SMTP/TLS (RFC 2487) server authentication question
Lutz Jaenicke <[email protected]> Wed, 29 Dec 1999 14:45:12 +0100
| Newsgroups | gmane.ietf.apps-tls |
|---|---|
| Organization | BTU Cottbus, Allgemeine Elektrotechnik |
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
Hi! While working on a RFC2487 extension to the Postfix MTA I stumbled over the following question: How should the client verify the servers identity? Unlike other protocols (e.g. RFC2595), where an explicite statement is made (Section 2.4. Server Identity Check) that the name presented in the certifiate MUST be checked against the hostname the client used to connect, there is no information in RFC2487. (I also checked the ietf-apps-tls archive and found no discussion about it.) The problem arises since the mail client software must look up the MX record using DNS. As of now, I use the name returned from the MX lookup to check. 1. Is there some SHOULD or MAY policy I just missed? 2. Is this left out because the data returned from DNS lookups is considered "unreliable" as of today? Best regards, Lutz Jaenicke PS. The Postfix/TLS homepage is at http://www.aet.tu-cottbus.de/personen/jaenicke/postfix_tls/ -- Lutz Jaenicke [email protected] BTU Cottbus http://www.aet.TU-Cottbus.DE/personen/jaenicke/ Lehrstuhl Allgemeine Elektrotechnik Tel. +49 355 69-4129 Universitaetsplatz 3-4, D-03044 Cottbus Fax. +49 355 69-4153