5Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                        P. Hoffman
 
6Request for Comments: 9157                                         ICANN
 
7Updates: 5155, 6014, 8624                                  November 2021
 
8Category: Standards Track                                               
 
12                 Revised IANA Considerations for DNSSEC
 
16   This document changes the review requirements needed to get DNSSEC
 
17   algorithms and resource records added to IANA registries.  It updates
 
18   RFC 6014 to include hash algorithms for Delegation Signer (DS)
 
19   records and NextSECure version 3 (NSEC3) parameters (for Hashed
 
20   Authenticated Denial of Existence).  It also updates RFCs 5155 and
 
21   6014, which have requirements for DNSSEC algorithms, and updates RFC
 
22   8624 to clarify the implementation recommendation related to the
 
23   algorithms described in RFCs that are not on the standards track.
 
24   The rationale for these changes is to bring the requirements for DS
 
25   records and hash algorithms used in NSEC3 in line with the
 
26   requirements for all other DNSSEC algorithms.
 
30   This is an Internet Standards Track document.
 
32   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
 
33   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
 
34   received public review and has been approved for publication by the
 
35   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
 
36   Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 7841.
 
38   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
 
39   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
 
40   https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9157.
 
44   Copyright (c) 2021 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
 
45   document authors.  All rights reserved.
 
47   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
 
48   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
 
49   (https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
 
50   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
 
51   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
 
52   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
 
53   include Revised BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of the
 
54   Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as described
 
55   in the Revised BSD License.
 
60     1.1.  Requirements Language
 
63   4.  IANA Considerations
 
64   5.  Security Considerations
 
66     6.1.  Normative References
 
67     6.2.  Informative References
 
73   DNSSEC is primarily described in [RFC4033], [RFC4034], and [RFC4035].
 
74   DNSSEC commonly uses another resource record beyond those defined in
 
75   [RFC4034]: NSEC3 [RFC5155].  DS resource records were originally
 
76   defined in [RFC3658], and that definition was obsoleted by [RFC4034].
 
78   [RFC6014] updates the requirements for how DNSSEC cryptographic
 
79   algorithm identifiers in the IANA registries are assigned, reducing
 
80   the requirements from "Standards Action" to "RFC Required".  However,
 
81   the IANA registry requirements for hash algorithms for DS records
 
82   [RFC3658] and for the hash algorithms used in NSEC3 records [RFC5155]
 
83   are still "Standards Action".  This document updates those IANA
 
84   registry requirements.  (For a reference on how IANA registries can
 
85   be updated in general, see [RFC8126].)
 
871.1.  Requirements Language
 
89   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
 
90   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
 
91   "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in
 
92   BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
 
93   capitals, as shown here.
 
97   Section 4 updates [RFC6014] to bring the requirements for DS records
 
98   and NSEC3 hash algorithms in line with the rest of the DNSSEC
 
99   cryptographic algorithms by allowing any DS hash algorithms, NSEC3
 
100   hash algorithms, NSEC3 parameters, and NSEC3 flags that are fully
 
101   described in an RFC to have identifiers assigned in the IANA
 
102   registries.  This is an addition to the IANA considerations in
 
107   This document updates [RFC8624] for all DNSKEY and DS algorithms that
 
108   are not on the standards track.
 
110   The second paragraph of Section 1.2 of [RFC8624] currently says:
 
112   |  This document only provides recommendations with respect to
 
113   |  mandatory-to-implement algorithms or algorithms so weak that they
 
114   |  cannot be recommended.  Any algorithm listed in the [DNSKEY-IANA]
 
115   |  and [DS-IANA] registries that are not mentioned in this document
 
116   |  MAY be implemented.  For clarification and consistency, an
 
117   |  algorithm will be specified as MAY in this document only when it
 
118   |  has been downgraded from a MUST or a RECOMMENDED to a MAY.
 
120   That paragraph is now replaced with the following:
 
122   |  This document provides recommendations with respect to mandatory-
 
123   |  to-implement algorithms, algorithms so weak that they cannot be
 
124   |  recommended, and algorithms defined in RFCs that are not on the
 
125   |  standards track.  Any algorithm listed in the [DNSKEY-IANA] and
 
126   |  [DS-IANA] registries that are not mentioned in this document MAY
 
127   |  be implemented.  For clarification and consistency, an algorithm
 
128   |  will be specified as MAY in this document only when it has been
 
129   |  downgraded from a MUST or a RECOMMENDED to a MAY.
 
131   This update is also reflected in the IANA considerations in
 
1344.  IANA Considerations
 
136   In the "Domain Name System Security (DNSSEC) NextSECure3 (NSEC3)
 
137   Parameters" registry, the registration procedure for "DNSSEC NSEC3
 
138   Flags", "DNSSEC NSEC3 Hash Algorithms", and "DNSSEC NSEC3PARAM Flags"
 
139   has been changed from "Standards Action" to "RFC Required", and this
 
140   document has been added as a reference.
 
142   In the "DNSSEC Delegation Signer (DS) Resource Record (RR) Type
 
143   Digest Algorithms" registry, the registration procedure for "Digest
 
144   Algorithms" has been changed from "Standards Action" to "RFC
 
145   Required", and this document has been added as a reference.
 
1475.  Security Considerations
 
149   Changing the requirements for adding security algorithms to IANA
 
150   registries as described in this document will make it easier to add
 
151   both good and bad algorithms to the registries.  It is impossible to
 
152   weigh the security impact of those two changes.
 
154   Administrators of DNSSEC-signed zones and validating resolvers may
 
155   have been making security decisions based on the contents of the IANA
 
156   registries.  This was a bad idea in the past, and now it is an even
 
157   worse idea because there will be more algorithms in those registries
 
158   that may not have gone through IETF review.  Security decisions about
 
159   which algorithms are safe and not safe should be made by reading the
 
160   security literature, not by looking in IANA registries.
 
1646.1.  Normative References
 
166   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
 
167              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
 
168              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
 
169              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.
 
171   [RFC4033]  Arends, R., Austein, R., Larson, M., Massey, D., and S.
 
172              Rose, "DNS Security Introduction and Requirements",
 
173              RFC 4033, DOI 10.17487/RFC4033, March 2005,
 
174              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4033>.
 
176   [RFC4034]  Arends, R., Austein, R., Larson, M., Massey, D., and S.
 
177              Rose, "Resource Records for the DNS Security Extensions",
 
178              RFC 4034, DOI 10.17487/RFC4034, March 2005,
 
179              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4034>.
 
181   [RFC4035]  Arends, R., Austein, R., Larson, M., Massey, D., and S.
 
182              Rose, "Protocol Modifications for the DNS Security
 
183              Extensions", RFC 4035, DOI 10.17487/RFC4035, March 2005,
 
184              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4035>.
 
186   [RFC5155]  Laurie, B., Sisson, G., Arends, R., and D. Blacka, "DNS
 
187              Security (DNSSEC) Hashed Authenticated Denial of
 
188              Existence", RFC 5155, DOI 10.17487/RFC5155, March 2008,
 
189              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5155>.
 
191   [RFC6014]  Hoffman, P., "Cryptographic Algorithm Identifier
 
192              Allocation for DNSSEC", RFC 6014, DOI 10.17487/RFC6014,
 
193              November 2010, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6014>.
 
195   [RFC8126]  Cotton, M., Leiba, B., and T. Narten, "Guidelines for
 
196              Writing an IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26,
 
197              RFC 8126, DOI 10.17487/RFC8126, June 2017,
 
198              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8126>.
 
200   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
 
201              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
 
202              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.
 
204   [RFC8624]  Wouters, P. and O. Sury, "Algorithm Implementation
 
205              Requirements and Usage Guidance for DNSSEC", RFC 8624,
 
206              DOI 10.17487/RFC8624, June 2019,
 
207              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8624>.
 
2096.2.  Informative References
 
211   [RFC3658]  Gudmundsson, O., "Delegation Signer (DS) Resource Record
 
212              (RR)", RFC 3658, DOI 10.17487/RFC3658, December 2003,
 
213              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3658>.
 
217   Donald Eastlake, Murray Kucherawy, Dan Harkins, Martin Duke, and
 
218   Benjamin Kaduk contributed to this document.
 
225   Email: paul.hoffman@icann.org