Re: [secdir] review of draft-ietf-tsvwg-iana-ports-09

[Joe Touch <[e-mail]>]

Hi, Sandy,

On 2/1/2011 11:07 AM, Murphy, Sandra wrote:
> I have reviewed this document as part of the security directorate's
> ongoing effort to review all IETF documents being processed by the
> IESG. These comments were written primarily for the benefit of the
> security area directors. Document editors and WG chairs should treat
> these comments just like any other last call comments.
...
> There is a required format for communication of a request to the IANA, I
> presume by email. I did not see any mention of the email address to
> which the request should be sent (RFC5226 also doesn’t seem to mention it).

It's a web form. The doc refers to that in Sec 2:

    Information about the assignment procedures for the port registry has
    existed in three locations: the forms for requesting port number
    assignments on the IANA web site [SYSFORM][USRFORM], an introductory
    text section in the file listing the port number assignments
    themselves (known as the port numbers registry) [PORTREG], and two
    brief sections of the IANA Allocation Guidelines [RFC2780].

I.e., communication is initiated through the forms.

> The procedure requires that the same previous Assignee (or Contact) make
> any subsequent request about a port/name assignment, where the email
> address is provided in the request. Security question: how does the IANA
> know that it is communicating with the same Assignee/Contact? There’s no
> recommendation for security of that communication.

Can you clarify what that would mean? I am not aware of any IETF process 
that requires presenting credentials beyond an email address.

> In the IANA section there is a paragraph:
>
>       IANA is instructed to create a new service name entry in the service
>       name and port number registry [PORTREG] for any entry in the
>       "Protocol and Service Names"  registry [PROTSERVREG] that does not
>       already have one assigned.
>
> Are there no guidelines for creating the new service name?

See Sec 8.1. The new assignment procedure allows for service names to be 
requested without port numbers

Joe