Ryan Sleevi <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Fri, Jul 9, 2021 at 3:03 PM Tony Finch <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > My understanding is that PKIX wildcard matching originally used glob(3),
> > (with . as the separator instead of /) which is both more relaxed and more
> > restricted than DNS wildcards.
>
> I'm not aware of any implementations with that semantics.

To be honest, that's a vague memory from about 1998 :-) and I think I'm
remembering some clone-and-ack code rather than calls to literal glob(3)
because glob() wasn't very portable.

> > So any description of wildcards should (still) emphasize that even though
> > PKIX and DNS wildcards (now) have the same syntax, they still don't have
> > the same semantics.
>
> Are you suggesting that it should continue to emphasize that it only
> matches a single domain label, or a more explicit comparison to the DNS
> semantics? If the latter, are you thinking by incorporating and referencing
> RFC 4592 [2]?

I think the latter would be most helpful. I'm not sure if the text should
go in section 6.4.3 (spec) or 7.2 (security considerations), but it should
say something like:

: A wildcard in a presented identifier can only match exactly one label in
: a reference identifier. Note that this is not the same as DNS wildcard
: matching, where the "*" label always matches at least one whole
: label and sometimes more. See [RFC 1034] section 4.3.3 and [RFC 4592].

(quoting part of a sentence from RFC 1034 - and these references should be
informative)

And while I was looking at how this might fit into the draft, I spotted a
mistake in section 7.2. This sentence:

: Wildcard certificates automatically vouch for any and all host names
: within their domain.

should say something like:

: Wildcard certificates automatically vouch for any single-label host
: names within their domain, but not within subdomains.

Tony.
-- 
f.anthony.n.finch  <[email protected]>  https://dotat.at/
St Davids Head to Great Orme Head, including St Georges Channel:
Variable, mainly southeast, 2 to 4. Smooth or slight, occasionally
moderate later near st david's head. Showers. Good.

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