One document matched: draft-zeilenga-xmpp-multi-passwd-00.txt

INTERNET-DRAFT                                      Kurt D. Zeilenga
Intended Category: Experimental                     Isode Limited
Expires in six months                               2 March 2009



                   Multiple Passwords per User in XMPP
                <draft-zeilenga-xmpp-multi-passwd-00.txt>



Status of this Memo

  This document is submitted primarily for discussion purposes.  It not
  necessarily expected to be published as an RFC.

  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.  Technical discussion of this
  document will take place on the IETF XMPP mailing list
  <xmppwg@xmpp.org>.  Please send editorial comments directly to the
  author <Kurt.Zeilenga@Isode.COM>.

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Abstract

  This document discusses use of multiple passwords (per user) in XMPP.


1. Multiple Passwords in XMPP

  This paper was written as an alternative solution to a problem in XMPP
  [XMPP] discussed in "Management and Use of Client Certificates for the
  Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP)" [XMPP-SASL-CERT]:

        An XMPP client typically needs a user name and a password to log
        in to an XMPP server.  Many clients provide a mechanism to store
        these credentials so that a human user can automatically log in
        without being prompted for the password.  While this practice is
        very user friendly, it can be a security risk, especially for
        some devices.  Mobile devices like a mobile phone or a laptop
        might get stolen, providing the thief with the required
        password.  Mobile phones are particularly insecure: providing
        the password on the keypad for each login is too complicated and
        the risk of losing the phone is high.

  This paper discusses an alternative solution to this problem.

  This alternative solution is use multiple passwords per user.  This
  feature arguely already exists (as password mechanisms such as PLAIN
  [RFC4616] do not restrict users to single passwords).  Regardless,
  This solution requires no change to the  XMPP protocol, nor any change
  to any existing authentication mechanism.

  The server would provide mechanisms, likely via XMPP Ad-Hoc Commands
  [XEP50], to establish, enable/disable, and other manage secondary
  passwords for a user name.  This may include placing restrictions upon
  what a user authenticating with a secondary password (or a particular
  secondary password) may do.  For instance, the user might desire
  restrict the resource binding based upon which password was used to
  authenticate.


2. Security Considerations

  There are some general security considerations of allowing multiple
  passwords, or multiple credentials, per user, none of which are
  terribly specific to this solution.   [[Insert pointer to a general
  discussion here]].

  This paper suggests distinguishing between a single primary password
  and zero or more secondary passwords.  This would allow, for instance,



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  restriction of new password creation/modification to a single
  password, in hopes the user would tightly control use of this
  password, while using secondary passwords with devices he likely to
  lose (e.g., his phone).

  This paper further suggests servers provide mechanisms for restricting
  which resources a particular password can be used to bind to.   This
  is suggested as server implementors are likely to employ
  Identity-based access controls, and Jabber Id's do contain a resource
  component.


3. IANA Considerations

  None.


4. Author's Address

  Kurt D. Zeilenga
  Isode Limited

  Email: Kurt.Zeilenga@Isode.COM


5. References

  [[Note to the RFC Editor: please replace the citation tags used in
  referencing Internet-Drafts with tags of the form RFCnnnn where
  possible.]]

5.1. Normative References

  [XMPP]        Saint-Andre, P., "Extensible Messaging and Presence
                Protocol (XMPP): Core", draft-saintandre-rfc3920bis-08,
                a work in progress).

5.2. Informational References

  [RFC4616]     Zeilenga, K., "The PLAIN Simple Authentication and
                Security Layer (SASL) Mechanism", RFC 4616, August 2006.


  [XMPP-SASL-CERT]  Meyer, Dirk and Peter Saint-Andre, "Management and
                Use of Client Certificates for the Extensible Messaging
                and Presence Protocol (XMPP)", draft-meyer-xmpp-sasl-
                cert-management, a work in progress.




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  [XEP50]       Miller, Matthew, "Ad-Hoc Commands", XMPP Standards
                Foundation XEP 50,
                <http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0050.html>, June 2005.






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  Copyright (c) 2009 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
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