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rfc:rfc8054

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) K. Murchison Request for Comments: 8054 Carnegie Mellon University Category: Standards Track J. Elie ISSN: 2070-1721 January 2017

               Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP)
                     Extension for Compression

Abstract

 This document defines an extension to the Network News Transport
 Protocol (NNTP) that allows a connection to be effectively and
 efficiently compressed between an NNTP client and server.

Status of This Memo

 This is an Internet Standards Track document.
 This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
 (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
 received public review and has been approved for publication by the
 Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
 Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 7841.
 Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
 and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
 http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8054.

Copyright Notice

 Copyright (c) 2017 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
 document authors.  All rights reserved.
 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
 to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
 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.

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 1] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

Table of Contents

 1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   1.1.  About TLS-Level Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   1.2.  Conventions Used in This Document . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
 2.  The COMPRESS Extension  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   2.1.  Advertising the COMPRESS Extension  . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   2.2.  COMPRESS Command  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     2.2.1.  Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     2.2.2.  Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     2.2.3.  Examples  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
 3.  Compression Efficiency  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
 4.  DEFLATE Specificities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
 5.  Augmented BNF Syntax for the COMPRESS Extension . . . . . . .  13
   5.1.  Commands  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
   5.2.  Capability Entries  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
   5.3.  General Non-terminals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
 6.  Summary of Response Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
 7.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
 8.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
   8.1.  "NNTP Compression Algorithms" Registry  . . . . . . . . .  15
     8.1.1.  Algorithm Name Registration Procedure . . . . . . . .  16
     8.1.2.  Comments on Algorithm Registrations . . . . . . . . .  17
     8.1.3.  Change Control  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
   8.2.  Registration of the DEFLATE Compression Algorithm . . . .  18
   8.3.  Registration of the NNTP COMPRESS Extension . . . . . . .  18
 9.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
   9.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
   9.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
 Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 2] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

1. Introduction

 The goal of COMPRESS is to reduce the bandwidth usage of NNTP.
 Compared to PPP compression [RFC1962] and modem-based compression
 ([MNP] and [V42bis]), COMPRESS offers greater compression efficiency.
 COMPRESS can be used together with Transport Layer Security (TLS)
 [RFC5246], Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL) encryption
 [RFC4422], Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), etc.
 The point of COMPRESS as an NNTP extension is to act as a compression
 layer, similar to a security layer like the one negotiated by
 STARTTLS [RFC4642].  Therefore, compression can be beneficial to all
 NNTP commands sent or received after the use of COMPRESS.  This
 facility responds to a long-standing need for NNTP to compress data.
 It is currently addressed only partially by unstandardized commands
 like XZVER, XZHDR, XFEATURE COMPRESS, or MODE COMPRESS.  Yet, these
 commands are not wholly satisfactory because they enable compression
 only for the responses sent by the news server.  In comparison, the
 COMPRESS command permits the compression of data sent by both the
 client and the server, and removes the constraint of having to
 implement compression separately in each NNTP command.  Besides, the
 compression level can be dynamically adjusted and optimized at any
 time during the connection, which even allows disabling compression
 for certain commands, if needed.  If the news client wants to stop
 compression on a particular connection, it can simply use QUIT
 ([RFC3977], Section 5.4) and establish a new connection.  For these
 reasons, using other NNTP commands than COMPRESS to enable
 compression is discouraged once COMPRESS is supported.
 In order to increase interoperability, it is desirable to have as few
 different compression algorithms as possible, so this document
 specifies only one.  The DEFLATE algorithm (defined in [RFC1951])
 MUST be implemented as part of this extension.  This compression
 algorithm is standard, widely available, and fairly efficient.
 This specification should be read in conjunction with the NNTP base
 specification [RFC3977].  In the case of a conflict between these two
 documents, [RFC3977] takes precedence.

1.1. About TLS-Level Compression

 Though lossless data compression is already possible via the use of
 TLS with NNTP [RFC4642], the best current practice is to disable TLS-
 level compression as explained in Section 3.3 of [RFC7525].  The
 COMPRESS command will permit keeping the compression facility in
 NNTP, and control when it is available during a connection.

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 3] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

 Compared to TLS-level compression [RFC3749], NNTP COMPRESS has the
 following advantages:
 o  COMPRESS can be implemented easily both by NNTP servers and
    clients.
 o  COMPRESS benefits from an intimate knowledge of the NNTP
    protocol's state machine, allowing for dynamic and aggressive
    optimization of the underlying compression algorithm's parameters.
 o  COMPRESS can be activated after authentication has completed, thus
    reducing the chances that authentication credentials can be leaked
    via, for instance, a CRIME attack ([RFC7457], Section 2.6).

1.2. Conventions Used in This Document

 The notational conventions used in this document are the same as
 those in [RFC3977], and any term not defined in this document has the
 same meaning as it does in that one.
 The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
 "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
 "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in
 [RFC2119].
 In the examples, commands from the client are indicated with [C], and
 responses from the server are indicated with [S].  The client is the
 initiator of the NNTP connection; the server is the other endpoint.

2. The COMPRESS Extension

 The COMPRESS extension is used to enable lossless data compression on
 an NNTP connection.
 This extension provides a new COMPRESS command and has the capability
 label COMPRESS.

2.1. Advertising the COMPRESS Extension

 A server supporting the COMPRESS command as defined in this document
 will advertise the "COMPRESS" capability label in response to the
 CAPABILITIES command ([RFC3977], Section 5.2).  However, this
 capability MUST NOT be advertised once a compression layer is active
 (see Section 2.2.2).  This capability MAY be advertised both before
 and after any use of the MODE READER command ([RFC3977],
 Section 5.3), with the same semantics.

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 4] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

 The COMPRESS capability label contains a whitespace-separated list of
 available compression algorithms.  This document defines one
 compression algorithm: DEFLATE.  This algorithm is mandatory to
 implement; it MUST be supported and listed in the advertisement of
 the COMPRESS extension.
 Future extensions may add additional compression algorithms to this
 capability.  Unrecognized algorithms MUST be ignored by the client.
 Example:
    [C] CAPABILITIES
    [S] 101 Capability list:
    [S] VERSION 2
    [S] READER
    [S] IHAVE
    [S] COMPRESS DEFLATE SHRINK
    [S] LIST ACTIVE NEWSGROUPS
    [S] .
 As the COMPRESS command is related to security because it can weaken
 encryption, cached results of CAPABILITIES from a previous session
 MUST NOT be relied on, as per Section 12.6 of [RFC3977].

2.2. COMPRESS Command

2.2.1. Usage

 This command MUST NOT be pipelined.
 Syntax
   COMPRESS algorithm
 Responses
   206 Compression active
   403 Unable to activate compression
   502 Command unavailable [1]
 [1] If a compression layer is already active, COMPRESS is not a valid
     command (see Section 2.2.2).
 Parameters
   algorithm = Name of compression algorithm (e.g., "DEFLATE")

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 5] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

2.2.2. Description

 The COMPRESS command instructs the server to use the named
 compression algorithm ("DEFLATE" is the only one defined in this
 document) for all commands and responses after COMPRESS.
 The client MUST NOT send any further commands until it has seen the
 result of COMPRESS.
 If the requested compression algorithm is syntactically incorrect,
 the server MUST reject the COMPRESS command with a 501 response code
 ([RFC3977], Section 3.2.1).  If the requested compression algorithm
 is invalid (e.g., is not supported), the server MUST reject the
 COMPRESS command with a 503 response code ([RFC3977], Section 3.2.1).
 If the server is unable to activate compression for any reason (e.g.,
 a server configuration or resource problem), the server MUST reject
 the COMPRESS command with a 403 response code ([RFC3977],
 Section 3.2.1).  Otherwise, in case no other generic response code
 representing the situation applies, the server issues a 206 response
 code and the compression layer takes effect for both client and
 server immediately following the CRLF of the success reply.
 Additionally, the client MUST NOT issue a MODE READER command after
 activating a compression layer, and a server MUST NOT advertise the
 MODE-READER capability.
 Both the client and the server MUST know if there is a compression
 layer active (for instance, via the previous use of the COMPRESS
 command or the negotiation of a TLS-level compression method
 [RFC3749]).  A client MUST NOT attempt to activate compression (for
 instance, via the COMPRESS command) or negotiate a TLS security layer
 (because STARTTLS [RFC4642] may activate TLS-level compression) if a
 compression layer is already active.  A server MUST NOT return the
 COMPRESS or STARTTLS capability labels in response to a CAPABILITIES
 command received after a compression layer is active, and a server
 MUST reply with a 502 response code if a syntactically valid COMPRESS
 or STARTTLS command is received while a compression layer is already
 active.
 In order to help mitigate leaking authentication credentials via, for
 instance, a CRIME attack [CRIME], authentication MUST NOT be
 attempted after a successful use of the COMPRESS command.
 Consequently, a server MUST either list the AUTHINFO capability with
 no arguments or not advertise it at all, in response to a
 CAPABILITIES command received from an unauthenticated client after a
 successful use of the COMPRESS command, and such a client MUST NOT
 attempt to utilize any AUTHINFO [RFC4643] commands.  This implies
 that a server MUST reply with a 502 response code if a syntactically

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 6] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

 valid AUTHINFO command is received after a successful use of the
 COMPRESS command.  (Note that this specification does not change the
 behavior of AUTHINFO as described in [RFC4643] independently of TLS-
 level compression.  Authentication is therefore still allowed, even
 though TLS-level compression is active.)
 For DEFLATE [RFC1951] (as for many other compression algorithms), the
 sending compressor can trade speed against compression ratio.  The
 receiving decompressor MUST automatically adjust to the parameters
 selected by the sender.  Consequently, the client and server are both
 free to pick the best reasonable rate of compression for the data
 they send.  Besides, all data that was submitted for compression MUST
 be included in the compressed output, and appropriately flushed so as
 to ensure that the receiving decompressor can completely decompress
 it.
 When COMPRESS is combined with TLS [RFC5246] or SASL [RFC4422]
 security layers, the processing order of the three layers MUST be
 first COMPRESS, then SASL, and finally TLS.  That is, before data is
 transmitted, it is first compressed.  Second, if a SASL security
 layer has been negotiated, the compressed data is then signed and/or
 encrypted accordingly.  Third, if a TLS security layer has been
 negotiated, the data from the previous step is signed and/or
 encrypted accordingly (with a possible additional TLS-level
 compression).  When receiving data, the processing order MUST be
 reversed.  This ensures that before sending, data is compressed
 before it is encrypted.
 When compression is active and either the client or the server
 receives invalid or corrupted compressed data, the receiving end
 immediately closes the connection, in response to which the sending
 end will do the same.

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 7] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

2.2.3. Examples

 Example of layering a TLS security layer and NNTP compression:
    [C] CAPABILITIES
    [S] 101 Capability list:
    [S] VERSION 2
    [S] READER
    [S] STARTTLS
    [S] AUTHINFO
    [S] COMPRESS DEFLATE
    [S] LIST ACTIVE NEWSGROUPS
    [S] .
    [C] STARTTLS
    [S] 382 Continue with TLS negotiation
    [TLS negotiation without compression occurs here]
    [Following successful negotiation, all traffic is encrypted]
    [C] CAPABILITIES
    [S] 101 Capability list:
    [S] VERSION 2
    [S] READER
    [S] AUTHINFO USER
    [S] COMPRESS DEFLATE
    [S] LIST ACTIVE NEWSGROUPS
    [S] .
    [C] AUTHINFO USER fred
    [S] 381 Enter passphrase
    [C] AUTHINFO PASS flintstone
    [S] 281 Authentication accepted
    [C] CAPABILITIES
    [S] 101 Capability list:
    [S] VERSION 2
    [S] READER
    [S] POST
    [S] COMPRESS DEFLATE
    [S] LIST ACTIVE NEWSGROUPS
    [S] .
    [C] COMPRESS DEFLATE
    [S] 206 Compression active
    [Henceforth, all traffic is compressed before being encrypted]
    [C] CAPABILITIES
    [S] 101 Capability list:
    [S] VERSION 2
    [S] READER
    [S] POST
    [S] LIST ACTIVE NEWSGROUPS
    [S] .

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 8] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

 Example of a server failing to activate compression:
    [C] CAPABILITIES
    [S] 101 Capability list:
    [S] VERSION 2
    [S] IHAVE
    [S] COMPRESS DEFLATE
    [S] .
    [C] COMPRESS DEFLATE
    [S] 403 Unable to activate compression
 Example of attempting to use an unsupported compression algorithm:
    [C] CAPABILITIES
    [S] 101 Capability list:
    [S] VERSION 2
    [S] IHAVE
    [S] COMPRESS DEFLATE
    [S] .
    [C] COMPRESS SHRINK
    [S] 503 Compression algorithm not supported
 Example of a server refusing to compress twice:
    [C] CAPABILITIES
    [S] 101 Capability list:
    [S] VERSION 2
    [S] IHAVE
    [S] STARTTLS
    [S] COMPRESS DEFLATE
    [S] .
    [C] STARTTLS
    [S] 382 Continue with TLS negotiation
    [TLS negotiation with compression occurs here]
    [Following successful negotiation, all traffic is encrypted]
    [C] CAPABILITIES
    [S] 101 Capability list:
    [S] VERSION 2
    [S] IHAVE
    [S] .
    [C] COMPRESS DEFLATE
    [S] 502 Compression already active via TLS

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 9] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

 Example of a server refusing to negotiate a TLS security layer after
 compression has been activated:
    [C] CAPABILITIES
    [S] 101 Capability list:
    [S] VERSION 2
    [S] IHAVE
    [S] STARTTLS
    [S] COMPRESS DEFLATE
    [S] .
    [C] COMPRESS DEFLATE
    [S] 206 Compression active
    [Henceforth, all traffic is compressed]
    [C] CAPABILITIES
    [S] 101 Capability list:
    [S] VERSION 2
    [S] IHAVE
    [S] .
    [C] STARTTLS
    [S] 502 DEFLATE compression already active
 Example of a server not advertising AUTHINFO arguments after
 compression has been activated:
    [C] CAPABILITIES
    [S] 101 Capability list:
    [S] VERSION 2
    [S] READER
    [S] AUTHINFO USER
    [S] COMPRESS DEFLATE
    [S] LIST ACTIVE NEWSGROUPS
    [S] .
    [C] COMPRESS DEFLATE
    [S] 206 Compression active
    [Henceforth, all traffic is compressed]
    [C] CAPABILITIES
    [S] 101 Capability list:
    [S] VERSION 2
    [S] READER
    [S] AUTHINFO
    [S] LIST ACTIVE NEWSGROUPS
    [S] .
    [C] AUTHINFO USER fred
    [S] 502 DEFLATE compression already active

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 10] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

3. Compression Efficiency

 This section is informative, not normative.
 NNTP poses some unusual problems for a compression layer.
 Upstream traffic is fairly simple.  Most NNTP clients send the same
 few commands again and again, so any compression algorithm that can
 exploit repetition works efficiently.  The article posting and
 transfer commands (e.g., POST, IHAVE, and TAKETHIS [RFC4644]) are
 exceptions; clients that send many article posting or transfer
 commands may want to surround large multi-line data blocks with a
 dictionary flush and/or, depending on the compression algorithm, a
 change of compression level in the same way as is recommended for
 servers later in this document (Section 4).
 Downstream traffic has the unusual property that several kinds of
 data are sent, possibly confusing a dictionary-based compression
 algorithm.
 NNTP responses that are not related to article header/body retrieval
 are one type.  Compressing NNTP simple responses (e.g., in answer to
 CHECK [RFC4644], DATE, GROUP, LAST, NEXT, STAT, etc.) generally does
 not save many bytes, unless repeated several times in the same NNTP
 session.  On the contrary, most of the NNTP multi-line responses
 (e.g., in answer to LIST, LISTGROUP, NEWGROUPS, NEWNEWS, etc.) are
 highly compressible; using its least CPU-intensive setting, zlib
 compresses typical responses to 25-40% of their original size.
 Article headers (as retrieved, for instance, via the HEAD, HDR, OVER,
 or ARTICLE commands) are another type.  These are equally
 compressible, and benefit from using the same dictionary as the NNTP
 responses.
 A third type is article body text (as retrieved, for instance, via
 the BODY or ARTICLE commands).  Text is usually fairly short and
 includes much ASCII, so the same compression dictionary will do a
 good job here, too.  When multiple messages in the same thread are
 read at the same time, quoted lines, etc., can often be compressed
 almost to zero.
 Finally, non-text article bodies or attachments (as retrieved, for
 instance, via the BODY or ARTICLE commands) are transmitted in
 encoded form, usually Base64 [RFC4648], UUencode [IEEE.1003.1-2008],
 or yEnc [yEnc].

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 11] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

 When such non-text article bodies or attachments are retrieved, a
 compression algorithm may be able to compress them, but the format of
 their encoding is usually not NNTP-like, so the dictionary built
 while compressing NNTP does not help much.  The compressor has to
 adapt its dictionary from NNTP to the attachment's encoding format,
 and then back.
 When attachments are retrieved in Base64 or UUencode form, the
 Huffman coding usually compresses those to approximately only 75% of
 their encoding size.  8-bit compression algorithms such as DEFLATE
 work well on 8-bit file formats; however, both Base64 and UUencode
 transform a file into something resembling 6-bit bytes, hiding most
 of the 8-bit file format from the compressor.
 On the other end, attachments encoded using a compression algorithm
 that retains the full 8-bit spectrum, like yEnc, are much more likely
 to be incompressible.

4. DEFLATE Specificities

 When using the zlib library (see [RFC1951]), the functions
 deflateInit2(), deflate(), inflateInit2(), and inflate() suffice to
 implement this extension.
 The windowBits value MUST be in the range -8 to -15 for
 deflateInit2(), or else it will use the wrong format.  The windowBits
 value SHOULD be -15 for inflateInit2(), or else it will not be able
 to decompress a stream with a larger window size, thus reducing
 interoperability.  deflateParams() can be used to improve compression
 rate and resource use.  Regarding flush operations, the Z_FULL_FLUSH
 argument to deflate() permits to clear the dictionary, which
 generally results in compression that is less effective than
 performing a Z_PARTIAL_FLUSH.  As a matter of fact, keeping the 32 KB
 dictionary from previous data, no matter how unrelated, can be of
 help (if there are no matching strings in there, then it is simply
 not referenced).
 A server can improve downstream compression and the CPU efficiency of
 both the server and the client if it adjusts the compression level
 (e.g., using the deflateParams() function in zlib) at the start and
 end of large non-text multi-line data blocks (before and after
 'content-lines' in the definition of 'multi-line-data-block' in
 [RFC3977], Section 9.8).  This mechanism prevents the server from
 trying to compress incompressible attachments.

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 12] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

 A very simple strategy is to change the compression level to 0 at the
 start of an incompressible multi-line data block, for instance when
 encoded using yEnc [yEnc], and to keep it at 1-5 the rest of the
 time.  More complex strategies are, of course, possible and
 encouraged.

5. Augmented BNF Syntax for the COMPRESS Extension

 This section describes the formal syntax of the COMPRESS extension
 using ABNF [RFC7405] and [RFC5234].  It extends the syntax in
 Section 9 of [RFC3977], and non-terminals not defined in this
 document are defined there.  The NNTP ABNF [RFC3977] should be
 imported first, before attempting to validate these rules.

5.1. Commands

 This syntax extends the non-terminal <command>, which represents an
 NNTP command.
   command =/ compress-command
   compress-command = "COMPRESS" WS algorithm

5.2. Capability Entries

 This syntax extends the non-terminal <capability-entry>, which
 represents a capability that may be advertised by the server.
   capability-entry =/ compress-capability
   compress-capability = "COMPRESS" 1*(WS algorithm)

5.3. General Non-terminals

   algorithm = %s"DEFLATE" / 1*20alg-char  ; case-sensitive
   alg-char = UPPER / DIGIT / "-" / "_"

6. Summary of Response Codes

 This section defines the following new response code.  It is not
 multi-line and has no arguments.
 Response code 206
    Generated by: COMPRESS
    Meaning: compression layer activated

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 13] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

7. Security Considerations

 Security issues are discussed throughout this document.
 In general, the security considerations of the NNTP core
 specification ([RFC3977], Section 12) and the DEFLATE compressed data
 format specification ([RFC1951], Section 6) are applicable here.
 Implementers should be aware that combining compression with
 encryption like TLS can sometimes reveal information that would not
 have been revealed without compression, as explained in Section 6 of
 [RFC3749].  As a matter of fact, adversaries that observe the length
 of the compressed data might be able to derive information about the
 corresponding uncompressed data.  The CRIME and the BREACH attacks
 ([RFC7457], Section 2.6) are examples of such case.
 In order to help mitigate leaking authentication credentials, this
 document states in Section 2.2.2 that authentication MUST NOT be
 attempted after a successful use of COMPRESS.  Therefore, when a
 client wants to authenticate, compress data, and negotiate a TLS
 security layer (without TLS-level compression) in the same NNTP
 connection, it MUST use the STARTTLS, AUTHINFO, and COMPRESS commands
 in that order.  Of course, instead of using the STARTTLS command, a
 client can also use implicit TLS, that is to say it begins the TLS
 negotiation immediately upon connection on a separate port dedicated
 to NNTP over TLS.
 NNTP commands other than AUTHINFO are not believed to divulge
 confidential information as long as only public Netnews newsgroups
 and articles are accessed.  That is why this specification only
 prohibits the use of AUTHINFO after COMPRESS.  In case confidential
 articles are accessed in private newsgroups, special care is needed:
 implementations SHOULD NOT compress confidential data together with
 public data when a TLS [RFC5246] or SASL [RFC4422] security layer is
 active.  As a matter of fact, adversaries that observe the length of
 the compressed data might be able to derive information about it,
 when public data (that adversaries know is read) and confidential
 data are compressed in the same compression session.
 Additionally, it is preferable not to compress the contents of two
 distinct confidential articles together if it can be avoided, as
 adversaries might be able to derive information about them (for
 instance, if they have a few header fields or body lines in common).
 This can be achieved, for instance, with DEFLATE by clearing the
 compression dictionary each time a confidential article is sent.
 More complex implementations are, of course, possible and encouraged.

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 14] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

 Implementations are encouraged to unconditionally allow compression
 when no security layer is active, and to support an option to enable
 or disable compression when a security layer is active.  Such an
 option could, for instance, have global scope or be server/
 connection-based.  Besides, as compression may in general weaken the
 confidentiality of a security layer, implementations SHOULD NOT
 automatically enable compression when a security layer is active
 unless the user explicitly enabled it with this knowledge.
 Future extensions to NNTP that define commands conveying confidential
 data SHOULD be sure to state that these confidential data SHOULD NOT
 be compressed together with public data when a security layer is
 active.
 Last but not least, careful consideration should be given to
 protections against implementation errors that introduce security
 risks with regards to compression algorithms.  See, for instance, the
 part of Section 6 of [RFC3749] about compression algorithms that can
 occasionally expand, rather than compress, input data.

8. IANA Considerations

8.1. "NNTP Compression Algorithms" Registry

 The "NNTP Compression Algorithms" registry is maintained by IANA.
 The registry is available at
 <http://www.iana.org/assignments/nntp-parameters>.
 The purpose of this registry is not only to ensure uniqueness of
 values used to name NNTP compression algorithms, but also to provide
 a definitive reference to technical specifications detailing each
 NNTP compression algorithm available for use on the Internet.
 An NNTP compression algorithm is either a private algorithm, or its
 name is included in the IANA "NNTP Compression Algorithms" registry
 (in which case it is a "registered NNTP compression algorithm").
 Different entries in the registry MUST use different names.
 Private algorithms with unregistered names are allowed, but SHOULD
 NOT be used because it is difficult to achieve interoperability with
 them.
 The 206, 403, and 502 response codes that a news server answers to
 the COMPRESS command using a private compression algorithm MUST have
 the same meaning as the one documented in Section 2.2 of this
 document.

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 15] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

 The procedure detailed in Section 8.1.1 is to be used for
 registration of a value naming a specific individual compression
 algorithm.
 Any name that conforms to the syntax of an NNTP compression algorithm
 name (Section 5.3) can be used.  Especially, NNTP compression
 algorithms are named by strings, from 1 to 20 characters in length,
 consisting of uppercase letters, digits, hyphens, and/or underscores.
 Comments may be included in the registry as discussed in
 Section 8.1.2 and may be changed as discussed in Section 8.1.3.

8.1.1. Algorithm Name Registration Procedure

 IANA will register new NNTP compression algorithm names on a First
 Come First Served basis, as defined in BCP 26 [RFC5226].  IANA has
 the right to reject obviously bogus registration requests, but will
 not perform a review of claims made in the registration form.
 Registration of an NNTP compression algorithm is requested by filling
 in the following template and sending it via electronic mail to IANA
 at <iana@iana.org>:
    Subject: Registration of NNTP compression algorithm Z
    NNTP compression algorithm name:
    Security considerations:
    Published specification (recommended):
    Contact for further information:
    Intended usage: (One of COMMON, LIMITED USE, or OBSOLETE)
    Owner/Change controller:
    Note: (Any other information that the author deems relevant may be
           added here.)
 While this registration procedure does not require expert review,
 authors of NNTP compression algorithms are encouraged to seek
 community review and comment whenever that is feasible.  Authors may
 seek community review by posting a specification of their proposed
 algorithm as an Internet-Draft.  NNTP compression algorithms intended
 for widespread use should be standardized through the normal IETF
 process, when appropriate.

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 16] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

8.1.2. Comments on Algorithm Registrations

 Comments on a registered NNTP compression algorithm should first be
 sent to the "owner" of the algorithm and/or to the mailing list for
 the now concluded NNTPEXT working group (<ietf-nntp@lists.eyrie.org>)
 of the IETF.
 Submitters of comments may, after a reasonable attempt to contact the
 owner and/or the above mailing list, request IANA to attach their
 comment to the NNTP compression algorithm registration itself by
 sending mail to <iana@iana.org>.  At IANA's sole discretion, IANA may
 attach the comment to the NNTP compression algorithm's registration.

8.1.3. Change Control

 Once an NNTP compression algorithm registration has been published by
 IANA, the owner may request a change to its definition.  The change
 request follows the same procedure as the initial registration
 request.
 The owner of an NNTP compression algorithm may pass responsibility
 for the algorithm to another person or agency by informing IANA; this
 can be done without discussion or review.
 The IESG may reassign responsibility for an NNTP compression
 algorithm.  The most common case of this will be to enable changes to
 be made to algorithms where the owner of the registration has died,
 has moved out of contact, or is otherwise unable to make changes that
 are important to the community.
 NNTP compression algorithm registrations MUST NOT be deleted;
 algorithms that are no longer believed appropriate for use can be
 declared OBSOLETE by a change to their "intended usage" field; such
 algorithms will be clearly marked in the registry published by IANA.
 The IESG is considered to be the owner of all NNTP compression
 algorithms that are on the IETF Standards Track.

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 17] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

8.2. Registration of the DEFLATE Compression Algorithm

 This section gives a formal definition of the DEFLATE compression
 algorithm as required by Section 8.1.1 for the IANA registry.
    NNTP compression algorithm name: DEFLATE
    Security considerations: See Section 7 of this document
    Published specification: This document
    Contact for further information: Authors of this document
    Intended usage: COMMON
    Owner/Change controller: IESG <iesg@ietf.org>
    Note: This algorithm is mandatory to implement
 This registration appears as follows in the "NNTP Compression
 Algorithms" registry:
 +------------+------------+--------------+--------------+-----------+
 | Algorithm  | Intended   | Comment      | Change       | Reference |
 | Name       | Usage      |              | Controller   |           |
 +------------+------------+--------------+--------------+-----------+
 | DEFLATE    | COMMON     | Mandatory to | IESG         | RFC 8054  |
 |            |            | implement    |              |           |
 +------------+------------+--------------+--------------+-----------+

8.3. Registration of the NNTP COMPRESS Extension

 This section gives a formal definition of the COMPRESS extension as
 required by Section 3.3.3 of [RFC3977] for the IANA registry.
 o  The COMPRESS extension allows an NNTP connection to be effectively
    and efficiently compressed.
 o  The capability label for this extension is "COMPRESS", whose
    arguments list the available compression algorithms.
 o  This extension defines one new command, COMPRESS, whose behavior,
    arguments, and responses are defined in Section 2.2.
 o  This extension does not associate any new responses with
    pre-existing NNTP commands.

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 18] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

 o  This extension does affect the overall behavior of both server and
    client, in that after successful use of the COMPRESS command, all
    communication is transmitted in a compressed format.
 o  This extension does not affect the maximum length of commands or
    initial response lines.
 o  This extension does not alter pipelining, but the COMPRESS command
    cannot be pipelined.
 o  Use of this extension does alter the capabilities list; once the
    COMPRESS command has been used successfully, the COMPRESS
    capability can no longer be advertised by CAPABILITIES.
    Additionally, the STARTTLS and MODE-READER capabilities MUST NOT
    be advertised, and the AUTHINFO capability label MUST either be
    listed with no arguments or not advertised at all after a
    successful execution of the COMPRESS command.
 o  This extension does not cause any pre-existing command to produce
    a 401, 480, or 483 response code.
 o  This extension is unaffected by any use of the MODE READER
    command; however, the MODE READER command MUST NOT be used in the
    same session following a successful execution of the COMPRESS
    command.
 o  The STARTTLS and AUTHINFO commands MUST NOT be used in the same
    session following a successful execution of the COMPRESS command.
 o  Published Specification: This document.
 o  Contact for Further Information: Authors of this document.
 o  Change Controller: IESG <iesg@ietf.org>
 This registration will appear as follows in the "NNTP Capability
 Labels" registry contained in the "Network News Transfer Protocol
 (NNTP) Parameters" registry:
      +----------+----------------------------------+-----------+
      | Label    | Meaning                          | Reference |
      +----------+----------------------------------+-----------+
      | COMPRESS | Supported compression algorithms | RFC 8054  |
      +----------+----------------------------------+-----------+

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 19] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

9. References

9.1. Normative References

 [RFC1951]  Deutsch, P., "DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification
            version 1.3", RFC 1951, DOI 10.17487/RFC1951, May 1996,
            <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1951>.
 [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>.
 [RFC3977]  Feather, C., "Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP)",
            RFC 3977, DOI 10.17487/RFC3977, October 2006,
            <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3977>.
 [RFC5226]  Narten, T. and H. Alvestrand, "Guidelines for Writing an
            IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26, RFC 5226,
            DOI 10.17487/RFC5226, May 2008,
            <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5226>.
 [RFC5234]  Crocker, D., Ed. and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for Syntax
            Specifications: ABNF", STD 68, RFC 5234,
            DOI 10.17487/RFC5234, January 2008,
            <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5234>.
 [RFC7405]  Kyzivat, P., "Case-Sensitive String Support in ABNF",
            RFC 7405, DOI 10.17487/RFC7405, December 2014,
            <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7405>.

9.2. Informative References

 [CRIME]    Rizzo, J. and T. Duong, "The CRIME Attack", Ekoparty
            Security Conference, 2012.
 [IEEE.1003.1-2008]
            IEEE, "Information Technology - Portable Operating System
            Interface (POSIX(R))", IEEE Standard 1003.1-2008,
            DOI 10.1109/IEEESTD.2016.7582338, 2008,
            <https://standards.ieee.org/findstds/
            standard/1003.1-2008.html>.
 [MNP]      Held, G., "The Complete Modem Reference", Second
            Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., May 1994.

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 20] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

 [RFC1962]  Rand, D., "The PPP Compression Control Protocol (CCP)",
            RFC 1962, DOI 10.17487/RFC1962, June 1996,
            <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1962>.
 [RFC3749]  Hollenbeck, S., "Transport Layer Security Protocol
            Compression Methods", RFC 3749, DOI 10.17487/RFC3749, May
            2004, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3749>.
 [RFC4422]  Melnikov, A., Ed. and K. Zeilenga, Ed., "Simple
            Authentication and Security Layer (SASL)", RFC 4422,
            DOI 10.17487/RFC4422, June 2006,
            <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4422>.
 [RFC4642]  Murchison, K., Vinocur, J., and C. Newman, "Using
            Transport Layer Security (TLS) with Network News Transfer
            Protocol (NNTP)", RFC 4642, DOI 10.17487/RFC4642, October
            2006, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4642>.
 [RFC4643]  Vinocur, J. and K. Murchison, "Network News Transfer
            Protocol (NNTP) Extension for Authentication", RFC 4643,
            DOI 10.17487/RFC4643, October 2006,
            <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4643>.
 [RFC4644]  Vinocur, J. and K. Murchison, "Network News Transfer
            Protocol (NNTP) Extension for Streaming Feeds", RFC 4644,
            DOI 10.17487/RFC4644, October 2006,
            <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4644>.
 [RFC4648]  Josefsson, S., "The Base16, Base32, and Base64 Data
            Encodings", RFC 4648, DOI 10.17487/RFC4648, October 2006,
            <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4648>.
 [RFC4978]  Gulbrandsen, A., "The IMAP COMPRESS Extension", RFC 4978,
            DOI 10.17487/RFC4978, August 2007,
            <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4978>.
 [RFC5246]  Dierks, T. and E. Rescorla, "The Transport Layer Security
            (TLS) Protocol Version 1.2", RFC 5246,
            DOI 10.17487/RFC5246, August 2008,
            <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5246>.
 [RFC7457]  Sheffer, Y., Holz, R., and P. Saint-Andre, "Summarizing
            Known Attacks on Transport Layer Security (TLS) and
            Datagram TLS (DTLS)", RFC 7457, DOI 10.17487/RFC7457,
            February 2015, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7457>.

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 21] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

 [RFC7525]  Sheffer, Y., Holz, R., and P. Saint-Andre,
            "Recommendations for Secure Use of Transport Layer
            Security (TLS) and Datagram Transport Layer Security
            (DTLS)", BCP 195, RFC 7525, DOI 10.17487/RFC7525, May
            2015, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7525>.
 [V42bis]   International Telecommunications Union, "Data compression
            procedures for data circuit-terminating equipment (DCE)
            using error correction procedures", ITU-T
            Recommendation V.42bis, January 1990,
            <http://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-V.42bis>.
 [yEnc]     Helbing, J., "yEnc - Efficient encoding for Usenet and
            eMail", March 2002, <http://www.yenc.org/>.

Acknowledgments

 This document draws heavily on ideas in [RFC4978] by Arnt
 Gulbrandsen; a large portion of this text was borrowed from that
 specification.
 The authors would like to thank the following individuals for
 contributing their ideas and reviewing this specification: Mark
 Adler, Russ Allbery, Stephane Bortzmeyer, Francis Dupont, Angel
 Gonzalez, Barry Leiba, John Levine, and Brian Peterson.
 Special thanks to our Document Shepherd, Michael Baeuerle, who
 significantly helped to increase the quality of this specification,
 and to Stephen Farrell for his encouragement to pursue the efforts in
 standardizing this NNTP extension.
 Many thanks to the Responsible Area Director, Alexey Melnikov, for
 reviewing and sponsoring this document.

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 22] RFC 8054 NNTP Extension for Compression January 2017

Authors' Addresses

 Kenneth Murchison
 Carnegie Mellon University
 5000 Forbes Avenue
 Pittsburgh, PA  15213
 United States of America
 Phone: +1 412 268 1982
 Email: murch@andrew.cmu.edu
 Julien Elie
 10 allee Clovis
 Noisy-le-Grand  93160
 France
 Email: julien@trigofacile.com
 URI:   http://www.trigofacile.com/

Murchison & Elie Standards Track [Page 23]

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