Registry Specification for Mandatory Access Control (MAC) Security Label Formats
RFC 7569

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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                        D. Quigley
Request for Comments: 7569
Category: Standards Track                                          J. Lu
ISSN: 2070-1721                                                   Oracle
                                                               T. Haynes
                                                            Primary Data
                                                               July 2015

       Registry Specification for Mandatory Access Control (MAC)
                         Security Label Formats

Abstract

   In the past, Mandatory Access Control (MAC) systems have used very
   rigid policies that were implemented in particular protocols and
   platforms.  As MAC systems become more widely deployed, additional
   flexibility in mechanism and policy will be required.  While
   traditional trusted systems implemented Multi-Level Security (MLS)
   and integrity models, modern systems have expanded to include such
   technologies as type enforcement.  Due to the wide range of policies
   and mechanisms that need to be accommodated, it is unlikely that the
   use of a single security label format and model will be viable.

   To allow multiple MAC mechanisms and label formats to co-exist in a
   network, this document creates a registry of label format
   specifications.  This registry contains label format identifiers and
   provides for the association of each such identifier with a
   corresponding extensive document outlining the exact syntax and use
   of the particular label format.

Status of This Memo

   This is an Internet Standards Track document.

   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
   received public review and has been approved for publication by the
   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
   Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7569.

Quigley, et al.              Standards Track                    [Page 1]
RFC 7569                  Labeled NFS Registry                 July 2015

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2015 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
   (http://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 Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ....................................................3
   2. Definitions .....................................................4
   3. Existing Label Format Specifications ............................4
      3.1. IP Security Option (IPSO), Basic Security Option (BSO) .....4
      3.2. Commercial IP Security Option (CIPSO) ......................5
      3.3. Common Architecture Label IPv6 Security Option (CALIPSO) ...5
      3.4. Flux Advanced Security Kernel (FLASK) ......................5
   4. Security Considerations .........................................5
   5. IANA Considerations .............................................5
      5.1. Initial Registry ...........................................6
      5.2. Adding a New Entry to the Registry .........................7
      5.3. Obsoleting a Label Format Specifier ........................8
      5.4. Modifying an Existing Entry in the Registry ................8
   6. References ......................................................9
      6.1. Normative References .......................................9
      6.2. Informative References .....................................9
   Acknowledgments ...................................................10
   Authors' Addresses ................................................10

Quigley, et al.              Standards Track                    [Page 2]
RFC 7569                  Labeled NFS Registry                 July 2015

1.  Introduction

    With the acceptance of security labels in several mainstream
    operating systems, the need to communicate labels between these
    systems becomes more important.  In a typical client-and-server
    scenario, the client request to the server acts as a subject trying
    to access an object on the server [RFC7204].  Unfortunately, these
    systems are diverse enough that attempts at establishing one common
    label format have been unsuccessful.  This is because systems