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This document registers the media type "application/common-alerting-protocol+xml" for Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) format . The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.

The Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) [cap] is an XML document format for exchanging emergency alerts and public warnings. This document registers a media type for CAP documents. The following is an example of a CAP message for a severe thunderstorm warning:

KSTO1055887203 KSTO@NWS.NOAA.GOV 2003-06-17T14:57:00-07:00 Actual Alert Public Met SEVERE THUNDERSTORM Severe Likely NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING AT 254 PM PDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER SOUTH CENTRAL ALPINE COUNTY... OR ABOUT 18 MILES SOUTHEAST OF KIRKWOOD... MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 5 MPH. HAIL... INTENSE RAIN AND STRONG DAMAGING WINDS ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM TAKE COVER IN A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES BARUFFALDI/JUSKIE EXTREME NORTH CENTRAL TUOLUMNE COUNTY IN CALIFORNIA, EXTREME NORTHEASTERN CALAVERAS COUNTY IN CALIFORNIA, SOUTHWESTERN ALPINE COUNTY IN CALIFORNIA 38.47,-120.14 38.34,-119.95 38.52,-119.74 38.62,-119.89 38.47,-120.14 ]]>

ietf-types@iana.org Registration of MIME media type application/ common- alerting-protocol+xml application common-alerting-protocol+xml (none) charset; Indicates the character encoding of the enclosed XML. Default is UTF-8 . Transmission of CAP payloads does not introduce new security risks CAP is widely used for emergency management. RFC XXX [Replace by the RFC number of this specification]. Applications that convey alerts and early warnings according to the CAP standard. OASIS has published the Common Alerting Protocol specification . Hannes Tschofenig, hannes.tschofenig@nsn.com Limited use IETF ATOCA working group This media type is a specialization of application/xml , and many of the considerations described there also apply to application/ common-alerting-protocol+xml.

The introduction of the CAP MIME type does not present any new risks in itself. CAP messages are used to encode emergency alerts, which means that false CAP messages can have significant negative effects, such as the unnecessary evacuation of an area. Systems that process CAP messages will need to have mechanisms for integrity protection and origin authentication, in order to ensure either that end alert recipients do not receive false alerts or that they can distinguish valid alerts from false alerts.

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