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Re: [smime] PKCS#7 v1.5 vs. CMS / ContentInfo vs. EncapsulatedContentInfo based on version

2017-11-03 11:26:59
The version is structure in this manner so that an implementation that checks 
the version number and then does a decode will never get a decode error on a 
properly constructed message.

If the only changes are (migrate from PKCS#1 v1.5 to RSA-PSS) and (migrate from 
PKCS#1 v1.5 to PRS-OAEP), then the change should be very straightforward.

If you are not using any version 1 attribute certificates, identifying the 
signer with the subject public key identifier, or using a content type other 
than id-data, then the version for Signed-Data should not change.

I am assuming that you are not mixing RSA-OAEP with other key management 
algorithms.  If you are not using unprotect attributes or identifying the 
signer with the subject public key identifier, then the version number for 
Enveloped-Data should not change.

Russ



On Nov 3, 2017, at 12:04 PM, Martin Rex <mrex(_at_)sap(_dot_)com> wrote:

There is a somewhat confusing ruleset around the "SignedData" PDU
version field in the CMS specification, and insufficient guidance
about the ramifications for the Encoder/Decoder for ContentInfo
when version 1 vs. 3 is chosen.

The organization responsible for certain legally mandated data exchanges
in Germany is rev'ving their requirements, intoducing RSA-PSS signatures
on certificates plus RSA-OAEP encryption for AppData.

Previously, they've been using PKCS#7 v1.5 PDUs with RSA PKCS#1 v1.5
transforms.

The confusion I'm seeing is about the choice of the SignedData "version"
field, and the resulting consequences for the (ASN.1) PDU encoder/decoder
for the ContentInfo vs. EncapsulatedContentInfo in SignedData.


For the encoder/decoder, the reasonable interpretation would be,
that whenever version=1, then the PKCS#7 ContentInfo encoding will be
used, and only for version>=3, the CMS EncapsulatedContentInfo encoding
will be encoded or decoded.


However the current reading of the CMS standard by that organization is
that they want to specify version=1 in combination with 
EncapsulatedContentInfo
encoding -- something that looks extremely weird to me, and would require
significant contortions in the ASN.1 encoder and decoder.

For the encoder, it will require a laying violation from within the encoder,
looking at later elements and semantics of higher level PDUs.

For the decoder, it essentially will require heuristics (trial-and-error)
decoding if the PDU version will no longer matter, and the data determining
which encoding is appropriate, has not been decoded yet at this point
requiring a retroactive verification of whether the heuristically determined
encoding was actually a _valid_ encoding.


Any comments from folks more experienced with CMS ?

-Martin

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