One document matched: draft-zeilenga-ldap-authpasswd-02.txt

Differences from draft-zeilenga-ldap-authpasswd-01.txt


INTERNET-DRAFT                                      Kurt D. Zeilenga
Intended Category: Standard Track                   OpenLDAP Foundation
Expires: 21 August 2000                             21 February 2000


                  LDAP Authentication Password Attribute
                 <draft-zeilenga-ldap-authpasswd-02.txt>



1.      Status of this Memo

  This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with all
  provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026.

  This document is intended to be, after appropriate review and
  revision, to be submitted to the RFC Editor as a Standard Track
  document.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.  Technical
  discussion of this document will take place on the IETF LDAP Extension
  Working Group mailing list <ietf-ldapext@netscape.com>.  Please send
  editorial comments directly to the author <Kurt@OpenLDAP.org>.

  Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task
  Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups.  Note that other
  groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts.
  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.''

  The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at
  http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt The list of Internet-Draft
  Shadow Directories can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html.

  Copyright 2000, The Internet Society.  All Rights Reserved.

  Please see the Copyright section near the end of this document for
  more information.



2.      Abstract

  This document describes schema for storing authentication passwords in
  a LDAP [RFC2251] directory.  The document provides schema definitions
  for authPassword and related schema definitions.  The authPassword is
  intended to used instead of clear text password storage mechanisms
  such as userPassword [RFC2256] to support simple bind operations.  The



Zeilenga                                                        [Page 1]

INTERNET-DRAFT              LDAP AuthPasswd             21 February 2000


  attribute may be used to store SASL [RFC2222] authentication passwords
  in entries of a directory.

  The key words ``MUST'', ``MUST NOT'', ``REQUIRED'', ``SHALL'', ``SHALL
  NOT'', ``SHOULD'', ``SHOULD NOT'', ``RECOMMENDED'',  and ``MAY'' in
  this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119
  [RFC2119].



3.      Background and Intended Use

  The userPassword attribute type [RFC 2256] is intended for plain text
  storage of user passwords and may be used to implement the LDAP [RFC
  2251] bind operation.  It is inappropriate for userPassword to have
  values which are encrypted.

  The authPassword attribute type is intended to be used to store
  information used to implement password based authentication.  The
  attribute type may be used by LDAP servers to implement password based
  authentication operations such simple bind and SASL [RFC 2222] /
  DIGEST-MD5 [DIGEST-MD5].

  The attribute type supports multiple storage schemes and provides an
  equality matching rule which allows clients to assert that a clear
  text password "matches" one of the attribute's values.  Storage
  schemes may make use of one-way hashing and encryption.

  No mechanism is defined by this document to provide server side
  generation of stored values nor to describe or implement password
  policies.



4.   Schema Definitions

  The following schema definitions are written using the BNF form
  described in RFC 2252 [RFC2252].


4.1. authPasswordSyntax

    ( authPasswordSyntaxOID
      DESC 'authentication password syntax' )

  Values of this syntax are encoded according to the following BNF:

    authPasswordValue = w scheme w "$" w [authInfo w] "$" w authValue w



Zeilenga                                                        [Page 2]

INTERNET-DRAFT              LDAP AuthPasswd             21 February 2000


    scheme = <an IA5 string of uppercase letters, numbers,
             and "-", "_", and "/">
    authInfo = schemeSpecificValue
    authValue = schemeSpecfiicValue
    schemeSpecificValue = <an IA5 printable string
                          not containing "$" or " ">
    ws = *sp
    sp = " "     ; an IA5 space (20)

  where scheme describes the storage mechanism, authInfo and authValue
  are a scheme specific.  The authInfo field is often a base64 encoded
  salt.  The authValue field is often a base64 encoded value derived
  from a user's password.

  Values of this attribute are case sensitive.


4.2. authPasswordMatch

    ( authPasswordMatchOID
      NAME 'authPasswordMatch'
      DESC 'authentication password matching rule'
      SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.40{128} )

  This matching rule allows a client to assert that a password matches
  values of authPasswordSyntax.  Each value is matched per its scheme.
  The rule SHALL return equality if one or more attribute values matches
  the asserted value, false if zero values matches, and undefined
  otherwise.  If the scheme of an attribute value is unrecognized or the
  scheme does not prescribe matching behavior, the match against the
  stored value SHALL be considered undefined.

  Transfer of authPasswordMatch assertion values is strongly discouraged
  where the underlying transport service cannot guarantee
  confidentiality and may result in disclosure of the values to
  unauthorized parties.


4.3. supportedAuthPasswordSchemes

    ( supportedAuthPasswordSchemesOID
      NAME 'supportedAuthPasswordSchemes'
      DESC 'supported password storage schemes'
      EQUALITY caseExactIA5Match
      SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.26{32}
      USAGE dSAOperation )

  The values of this attribute are names of supported authentication



Zeilenga                                                        [Page 3]

INTERNET-DRAFT              LDAP AuthPasswd             21 February 2000


  password schemes which the server supports.  The syntax of a scheme
  name is described in section 4.1.  This attribute may only be present
  in the root DSE.  If the server does not support any mechanisms this
  attribute will not be present.


4.4. authPassword

    ( authPasswordOID NAME 'authPassword'
      EQUALITY authPasswordMatch
      SYNTAX authPasswordSyntaxOID )

  The values of this attribute are representive of the user's
  password(s) as described in 4.1.  The attribute may be used for
  authentication purposes.

  Transfer of authPassword values is strongly discouraged where the
  underlying transport service cannot guarantee confidentiality and may
  result in disclosure of the values to unauthorized parties.


4.5. authPasswordObject

    ( authPasswordObjectOID NAME 'authPasswordObject'
      DESC 'authentication password mixin class'
      MAY 'authPassword'      AUXILIARY )

  Entries of this object class may contain authPassword attribute types.



5.      Schemes

  This section describes the "MD5", "SHA1", and "SASL/DIGEST-MD5".
  Other schemes may be defined by other documents.  Schemes starting
  with string "SASL/" indicate association with a SASL mechanism.
  Schemes which are not described by standard track documents SHOULD be
  named with a leading "X-" or, if associated with a SASL mechanism,
  "SASL/X-" to indicate they are a private or implementation specific
  extension.


5.1. MD5 scheme

  The MD5 [RFC1321] scheme name is "MD5".

  The authValue is the base64 encoding of an MD5 digest of the
  concatenation the user password and optional salt.  The base64



Zeilenga                                                        [Page 4]

INTERNET-DRAFT              LDAP AuthPasswd             21 February 2000


  encoding of the salt is provided in the authInfo field.
  Implementations of this scheme must support salts up to 128-bit in
  length.  Use with a 64-bit or larger salt is RECOMMENDED.

  Example:
    Given a user "joe" who's password is "mary" and a salt of "salt",
    the authInfo field would be the base64 encoding of "salt" and
    the authValue field would be the base64 encoding of the MD5 digest
    of "marysalt".

  A match against an asserted password and an attribute value of this
  scheme SHALL be true if and only if the MD5 digest of concatenation of
  the asserted value and the salt is equal to the MD5 digest contained
  in AuthValue.  The match SHALL be undefined if the server is unable to
  complete the equality test for any reason.  Otherwise the match SHALL
  be false.

  Values of this scheme SHOULD only be used to implement simple
  user/password authentication.

  It is RECOMMENDED that values of this scheme be protected as if they
  were plaintext passwords.


5.2. SHA1 scheme

  The SHA1 [SHA1] scheme name is "SHA1".

  The authValue is the base64 encoding of an SHA1 digest of the
  concatenation the user password and the optional salt.  The base64
  encoding of the salt is provided in the authInfo field.
  Implementations of this scheme must support salts up to 128-bit in
  length.  Use with a 64-bit or larger salt is RECOMMENDED.

  Example:
    Given a user "joe" who's password is "mary" and a salt of "salt",
    the authInfo field would be the base64 encoding of "salt" and
    the authValue field would be the base64 encoding of the SHA1
    digest of "marysalt".

  A match against an asserted password and an attribute value of this
  scheme SHALL be true if and only if the SHA1 digest of concatenation
  of the asserted value and the salt is equal to the SHA1 digest
  contained in AuthValue.  The match SHALL be undefined if the server is
  unable to complete the equality test for any reason.  Otherwise the
  match SHALL be false.

  Values of this scheme SHOULD only be used to implement simple



Zeilenga                                                        [Page 5]

INTERNET-DRAFT              LDAP AuthPasswd             21 February 2000


  user/password authentication.

  It is RECOMMENDED that values of this scheme be protected as if they
  were plaintext passwords.


5.3. DIGEST-MD5 scheme

  The DIGEST-MD5 [DIGEST-MD5] scheme name is "SASL/DIGEST-MD5".

  The authValue is the base64 encoding of
    H( { username-value, ":", realm-value, ":", passwd } )

  and authInfo is the base64 encoding of
    { username-value, ":", realm-value }

  as defined by the DIGEST-MD5 specfication.

  Example:
    Given a user "joe" within the realm "localhost" who's password
    is "mary", the info field would be the base64 encoding of
    "joe:localhost" and the authValue field would be the base64
    encoding of the MD5 digest of "joe:localhost:mary".

  Values of this scheme SHOULD only be used to implement the
  SASL/DIGEST-MD5 as described by the AuthMeth [AuthMeth] specification.
  A simple password assertion against a value of this scheme SHALL be
  considered undefined.

  Values of this scheme MUST be protected as if it the values were
  plaintext passwords per reasons detailed in DIGEST-MD5, Section 3.9,
  "Storing Passwords."



6.   Implementation Issues

  For implementations of this specification:

    Servers MAY restrict schemes used to support a particular
    authentication process but SHOULD use all values of those schemes.
    If the asserted password matches any of the stored values, the
    asserted password SHOULD be considered valid.  Servers MAY use
    other authentication storage mechanisms in conjunction with
    authPassword to support authentication process.

    Servers that support simple bind SHOULD support MD5 scheme and
    SHOULD support the SHA1 scheme.



Zeilenga                                                        [Page 6]

INTERNET-DRAFT              LDAP AuthPasswd             21 February 2000


    Servers SHOULD not publish values of authPassword nor allow
    operations which provide authPassword or AuthPasswordMatch values
    to unless confidentiality protection is in place.

    Clients SHOULD not initiate operations which provide, assert, or
    request values of authPassword unless confidentiality protection
    is in place.

    Clients SHOULD not assume that a successful AuthPasswordMatch,
    whether by compare or search, is sufficient to gain directory
    access.  The compare and search are not authentication nor
    authorization operations.



7.   Security Considerations

  This document describes how authentication information may be stored
  in a directory.  Authentication information must be adequately
  protected as unintended disclosure will allow attackers to gain access
  to the directory.

  The AuthPassword values stored SHOULD be protected as if they were
  plaintext passwords.

  Simple password authentication SHOULD only be used when privacy
  protection is in place.  Applications SHOULD use strong authentication
  mechanisms whenever possible.

  AuthPasswordMatch matching rule allows applications to test the
  validality of a user password and, hence, may be used to mount a
  dictionary attack.  Servers SHOULD take appropriate measures to
  protect the directory from such attacks.

  Some password schemes may require CPU intensive operations.  Servers
  SHOULD take appropriate measures to protect against Denial of Service
  attacks.

  AuthPassword does not restrict an authentication identity to a single
  password.  An attacker who gains write access to this attribute may
  store additional values without disabling the user's true password(s).
  Use of policy aware clients and servers is RECOMMENDED.

  The level of protection offerred against various attacks differ from
  scheme to scheme.  It is RECOMMENDED that servers support scheme
  selection as a configuration item.  This allows for a scheme to be
  easily disabled if a significant security flaw is discovered.




Zeilenga                                                        [Page 7]

INTERNET-DRAFT              LDAP AuthPasswd             21 February 2000


8.      Copyright

  Copyright 2000, The Internet Society.  All Rights Reserved.

  This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
  others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
  or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published and
  distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any kind,
  provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
  included on all such copies and derivative works.  However, this
  document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
  the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
  Internet organizations, except as needed for the  purpose of
  developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
  copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be followed,
  or as required to translate it into languages other than English.

  The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
  revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.

  This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
  "AS IS" basis and THE AUTHORS, THE INTERNET SOCIETY, AND THE INTERNET
  ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
  INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE
  INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED
  WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.



9.   Acknowledgement

  This document borrows from a number of IETF documents and is based
  upon input from the IETF LDAPext working group.



10.  Bibliography

  [RFC1321]       R. Rivest, "The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm",
                  RFC 1321, April 1992

  [RFC2219]       S. Bradner, "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
                  Requirement Levels", RFC 2119, March 1997.

  [RFC2222]       J. Myers, "Simple Authentication and Security
                  Layer (SASL)", RFC 2222, October 1997.

  [RFC2251]       M. Wahl, T. Howes, S. Kille, "Lightweight



Zeilenga                                                        [Page 8]

INTERNET-DRAFT              LDAP AuthPasswd             21 February 2000


                  Directory Access Protocol (v3)", RFC 2251,
                  December 1997.

  [RFC2252]       M. Wahl, A. Coulbeck, T. Howes, S. Kille,
                  "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (v3):
                  Attribute Syntax Definitions", RFC 2252,
                  December 1997.

  [RFC2256]       M. Wahl, "A Summary of the X.500(96) User Schema
                  for use with LDAPv3", RFC 2256, December 1997.

  [RFC2307]       L. Howard, "An Approach for Using LDAP as a
                  Network Information Service", RFC 2307, March
                  1998.

  [AUTHMETH]      M. Wahl, H. Alvestrand, J. Hodges, RL "Bob"
                  Morgan, "Authentication Methods for LDAP",
                  draft-ietf-ldapext-authmeth-xx.txt,
                  a work in progress.

  [DIGEST-MD5]    P. Leach, C. Newman, "Using Digest Authentication
                  as a SASL Mechanism",
                  draft-leach-digest-sasl-xx.txt,
                  a work in progress.

  [PASSWD-EXOP]  K. Zeilenga, "LDAP Password Modify Extended
                  Operation" draft-zeilenga-ldap-passwd-exop-xx.txt,
                  a work in progress.

  [SHA1]          NIST, FIPS PUB 180-1: Secure Hash Standard,
                  April 1995.




11.  Author's Address

  Kurt D. Zeilenga
  OpenLDAP Foundation
  <Kurt@OpenLDAP.org>











Zeilenga                                                        [Page 9]



PAFTECH AB 2003-20262026-04-23 04:00:52