Domain Name System Operations W. Wijngaards
Internet-Draft O. Kolkman
Intended status: Standards Track NLnet Labs
Expires: February 22, 2010 August 21, 2009
DNSSEC Trust Anchor History Service
draft-wijngaards-dnsop-trust-history-02
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Abstract
When DNS validators have trusted keys, but have been offline for a
longer period, key rollover will fail and they are stuck with stale
trust anchors. History service allows validators to query for older
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DNSKEY RRsets and pick up the rollover trail where they left off.
Requirements Language
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [RFC2119].
1. Introduction
This memo defines a trust history service for DNS validators -- the
component in a resolver that performs DNSSEC [RFC4034] validation,
validator for short.
A validator that has been offline or missed an (emergency) rollover
can use this service to reconfigure themselves with the current
trust-anchor. Using a newly defined resource record (RR) that links
old DNSKEYS together, the TALINK RR, a validator fetches old DNSKEY
RRsets and checks they form a chain to the latest key (see
Section 2). The lists of old DNSKEYS, linked with the TALINK RRs, do
not necessarily need to be published in the zone for which the DNSKEY
history is being maintained but can be published in any DNS domain.
We will call the entity that offers the trust history the History
Provider. The choice of the History Provider is made by the
maintainer of the validator, possibly based on a hint provided, using
the TALINK, by the zone owner.
The algorithm that the validator uses to construct a history and
reconfigure a new key is detailed in Section 3. The algorithms for
how providers of trust history can fetch the DNSKEY data as published
by the zone they track, and publish those in their own domain, are
explained in Section 4.
2. The TALINK Resource Record
The DNS Resource Record type TALINK (decimal TBD) ties the elements
of a linked list of DNSKEY RRs together.
The rdata consists of two domain names. The first name is the start,
or previous name, and the other name the end or next name in the
list. The empty label '.' is used at the endpoints of the list.
The presentation format is the two domain names. The wire encoding
is the two domain names, with no compression so the type can be
treated according to [RFC3597]. The list is a double linked list,
because this empowers low memory hosts to perform consistency checks.
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3. Trust History Lookup
This is the algorithm that a validator uses to detect and resolve the
situation in which a trust-anchor is out of sync with the DNSKEYs
published by a zone owner. The algorithm uses the TALINK RR type
which is used to link various old DNSKEYs as published by the History
Provider, to arive from the outdated configured Trust Anchor to one
that matches the current DNSKEY. The TALINK RR type is defined in
Section 2.
When the algorithm below results in failure the trust history cannot
be build and a new trust anchor will need to be re-configured using
another mechanism.
Step 1: The validator performs a DNSKEY lookup to the target zone,
which looks like any other initial DNSKEY lookup that the
validator needs to match a trust anchor to the currently used
DNSKEY RR set. If the keyset verifies with the trust anchor
currently held, the trust-anchor is not out-of sync. Otherwise,
store the DNSKEY RR set as result. The algorithm will succesfully
build a linked list to this DNSKEY RR or fail.
All nameservers (the ones authoritative for the zone or the
upstream resolver caches when the validator is not full resolver)
SHOULD be checked to make sure the DNSKEY RR sets are the same.
The results can differ if a key-rollover is in progress and not
all nameservers are in sync yet. This case can be detected by
checking that the older keyset signs the newer and take the newer
as result keyset. The keysets are distinguished by the average
over the middle of the inception and expiration dates of the
signatures that are validated by the keyset itself. Otherwise,
the lookup fails. If the check fails then the inconsistency may
be the result of spoofing, or compromise of (DNS) infrastructure
elements.
Step 2: Fetch the trust history list end points. Perform a query of
QTYPE=TALINK and QNAME being the domain name that is configured to
be the History Provider for the particular domain you are trying
to update the trust-anchor for.
Step 3: Go backwards through the trust history list as provided by
the TALINK linked list. Verify that the keyset validly signs the
next keyset. This is [RFC4034] validation, but the RRSIG
expiration date is ignored. [Editor note: Are we shure that there
are no server implementations that will not serve expired RRSIG,
are such 'smart' servers allowed by the specs? In other words do
we need clarification in the DNSSEC-updates document?] Replace
the owner domain name with the target zone name for verification.
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One of the keys that signs the next keyset MUST have the SEP bit
set. The middle of inception and expiration date from the valid
signature MUST be older than the signature checked last time.
Query type TALINK to get previous and next locations.
If all SEP keys have the REVOKE flag set at this step, and the
keyset is signed by all SEP keys, then continue but store that the
end result is that the trust point is deleted, see Section 5
[RFC5011].
If all SEP keys are of an unknown algorithm at this step, continue
and at the next step, when you verify if the keyset signs validly:
if false, continue with result a failure, if true, continue with
the end result that the trust point is deleted. Thus, the keysets
with unknown algorithms are stepped over with an end result of
failure because the validator cannot determine if unknown
algorithm signatures are valid, until the oldest keyset with
unknown algorithms is signed by a known algorithm and the result
is set to deletion and step 3 continues to a known key.
Step 4: When the trust anchor currently held by the validator
verifies the keyset, the algorithm is done. The validator SHOULD
store the result on stable storage. Use the new trust anchor for
validation (if using [RFC5011], put it in state VALID).
4. Trust History Tracker
External trackers can poll the target zone DNSKEY RRset regularly.
Ignore date changes in the RRSIG. Ignore changes to keys with no SEP
flag. Copy the newly polled DNSKEY RRset and RRSIGs, change the
owner name to a new name at the history location. Publish the new
RRset and TALINK records to make it the last element in the list.
Update the TALINK in the target zone that advertises the first and
last name.
Integrated into the rollover, the keys are stored in the history and
the TALINK is updated when a new key is used in the rollover process.
This gives the TALINK and new historical key time to propagate.
The signer can support trust history. Trust history key sets need
only contain SEP keys. To use older signers, move historical RRSIGs
to another file. Sign the zone, including the TALINK and DNSKEY
records. Append the historical RRSIGs to the result. Signing the
zone like this obviates the need for changes to signer and server
software.
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5. Example
In this example example.com is the History Provider for example.net.
The DNSKEY rdata and RRSIG rdata is omitted for brevity, it is a copy
and paste of the data from example.net.
$ORIGIN example.com.
example.com. TALINK h0.example.com. h2.example.com.
h0 TALINK . h1.example.com.
h0 DNSKEY ...
h0 RRSIG ...
h1 TALINK h0.example.com. h2.example.com.
h1 DNSKEY ...
h1 RRSIG ...
h2 TALINK h1.example.com. .
h2 DNSKEY ...
h2 RRSIG ...
The example.net zone can advertise the example.com History Provider
by providing the TALINK shown here at example.com at the apex of the
example.net zone. The TALINK at example.com is then not needed.
6. Deployment
The trust history is advertised with TALINK RRs at the zone apex.
These represent alternative history sources, that can be searched in
turn. The TALINK at the zone apex contains the first and last name
of the list of historical keys.
The History Provider decides the oldest age keys it wants to publish,
as operations permit. If validators no longer have trust in the keys
then they need no longer be published. The oldest key entries can be
omitted from the list to shorten it.
The validator decides how long it trusts a key. A recommendation
from the zone owner can be configured for keys of that zone, or
recommendations per algorithm and key size can be used (e.g. see
[NIST800-57]). If a key is older than that, trust history lookup
fails with it.
The history lookup can be used on its own. Then, the trust history
is used whenever the key rolls over and no polling is performed. The
time of the last successful key lookup is stored on stable storage.
The trust history algorithm is not started unless the last successful
key lookup was more than x time ago. This time is suggested to be
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the same has the Hold-Down timer in RFC 5011 i.e. 30 days, but can be
signalled by the zone owner with the TTL of the TALINK RRset at the
zone apex. This TTL MUST be validated before it is stored for use
later.
If a validator is also using [RFC5011] for the target zone, then the
trust history algorithm SHOULD only be invoked if the last [RFC5011]
successful probe was more than 30 days ago. If a new key has been
announced, invoke the history if no 2 probes succeeded during the add
hold-down time and there was no successful probe after the add hold-
down time passed. Therefore the time of the last successful probe
MUST be stored on stable storage.
For testing the potentially very infrequently used lookup, the
following SHOULD be implemented. For the test the lookup is
triggered manually by allowing the system to be given a particular
keyset with a last successful lookup date in the past, stored TALINK
TTL and a test History Provider. The test History Provider provides
access to a generated back-dated test history that signs the current
production keyset.
7. Security Considerations
The History Provider only provides copies of old data. If that
historic data is altered or withheld the lookup algorithm fails
because of validation errors in Step 3 of the algorithm. If the
History provider or a Man in the Middle Adversary (MIMA) has access
to the original private keys (through theft, cryptoanalisis, or
otherwise), history can be altered without failure of the algorithm.
Below we only consider MIMAs and assume the History Provider is a
trusted party.
Spoofing by a MIMA of data looked up in step 2 or 3, i.e. spoofing of
TALINK and DNSKEY data, can present some alternate history. However
the DNSKEY RR set trusted that the history should arrive at is
already fixed by step 1. If an attempt is made to subvert the
algorithm at step 2 or 3, then the result keyset can not be replaced
by another keyset unnoticed.
To change the keyset trusted as the outcome, the step 1 data has to
be spoofed and the key held by the validator (or a newer historic
key) has to be compromised. Unless such spoof is targeted to a
specific victim, a spoof of the step 1 result has a high visibility.
Since most of the validators that receive the spoof have an up-to-
date trust anchor most validators that would receive this spoof
return validation failure for data from the zone that contains the
DNSKEYs. An adversary will therefore have to target the attack to
validators that are in the process of an update. Since validators do
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not announce that they use trust history lookup until step 2
adversaries will not be able to select the validators.
A spoof of data in steps 2 and 3, together with a compromised (old)
key, can result in a downgrade. At steps 2 and 3 a faked trust point
deletion or algorithm rollover can be inserted in a fake history.
This avoids the high visibility of spoofing the current key (see
previous paragraph) and downgrades to insecure.
Finally there is the case that one of the keys published by the
History Providers has been compromised. Since someone spoofing at
step 1 of the lookup algorithm and presenting some fake history to a
compromised key, of course does not include key revocations and does
extend the history to contain the compromised key, it therefore is
not really useful for a History Provider to remove the key from the
published history. That only makes lookups fail for those validators
who are not under attack. Useful action would be to update
validators using some other means.
Rollover with [RFC5011] revokes keys after use. If a History
Provider is used, then such revoked keys SHOULD be used to perform
history tracking and history lookup.
The SEP bit is checked to make sure that control over the KSK is
necessary to change the keyset for the target zone.
8. IANA Considerations
Resource record type TALINK has been defined using RFC5395 type
expert review, it has RR type number TBD (decimal).
9. Acknowledgments
Thanks to the people who provided review and suggestions, Edward
Lewis, Michael StJohns, Bert Hubert, Mark Andrews, Ted Lemon, Steve
Crocker, Bill Manning, Eric Osterweil, Wolfgang Nagele, Alfred
Hoenes, Olafur Gudmundsson, Roy Arends and Matthijs Mekking.
10. References
10.1. Informative References
[NIST800-57] Barker, E., Barker, W., Burr, W., Polk, W., and M.
Smid, "Recommendations for Key Management", NIST
SP 800-57, March 2007.
[RFC5011] StJohns, M., "Automated Updates of DNS Security
(DNSSEC) Trust Anchors", RFC 5011, September 2007.
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10.2. Normative References
[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
[RFC3597] Gustafsson, A., "Handling of Unknown DNS Resource
Record (RR) Types", RFC 3597, September 2003.
[RFC4034] Arends, R., Austein, R., Larson, M., Massey, D., and S.
Rose, "Resource Records for the DNS Security
Extensions", RFC 4034, March 2005.
Authors' Addresses
Wouter Wijngaards
NLnet Labs
Science Park 140
Amsterdam 1098 XG
The Netherlands
EMail: wouter@nlnetlabs.nl
Olaf Kolkman
NLnet Labs
Science Park 140
Amsterdam 1098 XG
The Netherlands
EMail: olaf@nlnetlabs.nl
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