2 NETWORK WORKING GROUP N. Williams
4 Expires: August 15, 2005 February 14, 2005
7 GSS-API Extension for Storing Delegated Credentials
8 draft-ietf-kitten-gssapi-store-cred-00.txt
12 By submitting this Internet-Draft, I certify that any applicable
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33 This Internet-Draft will expire on August 15, 2005.
37 Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005). All Rights Reserved.
41 This document defines a new function for the GSS-API which allows
42 applications to store delegated (and other) credentials in the
43 implicit GSS-API credential store. This is needed for GSS-API
44 applications to use delegated credentials as they would use other
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61 1. Conventions used in this document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
62 2. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
63 3. GSS_Store_cred() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
64 4. C-Bindings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
65 5. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
66 6. Security considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
67 7. Normative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
68 Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
69 Intellectual Property and Copyright Statements . . . . . . . . 10
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115 1. Conventions used in this document
117 The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
118 "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
119 document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].
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173 The GSS-API [RFC2743] clearly assumes that credentials exist in an
174 implicit store whence they can be acquired using GSS_Acquire_cred()
175 and GSS_Add_cred() or through use of the default credential.
176 Multiple credential stores may exist on a given host, but only one
177 store may be accessed by GSS_Acquire_cred() and GSS_Add_cred() at any
180 This assumption can be seen in sections 1.1.1.2 and 1.1.1.3 of
181 [RFC2743] as well as in section 3.5 of [RFC2744].
183 Note to the RFC editor: please remove this note before publication.]
185 Applications may be able to change the credential store from which
186 credentials can be acquired, either by changing user contexts (where
187 the applications have the privilege to do so) or by other means
188 (where a user may have multiple credential stores).
190 Some GSS-API acceptor applications always change user contexts, after
191 accepting a GSS-API security context and making appropriate
192 authorization checks, to the user context corresponding to the
193 initiator principal name or to a context requested by the initiator.
194 The means by which credential stores are managed are generally beyond
195 the scope of the GSS-API.
197 In the case of delegated credential handles however, such credentials
198 do not exist in the acceptor's credential store or in the credential
199 stores of the user contexts to which the acceptor application might
200 change - which is precisely the raison d'etre of credential
201 delegation. But the GSS-API provides no mechanism by which delegated
202 credential handles can be made available for acquisition through
203 GSS_Acquire_cred()/GSS_Add_cred(). The GSS-API also does not provide
204 any credential import/export interfaces like the GSS-API context
205 import/export interfaces.
207 Thus acceptors are limited to making only direct use of delegated
208 credential handles and only with GSS_Init_sec_context(),
209 GSS_Inquire_cred*() and GSS_Release_cred(). This limitation is
210 particularly onerous on Unix systems where a call to exec() to
211 replace the process image obliterates the delegated credentials
214 In order to make delegated credentials generally as useful as
215 credentials that can be acquired with GSS_Acquire_cred() and
216 GSS_Add_cred() a primitive is needed which allows storing of
217 credentials in the implicit credential store. This primitive we call
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230 o input_cred_handle CREDENTIAL HANDLE, -- credential to store; MUST
231 NOT be GSS_C_NO_CREDENTIAL
232 o cred_usage INTEGER -- 0=INITIATE-AND-ACCEPT, 1=INITIATE-ONLY,
234 o desired_mech_element OBJECT IDENTIFIER, -- if GSS_C_NULL_OID then
235 store all the elements of the input_cred_handle, otherwise store
236 only the element of the corresponding mechanism
237 o overwrite_cred BOOLEAN, -- if TRUE replace any credential for the
238 same principal in the credential store
239 o default_cred BOOLEAN -- if TRUE make the stored credential
240 available as the default credential (for acquisition with
241 GSS_C_NO_NAME as the desired name or for use as
245 o major_status INTEGER,
246 o minor_status INTEGER,
247 o mech_elements_stored SET OF OBJECT IDENTIFIER, -- the set of
248 mechanism OIDs for which credential elements were successfully
250 o cred_usage_stored INTEGER -- like cred_usage, but indicates what
251 kind of credential was stored (useful when the cred_usage input
252 parameter is set to INITIATE-AND-ACCEPT)
254 Return major_status codes:
255 o GSS_S_COMPLETE indicates that the credentials were successfully
257 o GSS_S_CREDENTIALS_EXPIRED indicates that the input credentials had
258 expired or expired before they could be stored.
259 o GSS_S_NO_CRED indicates that no input credentials were given.
260 o GSS_S_UNAVAILABLE indicates that the credential store is not
262 o GSS_S_DUPLICATE_ELEMENT indicates that an element of the input
263 credential could not be stored because a credential for the same
264 principal exists in the current credential store and the
265 overwrite_cred input argument was FALSE.
266 o GSS_S_FAILURE indicates that the credential could not be stored
267 for some other reason. The minor status code may provide more
268 information if a non-GSS_C_NULL_OID desired_mech_element was
271 GSS_Store_cred() is used to store, in the current credential store, a
272 given credential that has either been acquired from a different
273 credential store or been accepted as a delegated credential.
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283 Specific mechanism elements of a credential can be stored one at a
284 time by specifying a non-GSS_C_NULL_OID mechanism OID as the
285 desired_mech_element input argument, in which case the minor status
286 output SHOULD have a mechanism-specific value when the major status
287 is not GSS_S_COMPLETE.
289 The initiator, acceptor or both usages of the input credential may be
290 stored as per the cred_usage input argument.
292 The credential elements that were actually stored, when the major
293 status is GSS_S_COMPLETE, are indicated through the cred_usage_stored
294 and mech_elements_stored function outputs.
296 If credentials already exist in the current store for the principal
297 of the input_cred_handle, then those credentials are not replaced
298 with the input credentials unless the overwrite_cred input argument
301 Finally, if the current credential store has no default credential
302 (that is, no credential that could be acquired for GSS_C_NO_NAME) or
303 if the default_cred input argument is TRUE, and the input credential
304 can be successfully stored, then the input credential will be
305 available for acquisition with GSS_C_NO_NAME as the desired name
306 input to GSS_Acquire_cred() or GSS_Add_cred() as well as for use as
307 GSS_C_NO_CREDENTIAL for the cred_handle inputs to GSS_Inquire_cred(),
308 GSS_Inquire_cred_by_mech(), GSS_Init_sec_context() and
309 GSS_Accept_sec_context().
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341 The C-bindings for GSS_Store_cred() make use of types from and are
342 designed based on the style of the GSS-APIv2 C-Bindings [RFC2744].
345 OM_uint32 gss_store_cred(
346 OM_uint32 *minor_status,
347 gss_cred_id_t input_cred,
348 gss_cred_usage_t cred_usage,
349 const gss_OID desired_mech,
350 OM_uint32 overwrite_cred,
351 OM_uint32 default_cred,
352 gss_OID_set *elements_stored,
353 gss_cred_usage_t *cred_usage_stored)
358 The two boolean arguments, 'overwrite_cred' and 'default_cred' are
359 typed as OM_uint32; 0 corresponds to FALSE, non-zero values
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397 The intended usage of GSS_Store_cred() is to make delegated
398 credentials available to child processes of GSS-API acceptor
399 applications. Example pseudo-code:
403 * <GSS_Accept_sec_context() loop resulting in GSS_S_COMPLETE,
404 * an initiator name (hereafter, "src_name") and a delegated
405 * credential handle (hereafter "deleg_cred").>
407 * <"requested_username" is a username derived from the
408 * initiator name or explicitly requested by the initiator
413 if (authorize_gss_client(src_name, requested_username)) {
415 * For Unix-type platforms this may mean calling setuid() and
416 * it may or may not also mean setting/unsetting such
417 * environment variables as KRB5CCNAME and what not.
419 if (change_user_context(requested_username))
420 (void) gss_store_creds(&minor_status, deleg_cred,
421 GSS_C_INITIATE, actual_mech,
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451 6. Security considerations
453 Acceptor applications MUST only store delegated credentials into
454 appropriate credential stores and only after proper authorization of
455 the authenticated initiator principal to the requested service(s).
457 Acceptor applications that have no use for delegated credentials MUST
458 release them (such acceptor applications that use the GSS-API
459 C-Bindings may simply provide a NULL value for the
460 delegated_cred_handle argument to gss_accept_sec_context()).
464 [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
465 Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
467 [RFC2743] Linn, J., "Generic Security Service Application Program
468 Interface Version 2, Update 1", RFC 2743, January 2000.
470 [RFC2744] Wray, J., "Generic Security Service API Version 2 :
471 C-bindings", RFC 2744, January 2000.
482 EMail: Nicolas.Williams@sun.com
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