Skip to main content

eXtensible Access Control Markup Language (XACML) Media Type
draft-sinnema-xacml-media-type-01

The information below is for an old version of the document.
Document Type
This is an older version of an Internet-Draft that was ultimately published as RFC 7061.
Authors Remon Sinnema, Erik Wilde
Last updated 2013-03-14
RFC stream (None)
Formats
IETF conflict review conflict-review-sinnema-xacml-media-type, conflict-review-sinnema-xacml-media-type, conflict-review-sinnema-xacml-media-type, conflict-review-sinnema-xacml-media-type, conflict-review-sinnema-xacml-media-type, conflict-review-sinnema-xacml-media-type
Additional resources
Stream Stream state (No stream defined)
Consensus boilerplate Unknown
RFC Editor Note (None)
IESG IESG state Became RFC 7061 (Informational)
Telechat date (None)
Responsible AD (None)
Send notices to (None)
draft-sinnema-xacml-media-type-01
Network Working Group                                         R. Sinnema
Internet-Draft                                                  E. Wilde
Intended status: Standards Track                         EMC Corporation
Expires: September 15, 2013                               March 14, 2013

      eXtensible Access Control Markup Language (XACML) Media Type
                   draft-sinnema-xacml-media-type-01

Abstract

   This specification registers an XML-based media type for the
   eXtensible Access Control Markup Language (XACML).

Note to Readers

   This draft should be discussed on the apps-discuss mailing list [1].

   Online access to all versions and files is available on github [2].

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
   working documents as Internet-Drafts.  The list of current Internet-
   Drafts is at http://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

   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."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on September 15, 2013.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2013 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must

Sinnema & Wilde        Expires September 15, 2013               [Page 1]
Internet-Draft              XACML Media Type                  March 2013

   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  XACML Media Type  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   3.  XACML Media Type application/xacml+xml  . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     3.1.  Media Type Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     3.2.  Subtype Name  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     3.3.  Required Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     3.4.  Optional Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     3.5.  Encoding Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     3.6.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     3.7.  Interoperability Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     3.8.  Applications which use this media type  . . . . . . . . .   4
     3.9.  Magic number(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     3.10. File extension(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.11. Macintosh File Type Code(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.12. Person & email address to contact for further information   5
     3.13. Intended Usage  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.14. Author/Change Controller  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   4.  Change Log  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.1.  From -00 to -01 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.2.  Versions prior to I-D -00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   5.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   Appendix A.  Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7

1.  Introduction

   The XACML media type contains an XACML request, response, or policy
   [XACML-3].  The request and response allow clients form a query to
   request whether or not a given action should be allowed, and
   interpret the result.  The policy is used to describe general access
   control requirements.

2.  XACML Media Type

Sinnema & Wilde        Expires September 15, 2013               [Page 2]
Internet-Draft              XACML Media Type                  March 2013

   This specification registers an XML-based media type for the
   eXtensible Access Control Markup Language (XACML) that will be
   registered with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
   following the "Media Type Specifications and Registration Procedures"
   [RFC6838].  The XACML media type represents an XACML request,
   response, or policy [XACML-3].  The request and response allow
   clients to contact an XACML service and ask whether or not a given
   action should be allowed, and interpret the result.  The policy is
   used to describe general access control requirements.

3.  XACML Media Type application/xacml+xml

   This specification requests the registration of an XML-based media
   type for the eXtensible Access Control Markup Language (XACML).

3.1.  Media Type Name

   application

3.2.  Subtype Name

   xacml+xml

3.3.  Required Parameters

   none

3.4.  Optional Parameters

   charset: The charset parameter is the same as the charset parameter
   of application/xml [RFC3023].

   version: The version parameter indicates the version of the XACML
   specification.  It can be used for content negotiation when dealing
   with components that support multiple XACML versions.  Its range is
   the range of published XACML versions.  As of this writing that is:
   1.0 [XACML-1], 1.1 [XACML-1.1], 2.0 [XACML-2], and 3.0 [XACML-3].
   These and future version identifiers are of the form x.y, where x and
   y are decimal numbers with no leading zeros, with x being positive
   and y being non-negative.

3.5.  Encoding Considerations

   Same as for application/xml [RFC3023].

3.6.  Security Considerations

Sinnema & Wilde        Expires September 15, 2013               [Page 3]
Internet-Draft              XACML Media Type                  March 2013

   Per their specification, application/xacml+xml typed objects do not
   contain executable content.  However, these objects are XML-based,
   and thus they have all of the general security considerations
   presented in section 10 of RFC 3023 [RFC3023].

   XACML [XACML-3] contains information whose integrity and authenticity
   is important - identity provider and service provider public keys and
   endpoint addresses, for example.  Sections 9.2.1 Authentication and
   9.2.4 Policy integrity in XACML [XACML-3] describe requirements and
   considerations for such authentication and integrity protection.

   To counter potential issues, the publisher may sign application/
   xacml+xml typed objects.  Any such signature should be verified by
   the recipient of the data - both as a valid signature, and as being
   the signature of the publisher.  The XACML v3.0 XML Digital Signature
   Profile [XACML-3-DSig] describes how to use XML-based digital
   signatures with XACML.

   Additionally, various of the possible publication protocols, for
   example HTTPS, offer means for ensuring the authenticity of the
   publishing party and for protecting the policy in transit.

   For a more detailed discussion of XACML policy and its security
   considerations, please see XACML 3.0 [XACML-3] and the associated XML
   Digital Signature Profile [XACML-3].

3.7.  Interoperability Considerations

   XACML 3.0 uses the urn:oasis:names:tc:xacml:3.0:core:schema:wd-17 XML
   namespace URI.  XACML 2.0 uses the
   urn:oasis:names:tc:xacml:2.0:policy XML namespace URI.  Signed XACML
   has a wrapping SAML 2.0 assertion [SAML-2], which uses the
   urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:assertion namespace URI.
   Interoperability with SAML is defined by the SAML 2.0 Profile of
   XACML [XACML-3-SAML] for all versions of XACML.

3.8.  Applications which use this media type

   Potentially any application implementing XACML, as well as those
   applications implementing specifications based on XACML.

3.9.  Magic number(s)

   In general, the same as for application/xml [2].  In particular, the
   XML document element of the returned object will be one of
   xacml:Policy, xacml:PolicySet, context:Request, or context:Response.
   The xacml and context prefixes differ for the various versions of
   XACML as follows:

Sinnema & Wilde        Expires September 15, 2013               [Page 4]
Internet-Draft              XACML Media Type                  March 2013

   o  1.0 & 1.1: The xacml prefix maps to
      urn:oasis:names:tc:xacml:1.0:policy, the context prefix maps to
      urn:oasis:names:tc:xacml:1.0:context

   o  2.0: The xacml prefix maps to urn:oasis:names:tc:xacml:2.0:policy,
      the context prefix maps to urn:oasis:names:tc:xacml:2.0:context

   o  3.0: Both the xacml and context prefixes map to the namespace URI
      urn:oasis:names:tc:xacml:3.0:core:schema:wd-17

   For signed XACML, the XML document element is saml:Assertion, where
   the saml prefix maps to the SAML 2.0 namespace URI
   urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:assertion

3.10.  File extension(s)

   none

3.11.  Macintosh File Type Code(s)

   none

3.12.  Person & email address to contact for further information

   This registration is made on behalf of the OASIS eXtensible Access
   Control Markup Language Technical Committee (XACMLTC).  Please refer
   to the XACMLTC website for current information on committee
   chairperson(s) and their contact addresses: http://www.oasis-open.org
   /committees/xacml/. Committee members should submit comments and
   potential errata to the xacml@lists.oasis-open.org list.  Others
   should submit them by filling out the web form located at http://www
   .oasis-open.org/committees/comments/form.php?wg_abbrev=xacml.

   Additionally, the XACML developer community email distribution list,
   xacml-dev@lists.oasis-open.org, may be employed to discuss usage of
   the application/xacml+xml MIME media type.  The xacml-dev mailing
   list is publicly archived here: http://www.oasis-open.org/archives/
   xacml-dev/. To post to the xacml-dev mailing list, one must subscribe
   to it.  To subscribe, visit the OASIS mailing list page at http://www
   .oasis-open.org/mlmanage/.

3.13.  Intended Usage

   Common

3.14.  Author/Change Controller

Sinnema & Wilde        Expires September 15, 2013               [Page 5]
Internet-Draft              XACML Media Type                  March 2013

   The XACML specification sets are a work product of the OASIS
   eXtensible Access Control Markup Language Technical Committee
   (XACMLTC).  OASIS and the XACMLTC have change control over the XACML
   specification sets.

4.  Change Log

   Note to RFC Editor: Please remove this section before publication.

4.1.  From -00 to -01

   o  Added new introduction text.

   o  Changed reference from RFC 4288 to RFC 6838 (updated RFC for media
      type registrations).

4.2.  Versions prior to I-D -00

   Prior to being published as a I-D document, this document was
   published and revised as an OASIS document with the following
   versions:

   o  2012-02-29 (WD01): Initial revision with one media type.

   o  2012-04-23 (WD02): Added JSON media type.

   o  2012-04-24 (WD03): Fixed layout, typos, and references.  Better
      defined the allowable range of values for the version parameter.

5.  Normative References

   [RFC3023]  Murata, M., St. Laurent, S., and D. Kohn, "XML Media
              Types", RFC 3023, January 2001.

   [RFC6838]  Freed, N., Klensin, J., and T. Hansen, "Media Type
              Specifications and Registration Procedures", BCP 13, RFC
              6838, January 2013.

   [SAML-2]   Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
              Standards, "Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML)
              Version 2.0. OASIS Standard", March 2005, <http://docs
              .oasis-open.org/security/saml/v2.0/saml-core-2.0-os.pdf>.

   [XACML-1.1]

Sinnema & Wilde        Expires September 15, 2013               [Page 6]
Internet-Draft              XACML Media Type                  March 2013

              Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
              Standards, "eXtensible Access Control Markup Language
              (XACML) Version 1.1. OASIS Committee Specification",
              August 2003, <http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/xacml/
              repository/cs-xacml-specification-1.1.pdf>.

   [XACML-1]  Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
              Standards, "eXtensible Access Control Markup Language
              (XACML) Version 1.0. OASIS Standard", February 2003,
              <http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/download.php/2406/
              oasis-xacml-1.0.pdf>.

   [XACML-2]  Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
              Standards, "eXtensible Access Control Markup Language
              (XACML) Version 2.0. OASIS Standard", February 2005,
              <http://docs.oasis-open.org/xacml/2.0/access_control-
              xacml-2.0-core-spec-os.pdf>.

   [XACML-3-DSig]
              Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
              Standards, "XACML v3.0 XML Digital Signature Profile
              Version 1.0. OASIS Committee Specification 01", August
              2010, <http://docs.oasis-open.org/xacml/3.0/
              xacml-3.0-dsig-v1-spec-cs-01-en.pdf>.

   [XACML-3-SAML]
              Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
              Standards, "SAML 2.0 Profile of XACML, Version 2.0. OASIS
              Committee Specification 01", August 2010, <http://docs
              .oasis-open.org/xacml/3.0/xacml-profile-saml2.0-v2-spec-
              cs-01-en.pdf>.

   [XACML-3]  Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
              Standards, "eXtensible Access Control Markup Language
              (XACML) Version 3.0. OASIS Committee Specification 01",
              August 2010, <http://docs.oasis-open.org/xacml/3.0/
              xacml-3.0-core-spec-cs-01-en.pdf>.

Appendix A.  Acknowledgements

   The following individuals have participated in the creation of this
   specification and are gratefully acknowledged: Erik Rissanen
   (Axiomatics) and Jonathan Robie (EMC).

Authors' Addresses

Sinnema & Wilde        Expires September 15, 2013               [Page 7]
Internet-Draft              XACML Media Type                  March 2013

   Remon Sinnema
   EMC Corporation

   Email: remon.sinnema@emc.com

   Erik Wilde
   EMC Corporation

   Email: erik.wilde@emc.com

Sinnema & Wilde        Expires September 15, 2013               [Page 8]