Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) O. Sury Request for Comments: 8080 CZ.NIC Category: Standards Track R. Edmonds ISSN: 2070-1721 Fastly February 2017
Edwards-Curve Digital Security Algorithm (EdDSA) for DNSSEC
Abstract
This document describes how to specify Edwards-curve Digital Security Algorithm (EdDSA) keys and signatures in DNS Security (DNSSEC). It uses EdDSA with the choice of two curves: Ed25519 and Ed448.
Status of This Memo
This is an Internet Standards Track document.
This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has received public review and has been approved for publication by the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Further information on Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 7841.
Information about the current status of this document, any errata, and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8080.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2017 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the document authors. All rights reserved.
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DNSSEC, which is broadly defined in [RFC4033], [RFC4034], and [RFC4035], uses cryptographic keys and digital signatures to provide authentication of DNS data. Currently, the most popular signature algorithm in use is RSA. GOST [RFC5933] and NIST-specified elliptic curve cryptography [RFC6605] are also standardized.
[RFC8032] describes the elliptic curve signature system Edwards-curve Digital Signature Algorithm (EdDSA) and recommends two curves, Ed25519 and Ed448.
This document defines the use of DNSSEC's DS, DNSKEY, and RRSIG resource records (RRs) with a new signing algorithm, EdDSA, using a choice of two curves: Ed25519 and Ed448.
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 [RFC2119].
An Ed25519 public key consists of a 32-octet value, which is encoded into the Public Key field of a DNSKEY resource record as a simple bit string. The generation of a public key is defined in Section 5.1.5 of [RFC8032].
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RFC 8080 EdDSA for DNSSEC February 2017
An Ed448 public key consists of a 57-octet value, which is encoded into the Public Key field of a DNSKEY resource record as a simple bit string. The generation of a public key is defined in Section 5.2.5 of [RFC8032].
An Ed25519 signature consists of a 64-octet value, which is encoded into the Signature field of an RRSIG resource record as a simple bit string. The Ed25519 signature algorithm and verification of the Ed25519 signature are described in Sections 5.1.6 and 5.1.7 of [RFC8032], respectively.
An Ed448 signature consists of a 114-octet value, which is encoded into the Signature field of an RRSIG resource record as a simple bit string. The Ed448 signature algorithm and verification of the Ed448 signature are described in Sections 5.2.6 and 5.2.7 of [RFC8032], respectively.
5. Algorithm Number for DS, DNSKEY, and RRSIG Resource Records
The algorithm number associated with the use of Ed25519 in DS, DNSKEY, and RRSIG resource records is 15. The algorithm number associated with the use of Ed448 in DS, DNSKEY, and RRSIG resource records is 16. This registration is fully defined in the IANA Considerations section.
This document updates the IANA registry "Domain Name System Security (DNSSEC) Algorithm Numbers". The following entries have been added to the registry:
+--------------+----------+----------+ | Number | 15 | 16 | | Description | Ed25519 | Ed448 | | Mnemonic | ED25519 | ED448 | | Zone Signing | Y | Y | | Trans. Sec. | * | * | | Reference | RFC 8080 | RFC 8080 | +--------------+----------+----------+
* There has been no determination of standardization of the use of this algorithm with Transaction Security.
The security considerations of [RFC8032] and [RFC7748] are inherited in the usage of Ed25519 and Ed448 in DNSSEC.
Ed25519 is intended to operate at around the 128-bit security level and Ed448 at around the 224-bit security level. A sufficiently large quantum computer would be able to break both. Reasonable projections of the abilities of classical computers conclude that Ed25519 is
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perfectly safe. Ed448 is provided for those applications with relaxed performance requirements and where there is a desire to hedge against analytical attacks on elliptic curves.
These assessments could, of course, change in the future if new attacks that work better than the ones known today are found.
A private key used for a DNSSEC zone MUST NOT be used for any other purpose than for that zone. Otherwise, cross-protocol or cross- application attacks are possible.
Some of the material in this document is copied liberally from [RFC6605].
The authors of this document wish to thank Jan Vcelak, Pieter Lexis, Kees Monshouwer, Simon Josefsson, Paul Hoffman, and others for a review of this document.
Authors' Addresses
Ondrej Sury CZ.NIC Milesovska 1136/5 Praha 130 00 Czech Republic
Email: ondrej.sury@nic.cz
Robert Edmonds Fastly Atlanta, Georgia United States of America