Re: [Secdispatch] sntrup761x25519-sha512

[Roman Danyliw <[e-mail]>]

Hi Simon!

Thanks for raising this important piece of SSH registry maintenance (draft-josefsson-ntruprime-ssh-00).

The registry analysis described below is correct as of right now -- adding to the "Key Exchange Method Names" registry, https://www.iana.org/assignments/ssh-parameters/ssh-parameters.xhtml#ssh-parameters-16, requires IETF Review (i.e., something in the IETF stream).

Several meetings ago this registration policy was discussed and noted to be too restrictive.  After discussion in CURDLE and then in SecDispatch, an AD-sponsored document, https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-yee-ssh-iana-requirements/, was produced (thanks Peter Yee!) and it has been approved by the IESG.  There are a few minor editorial change to make.  After these are done, it will go to the RFC Editor and the changes to the registration practices will be enacted.

Practically, after publication of this RFC, the registration policy for "Key Exchange Method Names" will be "Expert Review".  This lower bar does not require an IETF-stream RFC (or even any RFC).  To double check, is there still interest in pursuing publication?

Roman



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Simon Josefsson <[e-mail]>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2023 9:48 AM
> To: [e-mail]
> Subject: [Secdispatch] sntrup761x25519-sha512
> 
> Hi
> 
> Over at the Curdle list the SSH sntrup761x25519-sha512 draft has been
> discussed:
> 
> https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-josefsson-ntruprime-ssh-00
> https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/curdle/?gbt=1&index=g00shBcI9eUn
> wabG-oVTWdPXTVI
> 
> For context, this protocol (under a private-use code point) is the default SSH
> KEX in recent versions of OpenSSH, with support in TinySSH and AsyncSSH; and
> it is shipping with GNU/Linux distributions that will be supported many years
> going forward.
> 
> The situation is similar to what we did for RFC 8731 when we documented how
> Curve25519 was used in OpenSSH at the time.  Many implementations
> (including OpenSSH) now use the RFC 8731 algorithm identifier that is under
> IETF change control.
> 
> Rich's analysis below of what the IANA registry rules for SSH means, and
> quoting RFC 8126:
> 
> 4.8.  IETF Review
>      (Formerly called "IETF Consensus" in the first edition of this
>    document.)  With the IETF Review policy, new values are assigned only
>    through RFCs in the IETF Stream -- those that have been shepherded
>    through the IESG as AD-Sponsored or IETF working group documents
>    [RFC2026] [RFC5378], have gone through IETF Last Call, and have been
>    approved by the IESG as having IETF consensus.
> 
> Could SECDISPATCH provide feedback and make a decision?  It seems two
> possible routes forward are to form a WG for this, or to go the AD-sponsored
> route.
> 
> /Simon