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JOSE algorithms for ECDH-MAC-based signatures
draft-bastian-jose-alg-ecdh-mac-01

Document Type Active Internet-Draft (individual)
Author Paul Bastian
Last updated 2024-01-17
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draft-bastian-jose-alg-ecdh-mac-01
Javascript Object Signing and Encryption                      P. Bastian
Internet-Draft                                      Bundesdruckerei GmbH
Intended status: Informational                           17 January 2024
Expires: 20 July 2024

             JOSE algorithms for ECDH-MAC-based signatures
                   draft-bastian-jose-alg-ecdh-mac-01

Abstract

   This specification defines a JSON Web Algorithm for JOSE, that uses a
   combination of key agreement and MAC to construct a signature-like
   mechanism.

About This Document

   This note is to be removed before publishing as an RFC.

   The latest revision of this draft can be found at
   https://paulbastian.github.io/paulbastian-jose-ecdh-mac-algorithms/
   draft-bastian-jose-alg-ecdh-mac.html.  Status information for this
   document may be found at https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-
   bastian-jose-alg-ecdh-mac/.

   Discussion of this document takes place on the Javascript Object
   Signing and Encryption Working Group mailing list
   (mailto:jose@ietf.org), which is archived at
   https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/jose/.  Subscribe at
   https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/jose/.

   Source for this draft and an issue tracker can be found at
   https://github.com/paulbastian/paulbastian-jose-ecdh-mac-algorithms.

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."

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   This Internet-Draft will expire on 20 July 2024.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2024 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 Revised BSD License text as
   described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are
   provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Conventions and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   3.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   4.  Parameters  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   5.  Cryptographic Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     5.1.  Header parameter "alg"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     5.2.  Header parameter "epk"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     5.3.  Header parameter "x5c"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     5.4.  Header parameter "kid"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     5.5.  Example JWT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   6.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   7.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   8.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6

1.  Introduction

   JWS defines cryptographic algorithms to digitally sign or create
   Message Authentication Codes (MAC) of the contents of the JWS
   Protected Header and the JWS Payload in Section-3 [RFC7518].  JWS
   also offers ephemeral-static Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman key
   exchange in combination with a key derivation function ("ECDH-ES" and
   its variations) as a mechanism for key management in Section-4.6
   [RFC7518], however these are only used for symmetric encryption.

   This specification describes a combination of an ECDH key exchange
   with a MAC, that enables a feature set that is similar to digital
   signatures with repudiation.

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   This specification and all described algorithms should respect the
   efforts for Fully Specified Algorithms
   (https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-jones-jose-fully-specified-
   algorithms-00.html).

   This algorithm is intended for use with digital credentials
   ecosystems, including the Issuer-Holder-Verifier model described by
   W3C VCDM or IETF SD-JWT-VC.

2.  Conventions and Definitions

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
   "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in
   BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
   capitals, as shown here.

3.  Terminology

   Generating Party:  The Party that performs the key agreement first
      and generates the MAC.  Similar to a Signer.

   Verifying Party:  The Party that performs the key agreement second,
      generates the MAC and compares it to a given value.  Similar to a
      Verifier.

4.  Parameters

   For the generation of an ECDH-based MAC the following parameters must
   be chosen:

   1.  the domain parameters for the ECDH "curve"

   2.  the key derivation algorithm "kd"

   3.  the MAC algorithm "mac"

   In general, these parameters are chosen by the Generating Party.
   These parameters need to be communicated to the Verifying Party
   before the generation of an ECDH-based MAC.

5.  Cryptographic Algorithm

   The generation of the ECDH-based MAC takes the private key of the
   Generating Party and the public key of the Verifying Party as inputs.
   The retrieval and communication of the Verifying Party's public key
   is out of scope of this specification and subject to the implementing
   protocols.

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   The generation of ECDH-based MAC follows these steps:

   1.  Perform ECDH as defined as defined by "curve" - use the specified
       elliptic curve to generate a key pair and set the epk - use the
       Verifier's public key defined by kid to perform the key agreement
       - optionally provide a certificate chain defined by x5c

   2.  Derive symmetric key as defined by "kd" - use the output from the
       key agreement as an input for the key derivation algorithm -
       derive the MAC key

   3.  Generate a MAC as defined by "mac" - use the output from the key
       derivation algorithm as an input for the MAC algorithm - generate
       the MAC

   The verification of ECDH-based MAC follows these steps:

   1.  Perform ECDH as defined as defined by "curve" - use the specified
       elliptic curve to generate an ephemeral key pair and set the kid
       - provide the public key kid to the Generating Party - use the
       Generating Party's public key defined by epk and perform the key
       agreement - optionally validate the certificate chain defined by
       x5c

   2.  Derive symmetric key as defined by "kd" - use the output from the
       key agreement as an input for the key derivation algorithm -
       derive the MAC key

   3.  Generate a MAC as defined by "mac" - use the output from the key
       derivation algorithm as an input for the MAC algorithm - generate
       the MAC - compare the generated MAC with the signature value

5.1.  Header parameter "alg"

   The following values MUST be used for the "alg" header parameter:

+--------------------+--------------------------------+----------------+
| Algorithm Name     | Algorithm Explanation          | Implementation |
|                    |                                | Requirements   |
+--------------------+--------------------------------+----------------+
| ECDH-P256-CC-HS256 | ECDH using NIST P-256,         | Optional       |
|                    | ConcatKDF and                  |                |
|                    | HMAC using SHA-256             |                |
| ECDH-BP256-CC-HS256| ECDH using BrainpoolP256r1,    | Optional       |
|                    | ConcatKDF and                  |                |
|                    | HMAC using SHA-256             |                |
+--------------------+--------------------------------+----------------+

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   Other algorithms SHOULD follow the naming ECDH-<elliptic curve domain
   parameters>-<KD algorithm>-<MAC algorithm>.

5.2.  Header parameter "epk"

   The "epk" (ephemeral public key) value is created by the Generating
   Party for the use in the key agreement algorithm.  This header
   parameter MUST be present and MUST contain the Generating Party's
   public key represented as a JSON Web Key according to [RFC7517].  It
   MUST contain only public key parameters and SHOULD contain only the
   minimum JWK parameters necessary to represent the key.  Other JWK
   parameters included may be checked for consistency or may be ignored.

5.3.  Header parameter "x5c"

   The "x5c" (X.509 certificate chain) value is created by the
   Generating Party for the trust management of the "epk".  This header
   parameter is OPTIONAL and if present MUST contain the X.509
   certificate chain with the JWK from "epk" being the public key of the
   leaf certificate.  Alternatively, the Generating Party may use "x5t",
   x5t#S256" or "x5u".

5.4.  Header parameter "kid"

   The "kid" (key identifier) value is created by the Generating Party
   for the use in the key agreement algorithm.  This header parameter
   MUST be present and MUST contain the Verifying Party's public key ID
   user by the Generating Party for the ECDH.

5.5.  Example JWT

   The JWT/JWS header:

   {
       "typ" : "JWT",
       "alg" : "ECDH-P256-HS256",
       "x5c" : <issuer certificate chain that signs the epk>,
       "epk" : <JWK used for ECDH>,
       "kid" : <key ID of Verifying Party>
   }

   The JWT/JWS payload:

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   {
       "iss" : "https://example.as.com",
       "iat" : "1701870613",
       "given_name" : "Erika",
       "family_name" : "Mustermann"
   }

   The JWT/JWS signature:

   base64-encoded MAC

6.  Security Considerations

   TODO Security

7.  IANA Considerations

   This document has no IANA actions.

8.  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/rfc/rfc2119>.

   [RFC7517]  Jones, M., "JSON Web Key (JWK)", RFC 7517,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7517, May 2015,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7517>.

   [RFC7518]  Jones, M., "JSON Web Algorithms (JWA)", RFC 7518,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7518, May 2015,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7518>.

   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8174>.

Acknowledgments

   TODO acknowledge.

Author's Address

   Paul Bastian
   Bundesdruckerei GmbH
   Email: bastianpaul@googlemail.com

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