7 Network Working Group M. Stapp
8 Request for Comments: 4701 Cisco Systems, Inc.
9 Category: Standards Track T. Lemon
12 Araneus Information Systems Oy
16 A DNS Resource Record (RR) for Encoding
17 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Information (DHCID RR)
21 This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
22 Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
23 improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
24 Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
25 and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
29 Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2006).
33 It is possible for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) clients
34 to attempt to update the same DNS Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN)
35 or to update a DNS FQDN that has been added to the DNS for another
36 purpose as they obtain DHCP leases. Whether the DHCP server or the
37 clients themselves perform the DNS updates, conflicts can arise. To
38 resolve such conflicts, RFC 4703 proposes storing client identifiers
39 in the DNS to unambiguously associate domain names with the DHCP
40 clients to which they refer. This memo defines a distinct Resource
41 Record (RR) type for this purpose for use by DHCP clients and
42 servers: the "DHCID" RR.
58 Stapp, et al. Standards Track [Page 1]
60 RFC 4701 The DHCID RR October 2006
65 1. Introduction ....................................................3
66 2. Terminology .....................................................3
67 3. The DHCID RR ....................................................3
68 3.1. DHCID RDATA Format .........................................3
69 3.2. DHCID Presentation Format ..................................4
70 3.3. The DHCID RR Identifier Type Codes .........................4
71 3.4. The DHCID RR Digest Type Code ..............................4
72 3.5. Computation of the RDATA ...................................5
73 3.5.1. Using the Client's DUID .............................5
74 3.5.2. Using the Client Identifier Option ..................6
75 3.5.3. Using the Client's htype and chaddr .................6
76 3.6. Examples ...................................................6
77 3.6.1. Example 1 ...........................................6
78 3.6.2. Example 2 ...........................................7
79 3.6.3. Example 3 ...........................................7
80 4. Use of the DHCID RR .............................................8
81 5. Updater Behavior ................................................8
82 6. Security Considerations .........................................8
83 7. IANA Considerations .............................................9
84 8. Acknowledgements ................................................9
85 9. References ......................................................9
86 9.1. Normative References .......................................9
87 9.2. Informative References ....................................10
114 Stapp, et al. Standards Track [Page 2]
116 RFC 4701 The DHCID RR October 2006
121 A set of procedures to allow DHCP [7] [11] clients and servers to
122 automatically update the DNS ([3], [4]) is proposed in [1].
124 Conflicts can arise if multiple DHCP clients wish to use the same DNS
125 name or a DHCP client attempts to use a name added for another
126 purpose. To resolve such conflicts, [1] proposes storing client
127 identifiers in the DNS to unambiguously associate domain names with
128 the DHCP clients using them. In the interest of clarity, it is
129 preferable for this DHCP information to use a distinct RR type. This
130 memo defines a distinct RR for this purpose for use by DHCP clients
131 or servers: the "DHCID" RR.
133 In order to obscure potentially sensitive client identifying
134 information, the data stored is the result of a one-way SHA-256 hash
135 computation. The hash includes information from the DHCP client's
136 message as well as the domain name itself, so that the data stored in
137 the DHCID RR will be dependent on both the client identification used
138 in the DHCP protocol interaction and the domain name. This means
139 that the DHCID RDATA will vary if a single client is associated over
140 time with more than one name. This makes it difficult to 'track' a
141 client as it is associated with various domain names.
145 The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
146 "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
147 document are to be interpreted as described in [2].
151 The DHCID RR is defined with mnemonic DHCID and type code 49. The
152 DHCID RR is only defined in the IN class. DHCID RRs cause no
153 additional section processing.
155 3.1. DHCID RDATA Format
157 The RDATA section of a DHCID RR in transmission contains RDLENGTH
158 octets of binary data. The format of this data and its
159 interpretation by DHCP servers and clients are described below.
161 DNS software should consider the RDATA section to be opaque. DHCP
162 clients or servers use the DHCID RR to associate a DHCP client's
163 identity with a DNS name, so that multiple DHCP clients and servers
164 may deterministically perform dynamic DNS updates to the same zone.
165 From the updater's perspective, the DHCID resource record RDATA
166 consists of a 2-octet identifier type, in network byte order,
170 Stapp, et al. Standards Track [Page 3]
172 RFC 4701 The DHCID RR October 2006
175 followed by a 1-octet digest type, followed by one or more octets
176 representing the actual identifier:
178 < 2 octets > Identifier type code
179 < 1 octet > Digest type code
180 < n octets > Digest (length depends on digest type)
182 3.2. DHCID Presentation Format
184 In DNS master files, the RDATA is represented as a single block in
185 base-64 encoding identical to that used for representing binary data
186 in [8], Section 3. The data may be divided up into any number of
187 white-space-separated substrings, down to single base-64 digits,
188 which are concatenated to form the complete RDATA. These substrings
189 can span lines using the standard parentheses.
191 3.3. The DHCID RR Identifier Type Codes
193 The DHCID RR Identifier Type Code specifies what data from the DHCP
194 client's request was used as input into the hash function. The
195 identifier type codes are defined in a registry maintained by IANA,
196 as specified in Section 7. The initial list of assigned values for
197 the identifier type code and that type's identifier is:
200 +------------------+------------------------------------------------+
201 | Identifier Type | Identifier |
203 +------------------+------------------------------------------------+
204 | 0x0000 | The 1-octet 'htype' followed by 'hlen' octets |
205 | | of 'chaddr' from a DHCPv4 client's DHCPREQUEST |
207 | 0x0001 | The data octets (i.e., the Type and |
208 | | Client-Identifier fields) from a DHCPv4 |
209 | | client's Client Identifier option [10]. |
210 | 0x0002 | The client's DUID (i.e., the data octets of a |
211 | | DHCPv6 client's Client Identifier option [11] |
212 | | or the DUID field from a DHCPv4 client's |
213 | | Client Identifier option [6]). |
214 | 0x0003 - 0xfffe | Undefined; available to be assigned by IANA. |
215 | 0xffff | Undefined; RESERVED. |
216 +------------------+------------------------------------------------+
218 3.4. The DHCID RR Digest Type Code
220 The DHCID RR Digest Type Code is an identifier for the digest
221 algorithm used. The digest is calculated over an identifier and the
222 canonical FQDN as described in the next section.
226 Stapp, et al. Standards Track [Page 4]
228 RFC 4701 The DHCID RR October 2006
231 The digest type codes are defined in a registry maintained by IANA,
232 as specified in Section 7. The initial list of assigned values for
233 the digest type codes is: value 0 is reserved, and value 1 is
234 SHA-256. Reserving other types requires IETF standards action.
235 Defining new values will also require IETF standards action to
236 document how DNS updaters are to deal with multiple digest types.
238 3.5. Computation of the RDATA
240 The DHCID RDATA is formed by concatenating the 2-octet identifier
241 type code with variable-length data.
243 The RDATA for all type codes other than 0xffff, which is reserved for
244 future expansion, is formed by concatenating the 2-octet identifier
245 type code, the 1-octet digest type code, and the digest value (32
248 < identifier-type > < digest-type > < digest >
250 The input to the digest hash function is defined to be:
252 digest = SHA-256(< identifier > < FQDN >)
254 The FQDN is represented in the buffer in the canonical wire format as
255 described in [9], Section 6.2. The identifier type code and the
256 identifier are related as specified in Section 3.3: the identifier
257 type code describes the source of the identifier.
259 A DHCPv4 updater uses the 0x0002 type code if a Client Identifier
260 option is present in the DHCPv4 messages and it is encoded as
261 specified in [6]. Otherwise, the updater uses 0x0001 if a Client
262 Identifier option is present, and 0x0000 if not.
264 A DHCPv6 updater always uses the 0x0002 type code.
266 3.5.1. Using the Client's DUID
268 When the updater is using the Client's DUID (either from a DHCPv6
269 Client Identifier option or from a portion of the DHCPv4 Client
270 Identifier option encoded as specified in [6]), the first two octets
271 of the DHCID RR MUST be 0x0002, in network byte order. The third
272 octet is the digest type code (1 for SHA-256). The rest of the DHCID
273 RR MUST contain the results of computing the SHA-256 hash across the
274 octets of the DUID followed by the FQDN.
282 Stapp, et al. Standards Track [Page 5]
284 RFC 4701 The DHCID RR October 2006
287 3.5.2. Using the Client Identifier Option
289 When the updater is using the DHCPv4 Client Identifier option sent by
290 the client in its DHCPREQUEST message, the first two octets of the
291 DHCID RR MUST be 0x0001, in network byte order. The third octet is
292 the digest type code (1 for SHA-256). The rest of the DHCID RR MUST
293 contain the results of computing the SHA-256 hash across the data
294 octets (i.e., the Type and Client-Identifier fields) of the option,
295 followed by the FQDN.
297 3.5.3. Using the Client's htype and chaddr
299 When the updater is using the client's link-layer address as the
300 identifier, the first two octets of the DHCID RDATA MUST be zero.
301 The third octet is the digest type code (1 for SHA-256). To generate
302 the rest of the resource record, the updater computes a one-way hash
303 using the SHA-256 algorithm across a buffer containing the client's
304 network hardware type, link-layer address, and the FQDN data.
305 Specifically, the first octet of the buffer contains the network
306 hardware type as it appeared in the DHCP 'htype' field of the
307 client's DHCPREQUEST message. All of the significant octets of the
308 'chaddr' field in the client's DHCPREQUEST message follow, in the
309 same order in which the octets appear in the DHCPREQUEST message.
310 The number of significant octets in the 'chaddr' field is specified
311 in the 'hlen' field of the DHCPREQUEST message. The FQDN data, as
312 specified above, follows.
318 A DHCP server allocates the IPv6 address 2001:DB8::1234:5678 to a
319 client that included the DHCPv6 client-identifier option data 00:01:
320 00:06:41:2d:f1:66:01:02:03:04:05:06 in its DHCPv6 request. The
321 server updates the name "chi6.example.com" on the client's behalf and
322 uses the DHCP client identifier option data as input in forming a
323 DHCID RR. The DHCID RDATA is formed by setting the two type octets
324 to the value 0x0002, the 1-octet digest type to 1 for SHA-256, and
325 performing a SHA-256 hash computation across a buffer containing the
326 14 octets from the client-id option and the FQDN (represented as
327 specified in Section 3.5).
329 chi6.example.com. AAAA 2001:DB8::1234:5678
330 chi6.example.com. DHCID ( AAIBY2/AuCccgoJbsaxcQc9TUapptP69l
333 If the DHCID RR type is not supported, the RDATA would be encoded
338 Stapp, et al. Standards Track [Page 6]
340 RFC 4701 The DHCID RR October 2006
343 \# 35 ( 000201636fc0b8271c82825bb1ac5c41cf5351aa69b4febd94e8f17cd
348 A DHCP server allocates the IPv4 address 192.0.2.2 to a client that
349 included the DHCP client-identifier option data 01:07:08:09:0a:0b:0c
350 in its DHCP request. The server updates the name "chi.example.com"
351 on the client's behalf and uses the DHCP client identifier option
352 data as input in forming a DHCID RR. The DHCID RDATA is formed by
353 setting the two type octets to the value 0x0001, the 1-octet digest
354 type to 1 for SHA-256, and performing a SHA-256 hash computation
355 across a buffer containing the seven octets from the client-id option
356 and the FQDN (represented as specified in Section 3.5).
358 chi.example.com. A 192.0.2.2
359 chi.example.com. DHCID ( AAEBOSD+XR3Os/0LozeXVqcNc7FwCfQdW
362 If the DHCID RR type is not supported, the RDATA would be encoded
365 \# 35 ( 0001013920fe5d1dceb3fd0ba3379756a70d73b17009f41d58bddbfcd
370 A DHCP server allocating the IPv4 address 192.0.2.3 to a client with
371 the Ethernet MAC address 01:02:03:04:05:06 using domain name
372 "client.example.com" uses the client's link-layer address to identify
373 the client. The DHCID RDATA is composed by setting the two type
374 octets to zero, the 1-octet digest type to 1 for SHA-256, and
375 performing an SHA-256 hash computation across a buffer containing the
376 1-octet 'htype' value for Ethernet, 0x01, followed by the six octets
377 of the Ethernet MAC address, and the domain name (represented as
378 specified in Section 3.5).
380 client.example.com. A 192.0.2.3
381 client.example.com. DHCID ( AAABxLmlskllE0MVjd57zHcWmEH3pCQ6V
384 If the DHCID RR type is not supported, the RDATA would be encoded
387 \# 35 ( 000001c4b9a5b249651343158dde7bcc77169841f7a4243a572b5c283
394 Stapp, et al. Standards Track [Page 7]
396 RFC 4701 The DHCID RR October 2006
399 4. Use of the DHCID RR
401 This RR MUST NOT be used for any purpose other than that detailed in
402 [1]. Although this RR contains data that is opaque to DNS servers,
403 the data must be consistent across all entities that update and
404 interpret this record. Therefore, new data formats may only be
405 defined through actions of the DHC Working Group, as a result of
410 The data in the DHCID RR allows updaters to determine whether more
411 than one DHCP client desires to use a particular FQDN. This allows
412 site administrators to establish policy about DNS updates. The DHCID
413 RR does not establish any policy itself.
415 Updaters use data from a DHCP client's request and the domain name
416 that the client desires to use to compute a client identity hash, and
417 then compare that hash to the data in any DHCID RRs on the name that
418 they wish to associate with the client's IP address. If an updater
419 discovers DHCID RRs whose RDATA does not match the client identity
420 that they have computed, the updater SHOULD conclude that a different
421 client is currently associated with the name in question. The
422 updater SHOULD then proceed according to the site's administrative
423 policy. That policy might dictate that a different name be selected,
424 or it might permit the updater to continue.
426 6. Security Considerations
428 The DHCID record as such does not introduce any new security problems
429 into the DNS. In order to obscure the client's identity information,
430 a one-way hash is used. Further, in order to make it difficult to
431 'track' a client by examining the names associated with a particular
432 hash value, the FQDN is included in the hash computation. Thus, the
433 RDATA is dependent on both the DHCP client identification data and on
434 each FQDN associated with the client.
436 However, it should be noted that an attacker that has some knowledge,
437 such as of MAC addresses commonly used in DHCP client identification
438 data, may be able to discover the client's DHCP identify by using a
439 brute-force attack. Even without any additional knowledge, the
440 number of unknown bits used in computing the hash is typically only
443 Administrators should be wary of permitting unsecured DNS updates to
444 zones, whether or not they are exposed to the global Internet. Both
445 DHCP clients and servers SHOULD use some form of update
446 authentication (e.g., [12]) when performing DNS updates.
450 Stapp, et al. Standards Track [Page 8]
452 RFC 4701 The DHCID RR October 2006
455 7. IANA Considerations
457 IANA has allocated a DNS RR type number for the DHCID record type.
459 This specification defines a new number-space for the 2-octet
460 identifier type codes associated with the DHCID RR. IANA has
461 established a registry of the values for this number-space. Three
462 initial values are assigned in Section 3.3, and the value 0xFFFF is
463 reserved for future use. New DHCID RR identifier type codes are
464 assigned through Standards Action, as defined in [5].
466 This specification defines a new number-space for the 1-octet digest
467 type codes associated with the DHCID RR. IANA has established a
468 registry of the values for this number-space. Two initial values are
469 assigned in Section 3.4. New DHCID RR digest type codes are assigned
470 through Standards Action, as defined in [5].
474 Many thanks to Harald Alvestrand, Ralph Droms, Olafur Gudmundsson,
475 Sam Hartman, Josh Littlefield, Pekka Savola, and especially Bernie
476 Volz for their review and suggestions.
480 9.1. Normative References
482 [1] Stapp, M. and B. Volz, "Resolution of Fully Qualified Domain
483 Name (FQDN) Conflicts among Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
484 (DHCP) Clients", RFC 4703, October 2006.
486 [2] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement
487 Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
489 [3] Mockapetris, P., "Domain names - concepts and facilities",
490 STD 13, RFC 1034, November 1987.
492 [4] Mockapetris, P., "Domain names - implementation and
493 specification", STD 13, RFC 1035, November 1987.
495 [5] Narten, T. and H. Alvestrand, "Guidelines for Writing an IANA
496 Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26, RFC 2434, October 1998.
498 [6] Lemon, T. and B. Sommerfeld, "Node-specific Client Identifiers
499 for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Version Four (DHCPv4)",
500 RFC 4361, February 2006.
506 Stapp, et al. Standards Track [Page 9]
508 RFC 4701 The DHCID RR October 2006
511 9.2. Informative References
513 [7] Droms, R., "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol", RFC 2131,
516 [8] Josefsson, S., "The Base16, Base32, and Base64 Data Encodings",
519 [9] Arends, R., Austein, R., Larson, M., Massey, D., and S. Rose,
520 "Resource Records for the DNS Security Extensions", RFC 4034,
523 [10] Alexander, S. and R. Droms, "DHCP Options and BOOTP Vendor
524 Extensions", RFC 2132, March 1997.
526 [11] Droms, R., Bound, J., Volz, B., Lemon, T., Perkins, C., and M.
527 Carney, "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6
528 (DHCPv6)", RFC 3315, July 2003.
530 [12] Vixie, P., Gudmundsson, O., Eastlake, D., and B. Wellington,
531 "Secret Key Transaction Authentication for DNS (TSIG)",
534 [13] Gustafsson, A., "Handling of Unknown DNS Resource Record (RR)
535 Types", RFC 3597, September 2003.
562 Stapp, et al. Standards Track [Page 10]
564 RFC 4701 The DHCID RR October 2006
571 1414 Massachusetts Ave.
582 Redwood City, CA 94063
585 EMail: mellon@nominum.com
589 Araneus Information Systems Oy
594 EMail: gson@araneus.fi
618 Stapp, et al. Standards Track [Page 11]
620 RFC 4701 The DHCID RR October 2006
623 Full Copyright Statement
625 Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2006).
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674 Stapp, et al. Standards Track [Page 12]