A. Farrel, "Improving Awareness of Running
              Code: The Implementation Status Section", BCP 205,
              RFC 7942, DOI 10.17487/RFC7942, July 2016,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7942>.

   [RFC8499]  Hoffman, P., Sullivan, A., and K. Fujiwara, "DNS
              Terminology", BCP 219, RFC 8499, DOI 10.17487/RFC8499,
              January 2019, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8499>.

9.2.  URIs

   [1] https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/fips/140/2/final

Appendix A.  Change History

A.1.  Change from 00 to 01

   1.  Filled in the "Implementation Status" section with the inclusion
       of the "Verisign EPP SDK" and "RegistryEngine EPP Service"
       implementations.
   2.  Made small wording corrections based on private feedback.
   3.  Added content to the "Acknowledgements" section.

A.2.  Change from 01 to 02

   1.  Revised the language used for the storage of the authorization
       information based on the feedback from Patrick Mevzek and Jody
       Kolker.

A.3.  Change from 02 to 03

   1.  Updates based on the feedback from the interim REGEXT meeting
       held at ICANN-66:

       1.  Section 3.3, include a reference to the hash algorithm to
           use.  Broke the requirements into a list and included a the
           reference the text ', with at least a 256-bit hash function,
           such as SHA-256'.




Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                [Page 22]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


       2.  Add a Transition Considerations section to cover the
           transition from the classic authorization information
           security model in the EPP RFCs to the model defined in the
           document.
       3.  Add a statement to the Introduction that elements of the
           practice can be used for purposes other than transfer, but
           with a caveat.
   2.  Updates based on the review by Michael Bauland, that include:

       1.  In section 2, change 'there are three actors' to 'there are
           three types of actors' to cover the case with transfers that
           has two registrar actors (losing and gaining).
       2.  In section 3.1, change the equations equals to be
           approximately equal by using '=~' instead of '=', where
           applicable.
       3.  In section 3.3, change 'MUST be over an encrypted channel,
           such as [RFC5734]'' to 'MUST be over an encrypted channel,
           such as defined in [RFC5734]''.
       4.  In section 4.1, remove the optional RFC 5733 elements from
           the contact create, which includes the <contact:voice>,
           <contact:fax>, <contact:disclose>, <contact:org>,
           <contact:street>, <contact:sp>, and <contact:cc> elements.
       5.  In section 4.2, changed 'Example of unsetting the
           authorization information explicitly in an [RFC5731] domain
           name update command.' to 'Example of adding the
           "clientTransferProhibited" status and unsetting the
           authorization information explicitly in an [RFC5731] domain
           name update command.'
       6.  In section 4.3, cover a corner case of the ability to return
           the authorization information when it's passed in the info
           command.
       7.  In section 4.4, change 'If the transfer does not complete
           within the time-to-live (TTL)' to 'If the transfer is not
           initiated within the time-to-live (TTL)', since the TTL is
           the time between setting the authorization information and
           when it's successfully used in a transfer request.  Added the
           case of unsetting the authorization information when the
           transfer is cancelled or rejected.
   3.  Updates based on the authorization information messages by Martin
       Casanova on the REGEXT mailing list, that include:

       1.  Added section 3.4 'Authorization Information Matching' to
           clarify how the authorization information is matched, when
           there is set and unset authorization information in the
           database and empty and non-empty authorization information
           passed in the info and transfer commands.
       2.  Added support for signaling that the authorization
           information is set or unset to the sponsoring registrar with



Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                [Page 23]

Internet-Draft          secure-transfer-authinfo            January 2020


           the inclusion of an empty authorization information element
           in the response to indicate that the authorization
           information is set and the exclusion of the authorization
           information element in the response to indicate that the
           authorization information is unset.
   4.  Made the capitalization of command and response references
       consistent by uppercasing section and item titles and lowercasing
       references elsewhere.

Authors' Addresses

   James Gould
   VeriSign, Inc.
   12061 Bluemont Way
   Reston, VA  20190
   US

   Email: jgould@verisign.com
   URI:   http://www.verisign.com


   Richard Wilhelm
   VeriSign, Inc.
   12061 Bluemont Way
   Reston, VA  20190
   US

   Email: rwilhelm@verisign.com
   URI:   http://www.verisign.com






















Gould & Wilhelm           Expires July 17, 2020                [Page 24]