ietf-dkim
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Re: [ietf-dkim] Last call comment: Changing the g= definition

2010-10-13 16:41:21
Clarifying question:  What does "this situation" (in the last paragraph)
refer to:  the use of an empty "g=" value, or an empty "g=" value absent
a "v=" tag?

The latter, the "can't tell" situation.  We can tweak the text to make
that clearer, if the WG wants this change.

Barry

On Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 5:34 PM, Jim Fenton <fenton(_at_)cisco(_dot_)com> wrote:
 On 10/13/10 1:03 PM, Barry Leiba wrote:
I thought we'd had this discussion before, and what's there was what
we decided to do.  Search facilities are inadequate for easy checking.
  I certainly think that pointing out the ambiguity issue is important,
so I, as a participant, wouldn't want to remove it entirely.  Allow me
to suggest the following alternative text, and ask other participants
to weigh in on which you prefer:


    3.6.1.1. Compatibility Note for DomainKeys

       Key records for DKIM are backward-compatible with key records
       for the now-obsolete DomainKeys [RFC4870], except in one
       circumstance: DomainKeys interpreted an empty "g=" value to
       match any signing address ("i=" in the signature).  In DKIM, that
       matching is done by "g=*", or by omitting "g=" and taking the
       default behaviour.  An empty "g=" value in DKIM will match only
       empty "i=" values.

       If a key record uses an empty "g=" value and also uses "v=",
       the key record can be identified as belonging to DKIM, and the
       DKIM interpretation will be used.  Absent a "v=" tag, though,
       the verifier cannot tell whether the signer intended the
       DomainKeys interpretation or the DKIM one.

       To avoid second-guessing in a security context, and because
       DomainKeys is an obsolete protocol, DKIM verifiers MUST
       interpret this situation in DKIM terms, matching only
       empty "i=" values.


Clarifying question:  What does "this situation" (in the last paragraph)
refer to:  the use of an empty "g=" value, or an empty "g=" value absent
a "v=" tag?

-Jim

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