HTTP Working Group A. Backman, Ed.
Internet-Draft Amazon
Intended status: Standards Track J. Richer
Expires: June 23, 2022 Bespoke Engineering
M. Sporny
Digital Bazaar
December 20, 2021
HTTP Message Signatures
draft-ietf-httpbis-message-signatures-07
Abstract
This document describes a mechanism for creating, encoding, and
verifying digital signatures or message authentication codes over
components of an HTTP message. This mechanism supports use cases
where the full HTTP message may not be known to the signer, and where
the message may be transformed (e.g., by intermediaries) before
reaching the verifier. This document also describes a means for
requesting that a signature be applied to a subsequent HTTP message
in an ongoing HTTP exchange.
About This Document
This note is to be removed before publishing as an RFC.
Status information for this document may be found at
.
Discussion of this document takes place on the HTTP Working Group
mailing list (), which is archived at
. Working Group
information can be found at .
Source for this draft and an issue tracker can be found at
.
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 https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 1]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
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 June 23, 2022.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2021 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
(https://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
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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.1. Requirements Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2. HTTP Message Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3. Safe Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4. Conventions and Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5. Application of HTTP Message Signatures . . . . . . . . . 9
2. HTTP Message Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.1. HTTP Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1.1. Canonicalized Structured HTTP Fields . . . . . . . . 12
2.1.2. HTTP Field Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.1.3. Dictionary Structured Field Members . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2. Specialty Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2.1. Signature Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.2.2. Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2.3. Target URI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2.4. Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2.5. Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2.6. Request Target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2.7. Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.2.8. Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2.9. Query Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2.10. Status Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.2.11. Request-Response Signature Binding . . . . . . . . . 22
2.3. Creating the Signature Input String . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 2]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
3. HTTP Message Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.1. Creating a Signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.2. Verifying a Signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.2.1. Enforcing Application Requirements . . . . . . . . . 30
3.3. Signature Algorithm Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.3.1. RSASSA-PSS using SHA-512 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.3.2. RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 using SHA-256 . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.3.3. HMAC using SHA-256 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.3.4. ECDSA using curve P-256 DSS and SHA-256 . . . . . . . 33
3.3.5. JSON Web Signature (JWS) algorithms . . . . . . . . . 34
4. Including a Message Signature in a Message . . . . . . . . . 34
4.1. The 'Signature-Input' HTTP Field . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.2. The 'Signature' HTTP Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.3. Multiple Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5. Requesting Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.1. The Accept-Signature Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.2. Processing an Accept-Signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
6.1. HTTP Signature Algorithms Registry . . . . . . . . . . . 40
6.1.1. Registration Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6.1.2. Initial Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6.2. HTTP Signature Metadata Parameters Registry . . . . . . . 42
6.2.1. Registration Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.2.2. Initial Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
6.3. HTTP Signature Specialty Component Identifiers Registry . 43
6.3.1. Registration Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
6.3.2. Initial Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
7. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
7.1. Signature Verification Skipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
7.2. Use of TLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
7.3. Signature Replay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
7.4. Insufficient Coverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
7.5. Cryptography and Signature Collision . . . . . . . . . . 48
7.6. Key Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
7.7. Modification of Required Message Parameters . . . . . . . 49
7.8. Mismatch of Signature Parameters from Message . . . . . . 49
7.9. Multiple Signature Confusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
7.10. Signature Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
7.11. Symmetric Cryptography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
7.12. Canonicalization Attacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
7.13. Key Specification Mix-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
7.14. HTTP Versions and Component Ambiguity . . . . . . . . . . 51
7.15. Key and Algorithm Specification Downgrades . . . . . . . 52
7.16. Parsing Structured Field Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
7.17. Choosing Message Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
8. Privacy Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8.1. Identification through Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8.2. Signatures do not provide confidentiality . . . . . . . . 54
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 3]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
8.3. Oracles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
8.4. Required Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
9. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
9.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
9.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
9.3. URIs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Appendix A. Detecting HTTP Message Signatures . . . . . . . . . 57
Appendix B. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
B.1. Example Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
B.1.1. Example Key RSA test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
B.1.2. Example RSA PSS Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
B.1.3. Example ECC P-256 Test Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
B.1.4. Example Shared Secret . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
B.2. Test Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
B.2.1. Minimal Signature Using rsa-pss-sha512 . . . . . . . 61
B.2.2. Selective Covered Components using rsa-pss-sha512 . . 61
B.2.3. Full Coverage using rsa-pss-sha512 . . . . . . . . . 62
B.2.4. Signing a Response using ecdsa-p256-sha256 . . . . . 63
B.2.5. Signing a Request using hmac-sha256 . . . . . . . . . 64
B.3. TLS-Terminating Proxies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Document History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
1. Introduction
Message integrity and authenticity are important security properties
that are critical to the secure operation of many HTTP applications.
Application developers typically rely on the transport layer to
provide these properties, by operating their application over [TLS].
However, TLS only guarantees these properties over a single TLS
connection, and the path between client and application may be
composed of multiple independent TLS connections (for example, if the
application is hosted behind a TLS-terminating gateway or if the
client is behind a TLS Inspection appliance). In such cases, TLS
cannot guarantee end-to-end message integrity or authenticity between
the client and application. Additionally, some operating
environments present obstacles that make it impractical to use TLS,
or to use features necessary to provide message authenticity.
Furthermore, some applications require the binding of an application-
level key to the HTTP message, separate from any TLS certificates in
use. Consequently, while TLS can meet message integrity and
authenticity needs for many HTTP-based applications, it is not a
universal solution.
This document defines a mechanism for providing end-to-end integrity
and authenticity for components of an HTTP message. The mechanism
allows applications to create digital signatures or message
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 4]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
authentication codes (MACs) over only the components of the message
that are meaningful and appropriate for the application. Strict
canonicalization rules ensure that the verifier can verify the
signature even if the message has been transformed in any of the many
ways permitted by HTTP.
The signing mechanism described in this document consists of three
parts:
o A common nomenclature and canonicalization rule set for the
different protocol elements and other components of HTTP messages,
used to create a signature input.
o Algorithms for generating and verifying signatures over HTTP
message components using this signature input through application
of cryptographic primitives.
o A mechanism for attaching a signature and related metadata to an
HTTP message, and for parsing attached signatures and metadata
from HTTP messages.
This document also provides a mechanism for a potential verifier to
signal to a potential signer that a signature is desired in one or
more subsequent messages. This optional negotiation mechanism can be
used along with opportunistic or application-driven message
signatures by either party.
1.1. Requirements Discussion
HTTP permits and sometimes requires intermediaries to transform
messages in a variety of ways. This may result in a recipient
receiving a message that is not bitwise equivalent to the message
that was originally sent. In such a case, the recipient will be
unable to verify a signature over the raw bytes of the sender's HTTP
message, as verifying digital signatures or MACs requires both signer
and verifier to have the exact same signature input. Since the exact
raw bytes of the message cannot be relied upon as a reliable source
of signature input, the signer and verifier must derive the signature
input from their respective versions of the message, via a mechanism
that is resilient to safe changes that do not alter the meaning of
the message.
For a variety of reasons, it is impractical to strictly define what
constitutes a safe change versus an unsafe one. Applications use
HTTP in a wide variety of ways, and may disagree on whether a
particular piece of information in a message (e.g., the body, or the
"Date" header field) is relevant. Thus a general purpose solution
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 5]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
must provide signers with some degree of control over which message
components are signed.
HTTP applications may be running in environments that do not provide
complete access to or control over HTTP messages (such as a web
browser's JavaScript environment), or may be using libraries that
abstract away the details of the protocol (such as the Java
HTTPClient library [1]). These applications need to be able to
generate and verify signatures despite incomplete knowledge of the
HTTP message.
1.2. HTTP Message Transformations
As mentioned earlier, HTTP explicitly permits and in some cases
requires implementations to transform messages in a variety of ways.
Implementations are required to tolerate many of these
transformations. What follows is a non-normative and non-exhaustive
list of transformations that may occur under HTTP, provided as
context:
o Re-ordering of header fields with different header field names
(Section 3.2.2 of [MESSAGING]).
o Combination of header fields with the same field name
(Section 3.2.2 of [MESSAGING]).
o Removal of header fields listed in the "Connection" header field
(Section 6.1 of [MESSAGING]).
o Addition of header fields that indicate control options
(Section 6.1 of [MESSAGING]).
o Addition or removal of a transfer coding (Section 5.7.2 of
[MESSAGING]).
o Addition of header fields such as "Via" (Section 5.7.1 of
[MESSAGING]) and "Forwarded" (Section 4 of [RFC7239]).
1.3. Safe Transformations
Based on the definition of HTTP and the requirements described above,
we can identify certain types of transformations that should not
prevent signature verification, even when performed on message
components covered by the signature. The following list describes
those transformations:
o Combination of header fields with the same field name.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 6]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
o Reordering of header fields with different names.
o Conversion between different versions of the HTTP protocol (e.g.,
HTTP/1.x to HTTP/2, or vice-versa).
o Changes in casing (e.g., "Origin" to "origin") of any case-
insensitive components such as header field names, request URI
scheme, or host.
o Addition or removal of leading or trailing whitespace to a header
field value.
o Addition or removal of "obs-folds".
o Changes to the "request-target" and "Host" header field that when
applied together do not result in a change to the message's
effective request URI, as defined in Section 5.5 of [MESSAGING].
Additionally, all changes to components not covered by the signature
are considered safe.
1.4. Conventions and Terminology
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.
The terms "HTTP message", "HTTP request", "HTTP response", "absolute-
form", "absolute-path", "effective request URI", "gateway", "header
field", "intermediary", "request-target", "sender", and "recipient"
are used as defined in [MESSAGING].
The term "method" is to be interpreted as defined in Section 4 of
[SEMANTICS].
For brevity, the term "signature" on its own is used in this document
to refer to both digital signatures (which use asymmetric
cryptography) and keyed MACs (which use symmetric cryptography).
Similarly, the verb "sign" refers to the generation of either a
digital signature or keyed MAC over a given input string. The
qualified term "digital signature" refers specifically to the output
of an asymmetric cryptographic signing operation.
In addition to those listed above, this document uses the following
terms:
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 7]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
HTTP Message Signature:
A digital signature or keyed MAC that covers one or more portions
of an HTTP message. Note that a given HTTP Message can contain
multiple HTTP Message Signatures.
Signer:
The entity that is generating or has generated an HTTP Message
Signature. Note that multiple entities can act as signers and
apply separate HTTP Message Signatures to a given HTTP Message.
Verifier:
An entity that is verifying or has verified an HTTP Message
Signature against an HTTP Message. Note that an HTTP Message
Signature may be verified multiple times, potentially by different
entities.
HTTP Message Component:
A portion of an HTTP message that is capable of being covered by
an HTTP Message Signature.
HTTP Message Component Identifier:
A value that uniquely identifies a specific HTTP Message Component
in respect to a particular HTTP Message Signature and the HTTP
Message it applies to.
HTTP Message Component Value:
The value associated with a given component identifier within the
context of a particular HTTP Message. Component values are
derived from the HTTP Message and are usually subject to a
canonicalization process.
Covered Components:
An ordered set of HTTP message component identifiers for fields
(Section 2.1) and specialty components (Section 2.2) that
indicates the set of message components covered by the signature,
not including the "@signature-params" specialty identifier itself.
The order of this set is preserved and communicated between the
signer and verifier to facilitate reconstruction of the signature
input.
Signature Input:
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 8]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
The sequence of bytes processed by the cryptographic algorithm to
produce or verify the HTTP Message Signature. The signature input
is generated by the signer and verifier using the covered
components set and the HTTP Message.
HTTP Message Signature Algorithm:
A cryptographic algorithm that describes the signing and
verification process for the signature, defined in terms of the
"HTTP_SIGN" and "HTTP_VERIFY" primitives described in Section 3.3.
Key Material:
The key material required to create or verify the signature. The
key material is often identified with an explicit key identifier,
allowing the signer to indicate to the verifier which key was
used.
Creation Time:
A timestamp representing the point in time that the signature was
generated, as asserted by the signer.
Expiration Time:
A timestamp representing the point in time after which the
signature should no longer be accepted by the verifier, as
asserted by the signer.
The term "Unix time" is defined by [POSIX.1], Section 4.16 [2].
This document contains non-normative examples of partial and complete
HTTP messages. Some examples use a single trailing backslash '' to
indicate line wrapping for long values, as per [RFC8792]. The "\"
character and leading spaces on wrapped lines are not part of the
value.
1.5. Application of HTTP Message Signatures
HTTP Message Signatures are designed to be a general-purpose security
mechanism applicable in a wide variety of circumstances and
applications. In order to properly and safely apply HTTP Message
Signatures, an application or profile of this specification MUST
specify all of the following items:
o The set of component identifiers (Section 2) that are expected and
required. For example, an authorization protocol could mandate
that the "Authorization" header be covered to protect the
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 9]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
authorization credentials and mandate the signature parameters
contain a "created" parameter, while an API expecting HTTP message
bodies could require the "Digest" header to be present and
covered.
o A means of retrieving the key material used to verify the
signature. An application will usually use the "keyid" parameter
of the signature parameters (Section 2.2.1) and define rules for
resolving a key from there, though the appropriate key could be
known from other means.
o A means of determining the signature algorithm used to verify the
signature is appropriate for the key material. For example, the
process could use the "alg" parameter of the signature parameters
(Section 2.2.1) to state the algorithm explicitly, derive the
algorithm from the key material, or use some pre-configured
algorithm agreed upon by the signer and verifier.
o A means of determining that a given key and algorithm presented in
the request are appropriate for the request being made. For
example, a server expecting only ECDSA signatures should know to
reject any RSA signatures, or a server expecting asymmetric
cryptography should know to reject any symmetric cryptography.
An application using signatures also has to ensure that the verifier
will have access to all required information to re-create the
signature input string. For example, a server behind a reverse proxy
would need to know the original request URI to make use of
identifiers like "@target-uri". Additionally, an application using
signatures in responses would need to ensure that clients receiving
signed responses have access to all the signed portions, including
any portions of the request that were signed by the server.
The details of this kind of profiling are the purview of the
application and outside the scope of this specification, however some
additional considerations are discussed in Section 7.
2. HTTP Message Components
In order to allow signers and verifiers to establish which components
are covered by a signature, this document defines component
identifiers for components covered by an HTTP Message Signature, a
set of rules for deriving and canonicalizing the values associated
with these component identifiers from the HTTP Message, and the means
for combining these canonicalized values into a signature input
string. The values for these items MUST be accessible to both the
signer and the verifier of the message, which means these are usually
derived from aspects of the HTTP message or signature itself.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 10]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
Some HTTP message components can undergo transformations that change
the bitwise value without altering meaning of the component's value
(for example, the merging together of header fields with the same
name). Message component values must therefore be canonicalized
before it is signed, to ensure that a signature can be verified
despite such intermediary transformations. This document defines
rules for each component identifier that transform the identifier's
associated component value into such a canonical form.
Component identifiers are serialized using the production grammar
defined by [RFC8941], Section 4. The component identifier itself is
an "sf-string" value and MAY define parameters which are included
using the "parameters" rule.
component-identifier = sf-string parameters
Note that this means the serialization of the component identifier
itself is encased in double quotes, with parameters following as a
semicolon-separated list, such as ""cache-control"", ""date"", or
""@signature-params"".
Component identifiers including their parameters MUST NOT be repeated
within a single list of covered components.
The component value associated with a component identifier is defined
by the identifier itself. Component values MUST NOT contain newline
("\n") characters.
The following sections define component identifier types, their
parameters, their associated values, and the canonicalization rules
for their values. The method for combining component identifiers
into the signature input is defined in Section 2.3.
2.1. HTTP Fields
The component identifier for an HTTP field is the lowercased form of
its field name. While HTTP field names are case-insensitive,
implementations MUST use lowercased field names (e.g., "content-
type", "date", "etag") when using them as component identifiers.
Unless overridden by additional parameters and rules, the HTTP field
value MUST be canonicalized with the following steps:
1. Create an ordered list of the field values of each instance of
the field in the message, in the order that they occur (or will
occur) in the message.
2. Strip leading and trailing whitespace from each item in the list.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 11]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
3. Concatenate the list items together, with a single comma "",""
and space "" "" between each item.
The resulting string is the canonicalized component value.
2.1.1. Canonicalized Structured HTTP Fields
If value of the the HTTP field in question is a structured field
([RFC8941]), the component identifier MAY include the "sf" parameter.
If this parameter is included, the HTTP field value MUST be
canonicalized using the rules specified in Section 4 of [RFC8941].
For example, this process will replace any optional internal
whitespace with a single space character.
The resulting string is used as the component value in Section 2.1.
2.1.2. HTTP Field Examples
Following are non-normative examples of canonicalized values for
header fields, given the following example HTTP message:
Host: www.example.com
Date: Tue, 07 Jun 2014 20:51:35 GMT
X-OWS-Header: Leading and trailing whitespace.
X-Obs-Fold-Header: Obsolete
line folding.
X-Empty-Header:
Cache-Control: max-age=60
Cache-Control: must-revalidate
X-Dictionary: a=1, b=2;x=1;y=2, c=(a b c)
The following example shows canonicalized values for these example
header fields, presented using the signature input string format
discussed in Section 2.3:
"cache-control": max-age=60, must-revalidate|
"date": Tue, 07 Jun 2014 20:51:35 GMT|
"host": www.example.com|
"x-empty-header":
"x-obs-fold-header": Obsolete line folding.
"x-ows-header":Leading and trailing whitespace.
"x-dictionary": a=1, b=2;x=1;y=2, c=(a b c)
"x-dictionary";sf: a=1, b=2;x=1;y=2, c=(a b c)
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 12]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
2.1.3. Dictionary Structured Field Members
An individual member in the value of a Dictionary Structured Field is
identified by using the parameter "key" to indicate the member key as
an "sf-string" value.
An individual member in the value of a Dictionary Structured Field is
canonicalized by applying the serialization algorithm described in
Section 4.1.2 of [RFC8941] on a Dictionary containing only that item.
Each parameterized key for a given field MUST NOT appear more than
once in the signature input. Parameterized keys MAY appear in any
order.
Following are non-normative examples of canonicalized values for
Dictionary Structured Field Members given the following example
header field, whose value is known to be a Dictionary:
X-Dictionary: a=1, b=2;x=1;y=2, c=(a b c)
The following example shows canonicalized values for different
component identifiers of this field, presented using the signature
input string format discussed in Section 2.3:
"x-dictionary";key="a": 1
"x-dictionary";key="b": 2;x=1;y=2
"x-dictionary";key="c": (a, b, c)
2.2. Specialty Components
Message components not found in an HTTP field can be included in the
signature input by defining a component identifier and the
canonicalization method for its component value.
To differentiate specialty component identifiers from HTTP fields,
specialty component identifiers MUST start with the "at" "@"
character. This specification defines the following specialty
component identifiers:
@signature-params The signature metadata parameters for this
signature. (Section 2.2.1)
@method The method used for a request. (Section 2.2.2)
@target-uri The full target URI for a request. (Section 2.2.3)
@authority The authority of the target URI for a request.
(Section 2.2.4)
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 13]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
@scheme The scheme of the target URI for a request. (Section 2.2.5)
@request-target The request target. (Section 2.2.6)
@path The absolute path portion of the target URI for a request.
(Section 2.2.7)
@query The query portion of the target URI for a request.
(Section 2.2.8)
@query-params The parsed query parameters of the target URI for a
request. (Section 2.2.9)
@status The status code for a response. (Section 2.2.10).
@request-response A signature from a request message that resulted
in this response message. (Section 2.2.11)
Additional specialty component identifiers MAY be defined and
registered in the HTTP Signatures Specialty Component Identifier
Registry. (Section 6.3)
Specialty components can be applied in one or more of three targets:
request: Values derived from and results applied to an HTTP request
message as described in {{Section 3.4 of SEMANTICS.
response: Values derived from and results applied to an HTTP
response message as described in Section 3.4 of [SEMANTICS].
related-response: Values derived from an HTTP request message and
results applied to the HTTP response message that is responding to
that specific request.
A component identifier definition MUST define all targets to which it
can be applied.
2.2.1. Signature Parameters
HTTP Message Signatures have metadata properties that provide
information regarding the signature's generation and verification,
such as the set of covered components, a timestamp, identifiers for
verification key material, and other utilities.
The signature parameters component identifier is "@signature-params".
This message component's value is REQUIRED as part of the signature
input string (Section 2.3) but the component identifier MUST NOT be
enumerated within the set of covered components itself.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 14]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
The signature parameters component value is the serialization of the
signature parameters for this signature, including the covered
components set with all associated parameters. These parameters
include any of the following:
o "created": Creation time as an "sf-integer" UNIX timestamp value.
Sub-second precision is not supported. Inclusion of this
parameter is RECOMMENDED.
o "expires": Expiration time as an "sf-integer" UNIX timestamp
value. Sub-second precision is not supported.
o "nonce": A random unique value generated for this signature as an
"sf-string" value.
o "alg": The HTTP message signature algorithm from the HTTP Message
Signature Algorithm Registry, as an "sf-string" value.
o "keyid": The identifier for the key material as an "sf-string"
value.
Additional parameters can be defined in the HTTP Signature Parameters
Registry (Section 6.2.2).
The signature parameters component value is serialized as a
parameterized inner list using the rules in Section 4 of [RFC8941] as
follows:
1. Let the output be an empty string.
2. Determine an order for the component identifiers of the covered
components, not including the "@signature-params" component
identifier itself. Once this order is chosen, it cannot be
changed. This order MUST be the same order as used in creating
the signature input (Section 2.3).
3. Serialize the component identifiers of the covered components,
including all parameters, as an ordered "inner-list" according to
Section 4.1.1.1 of [RFC8941] and append this to the output.
4. Determine an order for any signature parameters. Once this order
is chosen, it cannot be changed.
5. Append the parameters to the "inner-list" in the chosen order
according to Section 4.1.1.2 of [RFC8941], skipping parameters
that are not available or not used for this message signature.
6. The output contains the signature parameters component value.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 15]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
Note that the "inner-list" serialization is used for the covered
component value instead of the "sf-list" serialization in order to
facilitate this value's inclusion in message fields such as the
"Signature-Input" field's dictionary, as discussed in Section 4.1.
This example shows a canonicalized value for the parameters of a
given signature:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
("@target-uri" "@authority" "date" "cache-control" "x-empty-header" \
"x-example");keyid="test-key-rsa-pss";alg="rsa-pss-sha512";\
created=1618884475;expires=1618884775
Note that an HTTP message could contain multiple signatures
(Section 4.3), but only the signature parameters used for a single
signature are included in an entry.
2.2.2. Method
The "@method" component identifier refers to the HTTP method of a
request message. The component value of is canonicalized by taking
the value of the method as a string. Note that the method name is
case-sensitive as per [SEMANTICS], Section 9.1, and conventionally
standardized method names are uppercase US-ASCII. If used, the
"@method" component identifier MUST occur only once in the covered
components.
For example, the following request message:
POST /path?param=value HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
Would result in the following "@method" value:
"@method": POST
If used in a related-response, the "@method" component identifier
refers to the associated component value of the request that
triggered the response message being signed.
2.2.3. Target URI
The "@target-uri" component identifier refers to the target URI of a
request message. The component value is the full absolute target URI
of the request, potentially assembled from all available parts
including the authority and request target as described in
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 16]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
[SEMANTICS], Section 7.1. If used, the "@target-uri" component
identifier MUST occur only once in the covered components.
For example, the following message sent over HTTPS:
POST /path?param=value HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
Would result in the following "@target-uri" value:
"@target-uri": https://www.example.com/path?param=value
If used in a related-response, the "@target-uri" component identifier
refers to the associated component value of the request that
triggered the response message being signed.
2.2.4. Authority
The "@authority" component identifier refers to the authority
component of the target URI of the HTTP request message, as defined
in [SEMANTICS], Section 7.2. In HTTP 1.1, this is usually conveyed
using the "Host" header, while in HTTP 2 and HTTP 3 it is conveyed
using the ":authority" pseudo-header. The value is the fully-
qualified authority component of the request, comprised of the host
and, optionally, port of the request target, as a string. The
component value MUST be normalized according to the rules in
[SEMANTICS], Section 4.2.3. Namely, the host name is normalized to
lowercase and the default port is omitted. If used, the "@authority"
component identifier MUST occur only once in the covered components.
For example, the following request message:
POST /path?param=value HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
Would result in the following "@authority" component value:
"@authority": www.example.com
If used in a related-response, the "@authority" component identifier
refers to the associated component value of the request that
triggered the response message being signed.
2.2.5. Scheme
The "@scheme" component identifier refers to the scheme of the target
URL of the HTTP request message. The component value is the scheme
as a string as defined in [SEMANTICS], Section 4.2. While the scheme
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 17]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
itself is case-insensitive, it MUST be normalized to lowercase for
inclusion in the signature input string. If used, the "@scheme"
component identifier MUST occur only once in the covered components.
For example, the following request message requested over plain HTTP:
POST /path?param=value HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
Would result in the following "@scheme" value:
"@scheme": http
If used in a related-response, the "@scheme" component identifier
refers to the associated component value of the request that
triggered the response message being signed.
2.2.6. Request Target
The "@request-target" component identifier refers to the full request
target of the HTTP request message, as defined in [SEMANTICS],
Section 7.1. The component value of the request target can take
different forms, depending on the type of request, as described
below. If used, the "@request-target" component identifier MUST
occur only once in the covered components.
For HTTP 1.1, the component value is equivalent to the request target
portion of the request line. However, this value is more difficult
to reliably construct in other versions of HTTP. Therefore, it is
NOT RECOMMENDED that this identifier be used when versions of HTTP
other than 1.1 might be in use.
The origin form value is combination of the absolute path and query
components of the request URL. For example, the following request
message:
POST /path?param=value HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
Would result in the following "@request-target" component value:
"@request-target": /path?param=value
The following request to an HTTP proxy with the absolute-form value,
containing the fully qualified target URI:
GET https://www.example.com/path?param=value HTTP/1.1
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 18]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
Would result in the following "@request-target" component value:
"@request-target": https://www.example.com/path?param=value
The following CONNECT request with an authority-form value,
containing the host and port of the target:
CONNECT www.example.com:80 HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
Would result in the following "@request-target" component value:
"@request-target": www.example.com:80
The following OPTIONS request message with the asterisk-form value,
containing a single asterisk "*" character:
OPTIONS * HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
Would result in the following "@request-target" component value:
"@request-target": *
If used in a related-response, the "@request-target" component
identifier refers to the associated component value of the request
that triggered the response message being signed.
2.2.7. Path
The "@path" component identifier refers to the target path of the
HTTP request message. The component value is the absolute path of
the request target defined by [RFC3986], with no query component and
no trailing "?" character. The value is normalized according to the
rules in [SEMANTICS], Section 4.2.3. Namely, an empty path string is
normalized as a single slash "/" character, and path components are
represented by their values after decoding any percent-encoded
octets. If used, the "@path" component identifier MUST occur only
once in the covered components.
For example, the following request message:
POST /path?param=value HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
Would result in the following "@path" value:
"@path": /path
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 19]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
If used in a related-response, the "@path" identifier refers to the
associated component value of the request that triggered the response
message being signed.
2.2.8. Query
The "@query" component identifier refers to the query component of
the HTTP request message. The component value is the entire
normalized query string defined by [RFC3986], including the leading
"?" character. The value is normalized according to the rules in
[SEMANTICS], Section 4.2.3. Namely, percent-encoded octets are
decoded. If used, the "@query" component identifier MUST occur only
once in the covered components.
For example, the following request message:
POST /path?param=value&foo=bar&baz=batman HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
Would result in the following "@query" value:
"@query": ?param=value&foo=bar&baz=batman
The following request message:
POST /path?queryString HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
Would result in the following "@query" value:
"@query": ?queryString
If used in a related-response, the "@query" component identifier
refers to the associated component value of the request that
triggered the response message being signed.
2.2.9. Query Parameters
If a request target URI uses HTML form parameters in the query string
as defined in HTMLURL, Section 5 [HTMLURL], the "@query-params"
component identifier allows addressing of individual query
parameters. The query parameters MUST be parsed according to
HTMLURL, Section 5.1 [HTMLURL], resulting in a list of ("nameString",
"valueString") tuples. The REQUIRED "name" parameter of each input
identifier contains the "nameString" of a single query parameter as
an "sf-string" value. Several different named query parameters MAY
be included in the covered components. Single named parameters MAY
occur in any order in the covered components.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 20]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
The component value of a single named parameter is the the
"valueString" of the named query parameter defined by HTMLURL,
Section 5.1 [HTMLURL], which is the value after percent-encoded
octets are decoded. Note that this value does not include any
leading "?" characters, equals sign "=", or separating "&"
characters. Named query parameters with an empty "valueString" are
included with an empty string as the component value.
If a parameter name occurs multiple times in a request, all parameter
values of that name MUST be included in separate signature input
lines in the order in which the parameters occur in the target URI.
For example for the following request:
POST /path?param=value&foo=bar&baz=batman&qux= HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
Indicating the "baz", "qux" and "param" named query parameters in
would result in the following "@query-param" value:
"@query-params";name="baz": batman
"@query-params";name="qux":
"@query-params";name="param": value
If used in a related-response, the "@query-params" component
identifier refers to the associated component value of the request
that triggered the response message being signed.
2.2.10. Status Code
The "@status" component identifier refers to the three-digit numeric
HTTP status code of a response message as defined in [SEMANTICS],
Section 15. The component value is the serialized three-digit
integer of the HTTP response code, with no descriptive text. If
used, the "@status" component identifier MUST occur only once in the
covered components.
For example, the following response message:
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:05:00 GMT
Would result in the following "@status" value:
"@status": 200
The "@status" component identifier MUST NOT be used in a request
message.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 21]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
2.2.11. Request-Response Signature Binding
When a signed request message results in a signed response message,
the "@request-response" component identifier can be used to
cryptographically link the request and the response to each other by
including the identified request signature value in the response's
signature input without copying the value of the request's signature
to the response directly. This component identifier has a single
REQUIRED parameter:
key Identifies which signature from the response to sign.
The component value is the "sf-binary" representation of the
signature value of the referenced request identified by the "key"
parameter.
For example, when serving this signed request:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
POST /foo?param=value&pet=dog HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:07:55 GMT
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 18
Signature-Input: sig1=("@authority" "content-type")\
;created=1618884475;keyid="test-key-rsa-pss"
Signature: sig1=:KuhJjsOKCiISnKHh2rln5ZNIrkRvue0DSu5rif3g7ckTbbX7C4\
Jp3bcGmi8zZsFRURSQTcjbHdJtN8ZXlRptLOPGHkUa/3Qov79gBeqvHNUO4bhI27p\
4WzD1bJDG9+6ml3gkrs7rOvMtROObPuc78A95fa4+skS/t2T7OjkfsHAm/enxf1fA\
wkk15xj0n6kmriwZfgUlOqyff0XLwuH4XFvZ+ZTyxYNoo2+EfFg4NVfqtSJch2WDY\
7n/qmhZOzMfyHlggWYFnDpyP27VrzQCQg8rM1Crp6MrwGLa94v6qP8pq0sQVq2DLt\
4NJSoRRqXTvqlWIRnexmcKXjQFVz6YSA==:
{"hello": "world"}
This would result in the following unsigned response message:
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:07:56 GMT
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 62
{"busy": true, "message": "Your call is very important to us"}
The server signs the response with its own key and includes the
signature of "sig1" from the request in the covered components of the
response. The signature input string for this example is:
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 22]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
"content-type": application/json
"content-length": 62
"@status": 200
"@request-response";key="sig1": :KuhJjsOKCiISnKHh2rln5ZNIrkRvue0DSu\
5rif3g7ckTbbX7C4Jp3bcGmi8zZsFRURSQTcjbHdJtN8ZXlRptLOPGHkUa/3Qov79\
gBeqvHNUO4bhI27p4WzD1bJDG9+6ml3gkrs7rOvMtROObPuc78A95fa4+skS/t2T7\
OjkfsHAm/enxf1fAwkk15xj0n6kmriwZfgUlOqyff0XLwuH4XFvZ+ZTyxYNoo2+Ef\
Fg4NVfqtSJch2WDY7n/qmhZOzMfyHlggWYFnDpyP27VrzQCQg8rM1Crp6MrwGLa94\
v6qP8pq0sQVq2DLt4NJSoRRqXTvqlWIRnexmcKXjQFVz6YSA==:
"@signature-params": ("content-type" "content-length" "@status" \
"@request-response";key="sig1");created=1618884475\
;keyid="test-key-ecc-p256"
The signed response message is:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:07:56 GMT
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 62
Signature-Input: sig1=("content-type" "content-length" "@status" \
"@request-response";key="sig1");created=1618884475\
;keyid="test-key-ecc-p256"
Signature: sig1=:crVqK54rxvdx0j7qnt2RL1oQSf+o21S/6Uk2hyFpoIfOT0q+Hv\
msYAXUXzo0Wn8NFWh/OjWQOXHAQdVnTk87Pw==:
{"busy": true, "message": "Your call is very important to us"}
Since the request's signature value itself is not repeated in the
response, the requester MUST keep the original signature value around
long enough to validate the signature of the response that uses this
component identifier.
The "@request-response" component identifier MUST NOT be used in a
request message.
2.3. Creating the Signature Input String
The signature input is a US-ASCII string containing the canonicalized
HTTP message components covered by the signature. The input to the
signature creation algorithm is the list of covered component
identifiers and their associated values, along with an additional
signature parameters. To create the signature input string, the
signer or verifier concatenates together entries for each identifier
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 23]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
in the signature's covered components (including their parameters)
using the following algorithm:
1. Let the output be an empty string.
2. For each message component item in the covered components set (in
order):
1. Append the component identifier for the covered component
serialized according to the "component-identifier" rule.
2. Append a single colon ":"
3. Append a single space " "
4. Append the covered component's canonicalized component value,
as defined by the HTTP message component type. (Section 2.1
and Section 2.2)
5. Append a single newline "\n"
3. Append the signature parameters component (Section 2.2.1) as
follows:
1. Append the component identifier for the signature parameters
serialized according to the "component-identifier" rule, i.e.
""@signature-params""
2. Append a single colon ":"
3. Append a single space " "
4. Append the signature parameters' canonicalized component
value as defined in Section 2.2.1
4. Return the output string.
If covered components reference a component identifier that cannot be
resolved to a component value in the message, the implementation MUST
produce an error. Such situations are included but not limited to:
o The signer or verifier does not understand the component
identifier.
o The component identifier identifies a field that is not present in
the message or whose value is malformed.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 24]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
o The component identifier indicates that a structured field
serialization is used, but the field in question is known to not
be a structured field or the type of structured field is not known
to the verifier.
o The component identifier is a dictionary member identifier that
references a field that is not present in the message, is not a
Dictionary Structured Field, or whose value is malformed.
o The component identifier is a dictionary member identifier or a
named query parameter identifier that references a member that is
not present in the component value, or whose value is malformed.
E.g., the identifier is ""x-dictionary";key="c"" and the value of
the "x-dictionary" header field is "a=1, b=2"
In the following non-normative example, the HTTP message being signed
is the following request:
GET /foo HTTP/1.1
Host: example.org
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:07:55 GMT
X-Example: Example header
with some whitespace.
X-Empty-Header:
Cache-Control: max-age=60
Cache-Control: must-revalidate
The covered components consist of the "@method", "@path", and
"@authority" specialty component identifiers followed by the "Cache-
Control", "X-Empty-Header", "X-Example" HTTP headers, in order. The
signature parameters consist of a creation timestamp is "1618884475"
and the key identifier is "test-key-rsa-pss". The signature input
string for this message with these parameters is:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
"@method": GET
"@path": /foo
"@authority": example.org
"cache-control": max-age=60, must-revalidate
"x-empty-header":
"x-example": Example header with some whitespace.
"@signature-params": ("@method" "@path" "@authority" \
"cache-control" "x-empty-header" "x-example");created=1618884475\
;keyid="test-key-rsa-pss"
Figure 1: Non-normative example Signature Input
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 25]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
3. HTTP Message Signatures
An HTTP Message Signature is a signature over a string generated from
a subset of the components of an HTTP message in addition to metadata
about the signature itself. When successfully verified against an
HTTP message, an HTTP Message Signature provides cryptographic proof
that the message is semantically equivalent to the message for which
the signature was generated, with respect to the subset of message
components that was signed.
3.1. Creating a Signature
Creation of an HTTP message signature is a process that takes as its
input the message and the requirements for the application. The
output is a signature value and set of signature parameters that can
be applied to the message.
In order to create a signature, a signer MUST follow the following
algorithm:
1. The signer chooses an HTTP signature algorithm and key material
for signing. The signer MUST choose key material that is
appropriate for the signature's algorithm, and that conforms to
any requirements defined by the algorithm, such as key size or
format. The mechanism by which the signer chooses the algorithm
and key material is out of scope for this document.
2. The signer sets the signature's creation time to the current
time.
3. If applicable, the signer sets the signature's expiration time
property to the time at which the signature is to expire. The
expiration is a hint to the verifier, expressing the time at
which the signer is no longer willing to vouch for the safety of
the signature.
4. The signer creates an ordered set of component identifiers
representing the message components to be covered by the
signature, and attaches signature metadata parameters to this
set. The serialized value of this is later used as the value of
the "Signature-Input" field as described in Section 4.1.
* Once an order of covered components is chosen, the order MUST
NOT change for the life of the signature.
* Each covered component identifier MUST be either an HTTP field
in the message Section 2.1 or a specialty component identifier
listed in Section 2.2 or its associated registry.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 26]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
* Signers of a request SHOULD include some or all of the message
control data in the covered components, such as the "@method",
"@authority", "@target-uri", or some combination thereof.
* Signers SHOULD include the "created" signature metadata
parameter to indicate when the signature was created.
* The "@signature-params" specialty component identifier is not
explicitly listed in the list of covered component
identifiers, because it is required to always be present as
the last line in the signature input. This ensures that a
signature always covers its own metadata.
* Further guidance on what to include in this set and in what
order is out of scope for this document.
5. The signer creates the signature input string based on these
signature parameters. (Section 2.3)
6. The signer uses the "HTTP_SIGN" function to sign the signature
input with the chosen signing algorithm using the key material
chosen by the signer. The "HTTP_SIGN" primitive and several
concrete signing algorithms are defined in in Section 3.3.
7. The byte array output of the signature function is the HTTP
message signature output value to be included in the "Signature"
field as defined in Section 4.2.
For example, given the HTTP message and signature parameters in the
example in Section 2.3, the example signature input string is signed
with the "test-key-rsa-pss" key in Appendix B.1.2 and the RSA PSS
algorithm described in Section 3.3.1, giving the following message
signature output value, encoded in Base64:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
P0wLUszWQjoi54udOtydf9IWTfNhy+r53jGFj9XZuP4uKwxyJo1RSHi+oEF1FuX6O29\
d+lbxwwBao1BAgadijW+7O/PyezlTnqAOVPWx9GlyntiCiHzC87qmSQjvu1CFyFuWSj\
dGa3qLYYlNm7pVaJFalQiKWnUaqfT4LyttaXyoyZW84jS8gyarxAiWI97mPXU+OVM64\
+HVBHmnEsS+lTeIsEQo36T3NFf2CujWARPQg53r58RmpZ+J9eKR2CD6IJQvacn5A4Ix\
5BUAVGqlyp8JYm+S/CWJi31PNUjRRCusCVRj05NrxABNFv3r5S9IXf2fYJK+eyW4AiG\
VMvMcOg==
Figure 2: Non-normative example signature value
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 27]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
3.2. Verifying a Signature
Verification of an HTTP message signature is a process that takes as
its input the message (including "Signature" and "Signature-Input"
fields) and the requirements for the application. The output of the
verification is either a positive verification or an error.
In order to verify a signature, a verifier MUST follow the following
algorithm:
1. Parse the "Signature" and "Signature-Input" fields as described
in Section 4.1 and Section 4.2, and extract the signatures to be
verified.
1. If there is more than one signature value present, determine
which signature should be processed for this message based on
the policy and configuration of the verifier. If an
applicable signature is not found, produce an error.
2. If the chosen "Signature" value does not have a corresponding
"Signature-Input" value, produce an error.
2. Parse the values of the chosen "Signature-Input" field as a
parameterized structured field inner list item ("inner-list") to
get the signature parameters for the signature to be verified.
3. Parse the value of the corresponding "Signature" field to get the
byte array value of the signature to be verified.
4. Examine the signature parameters to confirm that the signature
meets the requirements described in this document, as well as any
additional requirements defined by the application such as which
message components are required to be covered by the signature.
(Section 3.2.1)
5. Determine the verification key material for this signature. If
the key material is known through external means such as static
configuration or external protocol negotiation, the verifier will
use that. If the key is identified in the signature parameters,
the verifier will dereference this to appropriate key material to
use with the signature. The verifier has to determine the
trustworthiness of the key material for the context in which the
signature is presented. If a key is identified that the verifier
does not know, does not trust for this request, or does not match
something preconfigured, the verification MUST fail.
6. Determine the algorithm to apply for verification:
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 28]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
1. If the algorithm is known through external means such as
static configuration or external protocol negotiation, the
verifier will use this algorithm.
2. If the algorithm is explicitly stated in the signature
parameters using a value from the HTTP Message Signatures
registry, the verifier will use the referenced algorithm.
3. If the algorithm can be determined from the keying material,
such as through an algorithm field on the key value itself,
the verifier will use this algorithm.
4. If the algorithm is specified in more that one location, such
as through static configuration and the algorithm signature
parameter, or the algorithm signature parameter and from the
key material itself, the resolved algorithms MUST be the
same. If the algorithms are not the same, the verifier MUST
vail the verification.
7. Use the received HTTP message and the signature's metadata to
recreate the signature input, using the process described in
Section 2.3. The value of the "@signature-params" input is the
value of the "Signature-Input" field for this signature
serialized according to the rules described in Section 2.2.1, not
including the signature's label from the "Signature-Input" field.
8. If the key material is appropriate for the algorithm, apply the
appropriate "HTTP_VERIFY" cryptographic verification algorithm to
the signature, recalculated signature input, key material,
signature value. The "HTTP_VERIFY" primitive and several
concrete algorithms are defined in Section 3.3.
9. The results of the verification algorithm function are the final
results of the cryptographic verification function.
If any of the above steps fail or produce an error, the signature
validation fails.
For example, verifying the signature with the key "sig1" of the
following message with the "test-key-rsa-pss" key in Appendix B.1.2
and the RSA PSS algorithm described in Section 3.3.1:
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 29]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
GET /foo HTTP/1.1
Host: example.org
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:07:55 GMT
X-Example: Example header
with some whitespace.
X-Empty-Header:
Cache-Control: max-age=60
Cache-Control: must-revalidate
Signature-Input: sig1=("@method" "@path" "@authority" \
"cache-control" "x-empty-header" "x-example");created=1618884475\
;keyid="test-key-rsa-pss"
Signature: sig1=:P0wLUszWQjoi54udOtydf9IWTfNhy+r53jGFj9XZuP4uKwxyJo1\
RSHi+oEF1FuX6O29d+lbxwwBao1BAgadijW+7O/PyezlTnqAOVPWx9GlyntiCiHzC8\
7qmSQjvu1CFyFuWSjdGa3qLYYlNm7pVaJFalQiKWnUaqfT4LyttaXyoyZW84jS8gya\
rxAiWI97mPXU+OVM64+HVBHmnEsS+lTeIsEQo36T3NFf2CujWARPQg53r58RmpZ+J9\
eKR2CD6IJQvacn5A4Ix5BUAVGqlyp8JYm+S/CWJi31PNUjRRCusCVRj05NrxABNFv3\
r5S9IXf2fYJK+eyW4AiGVMvMcOg==:
With the additional requirements that at least the method, path,
authority, and cache-control be signed, and that the signature
creation timestamp is recent enough at the time of verification, the
verification passes.
3.2.1. Enforcing Application Requirements
The verification requirements specified in this document are intended
as a baseline set of restrictions that are generally applicable to
all use cases. Applications using HTTP Message Signatures MAY impose
requirements above and beyond those specified by this document, as
appropriate for their use case.
Some non-normative examples of additional requirements an application
might define are:
o Requiring a specific set of header fields to be signed (e.g.,
"Authorization", "Digest").
o Enforcing a maximum signature age from the time of the "created"
time stamp.
o Rejection of signatures past the expiration time in the "expires"
time stamp. Note that the expiration time is a hint from the
signer and that a verifier can always reject a signature ahead of
its expiration time.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 30]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
o Prohibition of certain signature metadata parameters, such as
runtime algorithm signaling with the "alg" parameter when the
algorithm is determined from the key information.
o Ensuring successful dereferencing of the "keyid" parameter to
valid and appropriate key material.
o Prohibiting the use of certain algorithms, or mandating the use of
a specific algorithm.
o Requiring keys to be of a certain size (e.g., 2048 bits vs. 1024
bits).
o Enforcing uniqueness of a "nonce" value.
Application-specific requirements are expected and encouraged. When
an application defines additional requirements, it MUST enforce them
during the signature verification process, and signature verification
MUST fail if the signature does not conform to the application's
requirements.
Applications MUST enforce the requirements defined in this document.
Regardless of use case, applications MUST NOT accept signatures that
do not conform to these requirements.
3.3. Signature Algorithm Methods
HTTP Message signatures MAY use any cryptographic digital signature
or MAC method that is appropriate for the key material, environment,
and needs of the signer and verifier. All signatures are generated
from and verified against the byte values of the signature input
string defined in Section 2.3.
Each signature algorithm method takes as its input the signature
input string as a set of byte values ("I"), the signing key material
("Ks"), and outputs the signature output as a set of byte values
("S"):
HTTP_SIGN (I, Ks) -> S
Each verification algorithm method takes as its input the
recalculated signature input string as a set of byte values ("I"),
the verification key material ("Kv"), and the presented signature to
be verified as a set of byte values ("S") and outputs the
verification result ("V") as a boolean:
HTTP_VERIFY (I, Kv, S) -> V
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 31]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
This section contains several common algorithm methods. The method
to use can be communicated through the algorithm signature parameter
defined in Section 2.2.1, by reference to the key material, or
through mutual agreement between the signer and verifier.
3.3.1. RSASSA-PSS using SHA-512
To sign using this algorithm, the signer applies the "RSASSA-PSS-SIGN
(K, M)" function [RFC8017] with the signer's private signing key
("K") and the signature input string ("M") (Section 2.3). The mask
generation function is "MGF1" as specified in [RFC8017] with a hash
function of SHA-512 [RFC6234]. The salt length ("sLen") is 64 bytes.
The hash function ("Hash") SHA-512 [RFC6234] is applied to the
signature input string to create the digest content to which the
digital signature is applied. The resulting signed content byte
array ("S") is the HTTP message signature output used in Section 3.1.
To verify using this algorithm, the verifier applies the "RSASSA-PSS-
VERIFY ((n, e), M, S)" function [RFC8017] using the public key
portion of the verification key material ("(n, e)") and the signature
input string ("M") re-created as described in Section 3.2. The mask
generation function is "MGF1" as specified in [RFC8017] with a hash
function of SHA-512 [RFC6234]. The salt length ("sLen") is 64 bytes.
The hash function ("Hash") SHA-512 [RFC6234] is applied to the
signature input string to create the digest content to which the
verification function is applied. The verifier extracts the HTTP
message signature to be verified ("S") as described in Section 3.2.
The results of the verification function are compared to the http
message signature to determine if the signature presented is valid.
Use of this algorithm can be indicated at runtime using the "rsa-pss-
sha512" value for the "alg" signature parameter.
3.3.2. RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 using SHA-256
To sign using this algorithm, the signer applies the "RSASSA-
PKCS1-V1_5-SIGN (K, M)" function [RFC8017] with the signer's private
signing key ("K") and the signature input string ("M") (Section 2.3).
The hash SHA-256 [RFC6234] is applied to the signature input string
to create the digest content to which the digital signature is
applied. The resulting signed content byte array ("S") is the HTTP
message signature output used in Section 3.1.
To verify using this algorithm, the verifier applies the "RSASSA-
PKCS1-V1_5-VERIFY ((n, e), M, S)" function [RFC8017] using the public
key portion of the verification key material ("(n, e)") and the
signature input string ("M") re-created as described in Section 3.2.
The hash function SHA-256 [RFC6234] is applied to the signature input
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 32]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
string to create the digest content to which the verification
function is applied. The verifier extracts the HTTP message
signature to be verified ("S") as described in Section 3.2. The
results of the verification function are compared to the http message
signature to determine if the signature presented is valid.
Use of this algorithm can be indicated at runtime using the "rsa-
v1_5-sha256" value for the "alg" signature parameter.
3.3.3. HMAC using SHA-256
To sign and verify using this algorithm, the signer applies the
"HMAC" function [RFC2104] with the shared signing key ("K") and the
signature input string ("text") (Section 2.3). The hash function
SHA-256 [RFC6234] is applied to the signature input string to create
the digest content to which the HMAC is applied, giving the signature
result.
For signing, the resulting value is the HTTP message signature output
used in Section 3.1.
For verification, the verifier extracts the HTTP message signature to
be verified ("S") as described in Section 3.2. The output of the
HMAC function is compared to the value of the HTTP message signature,
and the results of the comparison determine the validity of the
signature presented.
Use of this algorithm can be indicated at runtime using the "hmac-
sha256" value for the "alg" signature parameter.
3.3.4. ECDSA using curve P-256 DSS and SHA-256
To sign using this algorithm, the signer applies the "ECDSA"
algorithm [FIPS186-4] using curve P-256 with the signer's private
signing key and the signature input string (Section 2.3). The hash
SHA-256 [RFC6234] is applied to the signature input string to create
the digest content to which the digital signature is applied. The
resulting signed content byte array is the HTTP message signature
output used in Section 3.1.
To verify using this algorithm, the verifier applies the "ECDSA"
algorithm [FIPS186-4] using the public key portion of the
verification key material and the signature input string re-created
as described in Section 3.2. The hash function SHA-256 [RFC6234] is
applied to the signature input string to create the digest content to
which the verification function is applied. The verifier extracts
the HTTP message signature to be verified ("S") as described in
Section 3.2. The results of the verification function are compared
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 33]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
to the http message signature to determine if the signature presented
is valid.
Use of this algorithm can be indicated at runtime using the "ecdsa-
p256-sha256" value for the "alg" signature parameter.
3.3.5. JSON Web Signature (JWS) algorithms
If the signing algorithm is a JOSE signing algorithm from the JSON
Web Signature and Encryption Algorithms Registry established by
[RFC7518], the JWS algorithm definition determines the signature and
hashing algorithms to apply for both signing and verification.
For both signing and verification, the HTTP messages signature input
string (Section 2.3) is used as the entire "JWS Signing Input". The
JOSE Header defined in [RFC7517] is not used, and the signature input
string is not first encoded in Base64 before applying the algorithm.
The output of the JWS signature is taken as a byte array prior to the
Base64url encoding used in JOSE.
The JWS algorithm MUST NOT be "none" and MUST NOT be any algorithm
with a JOSE Implementation Requirement of "Prohibited".
There is no use of the explicit "alg" signature parameter when using
JOSE signing algorithms, as they can be signaled using JSON Web Keys
or other mechanisms.
4. Including a Message Signature in a Message
Message signatures can be included within an HTTP message via the
"Signature-Input" and "Signature" HTTP fields, both defined within
this specification. When attached to a message, an HTTP message
signature is identified by a label. This label MUST be unique within
a given HTTP message and MUST be used in both the "Signature-Input"
and "Signature". The label is chosen by the signer, except where a
specific label is dictated by protocol negotiations.
An HTTP message signature MUST use both fields containing the same
labels: the "Signature" HTTP field contains the signature value,
while the "Signature-Input" HTTP field identifies the covered
components and parameters that describe how the signature was
generated. Each field contains labeled values and MAY contain
multiple labeled values, where the labels determine the correlation
between the "Signature" and "Signature-Input" fields.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 34]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
4.1. The 'Signature-Input' HTTP Field
The "Signature-Input" HTTP field is a Dictionary Structured Field
[RFC8941] containing the metadata for one or more message signatures
generated from components within the HTTP message. Each member
describes a single message signature. The member's name is an
identifier that uniquely identifies the message signature within the
context of the HTTP message. The member's value is the serialization
of the covered components including all signature metadata
parameters, using the serialization process defined in Section 2.2.1.
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
Signature-Input: sig1=("@method" "@target-uri" "host" "date" \
"cache-control" "x-empty-header" "x-example");created=1618884475\
;keyid="test-key-rsa-pss"
To facilitate signature validation, the "Signature-Input" field value
MUST contain the same serialized value used in generating the
signature input string's "@signature-params" value.
The signer MAY include the "Signature-Input" field as a trailer to
facilitate signing a message after its content has been processed by
the signer. However, since intermediaries are allowed to drop
trailers as per [SEMANTICS], it is RECOMMENDED that the "Signature-
Input" HTTP field be included only as a header to avoid signatures
being inadvertently stripped from a message.
Multiple "Signature-Input" fields MAY be included in a single HTTP
message. The signature labels MUST be unique across all field
values.
4.2. The 'Signature' HTTP Field
The "Signature" HTTP field is a Dictionary Structured field [RFC8941]
containing one or more message signatures generated from components
within the HTTP message. Each member's name is a signature
identifier that is present as a member name in the "Signature-Input"
Structured field within the HTTP message. Each member's value is a
Byte Sequence containing the signature value for the message
signature identified by the member name. Any member in the
"Signature" HTTP field that does not have a corresponding member in
the HTTP message's "Signature-Input" HTTP field MUST be ignored.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 35]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
Signature: sig1=:P0wLUszWQjoi54udOtydf9IWTfNhy+r53jGFj9XZuP4uKwxyJo\
1RSHi+oEF1FuX6O29d+lbxwwBao1BAgadijW+7O/PyezlTnqAOVPWx9GlyntiCiHz\
C87qmSQjvu1CFyFuWSjdGa3qLYYlNm7pVaJFalQiKWnUaqfT4LyttaXyoyZW84jS8\
gyarxAiWI97mPXU+OVM64+HVBHmnEsS+lTeIsEQo36T3NFf2CujWARPQg53r58Rmp\
Z+J9eKR2CD6IJQvacn5A4Ix5BUAVGqlyp8JYm+S/CWJi31PNUjRRCusCVRj05NrxA\
BNFv3r5S9IXf2fYJK+eyW4AiGVMvMcOg==:
The signer MAY include the "Signature" field as a trailer to
facilitate signing a message after its content has been processed by
the signer. However, since intermediaries are allowed to drop
trailers as per [SEMANTICS], it is RECOMMENDED that the "Signature-
Input" HTTP field be included only as a header to avoid signatures
being inadvertently stripped from a message.
Multiple "Signature" fields MAY be included in a single HTTP message.
The signature labels MUST be unique across all field values.
4.3. Multiple Signatures
Multiple distinct signatures MAY be included in a single message.
Each distinct signature MUST have a unique label. Since "Signature-
Input" and "Signature" are both defined as Dictionary Structured
fields, they can be used to include multiple signatures within the
same HTTP message by using distinct signature labels. These multiple
signatures could be added all by the same signer or could come from
several different signers. For example, a signer may include
multiple signatures signing the same message components with
different keys or algorithms to support verifiers with different
capabilities, or a reverse proxy may include information about the
client in fields when forwarding the request to a service host,
including a signature over the client's original signature values.
The following is a non-normative example of header fields a reverse
proxy sets in addition to the examples in the previous sections.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 36]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
Forwarded: for=192.0.2.123
Signature-Input: sig1=("@method" "@path" "@authority" \
"cache-control" "x-empty-header" "x-example")\
;created=1618884475;keyid="test-key-rsa-pss"
Signature: sig1=:P0wLUszWQjoi54udOtydf9IWTfNhy+r53jGFj9XZuP4uKwxyJo\
1RSHi+oEF1FuX6O29d+lbxwwBao1BAgadijW+7O/PyezlTnqAOVPWx9GlyntiCi\
HzC87qmSQjvu1CFyFuWSjdGa3qLYYlNm7pVaJFalQiKWnUaqfT4LyttaXyoyZW8\
4jS8gyarxAiWI97mPXU+OVM64+HVBHmnEsS+lTeIsEQo36T3NFf2CujWARPQg53\
r58RmpZ+J9eKR2CD6IJQvacn5A4Ix5BUAVGqlyp8JYm+S/CWJi31PNUjRRCusCV\
Rj05NrxABNFv3r5S9IXf2fYJK+eyW4AiGVMvMcOg==:
The client's request includes a signature value under the label
"sig1", which the proxy signs in addition to the "Forwarded" header
defined in [RFC7239]. Note that since the client's signature already
covers the client's "Signature-Input" value for "sig1", this value is
transitively covered by the proxy's signature and need not be added
explicitly. This results in a signature input string of:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
"signature";key="sig1": :P0wLUszWQjoi54udOtydf9IWTfNhy+r53jGFj9XZuP\
4uKwxyJo1RSHi+oEF1FuX6O29d+lbxwwBao1BAgadijW+7O/PyezlTnqAOVPWx9Gl\
yntiCiHzC87qmSQjvu1CFyFuWSjdGa3qLYYlNm7pVaJFalQiKWnUaqfT4LyttaXyo\
yZW84jS8gyarxAiWI97mPXU+OVM64+HVBHmnEsS+lTeIsEQo36T3NFf2CujWARPQg\
53r58RmpZ+J9eKR2CD6IJQvacn5A4Ix5BUAVGqlyp8JYm+S/CWJi31PNUjRRCusCV\
Rj05NrxABNFv3r5S9IXf2fYJK+eyW4AiGVMvMcOg==:
"forwarded": for=192.0.2.123
"@signature-params": ("signature";key="sig1" "forwarded")\
;created=1618884480;keyid="test-key-rsa";alg="rsa-v1_5-sha256"
And a signature output value of:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
cjGvZwbsq9JwexP9TIvdLiivxqLINwp/ybAc19KOSQuLvtmMt3EnZxNiE+797dXK2cj\
PPUFqoZxO8WWx1SnKhAU9SiXBr99NTXRmA1qGBjqus/1Yxwr8keB8xzFt4inv3J3zP0\
k6TlLkRJstkVnNjuhRIUA/ZQCo8jDYAl4zWJJjppy6Gd1XSg03iUa0sju1yj6rcKbMA\
BBuzhUz4G0u1hZkIGbQprCnk/FOsqZHpwaWvY8P3hmcDHkNaavcokmq+3EBDCQTzgwL\
qfDmV0vLCXtDda6CNO2Zyum/pMGboCnQn/VkQ+j8kSydKoFg6EbVuGbrQijth6I0dDX\
2/HYcJg==
These values are added to the HTTP request message by the proxy. The
original signature is included under the identifier "sig1", and the
reverse proxy's signature is included under the label "proxy_sig".
The proxy uses the key "test-key-rsa" to create its signature using
the "rsa-v1_5-sha256" signature algorithm, while the client's
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 37]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
original signature was made using the key id of "test-key-rsa-pss"
and an RSA PSS signature algorithm.
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
Forwarded: for=192.0.2.123
Signature-Input: sig1=("@method" "@path" "@authority" \
"cache-control" "x-empty-header" "x-example")\
;created=1618884475;keyid="test-key-rsa-pss", \
proxy_sig=("signature";key="sig1" "forwarded")\
;created=1618884480;keyid="test-key-rsa";alg="rsa-v1_5-sha256"
Signature: sig1=:P0wLUszWQjoi54udOtydf9IWTfNhy+r53jGFj9XZuP4uKwxyJo\
1RSHi+oEF1FuX6O29d+lbxwwBao1BAgadijW+7O/PyezlTnqAOVPWx9GlyntiCi\
HzC87qmSQjvu1CFyFuWSjdGa3qLYYlNm7pVaJFalQiKWnUaqfT4LyttaXyoyZW8\
4jS8gyarxAiWI97mPXU+OVM64+HVBHmnEsS+lTeIsEQo36T3NFf2CujWARPQg53\
r58RmpZ+J9eKR2CD6IJQvacn5A4Ix5BUAVGqlyp8JYm+S/CWJi31PNUjRRCusCV\
Rj05NrxABNFv3r5S9IXf2fYJK+eyW4AiGVMvMcOg==:, \
proxy_sig=:cjGvZwbsq9JwexP9TIvdLiivxqLINwp/ybAc19KOSQuLvtmMt3EnZx\
NiE+797dXK2cjPPUFqoZxO8WWx1SnKhAU9SiXBr99NTXRmA1qGBjqus/1Yxwr8k\
eB8xzFt4inv3J3zP0k6TlLkRJstkVnNjuhRIUA/ZQCo8jDYAl4zWJJjppy6Gd1X\
Sg03iUa0sju1yj6rcKbMABBuzhUz4G0u1hZkIGbQprCnk/FOsqZHpwaWvY8P3hm\
cDHkNaavcokmq+3EBDCQTzgwLqfDmV0vLCXtDda6CNO2Zyum/pMGboCnQn/VkQ+\
j8kSydKoFg6EbVuGbrQijth6I0dDX2/HYcJg==:
The proxy's signature and the client's original signature can be
verified independently for the same message, based on the needs of
the application. Since the proxy's signature covers the client
signature, the backend service fronted by the proxy can trust that
the proxy has validated the incoming signature.
5. Requesting Signatures
While a signer is free to attach a signature to a request or response
without prompting, it is often desirable for a potential verifier to
signal that it expects a signature from a potential signer using the
"Accept-Signature" field.
The message to which the requested signature is applied is known as
the "target message". When the "Accept-Signature" field is sent in
an HTTP Request message, the field indicates that the client desires
the server to sign the response using the identified parameters and
the target message is the response to this request. All responses
from resources that support such signature negotiation SHOULD either
be uncacheable or contain a "Vary" header field that lists "Accept-
Signature", in order to prevent a cache from returning a response
with a signature intended for a different request.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 38]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
When the "Accept-Signature" field is used in an HTTP Response
message, the field indicates that the server desires the client to
sign its next request to the server with the identified parameters,
and the target message is the client's next request. The client can
choose to also continue signing future requests to the same server in
the same way.
The target message of an "Accept-Signature" field MUST include all
labeled signatures indicated in the "Accept-Header" signature, each
covering the same identified components of the "Accept-Signature"
field.
The sender of an "Accept-Signature" field MUST include identifiers
that are appropriate for the type of the target message. For
example, if the target message is a response, the identifiers can not
include the "@status" identifier.
5.1. The Accept-Signature Field
The "Accept-Signature" HTTP header field is a Dictionary Structured
field [RFC8941] containing the metadata for one or more requested
message signatures to be generated from message components of the
target HTTP message. Each member describes a single message
signature. The member's name is an identifier that uniquely
identifies the requested message signature within the context of the
target HTTP message. The member's value is the serialization of the
desired covered components of the target message, including any
allowed signature metadata parameters, using the serialization
process defined in Section 2.2.1.
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
Accept-Signature: sig1=("@method" "@target-uri" "host" "date" \
"cache-control" "x-empty-header" "x-example")\
;keyid="test-key-rsa-pss"
The requested signature MAY include parameters, such as a desired
algorithm or key identifier. These parameters MUST NOT include
parameters that the signer is expected to generate, including the
"created" and "nonce" parameters.
5.2. Processing an Accept-Signature
The receiver of an "Accept-Signature" field fulfills that header as
follows:
1. Parse the field value as a Dictionary
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 39]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
2. For each member of the dictionary:
1. The name of the member is the label of the output signature
as specified in Section 4.1
2. Parse the value of the member to obtain the set of covered
component identifiers
3. Process the requested parameters, such as the signing
algorithm and key material. If any requested parameters
cannot be fulfilled, or if the requested parameters conflict
with those deemed appropriate to the target message, the
process fails and returns an error.
4. Select any additional parameters necessary for completing the
signature
5. Create the "Signature-Input" and "Signature" header values
and associate them with the label
3. Optionally create any additional "Signature-Input" and
"Signature" values, with unique labels not found in the "Accept-
Signature" field
4. Combine all labeled "Signature-Input" and "Signature" values and
attach both headers to the target message
Note that by this process, a signature applied to a target message
MUST have the same label, MUST have the same set of covered
component, and MAY have additional parameters. Also note that the
target message MAY include additional signatures not specified by the
"Accept-Signature" field.
6. IANA Considerations
IANA is requested to create three registries and to populate those
registries with initial values as described in this section.
6.1. HTTP Signature Algorithms Registry
This document defines HTTP Signature Algorithms, for which IANA is
asked to create and maintain a new registry titled "HTTP Signature
Algorithms". Initial values for this registry are given in
Section 6.1.2. Future assignments and modifications to existing
assignment are to be made through the Expert Review registration
policy [RFC8126] and shall follow the template presented in
Section 6.1.1.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 40]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
Algorithms referenced by algorithm identifiers have to be fully
defined with all parameters fixed. Algorithm identifiers in this
registry are to be interpreted as whole string values and not as a
combination of parts. That is to say, it is expected that
implementors understand "rsa-pss-sha512" as referring to one specific
algorithm with its hash, mask, and salt values set as defined here.
Implementors do not parse out the "rsa", "pss", and "sha512" portions
of the identifier to determine parameters of the signing algorithm
from the string.
Algorithms added to this registry MUST NOT be aliases for other
entries in the registry.
6.1.1. Registration Template
Algorithm Name:
An identifier for the HTTP Signature Algorithm. The name MUST be
an ASCII string consisting only of lower-case characters (""a"" -
""z""), digits (""0"" - ""9""), and hyphens (""-""), and SHOULD
NOT exceed 20 characters in length. The identifier MUST be unique
within the context of the registry.
Status:
A brief text description of the status of the algorithm. The
description MUST begin with one of "Active" or "Deprecated", and
MAY provide further context or explanation as to the reason for
the status.
Description:
A brief description of the algorithm used to sign the signature
input string.
Specification document(s):
Reference to the document(s) that specify the token endpoint
authorization method, preferably including a URI that can be used
to retrieve a copy of the document(s). An indication of the
relevant sections may also be included but is not required.
6.1.2. Initial Contents
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 41]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
+---------------------+--------+-------------------+----------------+
| Algorithm Name | Status | Description | Specification |
| | | | document(s) |
+---------------------+--------+-------------------+----------------+
| "rsa-pss-sha512" | Active | RSASSA-PSS using | [[This |
| | | SHA-512 | document]], |
| | | | Section 3.3.1 |
| "rsa-v1_5-sha256" | Active | RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 | [[This |
| | | using SHA-256 | document]], |
| | | | Section 3.3.2 |
| "hmac-sha256" | Active | HMAC using | [[This |
| | | SHA-256 | document]], |
| | | | Section 3.3.3 |
| "ecdsa-p256-sha256" | Active | ECDSA using curve | [[This |
| | | P-256 DSS and | document]], |
| | | SHA-256 | Section 3.3.4 |
+---------------------+--------+-------------------+----------------+
6.2. HTTP Signature Metadata Parameters Registry
This document defines the signature parameters structure, the values
of which may have parameters containing metadata about a message
signature. IANA is asked to create and maintain a new registry
titled "HTTP Signature Metadata Parameters" to record and maintain
the set of parameters defined for use with member values in the
signature parameters structure. Initial values for this registry are
given in Section 6.2.2. Future assignments and modifications to
existing assignments are to be made through the Expert Review
registration policy [RFC8126] and shall follow the template presented
in Section 6.2.1.
6.2.1. Registration Template
Name:
An identifier for the HTTP signature metadata parameter. The name
MUST be an ASCII string consisting only of lower-case characters
(""a"" - ""z""), digits (""0"" - ""9""), and hyphens (""-""), and
SHOULD NOT exceed 20 characters in length. The identifier MUST be
unique within the context of the registry.
Description:
A brief description of the metadata parameter and what it
represents.
Specification document(s):
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 42]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
Reference to the document(s) that specify the token endpoint
authorization method, preferably including a URI that can be used
to retrieve a copy of the document(s). An indication of the
relevant sections may also be included but is not required.
6.2.2. Initial Contents
The table below contains the initial contents of the HTTP Signature
Metadata Parameters Registry. Each row in the table represents a
distinct entry in the registry.
+-----------+-------------------------------------+-----------------+
| Name | Description | Specification |
| | | document(s) |
+-----------+-------------------------------------+-----------------+
| "alg" | Explicitly declared signature | Section 2.2.1 |
| | algorithm | of this |
| | | document |
| "created" | Timestamp of signature creation | Section 2.2.1 |
| | | of this |
| | | document |
| "expires" | Timestamp of proposed signature | Section 2.2.1 |
| | expiration | of this |
| | | document |
| "keyid" | Key identifier for the signing and | Section 2.2.1 |
| | verification keys used to create | of this |
| | this signature | document |
| "nonce" | A single-use nonce value | Section 2.2.1 |
| | | of this |
| | | document |
+-----------+-------------------------------------+-----------------+
Initial contents of the HTTP Signature Metadata Parameters Registry.
6.3. HTTP Signature Specialty Component Identifiers Registry
This document defines a method for canonicalizing HTTP message
components, including components that can be derived from the context
of the HTTP message outside of the HTTP fields. These components are
identified by a unique string, known as the component identifier.
Component identifiers for specialty components always start with the
"@" (at) symbol to distinguish them from HTTP header fields. IANA is
asked to create and maintain a new registry typed "HTTP Signature
Specialty Component Identifiers" to record and maintain the set of
non-field component identifiers and the methods to produce their
associated component values. Initial values for this registry are
given in Section 6.3.2. Future assignments and modifications to
existing assignments are to be made through the Expert Review
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 43]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
registration policy [RFC8126] and shall follow the template presented
in Section 6.3.1.
6.3.1. Registration Template
Identifier:
An identifier for the HTTP specialty component identifier. The
name MUST begin with the ""@"" character followed by an ASCII
string consisting only of lower-case characters (""a"" - ""z""),
digits (""0"" - ""9""), and hyphens (""-""), and SHOULD NOT exceed
20 characters in length. The identifier MUST be unique within the
context of the registry.
Status:
A brief text description of the status of the algorithm. The
description MUST begin with one of "Active" or "Deprecated", and
MAY provide further context or explanation as to the reason for
the status.
Target:
The valid message targets for the specialty parameter. MUST be
one of the values "Request", "Request, Response", "Request,
Related-Response", or "Related-Response". The semantics of these
are defined in Section 2.2.
Specification document(s):
Reference to the document(s) that specify the token endpoint
authorization method, preferably including a URI that can be used
to retrieve a copy of the document(s). An indication of the
relevant sections may also be included but is not required.
6.3.2. Initial Contents
The table below contains the initial contents of the HTTP Signature
Specialty Component Identifiers Registry.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 44]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
+---------------------+--------+-------------------+----------------+
| Identifier | Status | Target | Specification |
| | | | document(s) |
+---------------------+--------+-------------------+----------------+
| "@signature-params" | Active | Request, Response | Section 2.2.1 |
| | | | of this |
| | | | document |
| "@method" | Active | Request, Related- | Section 2.2.2 |
| | | Response | of this |
| | | | document |
| "@authority" | Active | Request, Related- | Section 2.2.4 |
| | | Response | of this |
| | | | document |
| "@scheme" | Active | Request, Related- | Section 2.2.5 |
| | | Response | of this |
| | | | document |
| "@target-uri" | Active | Request, Related- | Section 2.2.3 |
| | | Response | of this |
| | | | document |
| "@request-target" | Active | Request, Related- | Section 2.2.6 |
| | | Response | of this |
| | | | document |
| "@path" | Active | Request, Related- | Section 2.2.7 |
| | | Response | of this |
| | | | document |
| "@query" | Active | Request, Related- | Section 2.2.8 |
| | | Response | of this |
| | | | document |
| "@query-params" | Active | Request, Related- | Section 2.2.9 |
| | | Response | of this |
| | | | document |
| "@status" | Active | Response | Section 2.2.10 |
| | | | of this |
| | | | document |
| "@request-response" | Active | Related-Response | Section 2.2.11 |
| | | | of this |
| | | | document |
+---------------------+--------+-------------------+----------------+
Initial contents of the HTTP Signature Specialty Component
Identifiers Registry.
7. Security Considerations
In order for an HTTP message to be considered covered by a signature,
all of the following conditions have to be true:
o a signature is expected or allowed on the message by the verifier
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 45]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
o the signature exists on the message
o the signature is verified against the identified key material and
algorithm
o the key material and algorithm are appropriate for the context of
the message
o the signature is within expected time boundaries
o the signature covers the expected content, including any critical
components
7.1. Signature Verification Skipping
HTTP Message Signatures only provide security if the signature is
verified by the verifier. Since the message to which the signature
is attached remains a valid HTTP message without the signature
fields, it is possible for a verifier to ignore the output of the
verification function and still process the message. Common reasons
for this could be relaxed requirements in a development environment
or a temporary suspension of enforcing verification during debugging
an overall system. Such temporary suspensions are difficult to
detect under positive-example testing since a good signature will
always trigger a valid response whether or not it has been checked.
To detect this, verifiers should be tested using both valid and
invalid signatures, ensuring that the invalid signature fails as
expected.
7.2. Use of TLS
The use of HTTP Message Signatures does not negate the need for TLS
or its equivalent to protect information in transit. Message
signatures provide message integrity over the covered message
components but do not provide any confidentiality for the
communication between parties.
TLS provides such confidentiality between the TLS endpoints. As part
of this, TLS also protects the signature data itself from being
captured by an attacker, which is an important step in preventing
signature replay (Section 7.3).
When TLS is used, it needs to be deployed according to the
recommendations in [BCP195].
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 46]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
7.3. Signature Replay
Since HTTP Message Signatures allows sub-portions of the HTTP message
to be signed, it is possible for two different HTTP messages to
validate against the same signature. The most extreme form of this
would be a signature over no message components. If such a signature
were intercepted, it could be replayed at will by an attacker,
attached to any HTTP message. Even with sufficient component
coverage, a given signature could be applied to two similar HTTP
messages, allowing a message to be replayed by an attacker with the
signature intact.
To counteract these kinds of attacks, it's first important for the
signer to cover sufficient portions of the message to differentiate
it from other messages. In addition, the signature can use the
"nonce" signature parameter to provide a per-message unique value to
allow the verifier to detect replay of the signature itself if a
nonce value is repeated. Furthermore, the signer can provide a
timestamp for when the signature was created and a time at which the
signer considers the signature to be invalid, limiting the utility of
a captured signature value.
If a verifier wants to trigger a new signature from a signer, it can
send the "Accept-Signature" header field with a new "nonce"
parameter. An attacker that is simply replaying a signature would
not be able to generate a new signature with the chosen nonce value.
7.4. Insufficient Coverage
Any portions of the message not covered by the signature are
susceptible to modification by an attacker without affecting the
signature. An attacker can take advantage of this by introducing a
header field or other message component that will change the
processing of the message but will not be covered by the signature.
Such an altered message would still pass signature verification, but
when the verifier processes the message as a whole, the unsigned
content injected by the attacker would subvert the trust conveyed by
the valid signature and change the outcome of processing the message.
To combat this, an application of this specification should require
as much of the message as possible to be signed, within the limits of
the application and deployment. The verifier should only trust
message components that have been signed. Verifiers could also strip
out any sensitive unsigned portions of the message before processing
of the message continues.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 47]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
7.5. Cryptography and Signature Collision
The HTTP Message Signatures specification does not define any of its
own cryptographic primitives, and instead relies on other
specifications to define such elements. If the signature algorithm
or key used to process the signature input string is vulnerable to
any attacks, the resulting signature will also be susceptible to
these same attacks.
A common attack against signature systems is to force a signature
collision, where the same signature value successfully verifies
against multiple different inputs. Since this specification relies
on reconstruction of the input string based on an HTTP message, and
the list of components signed is fixed in the signature, it is
difficult but not impossible for an attacker to effect such a
collision. An attacker would need to manipulate the HTTP message and
its covered message components in order to make the collision
effective.
To counter this, only vetted keys and signature algorithms should be
used to sign HTTP messages. The HTTP Message Signatures Algorithm
Registry is one source of potential trusted algorithms.
While it is possible for an attacker to substitute the signature
parameters value or the signature value separately, the signature
input generation algorithm (Section 2.3) always covers the signature
parameters as the final value in the input string using a
deterministic serialization method. This step strongly binds the
signature input with the signature value in a way that makes it much
more difficult for an attacker to perform a partial substitution on
the signature inputs.
7.6. Key Theft
A foundational assumption of signature-based cryptographic systems is
that the signing key is not compromised by an attacker. If the keys
used to sign the message are exfiltrated or stolen, the attacker will
be able to generate their own signatures using those keys. As a
consequence, signers have to protect any signing key material from
exfiltration, capture, and use by an attacker.
To combat this, signers can rotate keys over time to limit the amount
of time stolen keys are useful. Signers can also use key escrow and
storage systems to limit the attack surface against keys.
Furthermore, the use of asymmetric signing algorithms exposes key
material less than the use of symmetric signing algorithms
(Section 7.11).
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 48]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
7.7. Modification of Required Message Parameters
An attacker could effectively deny a service by modifying an
otherwise benign signature parameter or signed message component.
While rejecting a modified message is the desired behavior,
consistently failing signatures could lead to the verifier turning
off signature checking in order to make systems work again (see
Section 7.1).
If such failures are common within an application, the signer and
verifier should compare their generated signature input strings with
each other to determine which part of the message is being modified.
However, the signer and verifier should not remove the requirement to
sign the modified component when it is suspected an attacker is
modifying the component.
7.8. Mismatch of Signature Parameters from Message
The verifier needs to make sure that the signed message components
match those in the message itself. This specification encourages
this by requiring the verifier to derive these values from the
message, but lazy cacheing or conveyance of the signature input
string to a processing system could lead to downstream verifiers
accepting a message that does not match the presented signature.
7.9. Multiple Signature Confusion
Since multiple signatures can be applied to one message
(Section 4.3), it is possible for an attacker to attach their own
signature to a captured message without modifying existing
signatures. This new signature could be completely valid based on
the attacker's key, or it could be an invalid signature for any
number of reasons. Each of these situations need to be accounted
for.
A verifier processing a set of valid signatures needs to account for
all of the signers, identified by the signing keys. Only signatures
from expected signers should be accepted, regardless of the
cryptographic validity of the signature itself.
A verifier processing a set of signatures on a message also needs to
determine what to do when one or more of the signatures are not
valid. If a message is accepted when at least one signature is
valid, then a verifier could drop all invalid signatures from the
request before processing the message further. Alternatively, if the
verifier rejects a message for a single invalid signature, an
attacker could use this to deny service to otherwise valid messages
by injecting invalid signatures alongside the valid ones.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 49]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
7.10. Signature Labels
HTTP Message Signature values are identified in the "Signature" and
"Signature-Input" field values by unique labels. These labels are
chosen only when attaching the signature values to the message and
are not accounted for in the signing process. An intermediary adding
its own signature is allowed to re-label an existing signature when
processing the message.
Therefore, applications should not rely on specific labels being
present, and applications should not put semantic meaning on the
labels themselves. Instead, additional signature parmeters can be
used to convey whatever additional meaning is required to be attached
to and covered by the signature.
7.11. Symmetric Cryptography
The HTTP Message Signatures specification allows for both asymmetric
and symmetric cryptography to be applied to HTTP messages. By its
nature, symmetric cryptographic methods require the same key material
to be known by both the signer and verifier. This effectively means
that a verifier is capable of generating a valid signature, since
they have access to the same key material. An attacker that is able
to compromise a verifier would be able to then impersonate a signer.
Where possible, asymmetric methods or secure key agreement mechanisms
should be used in order to avoid this type of attack. When symmetric
methods are used, distribution of the key material needs to be
protected by the overall system. One technique for this is the use
of separate cryptographic modules that separate the verification
process (and therefore the key material) from other code, minimizing
the vulnerable attack surface. Another technique is the use of key
derivation functions that allow the signer and verifier to agree on
unique keys for each message without having to share the key values
directly.
Additionally, if symmetric algorithms are allowed within a system,
special care must be taken to avoid key downgrade attacks
(Section 7.15).
7.12. Canonicalization Attacks
Any ambiguity in the generation of the signature input string could
provide an attacker with leverage to substitute or break a signature
on a message. Some message component values, particularly HTTP field
values, are potentially susceptible to broken implementations that
could lead to unexpected and insecure behavior. Naive
implementations of this specification might implement HTTP field
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 50]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
processing by taking the single value of a field and using it as the
direct component value without processing it appropriately.
For example, if the handling of "obs-fold" field values does not
remove the internal line folding and whitespace, additional newlines
could be introduced into the signature input string by the signer,
providing a potential place for an attacker to mount a signature
collision (Section 7.5) attack. Alternatively, if header fields that
appear multiple times are not joined into a single string value, as
is required by this specification, similar attacks can be mounted as
a signed component value would show up in the input string more than
once and could be substituted or otherwise attacked in this way.
To counter this, the entire field processing algorithm needs to be
implemented by all implementations of signers and verifiers.
7.13. Key Specification Mix-Up
The existence of a valid signature on an HTTP message is not
sufficient to prove that the message has been signed by the
appropriate party. It is up to the verifier to ensure that a given
key and algorithm are appropriate for the message in question. If
the verifier does not perform such a step, an attacker could
substitute their own signature using their own key on a message and
force a verifier to accept and process it. To combat this, the
verifier needs to ensure that not only does the signature validate
for a message, but that the key and algorithm used are appropriate.
7.14. HTTP Versions and Component Ambiguity
Some message components are expressed in different ways across HTTP
versions. For example, the authority of the request target is sent
using the "Host" header field in HTTP 1.1 but with the ":authority"
pseudo-header in HTTP 2. If a signer sends an HTTP 1.1 message and
signs the "Host" field, but the message is translated to HTTP 2
before it reaches the verifier, the signature will not validate as
the "Host" header field could be dropped.
It is for this reason that HTTP Message Signatures defines a set of
specialty components that define a single way to get value in
question, such as the "@authority" specialty component identifier
(Section 2.2.4). Applications should therefore prefer specialty
component identifiers for such options where possible.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 51]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
7.15. Key and Algorithm Specification Downgrades
Applications of this specification need to protect against key
specification downgrade attacks. For example, the same RSA key can
be used for both RSA-PSS and RSA v1.5 signatures. If an application
expects a key to only be used with RSA-PSS, it needs to reject
signatures for that key using the weaker RSA 1.5 specification.
Another example of a downgrade attack occurs when an asymmetric
algorithm is expected, such as RSA-PSS, but an attacker substitutes a
signature using symmetric algorithm, such as HMAC. A naive verifier
implementation could use the value of the public RSA key as the input
to the HMAC verification function. Since the public key is known to
the attacker, this would allow the attacker to create a valid HMAC
signature against this known key. To prevent this, the verifier
needs to ensure that both the key material and the algorithm are
appropriate for the usage in question. Additionally, while this
specification does allow runtime specification of the algorithm using
the "alg" signature parameter, applications are encouraged to use
other mechanisms such as static configuration or higher protocol-
level algorithm specification instead.
7.16. Parsing Structured Field Values
Several parts of this specification rely on the parsing of structured
field values [RFC8941]. In particular, normalization of HTTP
structured field values (Section 2.1.1), referencing members of a
dictionary structured field (Section 2.1.3), and processing the
"@signature-input" value when verifying a signature (Section 3.2).
While structured field values are designed to be relatively simple to
parse, a naive or broken implementation of such a parser could lead
to subtle attack surfaces being exposed in the implementation.
For example, if a buggy parser of the "@signature-input" value does
not enforce proper closing of quotes around string values within the
list of component identifiers, an attacker could take advantage of
this and inject additional content into the signature input string
through manipulating the "Signature-Input" field value on a message.
To counteract this, implementations should use fully compliant and
trusted parsers for all structured field processing, both on the
signer and verifier side.
7.17. Choosing Message Components
Applications of HTTP Message Signatures need to decide which message
components will be covered by the signature. Depending on the
application, some components could be expected to be changed by
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 52]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
intermediaries prior to the signature's verification. If these
components are covered, such changes would, by design, break the
signature.
However, the HTTP Message Signature standard allows for flexibility
in determining which components are signed precisely so that a given
application can choose the appropriate portions of the message that
need to be signed, avoiding problematic components. For example, a
web application framework that relies on rewriting query parameters
might avoid use of the "@query" content identifier in favor of sub-
indexing the query value using "@query-params" content identifier
instead.
Some components are expected to be changed by intermediaries and
ought not to be signed under most circumstance. The "Via" and
"Forwarded" header fields, for example, are expected to be
manipulated by proxies and other middle-boxes, including replacing or
entirely dropping existing values. These fields should not be
covered by the signature except in very limited and tightly-coupled
scenarios.
Additional considerations for choosing signature aspects are
discussed in Section 1.5.
8. Privacy Considerations
8.1. Identification through Keys
If a signer uses the same key with multiple verifiers, or uses the
same key over time with a single verifier, the ongoing use of that
key can be used to track the signer throughout the set of verifiers
that messages are sent to. Since cryptographic keys are meant to be
functionally unique, the use of the same key over time is a strong
indicator that it is the same party signing multiple messages.
In many applications, this is a desirable trait, and it allows HTTP
Message Signatures to be used as part of authenticating the signer to
the verifier. However, unintentional tracking that a signer might
not be aware of. To counter this kind of tracking, a signer can use
a different key for each verifier that it is in communication with.
Sometimes, a signer could also rotate their key when sending messages
to a given verifier. These approaches do not negate the need for
other anti-tracking techniques to be applied as necessary.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 53]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
8.2. Signatures do not provide confidentiality
HTTP Message Signatures do not provide confidentiality of any of the
information protected by the signature. The content of the HTTP
message, including the value of all fields and the value of the
signature itself, is presented in plaintext to any party with access
to the message.
To provide confidentiality at the transport level, TLS or its
equivalent can be used as discussed in Section 7.2.
8.3. Oracles
It is important to balance the need for providing useful feedback to
developers on error conditions without providing additional
information to an attacker. For example, a naive but helpful server
implementation might try to indicate the required key identifier
needed for requesting a resource. If someone knows who controls that
key, a correlation can be made between the resource's existence and
the party identified by the key. Access to such information could be
used by an attacker as a means to target the legitimate owner of the
resource for further attacks.
8.4. Required Content
A core design tenet of this specification is that all message
components covered by the signature need to be available to the
verifier in order to recreate the signature input string and verify
the signature. As a consequence, if an application of this
specification requires that a particular field be signed, the
verifier will need access to the value of that field.
For example, in some complex systems with intermediary processors
this could cause the surprising behavior of an intermediary not being
able to remove privacy-sensitive information from a message before
forwarding it on for processing, for fear of breaking the signature.
A possible mitigation for this specific situation would be for the
intermediary to verify the signature itself, then modifying the
message to remove the privacy-sensitive information. The
intermediary can add its own signature at this point to signal to the
next destination that the incoming signature was validated, as is
shown in the example in Section 4.3.
9. References
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 54]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
9.1. Normative References
[FIPS186-4]
"Digital Signature Standard (DSS)", 2013,
.
[HTMLURL] "URL (Living Standard)", 2021,
.
[MESSAGING]
Fielding, R. T., Nottingham, M., and J. Reschke,
"HTTP/1.1", draft-ietf-httpbis-messaging-19 (work in
progress), September 2021.
[POSIX.1] "The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, 2018
edition", 2018,
.
[RFC2104] Krawczyk, H., Bellare, M., and R. Canetti, "HMAC: Keyed-
Hashing for Message Authentication", RFC 2104,
DOI 10.17487/RFC2104, February 1997,
.
[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
.
[RFC3986] Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R., and L. Masinter, "Uniform
Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax", STD 66,
RFC 3986, DOI 10.17487/RFC3986, January 2005,
.
[RFC8174] Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
May 2017, .
[RFC8792] Watsen, K., Auerswald, E., Farrel, A., and Q. Wu,
"Handling Long Lines in Content of Internet-Drafts and
RFCs", RFC 8792, DOI 10.17487/RFC8792, June 2020,
.
[RFC8941] Nottingham, M. and P-H. Kamp, "Structured Field Values for
HTTP", RFC 8941, DOI 10.17487/RFC8941, February 2021,
.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 55]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
[SEMANTICS]
Fielding, R. T., Nottingham, M., and J. Reschke, "HTTP
Semantics", draft-ietf-httpbis-semantics-19 (work in
progress), September 2021.
9.2. Informative References
[BCP195] Consisting of: [RFC7525], and [RFC8996],
.
[I-D.ietf-httpbis-client-cert-field]
Campbell, B. and M. Bishop, "Client-Cert HTTP Header
Field: Conveying Client Certificate Information from TLS
Terminating Reverse Proxies to Origin Server
Applications", draft-ietf-httpbis-client-cert-field-00
(work in progress), June 2021.
[RFC6234] Eastlake 3rd, D. and T. Hansen, "US Secure Hash Algorithms
(SHA and SHA-based HMAC and HKDF)", RFC 6234,
DOI 10.17487/RFC6234, May 2011,
.
[RFC7239] Petersson, A. and M. Nilsson, "Forwarded HTTP Extension",
RFC 7239, DOI 10.17487/RFC7239, June 2014,
.
[RFC7517] Jones, M., "JSON Web Key (JWK)", RFC 7517,
DOI 10.17487/RFC7517, May 2015,
.
[RFC7518] Jones, M., "JSON Web Algorithms (JWA)", RFC 7518,
DOI 10.17487/RFC7518, May 2015,
.
[RFC7525] Sheffer, Y., Holz, R., and P. Saint-Andre,
"Recommendations for Secure Use of Transport Layer
Security (TLS) and Datagram Transport Layer Security
(DTLS)", BCP 195, RFC 7525, DOI 10.17487/RFC7525, May
2015, .
[RFC8017] Moriarty, K., Ed., Kaliski, B., Jonsson, J., and A. Rusch,
"PKCS #1: RSA Cryptography Specifications Version 2.2",
RFC 8017, DOI 10.17487/RFC8017, November 2016,
.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 56]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
[RFC8126] Cotton, M., Leiba, B., and T. Narten, "Guidelines for
Writing an IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26,
RFC 8126, DOI 10.17487/RFC8126, June 2017,
.
[RFC8996] Moriarty, K. and S. Farrell, "Deprecating TLS 1.0 and TLS
1.1", BCP 195, RFC 8996, DOI 10.17487/RFC8996, March 2021,
.
[TLS] Rescorla, E., "The Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocol
Version 1.3", RFC 8446, DOI 10.17487/RFC8446, August 2018,
.
9.3. URIs
[1] https://openjdk.java.net/groups/net/httpclient/intro.html
[2] http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/basedefs/
V1_chap04.html#tag_04_16
Appendix A. Detecting HTTP Message Signatures
There have been many attempts to create signed HTTP messages in the
past, including other non-standardized definitions of the "Signature"
field, which is used within this specification. It is recommended
that developers wishing to support both this specification and other
historical drafts do so carefully and deliberately, as
incompatibilities between this specification and various versions of
other drafts could lead to unexpected problems.
It is recommended that implementers first detect and validate the
"Signature-Input" field defined in this specification to detect that
this standard is in use and not an alternative. If the "Signature-
Input" field is present, all "Signature" fields can be parsed and
interpreted in the context of this draft.
Appendix B. Examples
B.1. Example Keys
This section provides cryptographic keys that are referenced in
example signatures throughout this document. These keys MUST NOT be
used for any purpose other than testing.
The key identifiers for each key are used throughout the examples in
this specification. It is assumed for these examples that the signer
and verifier can unambiguously dereference all key identifiers used
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 57]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
here, and that the keys and algorithms used are appropriate for the
context in which the signature is presented.
B.1.1. Example Key RSA test
The following key is a 2048-bit RSA public and private key pair,
referred to in this document as "test-key-rsa":
-----BEGIN RSA PUBLIC KEY-----
MIIBCgKCAQEAhAKYdtoeoy8zcAcR874L8cnZxKzAGwd7v36APp7Pv6Q2jdsPBRrw
WEBnez6d0UDKDwGbc6nxfEXAy5mbhgajzrw3MOEt8uA5txSKobBpKDeBLOsdJKFq
MGmXCQvEG7YemcxDTRPxAleIAgYYRjTSd/QBwVW9OwNFhekro3RtlinV0a75jfZg
kne/YiktSvLG34lw2zqXBDTC5NHROUqGTlML4PlNZS5Ri2U4aCNx2rUPRcKIlE0P
uKxI4T+HIaFpv8+rdV6eUgOrB2xeI1dSFFn/nnv5OoZJEIB+VmuKn3DCUcCZSFlQ
PSXSfBDiUGhwOw76WuSSsf1D4b/vLoJ10wIDAQAB
-----END RSA PUBLIC KEY-----
-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----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-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 58]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
B.1.2. Example RSA PSS Key
The following key is a 2048-bit RSA public and private key pair,
referred to in this document as "test-key-rsa-pss":
-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
MIIBIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAQ8AMIIBCgKCAQEAr4tmm3r20Wd/PbqvP1s2
+QEtvpuRaV8Yq40gjUR8y2Rjxa6dpG2GXHbPfvMs8ct+Lh1GH45x28Rw3Ry53mm+
oAXjyQ86OnDkZ5N8lYbggD4O3w6M6pAvLkhk95AndTrifbIFPNU8PPMO7OyrFAHq
gDsznjPFmTOtCEcN2Z1FpWgchwuYLPL+Wokqltd11nqqzi+bJ9cvSKADYdUAAN5W
Utzdpiy6LbTgSxP7ociU4Tn0g5I6aDZJ7A8Lzo0KSyZYoA485mqcO0GVAdVw9lq4
aOT9v6d+nb4bnNkQVklLQ3fVAvJm+xdDOp9LCNCN48V2pnDOkFV6+U9nV5oyc6XI
2wIDAQAB
-----END PUBLIC KEY-----
-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----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-----END PRIVATE KEY-----
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 59]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
B.1.3. Example ECC P-256 Test Key
The following key is an elliptical curve key over the curve P-256,
referred to in this document as "test-key-ecc-p256".
-----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----
MHcCAQEEIFKbhfNZfpDsW43+0+JjUr9K+bTeuxopu653+hBaXGA7oAoGCCqGSM49
AwEHoUQDQgAEqIVYZVLCrPZHGHjP17CTW0/+D9Lfw0EkjqF7xB4FivAxzic30tMM
4GF+hR6Dxh71Z50VGGdldkkDXZCnTNnoXQ==
-----END EC PRIVATE KEY-----
-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
MFkwEwYHKoZIzj0CAQYIKoZIzj0DAQcDQgAEqIVYZVLCrPZHGHjP17CTW0/+D9Lf
w0EkjqF7xB4FivAxzic30tMM4GF+hR6Dxh71Z50VGGdldkkDXZCnTNnoXQ==
-----END PUBLIC KEY-----
B.1.4. Example Shared Secret
The following shared secret is 64 randomly-generated bytes encoded in
Base64, referred to in this document as "test-shared-secret".
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
uzvJfB4u3N0Jy4T7NZ75MDVcr8zSTInedJtkgcu46YW4XByzNJjxBdtjUkdJPBt\
bmHhIDi6pcl8jsasjlTMtDQ==
B.2. Test Cases
This section provides non-normative examples that may be used as test
cases to validate implementation correctness. These examples are
based on the following HTTP messages:
For requests, this "test-request" message is used:
POST /foo?param=value&pet=dog HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:07:55 GMT
Content-Type: application/json
Digest: SHA-256=X48E9qOokqqrvdts8nOJRJN3OWDUoyWxBf7kbu9DBPE=
Content-Length: 18
{"hello": "world"}
For responses, this "test-response" message is used:
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 60]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:07:56 GMT
Content-Type: application/json
Digest: SHA-256=X48E9qOokqqrvdts8nOJRJN3OWDUoyWxBf7kbu9DBPE=
Content-Length: 18
{"hello": "world"}
B.2.1. Minimal Signature Using rsa-pss-sha512
This example presents a minimal "Signature-Input" and "Signature"
header for a signature using the "rsa-pss-sha512" algorithm over
"test-request", covering none of the components of the HTTP message
request but providing a timestamped signature proof of possession of
the key.
The corresponding signature input is:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
"@signature-params": ();created=1618884475\
;keyid="test-key-rsa-pss";alg="rsa-pss-sha512"
This results in the following "Signature-Input" and "Signature"
headers being added to the message:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
Signature-Input: sig1=();created=1618884475\
;keyid="test-key-rsa-pss";alg="rsa-pss-sha512"
Signature: sig1=:HWP69ZNiom9Obu1KIdqPPcu/C1a5ZUMBbqS/xwJECV8bhIQVmE\
AAAzz8LQPvtP1iFSxxluDO1KE9b8L+O64LEOvhwYdDctV5+E39Jy1eJiD7nYREBgx\
TpdUfzTO+Trath0vZdTylFlxK4H3l3s/cuFhnOCxmFYgEa+cw+StBRgY1JtafSFwN\
cZgLxVwialuH5VnqJS4JN8PHD91XLfkjMscTo4jmVMpFd3iLVe0hqVFl7MDt6TMkw\
IyVFnEZ7B/VIQofdShO+C/7MuupCSLVjQz5xA+Zs6Hw+W9ESD/6BuGs6LF1TcKLxW\
+5K+2zvDY/Cia34HNpRW5io7Iv9/b7iQ==:
Note that since the covered components list is empty, this signature
could be applied by an attacker to an unrelated HTTP message.
Therefore, use of an empty covered components set is discouraged.
B.2.2. Selective Covered Components using rsa-pss-sha512
This example covers additional components in "test-request" using the
"rsa-pss-sha512" algorithm.
The corresponding signature input is:
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 61]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
"@authority": example.com
"content-type": application/json
"@signature-params": ("@authority" "content-type")\
;created=1618884475;keyid="test-key-rsa-pss"
This results in the following "Signature-Input" and "Signature"
headers being added to the message:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
Signature-Input: sig1=("@authority" "content-type")\
;created=1618884475;keyid="test-key-rsa-pss"
Signature: sig1=:ik+OtGmM/kFqENDf9Plm8AmPtqtC7C9a+zYSaxr58b/E6h81gh\
JS3PcH+m1asiMp8yvccnO/RfaexnqanVB3C72WRNZN7skPTJmUVmoIeqZncdP2mlf\
xlLP6UbkrgYsk91NS6nwkKC6RRgLhBFqzP42oq8D2336OiQPDAo/04SxZt4Wx9nDG\
uy2SfZJUhsJqZyEWRk4204x7YEB3VxDAAlVgGt8ewilWbIKKTOKp3ymUeQIwptqYw\
v0l8mN404PPzRBTpB7+HpClyK4CNp+SVv46+6sHMfJU4taz10s/NoYRmYCGXyadzY\
YDj0BYnFdERB6NblI/AOWFGl5Axhhmjg==:
B.2.3. Full Coverage using rsa-pss-sha512
This example covers all headers in "test-request" (including the
message body "Digest") plus various elements of the control data,
using the "rsa-pss-sha512" algorithm.
The corresponding signature input is:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
"date": Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:07:56 GMT
"@method": POST
"@path": /foo
"@query": ?param=value&pet=dog
"@authority": example.com
"content-type": application/json
"digest": SHA-256=X48E9qOokqqrvdts8nOJRJN3OWDUoyWxBf7kbu9DBPE=
"content-length": 18
"@signature-params": ("date" "@method" "@path" "@query" \
"@authority" "content-type" "digest" "content-length")\
;created=1618884475;keyid="test-key-rsa-pss"
This results in the following "Signature-Input" and "Signature"
headers being added to the message:
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 62]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
Signature-Input: sig1=("date" "@method" "@path" "@query" \
"@authority" "content-type" "digest" "content-length")\
;created=1618884475;keyid="test-key-rsa-pss"
Signature: sig1=:JuJnJMFGD4HMysAGsfOY6N5ZTZUknsQUdClNG51VezDgPUOW03\
QMe74vbIdndKwW1BBrHOHR3NzKGYZJ7X3ur23FMCdANe4VmKb3Rc1Q/5YxOO8p7Ko\
yfVa4uUcMk5jB9KAn1M1MbgBnqwZkRWsbv8ocCqrnD85Kavr73lx51k1/gU8w673W\
T/oBtxPtAn1eFjUyIKyA+XD7kYph82I+ahvm0pSgDPagu917SlqUjeaQaNnlZzO03\
Iy1RZ5XpgbNeDLCqSLuZFVID80EohC2CQ1cL5svjslrlCNstd2JCLmhjL7xV3NYXe\
rLim4bqUQGRgDwNJRnqobpS6C1NBns/Q==:
Note in this example that the value of the "Date" header and the
value of the "created" signature parameter need not be the same.
This is due to the fact that the "Date" header is added when creating
the HTTP Message and the "created" parameter is populated when
creating the signature over that message, and these two times could
vary. If the "Date" header is covered by the signature, it is up to
the verifier to determine whether its value has to match that of the
"created" parameter or not.
B.2.4. Signing a Response using ecdsa-p256-sha256
This example covers portions of the "test-response" response message
using the "ecdsa-p256-sha256" algorithm and the key "test-key-ecc-
p256".
The corresponding signature input is:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
"content-type": application/json
"digest": SHA-256=X48E9qOokqqrvdts8nOJRJN3OWDUoyWxBf7kbu9DBPE=
"content-length": 18
"@signature-params": ("content-type" "digest" "content-length")\
;created=1618884475;keyid="test-key-ecc-p256"
This results in the following "Signature-Input" and "Signature"
headers being added to the message:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
Signature-Input: sig1=("content-type" "digest" "content-length")\
;created=1618884475;keyid="test-key-ecc-p256"
Signature: sig1=:n8RKXkj0iseWDmC6PNSQ1GX2R9650v+lhbb6rTGoSrSSx18zmn\
6fPOtBx48/WffYLO0n1RHHf9scvNGAgGq52Q==:
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 63]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
B.2.5. Signing a Request using hmac-sha256
This example covers portions of the "test-request" using the "hmac-
sha256" algorithm and the secret "test-shared-secret".
The corresponding signature input is:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
"@authority": example.com
"date": Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:07:55 GMT
"content-type": application/json
"@signature-params": ("@authority" "date" "content-type")\
;created=1618884475;keyid="test-shared-secret"
This results in the following "Signature-Input" and "Signature"
headers being added to the message:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
Signature-Input: sig1=("@authority" "date" "content-type")\
;created=1618884475;keyid="test-shared-secret"
Signature: sig1=:fN3AMNGbx0V/cIEKkZOvLOoC3InI+lM2+gTv22x3ia8=:
B.3. TLS-Terminating Proxies
In this example, there is a TLS-terminating reverse proxy sitting in
front of the resource. The client does not sign the request but
instead uses mutual TLS to make its call. The terminating proxy
validates the TLS stream and injects a "Client-Cert" header according
to [I-D.ietf-httpbis-client-cert-field], and then applies a signature
to this field. By signing this header field, a reverse proxy can not
only attest to its own validation of the initial request's TLS
parameters but also authenticate itself to the backend system
independently of the client's actions.
The client makes the following request to the TLS terminating proxy
using mutual TLS:
POST /foo?Param=value&pet=Dog HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:07:55 GMT
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 18
{"hello": "world"}
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 64]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
The proxy processes the TLS connection and extracts the client's TLS
certificate to a "Client-Cert" header field and passes it along to
the internal service hosted at "service.internal.example". This
results in the following unsigned request:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
POST /foo?Param=value&pet=Dog HTTP/1.1
Host: service.internal.example
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:07:55 GMT
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 18
Client-Cert: :MIIBqDCCAU6gAwIBAgIBBzAKBggqhkjOPQQDAjA6MRswGQYDVQQKD\
BJMZXQncyBBdXRoZW50aWNhdGUxGzAZBgNVBAMMEkxBIEludGVybWVkaWF0ZSBDQT\
AeFw0yMDAxMTQyMjU1MzNaFw0yMTAxMjMyMjU1MzNaMA0xCzAJBgNVBAMMAkJDMFk\
wEwYHKoZIzj0CAQYIKoZIzj0DAQcDQgAE8YnXXfaUgmnMtOXU/IncWalRhebrXmck\
C8vdgJ1p5Be5F/3YC8OthxM4+k1M6aEAEFcGzkJiNy6J84y7uzo9M6NyMHAwCQYDV\
R0TBAIwADAfBgNVHSMEGDAWgBRm3WjLa38lbEYCuiCPct0ZaSED2DAOBgNVHQ8BAf\
8EBAMCBsAwEwYDVR0lBAwwCgYIKwYBBQUHAwIwHQYDVR0RAQH/BBMwEYEPYmRjQGV\
4YW1wbGUuY29tMAoGCCqGSM49BAMCA0gAMEUCIBHda/r1vaL6G3VliL4/Di6YK0Q6\
bMjeSkC3dFCOOB8TAiEAx/kHSB4urmiZ0NX5r5XarmPk0wmuydBVoU4hBVZ1yhk=:
{"hello": "world"}
Without a signature, the internal service would need to trust that
the incoming connection has the right information. By signing the
"Client-Cert" header and other portions of the internal request, the
internal service can be assured that the correct party, the trusted
proxy, has processed the request and presented it to the correct
service. The proxy's signature input consists of the following:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
"@path": /foo
"@query": Param=value&pet=Dog
"@method": POST
"@authority": service.internal.example
"client-cert": :MIIBqDCCAU6gAwIBAgIBBzAKBggqhkjOPQQDAjA6MRswGQYDVQQ\
KDBJMZXQncyBBdXRoZW50aWNhdGUxGzAZBgNVBAMMEkxBIEludGVybWVkaWF0ZSBD\
QTAeFw0yMDAxMTQyMjU1MzNaFw0yMTAxMjMyMjU1MzNaMA0xCzAJBgNVBAMMAkJDM\
FkwEwYHKoZIzj0CAQYIKoZIzj0DAQcDQgAE8YnXXfaUgmnMtOXU/IncWalRhebrXm\
ckC8vdgJ1p5Be5F/3YC8OthxM4+k1M6aEAEFcGzkJiNy6J84y7uzo9M6NyMHAwCQY\
DVR0TBAIwADAfBgNVHSMEGDAWgBRm3WjLa38lbEYCuiCPct0ZaSED2DAOBgNVHQ8B\
Af8EBAMCBsAwEwYDVR0lBAwwCgYIKwYBBQUHAwIwHQYDVR0RAQH/BBMwEYEPYmRjQ\
GV4YW1wbGUuY29tMAoGCCqGSM49BAMCA0gAMEUCIBHda/r1vaL6G3VliL4/Di6YK0\
Q6bMjeSkC3dFCOOB8TAiEAx/kHSB4urmiZ0NX5r5XarmPk0wmuydBVoU4hBVZ1yhk=:
"@signature-params": ("@path" "@query" "@method" "@authority" \
"client-cert");created=1618884475;keyid="test-key-ecc-p256"
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 65]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
This results in the following signature:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
5gudRjXaHrAYbEaQUOoY9TuvqWOdPcspkp7YyKCB0XhyAG9cB715hucPPanEK0OVyiN\
LJqcoq2Yn1DPWQcnbog==
Which results in the following signed request sent from the proxy to
the internal service:
NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792
POST /foo?Param=value&pet=Dog HTTP/1.1
Host: service.internal.example
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:07:55 GMT
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 18
Client-Cert: :MIIBqDCCAU6gAwIBAgIBBzAKBggqhkjOPQQDAjA6MRswGQYDVQQKD\
BJMZXQncyBBdXRoZW50aWNhdGUxGzAZBgNVBAMMEkxBIEludGVybWVkaWF0ZSBDQT\
AeFw0yMDAxMTQyMjU1MzNaFw0yMTAxMjMyMjU1MzNaMA0xCzAJBgNVBAMMAkJDMFk\
wEwYHKoZIzj0CAQYIKoZIzj0DAQcDQgAE8YnXXfaUgmnMtOXU/IncWalRhebrXmck\
C8vdgJ1p5Be5F/3YC8OthxM4+k1M6aEAEFcGzkJiNy6J84y7uzo9M6NyMHAwCQYDV\
R0TBAIwADAfBgNVHSMEGDAWgBRm3WjLa38lbEYCuiCPct0ZaSED2DAOBgNVHQ8BAf\
8EBAMCBsAwEwYDVR0lBAwwCgYIKwYBBQUHAwIwHQYDVR0RAQH/BBMwEYEPYmRjQGV\
4YW1wbGUuY29tMAoGCCqGSM49BAMCA0gAMEUCIBHda/r1vaL6G3VliL4/Di6YK0Q6\
bMjeSkC3dFCOOB8TAiEAx/kHSB4urmiZ0NX5r5XarmPk0wmuydBVoU4hBVZ1yhk=:
Signature-Input: ttrp=("@path" "@query" "@method" "@authority" \
"client-cert");created=1618884475;keyid="test-key-ecc-p256"
Signature: ttrp=:5gudRjXaHrAYbEaQUOoY9TuvqWOdPcspkp7YyKCB0XhyAG9cB7\
15hucPPanEK0OVyiNLJqcoq2Yn1DPWQcnbog==:
{"hello": "world"}
The internal service can validate the proxy's signature and therefore
be able to trust that the client's certificate has been appropriately
processed.
Acknowledgements
This specification was initially based on the draft-cavage-http-
signatures internet draft. The editors would like to thank the
authors of that draft, Mark Cavage and Manu Sporny, for their work on
that draft and their continuing contributions. The specification
also includes contributions from the draft-oauth-signed-http-request
internet draft and other similar efforts.
The editors would also like to thank the following individuals for
feedback, insight, and implementation of this draft and its
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 66]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
predecessors (in alphabetical order): Mark Adamcin, Mark Allen, Paul
Annesley, Karl Boehlmark, Stephane Bortzmeyer, Sarven Capadisli, Liam
Dennehy, Stephen Farrell, Phillip Hallam-Baker, Eric Holmes, Andrey
Kislyuk, Adam Knight, Dave Lehn, Dave Longley, Ilari Liusvaara, James
H. Manger, Kathleen Moriarty, Mark Nottingham, Yoav Nir, Adrian
Palmer, Lucas Pardue, Roberto Polli, Julian Reschke, Michael
Richardson, Wojciech Rygielski, Adam Scarr, Cory J. Slep, Dirk
Stein, Henry Story, Lukasz Szewc, Chris Webber, and Jeffrey Yasskin.
Document History
_RFC EDITOR: please remove this section before publication_
o draft-ietf-httpbis-message-signatures
* -07
+ Added security and privacy considerations.
+ Added pointers to algorithm values from definition sections.
+ Expanded IANA registry sections.
+ Clarified that the signing and verification algorithms take
application requirements as inputs.
+ Defined "signature targets" of request, response, and
related-response for specialty components.
* -06
+ Updated language for message components, including
identifiers and values.
+ Clarified that Signature-Input and Signature are fields
which can be used as headers or trailers.
+ Add "Accept-Signature" field and semantics for signature
negotiation.
+ Define new specialty content identifiers, re-defined
request-target identifier.
+ Added request-response binding.
* -05
+ Remove list prefixes.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 67]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
+ Clarify signature algorithm parameters.
+ Update and fix examples.
+ Add examples for ECC and HMAC.
* -04
+ Moved signature component definitions up to intro.
+ Created formal function definitions for algorithms to
fulfill.
+ Updated all examples.
+ Added nonce parameter field.
* -03
+ Clarified signing and verification processes.
+ Updated algorithm and key selection method.
+ Clearly defined core algorithm set.
+ Defined JOSE signature mapping process.
+ Removed legacy signature methods.
+ Define signature parameters separately from "signature"
object model.
+ Define serialization values for signature-input header based
on signature input.
* -02
+ Removed editorial comments on document sources.
+ Removed in-document issues list in favor of tracked issues.
+ Replaced unstructured "Signature" header with "Signature-
Input" and "Signature" Dictionary Structured Header Fields.
+ Defined content identifiers for individual Dictionary
members, e.g., ""x-dictionary-field";key=member-name".
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 68]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
+ Defined content identifiers for first N members of a List,
e.g., ""x-list-field":prefix=4".
+ Fixed up examples.
+ Updated introduction now that it's adopted.
+ Defined specialty content identifiers and a means to extend
them.
+ Required signature parameters to be included in signature.
+ Added guidance on backwards compatibility, detection, and
use of signature methods.
* -01
+ Strengthened requirement for content identifiers for header
fields to be lower-case (changed from SHOULD to MUST).
+ Added real example values for Creation Time and Expiration
Time.
+ Minor editorial corrections and readability improvements.
* -00
+ Initialized from draft-richanna-http-message-signatures-00,
following adoption by the working group.
o draft-richanna-http-message-signatures
* -00
+ Converted to xml2rfc v3 and reformatted to comply with RFC
style guides.
+ Removed Signature auth-scheme definition and related
content.
+ Removed conflicting normative requirements for use of
algorithm parameter. Now MUST NOT be relied upon.
+ Removed Extensions appendix.
+ Rewrote abstract and introduction to explain context and
need, and challenges inherent in signing HTTP messages.
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 69]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
+ Rewrote and heavily expanded algorithm definition, retaining
normative requirements.
+ Added definitions for key terms, referenced RFC 7230 for
HTTP terms.
+ Added examples for canonicalization and signature generation
steps.
+ Rewrote Signature header definition, retaining normative
requirements.
+ Added default values for algorithm and expires parameters.
+ Rewrote HTTP Signature Algorithms registry definition.
Added change control policy and registry template. Removed
suggested URI.
+ Added IANA HTTP Signature Parameter registry.
+ Added additional normative and informative references.
+ Added Topics for Working Group Discussion section, to be
removed prior to publication as an RFC.
Authors' Addresses
Annabelle Backman (editor)
Amazon
P.O. Box 81226
Seattle, WA 98108-1226
United States of America
Email: richanna@amazon.com
URI: https://www.amazon.com/
Justin Richer
Bespoke Engineering
Email: ietf@justin.richer.org
URI: https://bspk.io/
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 70]
Internet-Draft HTTP Message Signatures December 2021
Manu Sporny
Digital Bazaar
203 Roanoke Street W.
Blacksburg, VA 24060
United States of America
Email: msporny@digitalbazaar.com
URI: https://manu.sporny.org/
Backman, et al. Expires June 23, 2022 [Page 71]