Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures Directory June 2025
Meunier Expires 21 December 2025 [Page]
Workgroup:
Web Bot Auth
Internet-Draft:
draft-meunier-http-message-signatures-directory-01
Published:
Intended Status:
Standards Track
Expires:
Author:
T. Meunier
Cloudflare

HTTP Message Signatures Directory

Abstract

This document describes a method for clients using [HTTP-MESSAGE-SIGNATURES] to advertise their signing keys.

It defines a key directory format based on JWKS as defined in Section 5 of [JWK], as well as new HTTP Method Context to allow for in-band key discovery.

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://thibmeu.github.io/http-message-signatures-directory/draft-meunier-http-message-signatures-directory.html. Status information for this document may be found at https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-meunier-http-message-signatures-directory/.

Discussion of this document takes place on the Web Bot Auth Working Group mailing list (mailto:web-bot-auth@ietf.org), which is archived at https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/web-bot-auth/. Subscribe at https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/web-bot-auth/.

Source for this draft and an issue tracker can be found at https://github.com/thibmeu/http-message-signatures-directory.

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 21 December 2025.

1. Introduction

[HTTP-MESSAGE-SIGNATURES] allow a signer to generate a signature over an HTTP message, and a verifier to validate it. The specification assumes verifiers have prior knowledge of signers' key material, requiring out-of-band key distribution mechanisms. This creates deployment friction and limits the ability to dynamically verify signatures from previously unknown signers.

This document defines: 1. A standardized key directory format based on JWKS for publishing HTTP Message Signatures keys 2. A well-known URI location for discovering these key directories 3. A new HTTP header field enabling in-band key directory location discovery

Together, these mechanisms enable key distribution and discovery for HTTP Message Signatures cryptographic material.

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. Configuration

The key directory is served as a JSON Web Key Set (JWKS) as defined in Section 5 of [JWK]. The "alg" parameter are restricted to algorithm registered against HTTP Signature Algorithms Section of [HTTP-MESSAGE-SIGNATURES-IANA]

The directory SHOULD be served over HTTPS. The directory MUST be served with media type application/http-message-signatures-directory+json.

Client application SHOULD validate the directory format and reject malformed entries.

4. HTTP Method Context Signature-Agent

A service sending signed requests as defined in [HTTP-MESSAGE-SIGNATURES] MAY include a Signature-Agent header field to communicate its signing key directory. This header field contains a URI allowing retrieval of an HTTP Message Signatures Directory as defined in Section 3.

4.1. Header Field Definition

The Signature-Agent header field is an Item Structured Header [STRUCTURED-HEADERS]. Its value MUST be a String containing a [URI]. The ABNF is:

Signature-Agent = sf-string   ; Section 3.3.3 of {{STRUCTURED-HEADERS}}

The URI scheme MUST be one of: - https (RECOMMENDED): Points to an HTTPS resource serving the key directory - http: Points to an HTTP resource serving the key directory - data: Contains an inline key directory

When using the "data" URI scheme, the media type MUST be application/http-message-signatures-directory+json. The content MAY be base64 encoded as per [BASE64].

Multiple Signature-Agent header fields MAY be present in a request. Processors SHOULD use the first valid URI that provides a valid key directory.

5. Security Considerations

5.1. Key rotation

Clients SHOULD implement key rotation by including multiple keys in the directory with different validity period. When rotating keys, clients SHOULD:

  1. Add the new key to the directory before its intended use date

  2. Continue to include the old key until its expiration date

  3. Remove expired keys from the directory

Servers SHOULD cache the directory contents and refresh upon expiration.

5.2. Binding keys to the directory authority

To ensure the authenticity and integrity of the key material provided by the directory, clients SHOULD validate the directory's response.

When a directory server provides a key directory over HTTP or HTTPS, it is RECOMMENDED that it constructs and includes one HTTP Message Signatures per keys with the response, as defined in [HTTP-MESSAGE-SIGNATURES]. Each key SHOULD be used to provide one signature.

Directory server SHOULD include:

@authority

as defined in Section 2.2.3 of [HTTP-MESSAGE-SIGNATURES]

Directory server SHOULD include the following @signature-params as defined in Section 2.3 of [HTTP-MESSAGE-SIGNATURES]

created

as defined in Section 2.3 of [HTTP-MESSAGE-SIGNATURES]

expires

as defined in Section 2.3 of [HTTP-MESSAGE-SIGNATURES]

keyid

MUST be a base64url JWK SHA-256 Thumbprint as defined in Section 3.2 of [JWK-THUMBPRINT] for RSA and EC, and in Appendix A.3 of [JWK-OKP] for ed25519.

tag

MUST be http-message-signatures-directory

Clients SHOULD validate these signatures using the keys provided by the directory. Clients SHOULD ignore keys from a directory response that do not have a corresponding valid signature. This validation ensures the integrity of the key set and its association with the intended directory.

6. Privacy Considerations

Key directories enable discovery of signing keys which may reveal information about the signing entity. Implementers should consider:

6.1. Directory Content

Key directories should only contain keys actively used for signing. Including additional keys or metadata may expose unnecessary information about the signing service.

6.2. Access Patterns

Verifiers accessing key directories may reveal information about signature verification patterns. Directory servers should avoid logging personally identifiable information from directory requests.

7. IANA Considerations

This section contains considerations for IANA.

7.1. Well-Known 'http-message-signatures-directory' URI

This document updates the "Well-Known URIs" Registry [WellKnownURIs] with the following values.

Table 1: 'http-message-signatures-directory' Well-Known URI
URI Suffix Change Controller Reference Status Related information
http-message-signatures-directory IETF [this document] permanent None

7.2. Media Types

The following entries should be added to the IANA "media types" registry:

  • "application/http-message-signatures-directory+json"

The templates for these entries are listed below and the reference should be this RFC.

7.2.1. "application/http-message-signatures-directory+json" media type

Type name:

application

Subtype name:

http-message-signatures-directory

Required parameters:

N/A

Optional parameters:

N/A

Encoding considerations:

"binary"

Security considerations:

see Section 5

Interoperability considerations:

N/A

Published specification:

this specification

Applications that use this media type:

Services that implement the signer role for HTTP Message Signatures and verifiers that interact with the signer for the purpose of validating signatures.

Fragment identifier considerations:

N/A

Additional information:
Magic number(s):
N/A
Deprecated alias names for this type:
N/A
File extension(s):
N/A
Macintosh file type code(s):
N/A
Person and email address to contact for further information:

see Authors' Addresses section

Intended usage:

COMMON

Restrictions on usage:

N/A

Author:

see Authors' Addresses section

Change controller:

IETF

8. References

8.1. Normative References

[HTTP]
Fielding, R., Ed., Nottingham, M., Ed., and J. Reschke, Ed., "HTTP Semantics", STD 97, RFC 9110, DOI 10.17487/RFC9110, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110>.
[HTTP-MESSAGE-SIGNATURES]
Backman, A., Ed., Richer, J., Ed., and M. Sporny, "HTTP Message Signatures", RFC 9421, DOI 10.17487/RFC9421, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9421>.
[HTTP-MESSAGE-SIGNATURES-IANA]
"HTTP Message Signatures", n.d., <https://www.iana.org/assignments/http-message-signature/http-message-signature.xhtml>.
[JWK]
Jones, M., "JSON Web Key (JWK)", RFC 7517, DOI 10.17487/RFC7517, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7517>.
[JWK-OKP]
Liusvaara, I., "CFRG Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) and Signatures in JSON Object Signing and Encryption (JOSE)", RFC 8037, DOI 10.17487/RFC8037, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8037>.
[JWK-THUMBPRINT]
Jones, M. and N. Sakimura, "JSON Web Key (JWK) Thumbprint", RFC 7638, DOI 10.17487/RFC7638, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7638>.
[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>.
[STRUCTURED-HEADERS]
Nottingham, M. and P. Kamp, "Structured Field Values for HTTP", RFC 8941, DOI 10.17487/RFC8941, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8941>.
[URI]
Nottingham, M., "URI Design and Ownership", BCP 190, RFC 8820, DOI 10.17487/RFC8820, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8820>.
[WellKnownURIs]
"Well-Known URIs", n.d., <https://www.iana.org/assignments/well-known-uris/well-known-uris.xhtml>.

8.2. Informative References

[BASE64]
Masinter, L., "The "data" URL scheme", RFC 2397, DOI 10.17487/RFC2397, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2397>.
[CRYPTO-TEST-KEYS]
Gutmann, P. and C. Bonnell, "Standard Public Key Cryptography (PKC) Test Keys", RFC 9500, DOI 10.17487/RFC9500, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9500>.
[X509-PKI]
Cooper, D., Santesson, S., Farrell, S., Boeyen, S., Housley, R., and W. Polk, "Internet X.509 Public Key Infrastructure Certificate and Certificate Revocation List (CRL) Profile", RFC 5280, DOI 10.17487/RFC5280, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5280>.

Appendix A. Examples

A.1. Key Directory on example.com 

GET /.well-known/http-message-signatures-directory HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Accept: application/http-message-signatures-directory+json

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/http-message-signatures-directory+json
Cache-Control: max-age=86400
{
  "keys": [{
    "kty": "OKP",
    "crv": "Ed25519",
    "kid": "NFcWBst6DXG-N35nHdzMrioWntdzNZghQSkjHNMMSjw",
    "x": "JrQLj5P_89iXES9-vFgrIy29clF9CC_oPPsw3c5D0bs",
    "use": "sig",
    "nbf": 1712793600,
    "exp": 1715385600
  }]
}

A.2. Delegation and chaining

There are multiple methods to perform delegation and chaining. There are no specific methods that have been favored by implementation so far, should they even support them. It is adviced to consider delegation as experimental for now, and provide input on the associated GitHub issue.

A.2.1. Key Directory on sub.example.com with a delegation from example.com via x5c full certificate chain

In this example, example.com key is testECCP256 provided in Section 2.3 of [CRYPTO-TEST-KEYS]. Certificate chain is passed via x5c key parameter defined in Section 4.7 of [JWK].

GET /.well-known/http-message-signatures-directory HTTP/1.1
Host: sub.example.com
Accept: application/http-message-signatures-directory

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/http-message-signatures-directory
Cache-Control: max-age=86400
{
  "keys": [{
    "kty": "OKP",
    "crv": "Ed25519",
    "kid": "NFcWBst6DXG-N35nHdzMrioWntdzNZghQSkjHNMMSjw",
    "x": "JrQLj5P_89iXES9-vFgrIy29clF9CC_oPPsw3c5D0bs",
    "use": "sig",
    "nbf": 1712793600,
    "exp": 1715385600,
    "x5c": [
      "MIIBYTCCAQagAwIBAgIUFDXRG3pgZ6txehQO2LT4aCqI3f0wCgYIKoZIzj0EAwIwFjEUMBIGA1UEAwwLZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wHhcNMjUwNjEzMTA0MjQxWhcNMzUwNjExMTA0MjQxWjAaMRgwFgYDVQQDDA9zdWIuZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wKjAFBgMrZXADIQAmtAuPk//z2JcRL368WCsjLb1yUX0IL+g8+zDdzkPRu6NdMFswCQYDVR0TBAIwADAOBgNVHQ8BAf8EBAMCB4AwHQYDVR0OBBYEFKV3qaYNFbzQB1QmN4sa13+t4RmoMB8GA1UdIwQYMBaAFFtwp5gX95/2N9L349xEbCEJ17vUMAoGCCqGSM49BAMCA0kAMEYCIQC8r+GvvNnjI+zzOEDMOM/g9e8QLm00IZXP+tjDqah1UQIhAJHffLke9iEP1pUdm+oRLrq6bUqyLELi5TH2t+BaagKv",
      "MIIBcDCCARagAwIBAgIUS502rlCXxG2vviltGdfe3fmX4pIwCgYIKoZIzj0EAwIwFjEUMBIGA1UEAwwLZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wHhcNMjUwNjEzMTA0MTQzWhcNMzUwNjExMTA0MTQzWjAWMRQwEgYDVQQDDAtleGFtcGxlLmNvbTBZMBMGByqGSM49AgEGCCqGSM49AwEHA0IABEIlSPiPt4L/teyjdERSxyoeVY+9b3O+XkjpMjLMRcWxbEzRDEy41bihcTnpSILImSVymTQl9BQZq36QpCpJQnKjQjBAMA8GA1UdEwEB/wQFMAMBAf8wDgYDVR0PAQH/BAQDAgIEMB0GA1UdDgQWBBRbcKeYF/ef9jfS9+PcRGwhCde71DAKBggqhkjOPQQDAgNIADBFAiEAwTOqm1zNAvZuQ8Zb5AftQIZotq4Xe6GHz3+nJ04ybgoCIEEZtn1Pa+GCbmbWh12piHJBKh09TCA0feTedisbwzPV"
    ]
  }]
}

A.2.2. Key Directory on sub.example.com with a delegation from example.com via a leaf certificate and AIA field

In this example, example.com key is testECCP256 provided in Section 2.3 of [CRYPTO-TEST-KEYS]. Certificate chain is passed via x5c key parameter defined in Section 4.7 of [JWK], and the root certificate is signaled by the presence of an Authority Information Access extension as defined in Section 5.2.7 of [X509-PKI].

GET /.well-known/http-message-signatures-directory HTTP/1.1
Host: sub.example.com
Accept: application/http-message-signatures-directory

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/http-message-signatures-directory
Cache-Control: max-age=86400
{
  "keys": [{
    "kty": "OKP",
    "crv": "Ed25519",
    "kid": "NFcWBst6DXG-N35nHdzMrioWntdzNZghQSkjHNMMSjw",
    "x": "JrQLj5P_89iXES9-vFgrIy29clF9CC_oPPsw3c5D0bs",
    "use": "sig",
    "nbf": 1712793600,
    "exp": 1715385600,
    "x5c": [
      "MIIBYTCCAQagAwIBAgIUFDXRG3pgZ6txehQO2LT4aCqI3f0wCgYIKoZIzj0EAwIwFjEUMBIGA1UEAwwLZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wHhcNMjUwNjEzMTA0MjQxWhcNMzUwNjExMTA0MjQxWjAaMRgwFgYDVQQDDA9zdWIuZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wKjAFBgMrZXADIQAmtAuPk//z2JcRL368WCsjLb1yUX0IL+g8+zDdzkPRu6NdMFswCQYDVR0TBAIwADAOBgNVHQ8BAf8EBAMCB4AwHQYDVR0OBBYEFKV3qaYNFbzQB1QmN4sa13+t4RmoMB8GA1UdIwQYMBaAFFtwp5gX95/2N9L349xEbCEJ17vUMAoGCCqGSM49BAMCA0kAMEYCIQC8r+GvvNnjI+zzOEDMOM/g9e8QLm00IZXP+tjDqah1UQIhAJHffLke9iEP1pUdm+oRLrq6bUqyLELi5TH2t+BaagKv"
    ]
  }]
}

The AIA extension is as follow

X509v3 extensions:
  Authority Information Access:
    CA Issuers - URI:https://example.com/.well-known/http-message-signatures-directory.crt

The verifier should validate the signature with the public key in the Signature-Agent, match the public key with the leaf cert, then fetch the root cert from the AIA URI and verify the leaf cert with it.

A.2.3. Key Directory on sub.example.com with a delegation from example.com via x5u field

Leveraging x5c imposes that a PEM encoded certificate is present in the returned JWKS. If size is a constraint, or deployment imposes a more dynamic certificate management, directory server may use x5u key parameter defined in Section 4.6 of [JWK].

GET /.well-known/http-message-signatures-directory HTTP/1.1
Host: sub.example.com
Accept: application/http-message-signatures-directory

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/http-message-signatures-directory
Cache-Control: max-age=86400

{
  "keys": [{
    "kty": "OKP",
    "crv": "Ed25519",
    "kid": "NFcWBst6DXG-N35nHdzMrioWntdzNZghQSkjHNMMSjw",
    "x": "JrQLj5P_89iXES9-vFgrIy29clF9CC_oPPsw3c5D0bs",
    "use": "sig",
    "nbf": 1712793600,
    "exp": 1715385600,
    "x5u": "https://example.com/.well-known/http-message-signature-chain/sub.example.com.crt"
}

A.3. Request with HTTP Signature-Agent

This extend the examples from Appendix B of [HTTP-MESSAGE-SIGNATURES].

POST /foo?param=Value&Pet=dog HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Signature-Agent: https://directory.test
{"hello": "world"}

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
{"message": "good dog"}

A.4. Request with data URI Signature-Agent

A Signature-Agent using data URI can be used to communicate an ephemeral keys, as long as there is a chain to a certificate trusted by the origin.

In this example, the directory is signed by example.com. The CA is self-signed, even though it MAY be part of an existing PKI.

POST /foo?param=Value&Pet=dog HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Signature-Agent: data:application/http-message-signatures-directory;utf8,{"keys":[{"kty":"OKP","crv":"Ed25519","kid":"NFcWBst6DXG-N35nHdzMrioWntdzNZghQSkjHNMMSjw","x":"JrQLj5P_89iXES9-vFgrIy29clF9CC_oPPsw3c5D0bs","use":"sig","nbf":1712793600,"exp":1715385600,"x5c":["MIIBYTCCAQagAwIBAgIUFDXRG3pgZ6txehQO2LT4aCqI3f0wCgYIKoZIzj0EAwIwFjEUMBIGA1UEAwwLZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wHhcNMjUwNjEzMTA0MjQxWhcNMzUwNjExMTA0MjQxWjAaMRgwFgYDVQQDDA9zdWIuZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wKjAFBgMrZXADIQAmtAuPk//z2JcRL368WCsjLb1yUX0IL+g8+zDdzkPRu6NdMFswCQYDVR0TBAIwADAOBgNVHQ8BAf8EBAMCB4AwHQYDVR0OBBYEFKV3qaYNFbzQB1QmN4sa13+t4RmoMB8GA1UdIwQYMBaAFFtwp5gX95/2N9L349xEbCEJ17vUMAoGCCqGSM49BAMCA0kAMEYCIQC8r+GvvNnjI+zzOEDMOM/g9e8QLm00IZXP+tjDqah1UQIhAJHffLke9iEP1pUdm+oRLrq6bUqyLELi5TH2t+BaagKv","MIIBcDCCARagAwIBAgIUS502rlCXxG2vviltGdfe3fmX4pIwCgYIKoZIzj0EAwIwFjEUMBIGA1UEAwwLZXhhbXBsZS5jb20wHhcNMjUwNjEzMTA0MTQzWhcNMzUwNjExMTA0MTQzWjAWMRQwEgYDVQQDDAtleGFtcGxlLmNvbTBZMBMGByqGSM49AgEGCCqGSM49AwEHA0IABEIlSPiPt4L/teyjdERSxyoeVY+9b3O+XkjpMjLMRcWxbEzRDEy41bihcTnpSILImSVymTQl9BQZq36QpCpJQnKjQjBAMA8GA1UdEwEB/wQFMAMBAf8wDgYDVR0PAQH/BAQDAgIEMB0GA1UdDgQWBBRbcKeYF/ef9jfS9+PcRGwhCde71DAKBggqhkjOPQQDAgNIADBFAiEAwTOqm1zNAvZuQ8Zb5AftQIZotq4Xe6GHz3+nJ04ybgoCIEEZtn1Pa+GCbmbWh12piHJBKh09TCA0feTedisbwzPV"]}]}
{"hello": "world"}

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
{"message": "good dog"}

Acknowledgments

TODO acknowledge.

Changelog

v01

  • Update content-type from application/http-message-signatures-directory to application/http-message-signatures-directory+json

  • Add delegation and chaining examples: full x5c chain, AIA extension, and x5u

  • Add inline directory example with data URI

  • Fix well-known path in examples

v00

  • Initial draft

  • Definition of Signature-Agent and its three supported URI https, http, and data.

  • Leverages JWKS as a directory fo HTTP Message Signatures

  • Well-known and content-type

Author's Address

Thibault Meunier
Cloudflare