[Servercert-wg] SC-065: Convert EVGs into RFC 3647 format pre-ballot

Fri Dec 1 16:51:46 UTC 2023

This is unfortunately wrong.  There are lots of misconceptions about RFC 3647 “compliance”.

The first point is that RFC 3647 is an INFORMATIONAL RFC.  You can see this right at the top, where it says “Category: Informational”.  This means that it contains no requirements and it’s impossible to be out of compliance with it.  This is why I put quotes around “compliance”. Any requirements around it need to come from elsewhere, for example, a root program requirement that requires a particular document to be in RFC 3647 format.  But that’s vague and informal, because 3647 doesn’t have requirements, it just has an outline and suggested contents.  It’s not 100% precise what “MUST be in RFC 3647 format” means, and we need to just acknowledge that (specifying it precisely would be a colossal waste of time).

So what does “RFC 3647 format” mean?  RFC 3647’s outline only covers the first two levels.  So “Section 3.2: Initial Identity Validation” is a RFC 3647 section header, and most reasonable interpretations of “RFC 3647 format” would require it to exist with that or a substantially similar name and contents.

Section 3.2.1, on the other hand, is not an RFC 3647 section.  It’s common to have a third level of headers that mirror the “bullet points” in the suggested content for the section, but those are just unordered bullet lists in RFC 3647.  Claiming that section 3.2.1 of a document in RFC 3647 must describe private key protection goes beyond what RFC 3647 says.  Section 3.2 just “contains the following elements”, so private key protection is just one of several topics that one might discuss in section 3.2.  It could be section 3.2.1, but it could be elsewhere in 3.2, and it’s perfectly fine for 3.2.1 to not exist, have different content, etc.

Figuring out where section 11.1 goes is not trivial, but at first glance, section 3.2 is not an unreasonable choice, and I can understand why Inigo made it.  And there isn’t a compliance reason why it can’t be section 3.2.1, if that’s what we want.

Of course, we could convert the recommended bulleted sections to a numbered list of subsections (we often do elsewhere), in which case section 3.2.1 could be “Private Key Protection” with contents “No Stipulation”.  If we do that, I suggest we follow the rest of the bullets as well.

Either way works.

-Tim

From: Dimitris Zacharopoulos <dzacharo at harica.gr> 
Sent: Friday, December 1, 2023 10:48 AM
To: Inigo Barreira <Inigo.Barreira at sectigo.com>
Cc: Tim Hollebeek <tim.hollebeek at digicert.com>; CA/B Forum Server Certificate WG Public Discussion List <servercert-wg at cabforum.org>
Subject: Re: [Servercert-wg] SC-065: Convert EVGs into RFC 3647 format pre-ballot

We MUST comply with RFC 3647 which means that we must include sections that are listed in the outline of 3647, and if we have nothing to say, we leave it empty. We can't "hijack" the numbering just because we have no requirements to describe. 

That's my interpretation of the RFC 3647 compliance. Perhaps others can chime in and state their opinion. 

Thanks, 

DZ.

Dec 1, 2023 14:50:23 Inigo Barreira <Inigo.Barreira at sectigo.com <mailto:Inigo.Barreira at sectigo.com> >:

Thanks Dimitris.

I think that strictly speaking, in RFC 3647 this section is the 4.3.2 Initial Identity Validation and the first bullet is about proving the possession of the private key, but there´s no specific section other than the general approach that we´ve implemented.

That said, the current EVG does not include anything about the possession of the private key because that´s covered in the TLS BRs so that section does not exist in the EVGs and therefore I didn´t know how to avoid/implement it.

I decided to continue with the normal numbering for an easy checking, so all 11 section is moved into section 3.2 and the rest of the sub-numbers do not change (so 11.1 would be 3.2.1, 11.1.1 would be 3.2.1.1, etc.)

I understand your point but I think we can´t create a section 3.2.1 for private key possession because there´s no such a text in the EVGs (and don´t think we should add anything new, even a NA for that) and don´t know which other sections we can create under 3.2 that can break the current equivalence, which again was done for an easy comparison. 

So, what would you suggest to “comply” with that? I don´t have a clear idea.

Regards

De: Dimitris Zacharopoulos (HARICA) <dzacharo at harica.gr <mailto:dzacharo at harica.gr> > 
Enviado el: jueves, 30 de noviembre de 2023 13:16
Para: Inigo Barreira <Inigo.Barreira at sectigo.com <mailto:Inigo.Barreira at sectigo.com> >; Tim Hollebeek <tim.hollebeek at digicert.com <mailto:tim.hollebeek at digicert.com> >; CA/B Forum Server Certificate WG Public Discussion List <servercert-wg at cabforum.org <mailto:servercert-wg at cabforum.org> >
Asunto: Re: [Servercert-wg] SC-065: Convert EVGs into RFC 3647 format pre-ballot

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Inigo,

As I am working to migrate the EV Guidelines into the EV Code Signing Baseline Requirements I took a look at the mapping you provided for the EV Guidelines and noticed that you are proposing migration of EVG section 11.1 into section 3.2.1. This particular section is labeled "Method to prove possession of private key" in RFC 3647 so I don't think it is appropriate. I think it's best to create new subsections under 3.2.

Thanks,
Dimitris.

On 8/9/2023 7:54 μ.μ., Inigo Barreira wrote:

Hi all, 

Attached you´ll find the EVG v1.8.0 with comments in all sections indicating where those sections, and the content, have been moved into the new EVG RFC3647 format. So, with this document, plus the redlined version, I hope you can have now a clearer view of the changes done.

Let me know if you need anything else to clarify the new version.

Regards

De: Inigo Barreira  <mailto:Inigo.Barreira at sectigo.com> <Inigo.Barreira at sectigo.com> 
Enviado el: martes, 29 de agosto de 2023 17:06
Para: Tim Hollebeek  <mailto:tim.hollebeek at digicert.com> <tim.hollebeek at digicert.com>; Dimitris Zacharopoulos (HARICA)  <mailto:dzacharo at harica.gr> <dzacharo at harica.gr>; CA/B Forum Server Certificate WG Public Discussion List  <mailto:servercert-wg at cabforum.org> <servercert-wg at cabforum.org>
Asunto: RE: [Servercert-wg] SC-065: Convert EVGs into RFC 3647 format pre-ballot

Thanks Dimitris and Tim.

I did something of that internally but didn´t reflect on the document, so will try to reproduce to have it clearer.

OTOH, and as indicated in the PR, the whole section 11 has been placed in section 3.2 keeping the rest of the numbering. So, for example:

EVG                                     EVG3647

11.1                                    3.2.1

11.1.1                                 3.2.1.1

11.1.2                                 3.2.1.2

11.1.3                                 3.2.1.3

11.2                                    3.2.2

11.2.1                                 3.2.2.1

…..                                       ….           

11.13                                  3.2.13

11.14                                  3.2.14

11.14.1                               3.2.14.1

11.14.2                               3.2.14.2

11.14.3                               3.2.14.3

Hope this can clarify the main difficult that I found in the document, where to place it and how.

Regards

De: Tim Hollebeek <tim.hollebeek at digicert.com <mailto:tim.hollebeek at digicert.com> > 
Enviado el: martes, 29 de agosto de 2023 16:59
Para: Dimitris Zacharopoulos (HARICA) <dzacharo at harica.gr <mailto:dzacharo at harica.gr> >; Inigo Barreira <Inigo.Barreira at sectigo.com <mailto:Inigo.Barreira at sectigo.com> >; CA/B Forum Server Certificate WG Public Discussion List <servercert-wg at cabforum.org <mailto:servercert-wg at cabforum.org> >
Asunto: RE: [Servercert-wg] SC-065: Convert EVGs into RFC 3647 format pre-ballot

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Yes, exactly.  I would like to see a list that shows that EVG-classic section 1.4 is now in EVG-3647 section 4.1.  Then I can look at where the new text landed, see how the conversion was handled, we can all verify that nothing was lost or left out, etc.

Without that, anyone attempting to review the document is forced to recreate the mapping just to figure out where everything went and that nothing was missed or put in the wrong place.  Redlines are not sufficient when large amounts of text are moving around to different places.

I’m saying this because from my spot-checking, the conversion appears to be pretty good, and I’d like to be able to do a final verification that it’s mostly correct so I can endorse.

-Tim

From: Dimitris Zacharopoulos (HARICA) < <mailto:dzacharo at harica.gr> dzacharo at harica.gr> 
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2023 7:58 AM
To: Inigo Barreira < <mailto:Inigo.Barreira at sectigo.com> Inigo.Barreira at sectigo.com>; CA/B Forum Server Certificate WG Public Discussion List < <mailto:servercert-wg at cabforum.org> servercert-wg at cabforum.org>; Tim Hollebeek < <mailto:tim.hollebeek at digicert.com> tim.hollebeek at digicert.com>
Subject: Re: [Servercert-wg] SC-065: Convert EVGs into RFC 3647 format pre-ballot

Hi Inigo,

You can take some guidance from previous successful efforts to convert existing documents into RFC 3647 format. The latest attempt was in the Code Signing BRs conversion in May 2022. Check out the mapping document and the comments in the  <https://lists.cabforum.org/pipermail/cscwg-public/2022-May/000795.html> ballot discussion period.

For each existing section/paragraph, it would be nice to have a comment describing where that existing language will land in the converted document (destination). This will allow all existing text to be accounted for.

During this process, you might encounter duplicate or redundant text which needs to be flagged accordingly. You might also get into some uncertainty as to which RFC3647 section is a best fit for existing text that might require additional discussion. 

I hope this helps.

Dimitris.

On 29/8/2023 12:42 μ.μ., Inigo Barreira via Servercert-wg wrote:

Hi Tim,

See attached redlined and current versions. I just used what Martijn suggested yesterday but let me know if this is what you were looking for.

Regards

De: Tim Hollebeek  <mailto:tim.hollebeek at digicert.com> <tim.hollebeek at digicert.com> 
Enviado el: lunes, 28 de agosto de 2023 19:49
Para: Inigo Barreira  <mailto:Inigo.Barreira at sectigo.com> <Inigo.Barreira at sectigo.com>; CA/B Forum Server Certificate WG Public Discussion List  <mailto:servercert-wg at cabforum.org> <servercert-wg at cabforum.org>
Asunto: RE: SC-065: Convert EVGs into RFC 3647 format pre-ballot

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Thanks for doing this Inigo … I know re-organizations like this are a lot of work and fall very much in the category of “important but not fun”.  So thanks for taking an initial stab at this.

Is there a mapping that shows where all the original text ended up?  I think that’s going to be essential for people to be able to review this.  I did some spot checking, and your conversion looks pretty good, but I wasn’t able to do a more detailed review without a mapping.

-Tim

From: Servercert-wg < <mailto:servercert-wg-bounces at cabforum.org> servercert-wg-bounces at cabforum.org> On Behalf Of Inigo Barreira via Servercert-wg
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2023 5:20 AM
To: CA/B Forum Server Certificate WG Public Discussion List < <mailto:servercert-wg at cabforum.org> servercert-wg at cabforum.org>
Subject: [Servercert-wg] SC-065: Convert EVGs into RFC 3647 format pre-ballot

Hello,

The current Extended Validation Guidelines (EVGs) are written in a non-standardized format. For many years it has been discussed to convert this document into the RFC 3647 format and follow the standardized model for this type of documents. 

Given that this has been known for several years, I have prepared the following ballot text, which converts the EVGs into the RFC 3647 format:

 <https://url.avanan.click/v2/___https:/github.com/cabforum/servercert/pull/440___.YXAzOmRpZ2ljZXJ0OmE6bzoyOGIxNWVhZGVmZDlkZTM0NjQzZTA3YTlmYTA2MzM5YTo2OmExZWM6NGZmMGEzM2U0ZWZjOTU4MTM1NWRkNjU3ZDE5YjU3Y2YxNzg1NWU0ZTVjYzkzY2NjM2M0MWU5MzEyYzJmZTQ0NzpoOkY> EVGs based on RFC3647 by barrini · Pull Request #440 · cabforum/servercert (github.com)

I am currently seeking two endorsers as well as any feedback on the ballot content itself (wording, effective dates, etc.).

Thanks,

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