RFC 9201 | OAuth Parameters for ACE | August 2022 |
Seitz | Standards Track | [Page] |
This specification defines new parameters and encodings for the OAuth 2.0 token and introspection endpoints when used with the framework for Authentication and Authorization for Constrained Environments (ACE). These are used to express the proof-of-possession (PoP) key the client wishes to use, the PoP key that the authorization server has selected, and the PoP key the resource server uses to authenticate to the client.¶
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 7841.¶
Information about the current status of this document, any errata, and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained athttps://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9201.¶
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The Authentication and Authorization for Constrained Environments (ACE) specification[RFC9200] requires some new parameters for interactions with the OAuth 2.0[RFC6749] token and introspection endpoints, as well as some new claims to be used in access tokens. These parameters and claims can also be used in other contexts and have therefore been put into a dedicated document to facilitate their use in a manner independent of[RFC9200].¶
Note that although all examples are shown in Concise Binary Object Representation (CBOR)[RFC8949], JSON[RFC8259]MAY be used as an alternative for HTTP-based communications, as specified in[RFC9200].¶
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and"OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14[RFC2119][RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.¶
Readers are assumed to be familiar with the terminology from[RFC9200], especially the terminology for entities in the architecture such as client (C), resource server (RS), and authorization server (AS).¶
Terminology from[RFC8152] is used in the examples, especially COSE_Key, which is defined inSection 7 of [RFC8152].¶
Note that the term "endpoint" is used here following its OAuth 2.0[RFC6749] definition, which is to denote resources such as token and introspection at the AS and authz-info at the RS. The Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP)[RFC7252] definition, which is "[a]n entity participating in the CoAP protocol", is not used in this specification.¶
This section defines additional parameters for the interactions with the token endpoint in the ACE framework[RFC9200].¶
This section defines thereq_cnf
parameter allowing clients to request a specific PoP key in an access token from a token endpoint in the ACE framework[RFC9200]:¶
req_cnf
field (kty=Symmetric), since the AS is expected to be able to generate better symmetric keys than a constrained client. (Note: this does not apply to key identifiers referencing a symmetric key.) The ASMUST verify that the client really is in possession of the corresponding key. Profiles of[RFC9200] using this specificationMUST define the PoP method used by the AS if they allow clients to use this request parameter. Values of this parameter follow the syntax and semantics of thecnf
claim either fromSection 3.1 of [RFC8747] for CBOR-based interactions or fromSection 3.1 of [RFC7800] for JSON-based interactions.¶Figure 1 shows a request for an access token using thereq_cnf
parameter to request a specific public key as a PoP key. The content is displayed in CBOR diagnostic notation with line breaks for better readability.¶
Header: POST (Code=0.02)Uri-Host: "as.example.com"Uri-Path: "token"Content-Format: application/ace+cborPayload:{ / req_cnf / 4 : { / COSE_Key / 1 : { / kty / 1 : 2 /EC2/, / kid / 2 : h'11', / crv / -1 : 1 /P-256/, / x / -2 : h'BAC5B11CAD8F99F9C72B05CF4B9E26D24 4DC189F745228255A219A86D6A09EFF', / y / -3 : h'20138BF82DC1B6D562BE0FA54AB7804A3 A64B6D72CCFED6B6FB6ED28BBFC117E' } } }
This section defines the following additional parameters for an AS response to a request to the token endpoint:¶
cnf
claim either fromSection 3.1 of [RFC8747] for CBOR-based interactions or fromSection 3.1 of [RFC7800] for JSON-based interactions. SeeSection 5 for additional discussion of the usage of this parameter.¶cnf
claim either fromSection 3.1 of [RFC8747] for CBOR-based interactions or fromSection 3.1 of [RFC7800] for JSON-based interactions. SeeSection 5 for additional discussion of the usage of this parameter.¶Figure 2 shows an AS response containing a token and acnf
parameter with a symmetric PoP key.¶
Header: Created (Code=2.01)Content-Format: application/ace+cborPayload:{ / access_token / 1 : h'4A5015DF686428/... (remainder of CWT omitted for brevity; CWT contains COSE_Key in the "cnf" claim)/', / cnf / 8 : { / COSE_Key / 1 : { / kty / 1 : 4 / Symmetric /, / kid / 2 : h'DFD1AA97', / k / -1 : h'849B5786457C1491BE3A76DCEA6C427108' } }}
Figure 3 shows an AS response containing a token bound to a previously requested asymmetric PoP key (not shown) and anrs_cnf
parameter containing the public key of the RS.¶
Header: Created (Code=2.01)Content-Format: application/ace+cborPayload:{ / access_token / 1 : h'D08343A1010AA1054D2A45DF6FBC5A5A/... (remainder of CWT omitted for brevity)/', / rs_cnf / 41 : { / COSE_Key / 1 : { / kty / 1 : 2 /EC2/, / kid / 2 : h'12', / crv / -1 : 1 /P-256/, / x / -2 : h'BCEE7EAAC162F91E6F330F5771211E220 B8B546C96589B0AC4AD0FD24C77E1F1', / y / -3 : h'C647B38C55EFBBC4E62E651720F002D5D 75B2E0C02CD1326E662BCA222B90416' } }}
This section defines the use of CBOR instead of JSON for thecnf
introspection response parameter specified inSection 9.4 of [RFC8705].¶
If CBOR is used instead of JSON in an interaction with the introspection endpoint, the ASMUST use the parameter mapping specified inTable 1 and the value must follow the syntax ofcnf
claim values fromSection 3.1 of [RFC8747].¶
Figure 4 shows an AS response to an introspection request including thecnf
parameter to indicate the PoP key bound to the token.¶
Header: Created (Code=2.01)Content-Format: application/ace+cborPayload:{ / active / 10 : true, / scope / 9 : "read", / aud / 3 : "tempSensor4711", / cnf / 8 : { / COSE_Key / 1 : { / kty / 1 : 2 /EC2/, / kid / 2 : h'11', / crv / -1 : 1 /P-256/, / x / -2 : h'BAC5B11CAD8F99F9C72B05CF4B9E26D24 4DC189F745228255A219A86D6A09EFF', / y / -3 : h'20138BF82DC1B6D562BE0FA54AB7804A3 A64B6D72CCFED6B6FB6ED28BBFC117E' } }}
The confirmation method parameters are used in[RFC9200] as follows:¶
req_cnf
in the access token request C -> AS,OPTIONAL to indicate the client's raw public key or the key identifier of a previously established key between the C and RS that the client wishes to use for proof of possession of the access token.¶cnf
in the token response AS -> C,OPTIONAL if using an asymmetric key or a key that the client requested via a key identifier in the request.REQUIRED if the client didn't specify areq_cnf
and symmetric keys are used. Used to indicate the symmetric key generated by the AS for proof of possession of the access token.¶cnf
in the introspection response AS -> RS,REQUIRED if the access token that was subject to introspection is a PoP token, absent otherwise. Indicates the PoP key bound to the access token.¶rs_cnf
in the token response AS -> C,OPTIONAL to indicate the public key of the RS if it uses one to authenticate itself to the client and the binding between the key and RS identity is not established through other means.¶Note that the COSE_Key structure in a confirmation claim or parameter may contain analg
orkey_ops
parameter. If such parameters are present, a clientMUST NOT use a key that is incompatible with the profile or PoP algorithm according to those parameters. An RSMUST reject a proof of possession using such a key with a response code equivalent to the CoAP code 4.00 (Bad Request).¶
If an access token is issued for an audience that includes several RSs, thers_cnf
parameterMUST NOT be used, since the client cannot determine for which RS the key applies. This document recommends to specify a different endpoint that the client can use to acquire RS authentication keys in such cases. The specification of such an endpoint is out of scope for this document.¶
If CBOR is used, the new parameters and claims defined in this documentMUST be mapped to CBOR types, as specified inTable 1, using the given integer abbreviation for the map key.¶
Name | CBOR Key | Value Type | Usage |
---|---|---|---|
req_cnf | 4 | map | token request |
cnf | 8 | map | token response |
cnf | 8 | map | introspection response |
rs_cnf | 41 | map | token response |
An RS using asymmetric keys to authenticate to the clientMUST NOT hold several different asymmetric key pairs applicable to the same authentication algorithm. For example, when using DTLS, the RSMUST NOT hold several asymmetric key pairs applicable to the same cipher suite. The reason for this restriction is that the RS has no way of determining which key to use before the client's identity is established. Therefore, authentication attempts by the RS could randomly fail based on which key the RS selects, unless the algorithm negotiation produces a unique choice of key pair for the RS.¶
This document is an extension to[RFC9200]. All security considerations from that document apply here as well.¶
This document is an extension to[RFC9200]. All privacy considerations from that document apply here as well.¶
This section registers the following parameters in the "OAuth Parameters" registry[IANA.OAuthParameters]:¶
req_cnf
¶This section registers the following parameter mappings in the "OAuth Parameters CBOR Mappings" registry established inSection 8.10 of [RFC9200].¶
req_cnf
¶This section registers the following parameter mapping in the "OAuth Token Introspection Response CBOR Mappings" registry established inSection 8.12 of [RFC9200].¶
This document is a product of the ACE Working Group of the IETF. Special thanks toBrian Campbell for his thorough review of this document.¶
Ludwig Seitz worked on this document as part of the CelticNext projects CyberWI and CRITISEC with funding from Vinnova.¶