



Network Working Group                                      M. Nottingham
Internet-Draft                                         February 17, 2016
Intended status: Informational
Expires: August 20, 2016


           The application/proxy-explanation+json media type
                 draft-nottingham-proxy-explanation-00

Abstract

   This specification defines the application/proxy-explanation+json
   media type, to allow HTTP proxies to explain to clients why a request
   is unsuccessful.

Note to Readers

   The issues list for this draft can be found at
   https://github.com/mnot/I-D/labels/proxy-explanation .

   The most recent (often, unpublished) draft is at
   https://mnot.github.io/I-D/proxy-explanation/ .

   Recent changes are listed at https://github.com/mnot/I-D/commits/gh-
   pages/proxy-explanation .

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 http://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
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   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 August 20, 2016.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2016 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.




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   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (http://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
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   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     1.1.  Notational Conventions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   2.  The application/proxy-explanation+json Media Type . . . . . .   3
     2.1.  Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   3.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   4.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   5.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     5.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     5.2.  URIs  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   Appendix A.  Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7

1.  Introduction

   HTTP requests [RFC7230] to a proxy might not succeed variety of
   reasons; the request itself might violate a policy, or the requested
   content might be deemed unacceptable (e.g., it contains a virus, or
   itself violate a policy being imposed by the proxy).

   For HTTP URLs, information about the reason is often injected into
   the HTTP response, so that the user understands what has happened,
   even if the message is only an HTML "Access Denied."  This practice
   is problematic, because both users and non-browser clients can become
   confused about the source of the information, mistaking content from
   the proxy as being from the origin.

   Furthermore, for HTTPS URLs, there is no way for the proxy to inform
   the end user about its actions.  Proxies could provide HTML content
   in a 403 (Forbidden) response, but browsers are unwilling to show
   this to end users, since doing so would subject them to a potential
   man-in-the-middle attack.

   This specification defines a new response format with a constrained
   vocabulary, so that proxies can communicate basic information about
   why a request has not succeeded, and browsers can provide that




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   information to users without risking it being mistaken for an
   authoritative response from the origin server.

1.1.  Notational Conventions

   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 application/proxy-explanation+json Media Type

   The "application/proxy-explanation+json" media type denotes a JSON
   [RFC7159] format whose root is an object containing the following
   members:

   o  *name* - A short string identifying the party operating the proxy

   o  *title* - A short string title for the explanation

   o  *description* - A string explaining why the request wasn't
      successful

   o  *moreinfo* - A string containing an absolute URL [RFC3986] which
      the user can find relevant information.

   The "name" and "title" members MUST be present; all other members are
   OPTIONAL.

   This media type MUST NOT be generated by origin servers and gateway
   servers (i.e., "reverse proxies" and "content delivery networks"); it
   is only intended to be generated by proxies.  It MAY be generated by
   interception proxies (so-called "transparent proxies"), although as
   per below, it might be ignored by clients in this case.

   It MUST NOT be used with a 2xx or 3xx status code, and clients MUST
   ignore its presence on them.  Typical status codes that it will be
   used with include 403 (Forbidden), 451 (Unavailable For Legal
   Reasons), 502 (Bad Gateway), and 504 (Gateway Timeout).

   Proxies SHOULD carefully consider what caching metadata [RFC7234] is
   appropriate to include in such responses.

   Clients MAY selectively support this media type.  For example, an
   implementation might deem it only useful (or safe) in CONNECT
   requests.






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   Clients SHOULD indicate that they support this media type by
   including it in the field-value of the Accept request header field
   [RFC7231] of all supported requests.

2.1.  Example

   For example:

       CONNECT www.example.net:80 HTTP/1.1
       Host: www.example.net
       Accept: application/proxy-explanation+json
       Accept-Language: en-us

       HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden
       Content-Type: application/proxy-explanation+json
       Cache-Control: no-cache

       {
         "name": "Acme Networks"
         "title": "Policy Violation"
         "description": "This content is above your pay grade."
         "moreinfo": "https://acme.example.com/why"
       }

   A browser might display this to the end user in a manner similar to
   this:

       Policy Violation

       The proxy "Acme Networks" says:

         This content is above your pay grade.

       For more information, see:
         "https://acme.example.com/why?https://www.example.net"

3.  IANA Considerations

   This specification defines a new Internet Media Type [RFC6838]:

   o  Type name: application

   o  Subtype name: proxy-explanation+json

   o  Required parameters: None

   o  Optional parameters: None; unrecognised parameters should be
      ignored



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   o  Encoding considerations: Same as [RFC7159]

   o  Security considerations: See Section 4

   o  Interoperability considerations: None

   o  Published specification: [this document]

   o  Applications that use this media type: HTTP

   o  Fragment identifier considerations: Same as [RFC7159]

   o  Additional information:

      *  Deprecated alias names for this type: N/A

      *  Magic number(s): N/A

      *  File extension(s): N/A

      *  Macintosh file type code(s): N/A

   o  Person & email address to contact for further information: Mark
      Nottingham mnot@mnot.net [4]

   o  Intended usage: COMMON

   o  Restrictions on usage: N/A

   o  Author: Mark Nottingham mnot@mnot.net [5]

   o  Change controller: IESG

4.  Security Considerations

   The approach taken in this specification precludes a proxy presenting
   itself as the origin, provided that, when presented to the user, the
   information is sufficiently contextualised as being from the proxy.

   This approach does not preclude an origin server presenting itself as
   a the proxy, in cases where the client supports the media type on
   requests other than CONNECT.

   Likewise, it does not prevent a man-in-the-middle from presenting
   itself as a proxy, in cases where the connection is unencrypted.

   Because the payload can contain a URL, it could be used by an
   attacker (either a hostile origin or MitM, as above) to direct users



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   to an origin under their control.  For example, an attacker could
   convince users that they need to provide payment before the network
   is available.

   An attacker could also include a URL in the textual content of its
   message (e.g., in the "description" member), to encourage the user to
   copy the link and follow it.

   However, both origins and cleartext MitMs can misrepresent their
   identities on the Web currently, without the benefit of this
   mechanism.  These risks are introduced only when users trust the
   "proxy" interface more than they would trust a "normal" Web site.

   They can be mitigated in a few ways:

   o  Not displaying the "moreinfo" member in situations when this is
      possible (i.e., on any response other than that to a CONNECT on an
      encrypted connection).

   o  Not supporting the "application/proxy-connection+json" media type
      when the method is not CONNECT and the connection is not
      encrypted.

   o  Cautioning the user that the content might not be trustworthy.

5.  References

5.1.  Normative References

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC3986]  Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R., and L. Masinter, "Uniform
              Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax", STD 66,
              RFC 3986, DOI 10.17487/RFC3986, January 2005,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3986>.

   [RFC6838]  Freed, N., Klensin, J., and T. Hansen, "Media Type
              Specifications and Registration Procedures", BCP 13,
              RFC 6838, DOI 10.17487/RFC6838, January 2013,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6838>.

   [RFC7159]  Bray, T., Ed., "The JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Data
              Interchange Format", RFC 7159, DOI 10.17487/RFC7159, March
              2014, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7159>.




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   [RFC7230]  Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext Transfer
              Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Message Syntax and Routing",
              RFC 7230, DOI 10.17487/RFC7230, June 2014,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7230>.

   [RFC7231]  Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext Transfer
              Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Semantics and Content", RFC 7231,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7231, June 2014,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7231>.

   [RFC7234]  Fielding, R., Ed., Nottingham, M., Ed., and J. Reschke,
              Ed., "Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Caching",
              RFC 7234, DOI 10.17487/RFC7234, June 2014,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7234>.

5.2.  URIs

   [1] mailto:mnot@mnot.net

   [2] mailto:mnot@mnot.net

Appendix A.  Acknowledgements

   Thanks to Thomas Mangin for his suggestions.

Author's Address

   Mark Nottingham

   Email: mnot@mnot.net
   URI:   https://www.mnot.net/




















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