A context mechanism for controlling caching of HTTP responses
draft-pettersen-cache-context-06

Network Working Group                                       Y. Pettersen
Internet-Draft                                        Opera Software ASA
Updates: 2616 (if approved)                                March 6, 2012
Intended status: Standards Track
Expires: September 7, 2012

     A context mechanism for controlling caching of HTTP responses
                    draft-pettersen-cache-context-06

Abstract

   A common problem for sensitive web services is informing the client,
   in a reliable fashion, when a password protected resource is no
   longer valid because the user is logged out of the service.  This is,
   in particular, considered a potential security problem by some
   sensitive services, such as online banking, when the user navigates
   the client's history list, which is supposed to display the resource
   as it was when it was loaded, not as it is the time the user
   navigates to it.

   This document presents a method for collecting such sensitive
   resources into a group, called a "Cache Context", which permits the
   server to invalidate all the resources belonging in the group either
   by direct action, or according to some expiration policy.  The
   context can be configured to invalidate not just the resources, but
   also specific cookies, HTTP authentication credentials and HTTP over
   TLS session information.

Requirements Language

   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].

Status of this Memo

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   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on September 7, 2012.

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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
     1.1.  Terminology  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
   2.  How Cache Contexts work  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
     2.1.  What is a Cache Context? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
     2.2.  Life of a Cache Context  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
     2.3.  What happens when a context is discarded?  . . . . . . . .  7
     2.4.  Server role  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
     2.5.  Client role  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
     2.6.  Effects on clients that do not support Cache Contexts  . .  8