OK – thanks.  So Peter’s suggested improvement is appropriate and I’ll edit the 
draft of Ballot 202 accordingly, leaving these other issues for resolution by 
Ballot 184, or whichever.

 

Ben Wilson, JD, CISA, CISSP

VP Compliance

+1 801 701 9678



 

From: Ryan Sleevi [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: Thursday, June 1, 2017 1:14 PM
To: CA/Browser Forum Public Discussion List <[email protected]>
Cc: Peter Bowen <[email protected]>; Ben Wilson <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [cabfpub] Pre-Ballot: Underscore Characters in SANs

 

In order for otherName:srvNames to be permitted? Yeah. Peter had a draft ballot 
for that, and Jeremy continued that draft. Our (Google's) problem had been that 
it was coupled to this ballot, when they're really separate things.

 

We (Google) are super-excited for SRVNames - it'll actually be a good step 
forward for the Web PKI - but think it should be disconnected from this 
correctness ballot - which is about loosening the requirements of RFC5280, like 
we did for nameConstraints, because CAs have not been widely adhering to the 
BRs and RFC5280 and we're going to retroactively grant indulgences :)

 

On Thu, Jun 1, 2017 at 3:11 PM, Ben Wilson via Public <[email protected] 
<mailto:[email protected]> > wrote:

So, in order for this to happen, another ballot would subsequently be required 
that specifies the contents and validation for service names, correct?

 

From: Peter Bowen [mailto:[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> ] 
Sent: Thursday, June 1, 2017 12:54 PM
To: Ben Wilson <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >
Cc: CA/Browser Forum Public Discussion List <[email protected] 
<mailto:[email protected]> >
Subject: Re: [cabfpub] Pre-Ballot: Underscore Characters in SANs

 

The _jabber._tcp.gmail.com <http://tcp.gmail.com>  form is a service name.  
This would be represented in certificates using the c where the content would 
be _jabber.gmail.com <http://jabber.gmail.com>  (the protocol, such as _tcp 
isn’t included in the certificate). Anything starting with underscore isn’t a 
hostname and can’t go in a dNSName.

 

 

On Jun 1, 2017, at 11:21 AM, Ben Wilson <[email protected] 
<mailto:[email protected]> > wrote:

 

Peter,

Respectfully, I don't think we should be so specific as to where an underscore 
can appear in a SAN.  

For example, one post I found, 
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2180465/can-domain-name-subdomains-have-an-underscore-in-it,
 says "It is perfectly legal to have an underscore in a domain name. Let me 
quote the standard, RFC 2181, section 11, 'Name syntax':  The DNS itself places 
only one restriction on the particular labels that can be used to identify 
resource records. That one restriction relates to the length of the label and 
the full name. [...] Implementations of the DNS protocols must not place any 
restrictions on the labels that can be used. In particular, DNS servers must 
not refuse to serve a zone because it contains labels that might not be 
acceptable to some DNS client programs.  See also the original DNS 
specification, RFC 1034, section 3.5 'Preferred name syntax' but read it 
carefully.  Domains with underscores are very common in the wild. Check 
_jabber._tcp.gmail.com <http://tcp.gmail.com>  or _sip._udp.apnic.net 
<http://udp.apnic.net> ."  

As you can see, these names start with an underscore, despite the fact that 
section 3.5 of RFC  1034 says, "The labels must follow the rules for ARPANET 
host names.  They must
start with a letter, end with a letter or digit, and have as interior 
characters only letters, digits, and hyphen.  There are also some restrictions 
on the length." 

My point is, if the position of the underscore works, then let it work, and if 
it doesn't work, let the subscriber and the CA figure that out and reissue 
something that works.  We shouldn't be creating unnecessary proscriptions or 
format validation checks in this area.

Ben

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Bowen [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2017 10:12 AM
To: CA/Browser Forum Public Discussion List <[email protected] 
<mailto:[email protected]> >
Cc: Ben Wilson <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >
Subject: Re: [cabfpub] Pre-Ballot: Underscore Characters in SANs

Ben,

I would suggest a couple of changes:

1) Underscores should only be allowed where hyphens are allowed.  Notable 
hyphens and underscores cannot start or end a label.  I suggest `one or more 
underscore characters (“_”) may be present in the FQDN in positions permitted 
to contain a hyphen character`

2) I would suggest adding a definition of Wildcard Domain Name and then using 
it here.  `Wildcard Domain Name: A Domain Name formed by prepending "*." to a 
FQDN`

Thanks,
Peter



On May 25, 2017, at 1:08 PM, Ben Wilson via Public <[email protected] 
<mailto:[email protected]> > wrote:

I’m looking for two endorsers for Ballot 202 – Underscore Characters 
in SANS The current Baseline Requirements do not expressly allow underscore 
characters in Subject Alternative Names. This ballot seeks to clarify that one 
or more underscore characters (“_”) are allowed in FQDNs.  It also cleans up 
some of the language in Section 7.1.4.2.1 of the Baseline Requirements.

The following motion has been proposed by Ben Wilson of DigiCert and endorsed 
by - and - to introduce new Final Maintenance Guidelines for the "Baseline 
Requirements Certificate Policy for the Issuance and Management of 
Publicly-Trusted Certificates" (Baseline Requirements). 

--Motion Begins--

REPLACE Section 7.1.4.2.1 of the Baseline Requirements in its entirety with: 

7.1.4.2.1 Subject Alternative Name Extension

Certificate Field: extensions:subjectAltName

Required/Optional: Required

Contents: This extension MUST contain at least one entry. Each entry MUST be 
either a dNSName or iPAddress name. 

For entries of the type dNSName, the entry MUST containing the Fully-Qualified 
Domain Name that the CA has validated in accordance with section 3.2.2.4. The 
FQDN must comply with RFC 5280, Section 4.2.1.6, including that the name be in 
“preferred name syntax,” with the following exceptions: a single wildcard 
character (“*”) MAY be present as the left-most, most subordinate level, if the 
CA has validated the name consistent with Section 3.2.2.6; and one or more 
underscore characters (“_”) may be present in the FQDN, in deviation from the 
“preferred name syntax”. The entry MUST NOT contain an Internal Name. 

For entries of the type iPAddress, the entry MUST contain an IP address that 
the CA has validated in accordance with Section 3.2.2.5. The entry MUST NOT 
contain a Reserved IP Address. 

--Motion Ends--

Thanks,

Ben

From: Public [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ben 
Wilson via Public
Sent: Thursday, April 20, 2017 12:09 PM
To: Ryan Sleevi <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >; CA/Browser 
Forum Public 
Discussion List <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >
Cc: Ben Wilson <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >
Subject: Re: [cabfpub] Pre-Ballot: Underscore Characters in SANs

Thanks.  I’ll rework this with the language suggested and re-circulate.
Ben

From: Ryan Sleevi [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, April 20, 2017 11:36 AM
To: CA/Browser Forum Public Discussion List <[email protected] 
<mailto:[email protected]> >
Cc: Ben Wilson <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >
Subject: Re: [cabfpub] Pre-Ballot: Underscore Characters in SANs



On Thu, Apr 20, 2017 at 1:07 PM, Ben Wilson via Public <[email protected] 
<mailto:[email protected]> > wrote:
All,

I’m looking for two endorsers for a proposed amendment to section 7.1.4.2.1 of 
the Baseline Requirements--to be modified to allow the underscore character 
(“_”) in SANs and to remove the sunset language in that section related to 
internal names and reserved IP addresses.  The revised section 7.1.4.2.1 would 
read as follows:


7.1.4.2.1.             Subject Alternative Name Extension
Certificate Field: extensions:subjectAltName
Required/Optional:  Required
Contents:  This extension MUST contain at least one entry.  Each entry MUST be 
either a dNSName containing the Fully-Qualified Domain Name or an iPAddress 
containing the IP address of a server.  The CA MUST confirm that the Applicant 
controls the Fully-Qualified Domain Name or IP address or has been granted the 
right to use it by the Domain Name Registrant or IP address assignee, as 
appropriate.
Wildcard FQDNs and underscores in FQDNs (encoded as IA5 strings) are permitted. 
 
CAs SHALL NOT issue a certificate with a subjectAlternativeName extension or 
Subject commonName field containing a Reserved IP Address or Internal Name. 

Ben,

Some suggested edits that may help resolve any future ambiguities, capturing 
the discussions from the Raleigh F2F.

"""
7.1.4.2.1 Subject Alternative Name Extension Certificate Field: 
extensions:subjectAltName
Required/Optional: Required
Contents: This extension MUST contain at least one entry. The entry MUST be 
either a dNSName or iPAddress name.

For entries of the type dNSName, the entry MUST contain the Fully-Qualified 
Domain Name that CA has validated the Applicant's control or ownership of. The 
Fully-Qualified Domain Name must comply with RFC 5280, Section 4.2.1.6, 
including that of requiring the name be in the "preferred name syntax," with 
the following exceptions: A single wildcard ('*') character may be present as 
the left-most, most subordinate label, if the CA has validated the name 
consistent with Section 3.2.2.6. One or more underscore ('_') characters may be 
present within the Fully-Qualified Domain Name, in deviation from the 
"preferred name syntax." The entry MUST NOT contain an Internal Name.

For entries of the type iPAddress, the entry MUST contain an IP address that 
the CA has validated the Applicant's control of. The entry MUST NOT contain a 
Reserved IP Address.
"""

Here's a bit of explanation for the edits and why I made them:
- Split the rules regarding dNSName and iPAddress into two separate 
sections, to make it unambiguous the contents they can contain
- Clarify that wildcards and underscores are NOT permitted for the 
type iPAddress
- Clarify that domain names MUST follow the rules of RFC 5280, particularly 
that of preferred name syntax. This includes the prohibition of the " " label 
or that of e-mail addresses in the domain form (both examples given in RFC 
5280). It clarifies that the exceptions to this rule are limited to the 
presence of wildcard characters and underscores.
 * There's one issue which I debated trying to tackle in this, which is that 
it's possible for an applicant to register the literal "*.domain.com 
<http://domain.com> " (e.g. the actual wildcard character). The current and 
proposed wording fail to address this in 3.2.2.6, even though the intent is 
clearly that in the case of a *, the CA MUST validate the Applicant's control 
of the Domain Namespace indicated by removing the '*' label.
 * Happy to suggest wording if it's clear the concern here
- Reuse the language from 3.2.2.4 and 3.2.2.5, specifically the "Applicant's 
control or ownership of" a domain name and "control of" an IP address.
 - The existing wording, "granted the right to use", is ambiguous, because no 
process is defined within the BRs as to how an Applicant can demonstrate such a 
grant, or how the CA can verify such a grant.
 - I believe the intent is with respect to reusing the validation 
methods of 3.2.2.4, but if CAs feel that this is an intentional 
loophole to permit some activity that would otherwise be prohibited or 
underspecified, I'm happy to see what we can figure out
- Lays out a framework for permitting additional name types in the future, as 
discussed. This section could be tightened up further to support that future 
growth, but I tried to keep it mostly minimal for now, so that we could 
incrementally improve.

Do let me know what you think of those edits, and whether they bring the 
necessary clarity of intent and execution.

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