[smime] [Errata Held for Document Update] RFC5753 (4777)

RFC Errata System <rfc-editor@rfc-editor.org> Sun, 28 December 2025 15:14 UTC

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Subject: [smime] [Errata Held for Document Update] RFC5753 (4777)
Archived-At: <https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/msg/smime/3SgFyZVQs_RXWCfBpmOq7YI4bMk>

The following errata report has been held for document update 
for RFC5753, "Use of Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) Algorithms in Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS)". 

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You may review the report below and at:
https://www.rfc-editor.org/errata/eid4777

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Status: Held for Document Update
Type: Technical

Reported by: Jim Schaad <ietf@augustcellars.com>
Date Reported: 2016-08-13
Held by: Deb Cooley (IESG)

Section: 3.1.1

Original Text
-------------
-  originator MUST be the alternative originatorKey.  The
      originatorKey algorithm field MUST contain the id-ecPublicKey
      object identifier (see Section 7.1.2).  The parameters associated
      with id-ecPublicKey MUST be absent, ECParameters, or NULL.  The
      parameters associated with id-ecPublicKey SHOULD be absent or
      ECParameters, and NULL is allowed to support legacy
      implementations.  The previous version of this document required
      NULL to be present.  If the parameters are ECParameters, then they
      MUST be namedCurve.  The originatorKey publicKey field MUST
      contain the DER encoding of the value of the ASN.1 type ECPoint
      (see Section 7.2), which represents the sending agent's ephemeral
      EC public key.  The ECPoint in uncompressed form MUST be
      supported.

Corrected Text
--------------
-  originator MUST be the alternative originatorKey.  The
      originatorKey algorithm field MUST contain the id-ecPublicKey
      object identifier (see Section 7.1.2).  The parameters associated
      with id-ecPublicKey MUST be absent, ECParameters, or NULL.  The
      parameters associated with id-ecPublicKey SHOULD be absent or
      ECParameters, and NULL is allowed to support legacy
      implementations.  The previous version of this document required
      NULL to be present.  If the parameters are ECParameters, then they
      MUST be namedCurve.  The originatorKey publicKey field MUST
      contain the encoded public key as defined in [X9.62].  The hybred
      form MUST NOT be used.  The ECPoint in uncompressed form MUST be
      supported.  This mirrors the same format used in public key 
      certificates as defined in Section 2.2 of [RFC5480].

Notes
-----
There is a problem in that for ECPoints, the public key is defined to be encoded differently in this document than it is in a public key certificate.  The difference is the presence of the ASN.1 OCTET STRING wrapper.

OpenSSL and BouncyCastle both use the unwrapped version per Dr. Stephen Henson note to me in mail.

This error is also present in sections 3.1.2, 3.1.3, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 7.2

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RFC5753 (draft-ietf-smime-3278bis-09)
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Title               : Use of Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) Algorithms in Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS)
Publication Date    : January 2010
Author(s)           : S. Turner, D. Brown
Category            : INFORMATIONAL
Source              : S/MIME Mail Security
Stream              : IETF
Verifying Party     : IESG

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