[cabfpub] Proposed new ballot on IP Addresses in SANs

Rob Stradling rob.stradling at comodo.com
Thu Apr 21 06:48:40 MST 2016


On 21/04/16 14:24, Jody Cloutier wrote:
> Simple - because we have customers who now need the functionality, and
> without this change we cannot give it to them.

Jody,

You said that Microsoft "are not currently planning on back-porting this 
change to previous operating systems".

ISTM that Microsoft are free to decide to change their plans!

Then we wouldn't have to weaken the BRs.

> <http://aka.ms/weboutlook>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* Richard Barnes <rbarnes at mozilla.com>
> *Sent:* Thursday, April 21, 2016 6:22:02 AM
> *To:* Jody Cloutier
> *Cc:* Ryan Sleevi; Rick Andrews; public at cabforum.org
> *Subject:* Re: [cabfpub] Proposed new ballot on IP Addresses in SANs
>
>
> On Thu, Apr 21, 2016 at 9:13 AM, Jody Cloutier <jodycl at microsoft.com
> <mailto:jodycl at microsoft.com>> wrote:
>
>     Ryan, I'm not sure I understand why Google is so intent on this new
>     course of public shaming on this matter and others currently under
>     discussion, but if it helps to do the right thing, then fine. The
>     fact is that the requirement was not addressed, and we need to
>     figure out how to fix the issue for all of our customers. Microsoft
>     has addressed this in Windows 10, but we are not currently planning
>     on back-porting this change to previous operating systems. As such,
>     this change is needed or all of our customers will be affected.
>
>
> Maybe I'm being dense, but I'm still not understanding what's changed
> here.  How have these customers not been "affected" already for all
> time?  The BRs have *always* prohibited IP addresses in dNSName SANs
> (all the way back to v1), so presumably if everyone were adhering to the
> BRs, people haven't *ever* been able to use pre-Win10 cilents.  Why do
> we need to create that capability now?
>
> --Richard
>
>
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     *From:* public-bounces at cabforum.org
>     <mailto:public-bounces at cabforum.org> <public-bounces at cabforum.org
>     <mailto:public-bounces at cabforum.org>> on behalf of Ryan Sleevi
>     <sleevi at google.com <mailto:sleevi at google.com>>
>     *Sent:* Saturday, April 16, 2016 9:37 AM
>     *To:* Rick Andrews
>     *Cc:* public at cabforum.org <mailto:public at cabforum.org>
>     *Subject:* Re: [cabfpub] Proposed new ballot on IP Addresses in SANs
>
>
>     On Sat, Apr 16, 2016 at 9:31 AM, Rick Andrews
>     <Rick_Andrews at symantec.com <mailto:Rick_Andrews at symantec.com>> wrote:
>
>         I disagree with the tone that CAs are entirely to blame here.
>
>
>     Why? I provided you evidence on how you could have issued such
>     certificates without violating the BRs.
>
>     The fact that you:
>     1) Seemingly did not attempt to discover this yourself
>     2) If you did attempt, were unable to, and did not seek for outside
>     input
>     3) When you did receive outside input, ignored it
>     4) Have continued to argue that it's necessary, without providing
>     any response in over 8 months show that it isn't
>
>     Shows that the CAs doing this ARE entirely to blame.
>
>         The BRs are baseline requirements, and browser vendors often say
>         that they have the right to impose additional requirements above
>         and beyond the BRs. When that happens, though, it sometimes puts
>         CAs in a bind.
>
>
>     And by a bind, it means you'd like to do something, but can't,
>     besides browsers say you shouldn't. That isn't a bind - that's how
>     security works. You can't be simultaneously trusted to be the
>     bastion of online security while also engaging in insecure
>     practices. That isn't how trust works.
>
>         This is a case in which the BRs say we can't do something, but
>         one browser vendor says we can.
>
>
>     I'd love to hear that from Jody, given the evidence.
>
>         Ideally, Microsoft would have recognized this back before the
>         BRs were adopted, and addressed it in their platform or lobbied
>         to rewrite the requirement.
>
>
>     "And addressed it in their platform" - but they did, as you yourself
>     have said. Windows 10 addressed this.
>
>         But that didn't happen. We're trying to rectify the situation now.
>
>
>     You're not trying to rectify it. If you were, you would have
>     explored 8 months ago what I proposed, and reported back to the
>     Forum why it wasn't viable.
>
>     And let's be clear here: there's a big difference between "not
>     viable" (e.g. it doesn't work) and "not desirable" (e.g. our
>     customers or we have to do more work). Given the role that CAs play
>     in the online trust ecosystem, the goal is not to enable every
>     business desire a CA has, nor to encourage or bless every practice
>     that violates standards. It's to make a balanced tradeoff between
>     risk, reward, and standards. I have seen no evidence of good-faith
>     effort on your part in the past 8 months to strike that balance,
>     because if there had been, the line of reasoning for this change
>     wouldn't be what you're presently arguing.

-- 
Rob Stradling
Senior Research & Development Scientist
COMODO - Creating Trust Online



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