Revocation Flashcards
1
Q
Certificate Revocation
A
- Abortive ending of the binding between subject and key (public key certificate) OR subject and attributes (attribute certificate)
- Is initiated by the subject OR the issuer
2
Q
Revocation requirements
A
- Revocation information is publicly available
- Authenticity can be checked by everyone
- Revoked certificate is unambiguously identified
- Information about the time of the revocation
- Optional:
-> Revocation reason
-> Temporary revocation
-> X.509: CAs are responsible for publishing revocation information
3
Q
Revocation mechanisms
A
- Dedicated infrastructure for dissemination of authentic revocation information
- Certificate Revocation List (CRLs)
- Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP)
- Certificate Revocation System (CRS)
- Certificate Revocation Trees (CRT)
- Revocation in PGP
- Alternative: Very short certificate validity period -> no revocation needed
4
Q
Structure of a CRL
A
- Version
- Signature ID
- Issuer
- This Update
- Next Update
- List of revoked certificates (sequence of CRL entries)
- CRL-extensions
- Signature
5
Q
Structure of a CRL entry
A
- userCertificate
- revocationDate
- CRLEntry-extensions
6
Q
CRL Extensions
A
- can affect the CRL as a whole OR
- each single CRL entry (all of them)
7
Q
CRL extensions: AKI/IAN
A
- Authority Key Identifier
- Issuer Alternative Name
8
Q
CRL extensions: CRL Number
A
- Monotonically increasing sequence number
- Non-critical extension, must be included in all CRLs
- To determine when a particular CRL supersedes another CRL
- Two CRLs for same scope generated at different times must not have same CRL number
- Supports the use of Delta CRLs
-> Complete and Delta CRLs for a given scope must share one numbering sequence
9
Q
CRL extensions: Issuing Distribution Point
A
- Critical extension
- Identifies the CRL distribution point and scope
- Indicates whether the CRL covers revocation for:
-> end-entity certificates only,
-> CA certificates only,
-> Attribute certificates only,
-> a limited set of reason codes
10
Q
CRL entry extensions
A
- Affect the current CRL entry AND MAYBE
- Some following ones (but not necessarily all of them)
11
Q
CRL entry extensions: Reason Code
A
- Non-critical extension
- Identifies the reason for certificate revocation
12
Q
CRL entry extension: Hold Instruction Code
A
- Non-critical extension
- Indicates the action to be taken after encouraging a certificate that has been places on hold
- Standard actions: None, contact issuer or reject certificate, reject certificate
13
Q
CRL entry extension: Invalidity Date
A
- Non-critical extension
- Provides the (suspected) date on which the certificate became invalid
- CRL issuers are strongly encouraged to share this data with CRL users
14
Q
Publishing CRLs
A
- Most common: Web pages, LDAP
- File transfer protocol
- CRL push services (broadcasts)
15
Q
CRL push service
A
- CRLs are delivered to registered clients
- Searching for a CRL is unnecessary
- Can only be used online
- Suitable for e.g. computer in Intranet, Servers
- Covers only certificates of few PKIs