Internet-Draft | cTLS 1.3 | April 2024 |
Rescorla, et al. | Expires 19 October 2024 | [Page] |
- Workgroup:
- TLS Working Group
- Internet-Draft:
- draft-ietf-tls-ctls-10
- Published:
- Intended Status:
- Standards Track
- Expires:
Compact TLS 1.3
Abstract
This document specifies a "compact" version of TLS 1.3 and DTLS 1.3. It saves bandwidth by trimming obsolete material, tighter encoding, a template-based specialization technique, and alternative cryptographic techniques. cTLS is not directly interoperable with TLS 1.3 or DTLS 1.3 since the over-the-wire framing is different. A single server can, however, offer cTLS alongside TLS or DTLS.¶
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 19 October 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.¶
1. Introduction
This document specifies "compact" versions of TLS [RFC8446] and DTLS [RFC9147], respectively known as "Stream cTLS" and "Datagram cTLS". cTLS provides equivalent security and functionality to TLS and DTLS, but it is designed to take up minimal bandwidth. The space reduction is achieved by five basic techniques:¶
-
Omitting unnecessary values that are a holdover from previous versions of TLS.¶
-
Omitting the fields and handshake messages required for preserving backwards-compatibility with earlier TLS versions.¶
-
More compact encodings.¶
-
A template-based specialization mechanism that allows pre-populating information at both endpoints without the need for negotiation.¶
-
Alternative cryptographic techniques, such as nonce truncation.¶
For the common (EC)DHE handshake with pre-established certificates, Stream cTLS achieves an overhead of 53 bytes over the minimum required by the cryptovariables. For a PSK handshake, the overhead is 21 bytes. An annotated handshake transcript can be found in Appendix A.¶
-
TODO: Make a PSK transcript and check the overhead.¶
cTLS supports the functionality of TLS and DTLS 1.3, and is forward-compatible
to future versions of TLS and DTLS. cTLS itself is versioned by
CTLSTemplate.version
(currently zero).¶
The compression of the handshake while preserving the security guarantees of TLS has been formally verified in [Comparse].¶
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.¶
Structure definitions listed below override TLS 1.3 definitions; any PDU not internally defined is taken from TLS 1.3.¶
2.1. Template-based Specialization
A significant transmission overhead in TLS 1.3 is contributed to by two factors:¶
TLS 1.3 supports different credential types and modes that are impacted differently by a compression scheme. For example, TLS supports certificate-based authentication, raw public key-based authentication as well as pre-shared key (PSK)-based authentication. PSK-based authentication can be used with externally configured PSKs or with PSKs established through tickets.¶
The basic idea of template-based specialization is that we start with the basic TLS 1.3 handshake, which is fully general and then remove degrees of freedom, eliding parts of the handshake which are used to express those degrees of freedom. For example, if we only support one version of TLS, then it is not necessary to have version negotiation and the supported_versions extension can be omitted. Thus, each specialization produces a new protocol that preserves the security guarantees of TLS, but has its own unique handshake.¶
By assuming that out-of-band agreements took place already prior to the start of the cTLS protocol exchange, the amount of data exchanged can be radically reduced. Because different clients may use different compression templates and because multiple compression templates may be available for use in different deployment environments, a client needs to inform the server about the profile it is planning to use. The profile field in the ClientHello serves this purpose.¶
Although the template-based specialization mechanisms described here are general, we also include specific mechanism for certificate-based exchanges because those are where the most complexity and size reduction can be obtained. Most of the other exchanges in TLS 1.3 are highly optimized and do not require compression to be used.¶
The compression profile defining the use of algorithms, algorithm parameters, and
extensions is represented by the CTLSTemplate
structure:¶
enum { profile(0), version(1), cipher_suite(2), dh_group(3), signature_algorithm(4), random(5), mutual_auth(6), handshake_framing(7), client_hello_extensions(8), server_hello_extensions(9), encrypted_extensions(10), certificate_request_extensions(11), known_certificates(12), finished_size(13), optional(65535) } CTLSTemplateElementType; struct { CTLSTemplateElementType type; opaque data<0..2^32-1>; } CTLSTemplateElement; struct { uint16 ctls_version = 0; CTLSTemplateElement elements<0..2^32-1> } CTLSTemplate;¶
Elements in a CTLSTemplate
MUST appear sorted by the type field in strictly
ascending order. The initial elements are defined in the subsections below.
Future elements can be added via an IANA registry (Section 6.2). When
generating a template, all elements are OPTIONAL to include. When processing
a template, all elements are mandatory to understand (but see discussion of
optional
in Section 2.1.1.11).¶
For ease of configuration, an equivalent JSON dictionary format is also defined. It consists of a dictionary whose keys are the name of each element type (converted from snake_case to camelCase), and whose values are a type-specific representation of the element intended to maximize legibility. The cTLS version is represented by the key "ctlsVersion", whose value is an integer, defaulting to 0 if omitted.¶
For example, the following specialization describes a protocol with a single fixed version (TLS 1.3) and a single fixed cipher suite (TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256). On the wire, ClientHello.cipher_suites, ServerHello.cipher_suites, and the supported_versions extensions in the ClientHello and ServerHello would be omitted.¶
{ "ctlsVersion": 0, "profile": "0001020304050607", "version": 772, "cipherSuite": "TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256" }¶
2.1.1. Initial template elements
2.1.1.1. profile
This element identifies the profile being defined. Its binary value is:¶
opaque ProfileID<1..2^8-1>¶
This encodes the profile ID, if one is specified. IDs whose decoded length is 4 bytes or less are reserved (see Section 6.5). When a reserved value is used (including the default value), other keys MUST NOT appear in the template, and a client MUST NOT accept the template unless it recognizes the ID.¶
In JSON, the profile ID is represented as a hexadecimal-encoded string.¶
2.1.1.2. version
Value: a single ProtocolVersion
([RFC8446], Section 4.1.2) that both parties agree to use. For TLS 1.3, the ProtocolVersion
is 0x0304.¶
When this element is included, the supported_versions
extension
is omitted from ClientHello.extensions
.¶
In JSON, the version is represented as an integer (772 = 0x0304 for TLS 1.3).¶
2.1.1.3. cipher_suite
Value: a single CipherSuite
([RFC8446], Section 4.1.2) that both parties agree to use.¶
When this element is included, the ClientHello.cipher_suites
and
ServerHello.cipher_suite
fields are omitted.¶
In JSON, the cipher suite is represented using the "TLS_AEAD_HASH" syntax defined in [RFC8446], Section 8.4.¶
2.1.1.4. dh_group
Value: a single CTLSKeyShareGroup
to use for key establishment.¶
struct { NamedGroup group_name; uint16 key_share_length; } CTLSKeyShareGroup;¶
This is equivalent to adding a "supported_groups" extension to every message
where that is allowed (i.e. ClientHello and EncryptedExtensions, in TLS 1.3)
consisting solely of the group CTLSKeyShareGroup.group_name
.¶
Static vectors (see Section 2.1.2):¶
-
KeyShareClientHello.client_shares
¶ -
KeyShareEntry.key_exchange
, ifCTLSKeyShareGroup.key_share_length
is non-zero.¶
In JSON, this value is represented as a dictionary with two keys:¶
2.1.1.5. signature_algorithm
Value: a single CTLSSignatureAlgorithm
to use for authentication.¶
struct { SignatureScheme signature_scheme; uint16 signature_length; } CTLSSignatureAlgorithm;¶
This is equivalent to a placing a literal "signature_algorithms" extension
consisting solely of CTLSSignatureAlgorithm.signature_scheme
in every extensions field where the "signature_algorithms" extension is
permitted to appear (i.e. ClientHello and CertificateRequest, in TLS 1.3). When this element is included,
CertificateVerify.algorithm
is omitted.¶
Static vectors (see Section 2.1.2):¶
-
CertificateVerify.signature
, ifCTLSSignatureAlgorithm.signature_length
is non-zero.¶
In JSON, the signature algorithm is listed by the code point name in [RFC8446], Section 4.2.3. (e.g., ecdsa_secp256r1_sha256). In JSON, this value is represented as a dictionary with two keys:¶
2.1.1.6. random
Value: a single uint8
.¶
The ClientHello.Random
and ServerHello.Random
values
are truncated to the given length. Where a 32-byte Random
is
required, the Random is padded to the right with 0s and the
anti-downgrade mechanism in [RFC8446], Section 4.1.3 is disabled.
IMPORTANT: Using short Random values can lead to potential
attacks. The Random length MUST be less than or equal to 32 bytes.¶
-
OPEN ISSUE: Karthik Bhargavan suggested the idea of hashing ephemeral public keys and to use the result (truncated to 32 bytes) as random values. Such a change would require a security analysis.¶
In JSON, the length is represented as an integer.¶
2.1.1.7. mutual_auth
Value: a single uint8
, with 1 representing "true" and 0 representing
"false". All other values are forbidden.¶
If set to true, this element indicates that the client must authenticate with a certificate by sending Certificate and a CertificateVerify message. If the CertificateRequest message does not add information not already conveyed in the template, the server SHOULD omit it.¶
In JSON, this value is represented as true
or false
.¶
-
TODO: It seems like there was an intent to elide the
Certificate.certificate_request_context
field, but this is not stated explicitly anywhere.¶
2.1.1.8. handshake_framing
Value: uint8
, with 0 indicating "false" and 1 indicating "true".
If true, handshake messages MUST be conveyed inside a Handshake
([RFC8446], Section 4) struct on reliable, ordered transports, or a
DTLSHandshake
([RFC9147], Section 5.2) struct otherwise,
and MAY be broken into multiple records as in TLS and DTLS. If false,
each handshake message is conveyed in a CTLSHandshake
or
CTLSDatagramHandshake
struct (Section 2.3), which MUST be the payload
of a single record.¶
In JSON, this value is represented as true
or false
.¶
2.1.1.9. client_hello_extensions
, server_hello_extensions
, encrypted_extensions
, and certificate_request_extensions
Value: a single CTLSExtensionTemplate
struct:¶
struct { Extension predefined_extensions<0..2^16-1>; ExtensionType expected_extensions<0..2^16-1>; ExtensionType self_delimiting_extensions<0..2^16-1>; uint8 allow_additional; } CTLSExtensionTemplate;¶
The predefined_extensions
field indicates extensions that should be treated
as if they were included in the corresponding message. This allows these
extensions to be omitted entirely.¶
The expected_extensions
field indicates extensions that must be included
in the corresponding message, at the beginning of its extensions
field.
The types of these extensions are omitted when serializing the extensions
field of the corresponding message.¶
The self_delimiting_extensions
field indicates extensions whose data is
self-delimiting. The cTLS implementation MUST be able to parse all these
extensions, and all extensions listed in Section 4.2 of [RFC8446].¶
The allow_additional
field MUST be 0 (false) or 1 (true), indicating whether
additional extensions are allowed here.¶
predefined_extensions
and expected_extensions
MUST be in strictly ascending
order by ExtensionType
, and a single ExtensionType
MUST NOT appear in both
lists. If the version
, dh_group
, or signature_algorithm
element appears
in the template, the corresponding ExtensionType
MUST NOT appear here. The
pre_shared_key
ExtensionType
MUST NOT appear in either list.¶
-
OPEN ISSUE: Are there other extensions that would benefit from special treatment, as opposed to hex values.¶
Static vectors (see Section 2.1.2):¶
-
Extension.extension_data
for any extension whose type is inself_delimiting_extensions
, or is listed in Section 4.2 of [RFC8446] exceptpadding
. This applies only to the corresponding message.¶ -
The
extensions
field of the corresponding message, ifallow_additional
is false.¶
In JSON, this value is represented as a dictionary with three keys:¶
-
predefinedExtensions
: a dictionary mappingExtensionType
names ([RFC8446], Section 4.2) to values encoded as hexadecimal strings.¶ -
expectedExtensions
: an array ofExtensionType
names.¶ -
selfDelimitingExtensions
: an array ofExtensionType
names.¶ -
allowAdditional
:true
orfalse
.¶
If predefinedExtensions
or expectedExtensions
is empty, it MAY be omitted.¶
-
OPEN ISSUE: Should we have a
certificate_entry_extensions
element?¶
2.1.1.10. finished_size
Value: uint8
, indicating that the Finished value is to be truncated to the given
length.¶
-
OPEN ISSUE: How short should we allow this to be? TLS 1.3 uses the native hash and TLS 1.2 used 12 bytes. More analysis is needed to know the minimum safe Finished size. See [RFC8446], Appendix E.1 for more on this, as well as https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/msg/tls/TugB5ddJu3nYg7chcyeIyUqWSbA. The minimum safe size may vary depending on whether the template was learned via a trusted channel.¶
In JSON, this length is represented as an integer.¶
2.1.1.11. optional
Value: a CTLSTemplate
containing elements that are not required to be understood
by the client. Server operators MUST NOT place an element in this section unless
the server is able to determine whether the client is using it from the client data
it receives. A key MUST NOT appear in both the main template and the optional
section.¶
In JSON, this value is represented in the same way as the CTLSTemplate
itself.¶
2.1.1.12. known_certificates
Value: a CertificateMap
struct:¶
struct { opaque id<1..2^8-1>; opaque cert_data<1..2^16-1>; } CertificateMapEntry; struct { CertificateMapEntry entries<2..2^24-1>; } CertificateMap;¶
Entries in the certificate map must appear in strictly ascending lexicographic order by ID.¶
In JSON, CertificateMap
is represented as a dictionary from id
to cert_data
,
which are both represented as hexademical strings:¶
{ "00": "3082...", "01": "3082...", }¶
Certificates are a major contributor to the size of a TLS handshake. In order to avoid this overhead when the parties to a handshake have already exchanged certificates, a compression profile can specify a dictionary of "known certificates" that effectively acts as a compression dictionary on certificates.¶
When compressing a Certificate message, the sender examines the cert_data field of each CertificateEntry. If the cert_data matches a value in the known certificates object, then the sender replaces the cert_data with the corresponding key. Decompression works the opposite way, replacing keys with values.¶
Note that in this scheme, there is no signaling on the wire for whether a given cert_data value is compressed or uncompressed. Known certificates objects SHOULD be constructed in such a way as to avoid a uncompressed object being mistaken for compressed one and erroneously decompressed. For X.509, it is sufficient for the first byte of the compressed value (key) to have a value other than 0x30, since every X.509 certificate starts with this byte.¶
This element can be used to compress both client and server certificates. However, in most deployments where client certificates are used, it would be inefficient to encode all client certificates into a single profile. Instead, deployments can define a unique profile for each client, distinguished by the profile ID. Note that the profile ID is sent in cleartext, so this strategy has significant privacy implications.¶
2.1.2. Static vector compression
Some cTLS template elements imply that certain vectors (as defined in [RFC8446], Section 3.4) have a fixed number of elements during the handshake. These template elements note these "static vectors" in their definition. When encoding a "static vector", its length prefix is omitted.¶
For example, suppose that the cTLS template is:¶
{ "ctlsVersion": 0, "version": 772, "dhGroup": { "groupName": "x25519", "keyShareLength": 32 }, "clientHelloExtensions": { "expectedExtensions": ["key_share"], "allowAdditional": false } }¶
Then, the following structure:¶
28 // length(extensions) 33 26 // extension_type = KeyShare 0024 // length(client_shares) 001d // KeyShareEntry.group 0020 // length(KeyShareEntry.key_exchange) a690...af948 // KeyShareEntry.key_exchange¶
is compressed down to:¶
a690...af948 // KeyShareEntry.key_exchange¶
according to the following rationale:¶
-
The length of
extensions
is omitted becauseallowAdditional
is false, so the number of items inextensions
(i.e., 1) is known in advance.¶ -
extension_type
is omitted because it is specified byexpected_extensions
.¶ -
The length of
client_shares
is omitted because the use ofdhGroup
implies that there can only be oneKeyShareEntry
.¶ -
KeyShareEntry.group
is omitted because it is specified bydhGroup
.¶ -
The length of the
key_exchange
is omitted because the "x25519" key share has a fixed size (32 bytes).¶
2.2. Record Layer
The only cTLS records that are sent in plaintext are handshake records
(ClientHello and ServerHello/HRR) and alerts. cTLS alerts are the same
as TLS/DTLS alerts and use the same content types. For handshake records,
we set the content_type
field to a fixed cTLS-specific value to
distinguish cTLS plaintext records from encrypted records, TLS/DTLS
records, and other protocols using the same 5-tuple.¶
struct { ContentType content_type = ctls_handshake; opaque profile_id<0..2^8-1>; opaque fragment<0..2^16-1>; } CTLSClientPlaintext;¶
The profile_id
field MUST identify the profile that is in use. A
zero-length ID corresponds to the cTLS default protocol.
The server's reply does not include the profile_id
, because the server
must be using the same profile indicated by the client.¶
struct { ContentType content_type = ctls_handshake; opaque fragment<0..2^16-1>; } CTLSServerPlaintext;¶
Encrypted records use DTLS 1.3 [RFC9147] record framing, comprising a configuration octet followed by optional connection ID, sequence number, and length fields. The encryption process and additional data are also as described in DTLS.¶
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |0|0|1|C|S|L|E E| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Connection ID | Legend: | (if any, | / length as / C - Connection ID (CID) present | negotiated) | S - Sequence number length +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ L - Length present | 8 or 16 bit | E - Epoch |Sequence Number| | (if present) | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | 16 bit Length | | (if present) | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ struct { opaque unified_hdr[variable]; opaque encrypted_record[length]; } CTLSCiphertext;¶
The presence and size of the connection ID field is negotiated as in DTLS.¶
As with DTLS, the length field MAY be omitted by clearing the L bit, which means that the record consumes the entire rest of the data in the lower level transport. In this case it is not possible to have multiple DTLSCiphertext format records without length fields in the same datagram. In stream-oriented transports (e.g., TCP), the length field MUST be present. For use over other transports length information may be inferred from the underlying layer.¶
Normal DTLS does not provide a mechanism for suppressing the sequence number field entirely. When a reliable, ordered transport (e.g., TCP) is in use, the S bit in the configuration octet MUST be cleared and the sequence number MUST be omitted. When an unreliable transport is in use, the S bit has its usual meaning and the sequence number MUST be included.¶
2.3. cTLS Handshake Layer
The cTLS handshake is modeled in three layers:¶
2.3.1. The Transport layer
When template.handshake_framing
is false, the cTLS transport layer
uses a custom handshake
framing that saves space by relying on the record layer for message lengths.
(This saves 3 bytes per message compared to TLS, or 9 bytes compared to DTLS.)
This compact framing is defined by the CTLSHandshake
and
CTLSDatagramHandshake
structs.¶
Any handshake type registered in the IANA TLS HandshakeType Registry can be
conveyed in a CTLS[Datagram]Handshake
, but not all messages are actually
allowed on a given connection. This definition shows the messages types
supported in CTLSHandshake
as of TLS 1.3 and DTLS 1.3, but any future
message types are also permitted.¶
struct { HandshakeType msg_type; /* handshake type */ select (CTLSHandshake.msg_type) { case client_hello: ClientHello; case server_hello: ServerHello; case hello_retry_request: HelloRetryRequest; /* New */ case end_of_early_data: EndOfEarlyData; case encrypted_extensions: EncryptedExtensions; case certificate_request: CertificateRequest; case certificate: Certificate; case certificate_verify: CertificateVerify; case finished: Finished; case new_session_ticket: NewSessionTicket; case key_update: KeyUpdate; case request_connection_id: RequestConnectionId; case new_connection_id: NewConnectionId; }; } CTLSHandshake; struct { HandshakeType msg_type; /* handshake type */ uint16 message_seq; /* DTLS-required field */ select (CTLSDatagramHandshake.msg_type) { ... /* same as CTLSHandshake */ }; } CTLSDatagramHandshake;¶
Each CTLSHandshake
or CTLSDatagramHandshake
MUST be conveyed as a single
CTLSClientPlaintext.fragment
, CTLSServerPlaintext.fragment
, or
CTLSCiphertext.encrypted_record
, and is therefore limited to a maximum
length of 2^16-1
or less. When operating over UDP, large
CTLSDatagramHandshake
messages will also require the use of IP
fragmentation, which is sometimes undesirable. Operators can avoid these
concerns by setting template.handshakeFraming = true
.¶
On unreliable transports, the DTLS 1.3 ACK system is used.¶
2.3.2. The Transcript layer
TLS and DTLS start the handshake with an empty transcript. cTLS is different:
it starts the transcript with a "virtual message" whose HandshakeType is
ctls_template
(Section 6.3) containing the CTLSTemplate
used
for this connection. This message is included in the transcript even though it
is not exchanged during connection setup, in order to ensure that both parties
are using the same template. Subsequent messages are appended to the transcript
as usual.¶
When computing the handshake transcript, all handshake messages are represented
in TLS Handshake
messages, as in DTLS 1.3 ([RFC9147], Section 5.2),
regardless of template.handshake_framing
.¶
To ensure that all parties agree about what protocol is in use, and whether
records are subject to loss, the Cryptographic Label Prefix used for the
handshake SHALL be "Sctls " (for "Stream cTLS") if Handshake
or CTLSHandshake
transport was used, and "Dctls " (for "Datagram cTLS") otherwise. (This is
similar to the prefix substitution in Section 5.9 of [RFC9147]).¶
2.3.3. The Logical layer
The logical handshake layer consists of handshake messages that are reconstructed following the instructions in the template. At this layer, predefined extensions are reintroduced, truncated Random values are extended, and all information is prepared to enable the cryptographic handshake and any import or export of key material and configuration.¶
There is no obligation to reconstruct logical handshake messages in any specific format, and client and server do not need to agree on the precise representation of these messages, so long as they agree on their logical contents.¶
3. Handshake Messages
In general, we retain the basic structure of each individual TLS or DTLS handshake message. However, the following handshake messages have been modified for space reduction and cleaned up to remove pre-TLS 1.3 baggage.¶
3.1. ClientHello
The cTLS ClientHello is defined as follows.¶
opaque Random[RandomLength]; // variable length struct { Random random; CipherSuite cipher_suites<1..2^16-1>; Extension extensions<1..2^16-1>; } ClientHello;¶
3.2. ServerHello
We redefine ServerHello in the following way.¶
struct { Random random; CipherSuite cipher_suite; Extension extensions<1..2^16-1>; } ServerHello;¶
3.3. HelloRetryRequest
In cTLS, the HelloRetryRequest message is a true handshake message instead of a specialization of ServerHello. The HelloRetryRequest has the following format.¶
struct { CipherSuite cipher_suite; Extension extensions<2..2^16-1>; } HelloRetryRequest;¶
The HelloRetryRequest is the same as the ServerHello above but without the unnecessary sentinel Random value.¶
-
OPEN ISSUE: Should we define a
hello_retry_request_extensions
template element? Or is this too far off the happy path to be worth optimizing?¶
4. Examples
This section provides some example specializations.¶
For this example we use TLS 1.3 only with AES_GCM, x25519, ALPN h2, short random values, and everything else is ordinary TLS 1.3.¶
{ "ctlsVersion": 0, "profile": "0504030201", "version" : 772, "random": 16, "cipherSuite" : "TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256", "dhGroup": { "groupName": "x25519", "keyShareLength": 32 }, "clientHelloExtensions": { "predefinedExtensions": { "application_layer_protocol_negotiation" : "030016832", }, "allowAdditional": true } }¶
Version 772 corresponds to the hex representation 0x0304 (i.e. 1.3).¶
5. Security Considerations
The use of key ids is a new feature introduced in this document, which requires some analysis, especially as it looks like a potential source of identity misbinding. This is, however, entirely separable from the rest of the specification.¶
Once the handshake has completed, this specification is intended to
provide a fully secured connection even if the client initially learned the
template through an untrusted channel. However, this security relies on
the use of a cryptographically strong Finished message. If the Finished
message has not yet been received, or the transcript hash has been
truncated by use of a small finished_size
template element value, an
attacker could be using a forged template to impersonate the other party.
This should not impact any ordinary use of TLS, including Early Data (which
is secured by the previously completed handshake).¶
6. IANA Considerations
6.1. Adding a ContentType
This document requests that a code point be allocated from the "TLS ContentType registry. This value must be in the range 0-31 (inclusive). The row to be added in the registry has the following form:¶
Value | Description | DTLS-OK | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
TBD | ctls | Y | RFCXXXX |
TBD | ctls_handshake | Y | RFCXXXX |
-
RFC EDITOR: Please replace the value TBD with the value assigned by IANA, and the value XXXX to the RFC number assigned for this document.¶
6.2. Template Keys
This document requests that IANA open a new registry entitled "cTLS Template Keys", on the Transport Layer Security (TLS) Parameters page, with a "Specification Required" registration policy and the following initial contents:¶
Name | Value | Reference |
---|---|---|
profile | 0 | (This document) |
version | 1 | (This document) |
cipher_suite | 2 | (This document) |
dh_group | 3 | (This document) |
signature_algorithm | 4 | (This document) |
random | 5 | (This document) |
mutual_auth | 6 | (This document) |
handshake_framing | 7 | (This document) |
client_hello_extensions | 8 | (This document) |
server_hello_extensions | 9 | (This document) |
encrypted_extensions | 10 | (This document) |
certificate_request_extensions | 11 | (This document) |
known_certificates | 12 | (This document) |
finished_size | 13 | (This document) |
optional | 65535 | (This document) |
6.3. Adding a cTLS Template message type
IANA is requested to add the following entry to the TLS HandshakeType registry.¶
6.4. Activating the HelloRetryRequest MessageType
This document requests that IANA change the name of entry 6 in the TLS HandshakeType Registry from "hello_retry_request_RESERVED" to "hello_retry_request", and set its Reference field to this document.¶
6.5. Reserved profiles
This document requests that IANA open a new registry entitled "Well-known cTLS Profile IDs", on the Transport Layer Security (TLS) Parameters page, with the following columns:¶
The ID values of length 1 are subject to a "Standards Action" registry policy. Values of length 2 are subject to an "RFC Required" policy. Values of length 3 and 4 are subject to a "First Come First Served" policy. Values longer than 4 octets are not subject to registration and MUST NOT appear in this registry.¶
The initial registry contents are:¶
ID value | Template | Note |
---|---|---|
[0x00]
|
{"version": 772}
|
cTLS 1.3-only |
7. References
7.1. Normative References
- [RFC2119]
- Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2119>.
- [RFC8174]
- Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC 2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8174>.
- [RFC8446]
- Rescorla, E., "The Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocol Version 1.3", RFC 8446, DOI 10.17487/RFC8446, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8446>.
- [RFC9147]
- Rescorla, E., Tschofenig, H., and N. Modadugu, "The Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) Protocol Version 1.3", RFC 9147, DOI 10.17487/RFC9147, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9147>.
7.2. Informative References
- [Comparse]
- Wallez, T., Protzenko, J., and K. Bhargavan, "Comparse: Provably Secure Formats for Cryptographic Protocols", , <https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/1390>.
Appendix A. Example Exchange
The follow exchange illustrates a complete cTLS-based exchange supporting mutual authentication using certificates. The digital signatures use Ed25519. The ephemeral Diffie-Hellman uses the X25519 curve and the exchange negotiates TLS-AES-128-CCM8-SHA256. The certificates are exchanged using certificate identifiers.¶
The resulting byte counts are as follows:¶
ECDHE ------------------ TLS CTLS Cryptovariables --- ---- --------------- ClientHello 132 74 64 ServerHello 90 68 64 ServerFlight 478 92 72 ClientFlight 458 91 72 ======================================== Total 1158 325 272¶
The following compression profile was used in this example:¶
{ "ctlsVersion": 0, "profile": "abcdef1234", "version": 772, "cipherSuite": "TLS_AES_128_CCM_8_SHA256", "dhGroup": { "groupName": "x25519", "keyShareLength": 32 }, "signatureAlgorithm": { "signatureScheme": "ed25519", "signatureLength": 64 }, "finishedSize": 8, "clientHelloExtensions": { "predefinedExtensions": { "server_name": "000e00000b6578616d706c652e636f6d" }, "expectedExtensions": ["key_share"], "allowAdditional": false }, "serverHelloExtensions": { "expectedExtensions": ["key_share"], "allowAdditional": false }, "encryptedExtensions": { "allowAdditional": false }, "mutualAuth": true, "knownCertificates": { "61": "3082...", "62": "3082...", "63": "...", "64": "...", ... } }¶
ClientHello: 74 bytes = Profile ID(5) + Random(32) + DH(32) + Overhead(5)¶
$TBD // CTLSClientPlaintext.message_type = ctls_handshake 05 abcdef1234 // CTLSClientPlaintext.profile_id 0041 // CTLSClientPlaintext.fragment length = 65 01 // CTLSHandshake.msg_type = client_hello 5856...c130 // ClientHello.random (32 bytes) // ClientHello.extensions is omitted except for the key share contents. a690...f948 // KeyShareEntry.key_exchange (32 bytes)¶
ServerHello: 68 bytes = Random(32) + DH(32) + Overhead(4)¶
$TBD // CTLSServerPlaintext.message_type = ctls_handshake 0041 // CTLSServerPlaintext.fragment length 02 // CTLSHandshake.msg_type = server_hello cff4...9ca8 // ServerHello.random (32 bytes) // ServerHello.extensions is omitted except for the key share contents. 9fbc...0f49 // KeyShareEntry.key_exchange (32 bytes)¶
Server Flight: 92 = SIG(64) + Finished(8) + MAC(8) + CERTID(1) + Overhead(11)¶
24 // CTLSCipherText header, L=1, C,S,E=0 0059 // CTLSCipherText.length = 89 // BEGIN ENCRYPTED CONTENT 08 // CTLSHandshake.msg_type = encrypted_extensions // The EncryptedExtensions body is omitted because there are no more // extensions. The length is also omitted, because allowAdditional is // false. // The CertificateRequest message is omitted because "mutualAuth" and // "signatureAlgorithm" are specified in the template. 0b // CTLSHandshake.msg_type = certificate 00 // Certificate.certificate_request_context = "" 03 // Certificate.certificate_list length 01 // CertificateEntry.cert_data length 61 // cert_data = 'a' 00 // CertificateEntry.extensions 0f // CTLShandshake.msg_type = certificate_verify 3045...10ce // CertificateVerify.signature 14 // CTLSHandshake.msg_type = finished bfc9d66715bb2b04 // Finished.verify_data // END ENCRYPTED CONTENT b3d9...0aa7 // CCM-8 MAC (8 bytes)¶
Client Flight: 91 bytes = SIG(64) + Finished(8) + MAC(8) + CERTID(1) + Overhead(10)¶
24 // CTLSCipherText header, L=1, C,S,E=0 0058 // CTLSCipherText.length = 88 // BEGIN ENCRYPTED CONTENT 0b // CTLSHandshake.msg_type = certificate 00 // Certificate.certificate_request_context = "" 03 // Certificate.certificate_list length 01 // CertificateEntry.cert_data length 62 // cert_data = 'b' 00 // CertificateEntry.extensions 0f // CTLSHandshake.msg_type = certificate_verify // CertificateVerify.algorithm is omitted // CertificateVerify.signature length is omitted 3045...f60e // CertificateVerify.signature (64 bytes) 14 // CTLSHandshake.msg_type = finished 35e9c34eec2c5dc1 // Finished.verify_data // END ENCRYPTED CONTENT 09c5..37b1 // CCM-8 MAC (8 bytes)¶
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Karthikeyan Bhargavan, Owen Friel, Sean Turner, Martin Thomson, Chris Wood, Theophile Wallez, and John Preuß Mattsson.¶