Re: Private key usage period extension
Russ Housley <[email protected]>
| Newsgroups | gmane.ietf.x509 |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
We had a very long discussion about this back in the day. You can look in the mail list archive. Really, only the owner of the private key can control when the private key is used. This is not something involves the relying party, so it does not need to go into the certificate. Russ On May 6, 2016, at 4:42 AM, Erik Andersen <[email protected]> wrote: > X.509 has a specification of the Private key usage period extension (8.2.2.5). This extension is a little confusing. It has notBefore and notAfter specification. However, the text says: > > The notBefore component indicates the earliest date and time at which the private key could be used for signing. If the notBefore component is not present, then no information is provided as to when the period of valid use of the private key commences. The notAfter component indicates the latest date and time at which the private key could be used for signing. If the notAfter component is not present then no information is provided as to when the period of valid use of the private key concludes. > > With a little ill will, this can be read as the private key validation period may extend beyond the validity of the public key. Note 1 adds to the confusing, as it says: > > NOTE 1 – The period of valid use of the private key may be different from the certified validity of the public key as indicated by the certificate validity period. With digital signature keys, the usage period for the signing private key is typically shorter than that for the verifying public key. > > It is the word “typical” that confuses me. It implies it could be different. > > This extension was included in RFC 3280 with a heavy health warning. It was omitted from RFC 5280 (except for A.2). > > In my mind, the validity of the private key should not spread outside the validity period of the certificate. > > Have I misunderstood something? > > Erik _______________________________________________ pkix mailing list [email protected] https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/pkix