Internet Engineering Task Force H. Salgado Internet-Draft NIC Chile Intended status: Informational M. Vergara Expires: 4 February 2024 DigitalOcean 3 August 2023 The "ZONEVERSION" EDNS option for the version token of a Resource Record's zone draft-ietf-dnsop-zoneversion-04 Abstract The "ZONEVERSION" EDNS option allows a DNS querier to request a DNS authoritative server to add an EDNS option in the answer of such query with a token field representing the version of the zone which contains the answered Resource Record ("RR"), such as the Start Of Authority ("SOA") serial field in zones when this number corresponds to the zone version. This "ZONEVERSION" data allows to debug and diagnose problems by helping to recognize the data source of an answer in an atomic single DNS query, by associating the response with a respective zone version of such domain name. Status of This Memo This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet- Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." This Internet-Draft will expire on 4 February 2024. Copyright Notice Copyright (c) 2023 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the document authors. All rights reserved. Salgado & Vergara Expires 4 February 2024 [Page 1] Internet-Draft The ZONEVERSION EDNS option August 2023 This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/ license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document. Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must include Revised BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License. Table of Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1.1. Requirements Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2. The ZONEVERSION Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2.1. The ZONEVERSION Option Presentation Format . . . . . . . 4 3. ZONEVERSION Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3.1. Initiator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3.2. Responder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4. Type Definition for SOA-SERIAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4.1. Type SOA-SERIAL Presentation Format . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5. Example usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 6. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7.1. DNS EDNS0 Option Code Registration . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7.2. ZONEVERSION Registry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7.2.1. Expert Review Directives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 8. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 9. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 10. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Appendix A. Implementation Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Appendix B. Implementation References . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 1. Introduction The "ZONEVERSION" EDNS option [RFC6891] allows a DNS querier to request to a DNS authoritative server to add an EDNS option in the answer of such query with a token field representing the version of the zone associated to the answered Resource Record (RR), such as the SOA serial field in zones when this number corresponds to the zone version. This "ZONEVERSION" data allows to help debug by recognizing the data source of an answer, associating this answer with a respective zone version. Salgado & Vergara Expires 4 February 2024 [Page 2] Internet-Draft The ZONEVERSION EDNS option August 2023 DNS data is of loose coherent nature, meaning that a record obtained by a response could be out-of-sync with other authoritative sources of the same data. This makes it difficult to debug responses, because you'd need to couple an answer with the same version of the zone used to obtain such data. Even when in zones where the SOA serial field have the meaning of zone version you could use a separate query to ask for the SOA RR of the zone and therefore know its SOA serial, but such separate query is performed in a different time and could arrive from another authoritative source (for example, in the case the server is anycasted as described in Section 4.9 of [RFC4786]), so it's not directly correlated with the original query. This EDNS option is aimed to be used only on authoritative servers for a zone. It's intended for hop-to-hop communication (not transitive). The ZONEVERSION EDNS extension can have different meaning depending on the semantics of the zone maintainer and implementation of nameservers. This document defines one possible value, when the zone version corresponds to the serial field of the SOA RR of the zone, a classic behaviour defined in Section 4.3.5 of [RFC1034]. As of the writing of this document, we recognize there are cases where nameservers use different backends for its data sources (like relational databases or by using a different off-DNS synchronicity among others) therefore, the SOA version field doesn't offer much relevance as a versioning to its content, and in those cases the ZONEVERSION EDNS extension SHOULD be extended with a different type and have an opaque value for its data token. 1.1. Requirements Language 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]. 2. The ZONEVERSION Option The variable part of RDATA in the OPT RR Section 6.1.2 of [RFC6891] for ZONEVERSION is defined as follows: * The OPTION-CODE for the ZONEVERSION option is . * The OPTION-LENGTH for the ZONEVERSION option MUST have a value of 0 for queries, and MUST have the value of the length in octets for the next OPTION-DATA for responses. Salgado & Vergara Expires 4 February 2024 [Page 3] Internet-Draft The ZONEVERSION EDNS option August 2023 * The OPTION-DATA for the ZONEVERSION option is composed of the concatenation of - An unsigned 1 byte Label Count number (LABELCOUNT) indicating the number of labels in the QNAME owner name this answer's zone name refers to - An unsigned 1 byte type number (TYPE) that distingishes the format and meaning of TYPEDATA - And the final Data value of the ZONEVERSION field as an opaque bit value (TYPEDATA). +0 (MSB) +1 (LSB) +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 0: | LABELCOUNT | TYPE | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 2: | TYPEDATA | / / +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ Figure 1: Diagram with the OPTION-DATA format for ZONEVERSION option The LABELCOUNT number helps to disambiguate the name of the zone that this ZONEVERSION refers to. For example if the response is a downward referral and the server is authoritative for some portion of the QNAME that differs from a server that is below the zone cut and is completely authoritative for a longer match of the labels in the QNAME. Also, if the ANSWER section has more than one RR set with different zones (like a CNAME and a target name in another zone) the number of labels in the QNAME disambiguate such situation. The value of the LABELCOUNT field MUST NOT count the null (root) label that terminates the QNAME owner name. The value of the LABELCOUNT field MUST be less than or equal to the number of labels in the QNAME owner name. For example, a QNAME "www.example.com." or "a.b.example.com" or "a.b.c.example.com" inside a "example.com." zone, that is not delegated not authoritative for those sub-zones in the same nameserver, has a LABELCOUNT field value of 2 for all such cases. Root zone (".") has a LABELCOUNT field value of 0. [RFC Editor: change to the proper code when assigned by IANA.] 2.1. The ZONEVERSION Option Presentation Format The presentation format of the RDATA portion is as follows: Salgado & Vergara Expires 4 February 2024 [Page 4] Internet-Draft The ZONEVERSION EDNS option August 2023 The OPTION-CODE field MUST be represented as the mnemonic value "ZONEVERSION". The OPTION-LENGTH field could be omitted in presentation format, but if used it MUST be represented as an unsigned decimal integer. The LABELCOUNT value of OPTION-DATA field could be omitted in presentation format, but if used it MUST be represented as an unsigned decimal integer. It's RECOMMENDED to display the zone name that represents this number of labels of the QNAME owner name, for a simpler human consumption. The TYPE, TYPEDATA values of OPTION-DATA field should be represented following its own format, as specified in the corresponding type's specification. 3. ZONEVERSION Processing 3.1. Initiator The EDNS ZONEVERSION option MAY be included on any QUERY, by adding a zero-length EDNS ZONEVERSION option to the options field of the OPT record when the query is made. 3.2. Responder If an EDNS ZONEVERSION option is sent to a server that is Authoritative for the zone, then a name server that understands the ZONEVERSION option and chooses to honor a particular ZONEVERSION request, MUST put in the OPTION-DATA a type and value that corresponds to the properly semantic of such type number, and corresponds to a zone versioning value of the zone that holds the original QNAME of the reply (as per Section 4 of [RFC8499]). Otherwise, the answer MUST NOT add an EDNS ZONEVERSION option to the response. In case of a downward referral response, even when the Authoritative Answer bit is not set, this specification considers that the Answer holds data that is authoritative for some portion of the QNAME (see "Referrals" in Section 4 of [RFC8499]). Given this, a ZONEVERSION option MUST be present as indicated in the paragraph above, with the zone versioning value that holds that portion of the QNAME where it is completely authoritative. Salgado & Vergara Expires 4 February 2024 [Page 5] Internet-Draft The ZONEVERSION EDNS option August 2023 4. Type Definition for SOA-SERIAL The first and only ZONEVERSION type defined in this document for the ZONEVERSION Option has the TYPE of 0, and its corresponding TYPEDATA MUST be a copy of the unsigned 32 bit version number as defined in the SERIAL field of the "SOA RDATA Format" in Section 3.3.13 of [RFC1035]. The mnemonic of this type is SOA-SERIAL. The OPTION-LENGTH for this ZONEVERSION type MUST have a value of 6 for responses. Note that in the case of a SERVFAIL RCODE the responder MAY include the ZONEVERSION EDNS Option if the QNAME still belongs to an authoritative zone of the server, in which case that value MUST be the one included in the answer. Note that a NODATA response code as defined in Section 3 of [RFC8499] MUST also include the ZONEVERSION answer even when there's no ANSWER data for the QNAME, since the RCODE is NOERROR. 4.1. Type SOA-SERIAL Presentation Format The presentation format of this type content is as follows: The TYPE field MUST be represented as the mnemonic value "SOA- SERIAL". The TYPEDATA field MUST be represented as an unsigned decimal integer. 5. Example usage A zone which utilizes the serial field of the SOA RR as a number of the zone version release, should answer a ZONEVERSION request with an EDNS option code ZONEVERSION, an OPTION-LENGTH with value 6, and an OPTION-DATA with a 1-byte LABELCOUNT with the number of labels that corresponds to the zone apex name, a 1-byte TYPE with value 0, and a copy of the unsigned 32 bit version number of the SERIAL field of its SOA zone Resource Record. An example of a proper diagnostic tool that implements ZONEVERSION EDNS extension towards a compliant authoritative DNS server could be: Salgado & Vergara Expires 4 February 2024 [Page 6] Internet-Draft The ZONEVERSION EDNS option August 2023 $ dig @ns.example.com www.example.com aaaa +zoneversion ; <<>> DiG 9.17.14-patched <<>> @ns.example.com www.example.com aaaa +zoneversion ; (1 server found) ;; global options: +cmd ;; Got answer: ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 7077 ;; flags: qr aa; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 1, ADDITIONAL: 2 ;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION: ; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 1232 ; ZONEVERSION: 02 00 00 04 78 95 a4 e9 ("SOA-SERIAL: 2023073001 (example.com.)") ;; QUESTION SECTION: ;www.example.com. IN AAAA ;; ANSWER SECTION: www.example.com. 43200 IN AAAA 2001:db8::80 ;; AUTHORITY SECTION: example.com. 43200 IN NS ns.example.com. ;; ADDITIONAL SECTION: ns.example.com. 43200 IN AAAA 2001:db8::53 ;; Query time: 15 msec ;; SERVER: 2001:db8::53#53(2001:db8::53) (UDP) ;; WHEN: dom jul 30 19:51:04 -04 2023 ;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 129 Figure 2: Example usage and dig output 6. Acknowledgements The authors thanks all the comments and support made in the DNSOP mailing list, chats and discussions. In special for the suggestions to generalize the option using a registry of types from Petr Špaček and Florian Obser, suggestions for implementation from Stéphane Bortzmeyer, security clarifications from George Michaelson, zone name disambiguation from Joe Abley and Brian Dickson, and reviews from Tim Wicinski and Peter Thomassen. 7. IANA Considerations Salgado & Vergara Expires 4 February 2024 [Page 7] Internet-Draft The ZONEVERSION EDNS option August 2023 7.1. DNS EDNS0 Option Code Registration This document defines a new EDNS0 option, entitled "ZONEVERSION" (see Section 2), and assigns a value of from the DNS EDNS0 Option Codes (OPT) Option space: +=======+=============+==========+=================+ | Value | Name | Status | Reference | +=======+=============+==========+=================+ | | ZONEVERSION | Standard | [this document] | +=======+=============+==========+=================+ Table 1: DNS EDNS0 Option code [RFC Editor: change to the proper code when assigned by IANA.] [RFC Editor: change "this document" with the proper RFC number for this document when assigned by IANA.] 7.2. ZONEVERSION Registry The ZONEVERSION EDNS Option also defines a 8-bit TYPE field, for which IANA is requested to create and maintain a new registry entitled "DNS EDNS0 ZONEVERSION TYPE Values" (abbreviation "ZONEVERSION") used by the ZONEVERSION Option, inside the "Domain Name System (DNS) Parameters" group. Initial values for the DNS EDNS0 ZONEVERSION TYPE values registry are given below; future assignments in the 1-245 values are to be made through Specification Required Review [BCP26]. Assignments consist of a TYPE value as an unsigned 8-bit integer recorded in decimal, a Mnemonic name as an uppercase ASCII string with maximum length of 15 characters, and the required document reference. +==================+=====================+=================+ | ZONEVERSION TYPE | Mnemonic | Reference | +==================+=====================+=================+ | 0 | SOA-SERIAL | [this document] | +==================+=====================+=================+ | 1-245 | Unassigned | | +==================+=====================+=================+ | 246-254 | Reserved for Local/ | [this document] | | | Experimental Use | | +==================+=====================+=================+ | 255 | Reserved for future | [this document] | | | expansion | | +==================+=====================+=================+ Table 2: ZONEVERSION Registry Salgado & Vergara Expires 4 February 2024 [Page 8] Internet-Draft The ZONEVERSION EDNS option August 2023 [RFC Editor: change "this document" with the proper RFC number for this document when assigned by IANA.] The change control for this registry should be by means of an Standard action. 7.2.1. Expert Review Directives Allocation procedures for new code points in the ZONEVERSION TYPE registry require Specification Required review, and so it requires Expert Reviews as stated in [BCP26]. The expert should consider the following points: * Duplication of code point allocations should be avoided. * A Presentation Format section should be provided, with a clear code point mnemonic. * The referenced document and stated use of the new code point should be appropriate for the intended use of a ZONEVERSION TYPE assignment. In particular the reference should state clear instructions for implementers about the syntax and semantic of the data. Also the Length of the Data must have proper limits. The expert reviewing the request MUST approve or disapprove the request within 10 business days from when she or he received the expert review request. 8. Security Considerations The EDNS extension data it's not covered by RRSIG records, so there's no way to verify its authenticity nor integrity using DNSSEC and could theoretically be tampered by a person-in-the-middle if the transport is made by insecure means. Caution should be taken to use the EDNS ZONEVERSION data for any means besides troubleshooting and debugging. If there's a need to certify the ZONEVERSION trustworthiness, it will be necessary to use an encrypted and authenticated DNS transport. If there's a need to authenticate data origin for the ZONEVERSION value, an answer with the SOA-SERIAL type as defined above could be compared to a separate regular SOA query with DO flag, whose answer shall be DNSSEC signed, with the cautions about Anycast and others as already stated in Introduction. Salgado & Vergara Expires 4 February 2024 [Page 9] Internet-Draft The ZONEVERSION EDNS option August 2023 With the SOA-SERIAL type defined above, there's no risk on disclosure of private information, as the SERIAL of the SOA record is already publicly available. Please note that the ZONEVERSION option can not be used for checking the correctness of an entire zone in a server. For such cases, the ZONEMD record [RFC8976] might be better suited at such task. ZONEVERSION can help identify and correlate a certain specific answer with a version of a zone, but it has no special integrity or verification function besides a normal field value inside a zone, as stated above. 9. Normative References [BCP26] Cotton, M., Leiba, B., and T. Narten, "Guidelines for Writing an IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26, RFC 8126, DOI 10.17487/RFC8126, June 2017, . [RFC1034] Mockapetris, P., "Domain names - concepts and facilities", STD 13, RFC 1034, DOI 10.17487/RFC1034, November 1987, . [RFC1035] Mockapetris, P., "Domain names - implementation and specification", STD 13, RFC 1035, DOI 10.17487/RFC1035, November 1987, . [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997, . [RFC6891] Damas, J., Graff, M., and P. Vixie, "Extension Mechanisms for DNS (EDNS(0))", STD 75, RFC 6891, DOI 10.17487/RFC6891, April 2013, . 10. Informative References [ImplRef] Salgado, H., "Zoneversion Implementations", 2023, . [RFC4786] Abley, J. and K. Lindqvist, "Operation of Anycast Services", BCP 126, RFC 4786, DOI 10.17487/RFC4786, December 2006, . Salgado & Vergara Expires 4 February 2024 [Page 10] Internet-Draft The ZONEVERSION EDNS option August 2023 [RFC8499] Hoffman, P., Sullivan, A., and K. Fujiwara, "DNS Terminology", BCP 219, RFC 8499, DOI 10.17487/RFC8499, January 2019, . [RFC8976] Wessels, D., Barber, P., Weinberg, M., Kumari, W., and W. Hardaker, "Message Digest for DNS Zones", RFC 8976, DOI 10.17487/RFC8976, February 2021, . Appendix A. Implementation Considerations With very few exceptions, EDNS options which elicit an EDNS option in the response are independent of the QNAME. This is not the case of ZONEVERSION, so its implementation may be more or less difficult depending on how EDNS options are handled in the name server. Appendix B. Implementation References There's a patched NSD server version 4.7.0 with support for ZONEVERSION with an experimental opcode, with live test servers installed for compliance tests. Also there is a client command "dig" with added zoneversion support, along with test libraries in Perl, Python and Go. More information in the working document [ImplRef]. Authors' Addresses Hugo Salgado NIC Chile Miraflores 222, piso 14 CP 8320198 Santiago Chile Phone: +56 2 29407700 Email: hsalgado@nic.cl Mauricio Vergara Ereche DigitalOcean 101 6th Ave New York, NY 10013 United States of America Email: mvergara@digitalocean.com Salgado & Vergara Expires 4 February 2024 [Page 11]