[apps-discuss] AppsDir Review of draft-ietf-eai-simpledowngrade-03
Claudio Allocchio <Claudio.Allocchio@garr.it> Mon, 30 April 2012 14:17 UTC
Return-Path: <Claudio.Allocchio@garr.it>
X-Original-To: apps-discuss@ietfa.amsl.com
Delivered-To: apps-discuss@ietfa.amsl.com
Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by ietfa.amsl.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id E4AE321F864A; Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:17:38 -0700 (PDT)
X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at amsl.com
X-Spam-Flag: NO
X-Spam-Score: -2.599
X-Spam-Level:
X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.599 tagged_above=-999 required=5 tests=[BAYES_00=-2.599]
Received: from mail.ietf.org ([12.22.58.30]) by localhost (ietfa.amsl.com [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with ESMTP id l62eQRJIehyY; Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:17:38 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from cyrus.dir.garr.it (cyrus.dir.garr.it [IPv6:2001:760:0:158::29]) by ietfa.amsl.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id B257F21F863F; Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:17:37 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from mac-allocchio3.elettra.trieste.it (mac-allocchio3.elettra.trieste.it [140.105.2.18]) (authenticated bits=0) by cyrus.dir.garr.it (8.14.5/8.14.5) with ESMTP id q3UEHXiM036854 (version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA bits=256 verify=NO); Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:17:33 +0200 (CEST)
X-DomainKeys: Sendmail DomainKeys Filter v1.0.2 cyrus.dir.garr.it q3UEHXiM036854
DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; s=mail; d=garr.it; c=simple; q=dns; b=m8k1bxR8dcKXrrByAg815bEY3CM+WnFlxo9iJIVhbNZyXVeYvvk5Mt78InDq/VVV3 xcFi7qF5/Ih4yis4g+wde+KTqW/5o/v/PlEJsjjyZPw6VmwcRMXNkACYtHrOeiHeObo Sd3Z9FO8eHcbW5IZa30B+Gp7qXxH9Jb6c6K7qnk=
Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:17:32 +0200
From: Claudio Allocchio <Claudio.Allocchio@garr.it>
X-X-Sender: claudio@mac-allocchio3.elettra.trieste.it
To: apps-discuss@ietf.org, draft-ietf-eai-simpledowngrade.all@tools.ietf.org
Message-ID: <alpine.OSX.2.02.1204301118590.1443@mac-allocchio3.elettra.trieste.it>
User-Agent: Alpine 2.02 (OSX 1266 2009-07-14)
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; format="flowed"; charset="US-ASCII"
Cc: iesg@ietf.org
Subject: [apps-discuss] AppsDir Review of draft-ietf-eai-simpledowngrade-03
X-BeenThere: apps-discuss@ietf.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.12
Precedence: list
List-Id: General discussion of application-layer protocols <apps-discuss.ietf.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <https://www.ietf.org/mailman/options/apps-discuss>, <mailto:apps-discuss-request@ietf.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/apps-discuss>
List-Post: <mailto:apps-discuss@ietf.org>
List-Help: <mailto:apps-discuss-request@ietf.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/apps-discuss>, <mailto:apps-discuss-request@ietf.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:17:39 -0000
Hello all, I have been selected as the Applications Area Directorate co-reviewer for this draft (for background on appsdir, please see http://trac.tools.ietf.org/area/app/trac/wiki/ApplicationsAreaDirectorate ). Please resolve these comments along with any other Last Call comments you may receive. Please wait for direction from your document shepherd or AD before posting a new version of the draft. Document: draft-ietf-eai-simpledowngrade-03 Title: EAI: Simplified POP/IMAP downgrading Reviewer: Claudio Allocchio Review Date: April 30th 2012 IETF Last Call Date: n/a IESG Telechat Date: n/a Summary: This specification needs some revision before it can be published. Some of them are just clarifications and better text, but in the case of the Security Considerations section, it might even need a revision, set of suggestions, from the Security area folks, in order to find the best possible way to explain involved risks. I also suggest further thinking about the "Proposed Standards" track publication. I do see a good number of pros in doing this, but I'm not confident this is the completely correct way to go. Major Issues: 2.3 Subject adding or non adding a "DOWNGRADED" or equivalent to the subject is a major decision which also impacts on the way the security failure which are introduced by this specification are perceived by the user. This issue shall be fixed and a decision taken ASAP, in order to publish this. 5. Security Considerations this section is way too short and simplified, compared to the issues that this specification introduces against secure e-mail mechanisms. This section should give an exaustive list of caveats, and possible actions in various cases, in order to make clear that this specification breaks explicilty most of the existing security anchors where users should rely nowadays. It should also list that, while it is clear that in most of the cases where downgrading and/or gatewaying is involved, possible security leaks are introduced, and user's security mechanisms become invalid. "as is" is not enough. Minor Issues: Abstract: given the quite invasive action on messages presentation that such a specification describes, such a short and "optimistic" abstract is, IMHO, misleading. At least insert a sentence to describe the scenario, and what this specification is trying to accomplish, what problems it tries to solve, and what issues are left open and voluntarily not solved here. 1 Overview: I disagree on the way the overview present "phylosophically" the problem to the reader. This is a technical specification intended for Standards Track, not an informational document. Thus, it should not focus on the way implementerss spend their time, os users' behaviours. It should state the problem and the proposed solutions: (dot)! Here is my suggested version of this paragraph: --- 1. Overview It may happen that a conventional IMAP or POP client opens a mailbox containing internationalized messages, or even attempt to read internationalized messages, for instance when a user has both internationalized and conventional MUAs. When this mismatched sitation happens, various strategies are possible: a) the server can hide the existence of such messages entirely, but doing that can be both tricky to implement and gives a false mailbox status to the user; b) the server attempts to present at least some information about these messages to the user. It shall be clear that what the user is being presented is not the original message, and information is dropped; c) the server does nothing, possibly creating problems to the client, and providing a bad user's experience. This document specify a way to implement strategy b), which enables the best compromise between a) and c), and promotes a simple to implement solution which conveys a better-than-nothing information service to the user. Accuracy of information and Security featues of the message will, however, not be preserved, and users should rely on an internationalised client as much as possible. The server is assumed to be internationalized internally. When it needs to present an internationalized message to a conventional client, it synthesizes a conventional message containing most of the information and presents that (the "synthetic message"). ---- 2.1 Email addresses At lease one sentence clearly stating that this will make impossible to reply to such a synthetic message should be present here. Too obvious? no... never suppouse that. Nits: 1 Overwiew "It may happen that a conventional IMAP or POP client (MUA) opens..." ^ add the definition I suggest coherent use also in other parts of the specification. 6. Acknowledgments well... clean it up from the call, before publishing! 7. IANA Considerations ADD the name of the correct registry! ---------------------------- Ok... now I can go and read my co-reviewer report :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Claudio Allocchio G A R R Claudio.Allocchio@garr.it Senior Technical Officer tel: +39 040 3758523 Italian Academic and G=Claudio; S=Allocchio; fax: +39 040 3758565 Research Network P=garr; A=garr; C=it; PGP Key: http://www.cert.garr.it/PGP/keys.php3#ca
- [apps-discuss] AppsDir Review of draft-ietf-eai-s… Claudio Allocchio
- Re: [apps-discuss] [EAI] AppsDir Review of draft-… Claudio Allocchio
- Re: [apps-discuss] [EAI] AppsDir Review of draft-… Arnt Gulbrandsen
- Re: [apps-discuss] [EAI] AppsDir Review of draft-… Claudio Allocchio
- Re: [apps-discuss] [EAI] AppsDir Review of draft-… Arnt Gulbrandsen
- Re: [apps-discuss] [EAI] AppsDir Review of draft-… Barry Leiba
- Re: [apps-discuss] [EAI] AppsDir Review of draft-… Claudio Allocchio