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XML-Signature Core Syntax and Processing

W3C Working Draft 17-December-1999

This version:
http://www.w3.org/Signature/Drafts/WD-xmldsig-core-19991217
Latest version:
http://www.w3.org/TR/xmldsig-core
Previous version:
http://www.w3.org/Signature/Drafts/WD-xmldsig-core-19991215
Editor(s)
Donald Eastlake <dee3@torque.pothole.com>
Joseph Reagle <reagle@w3.org>
David Solo <dsolo@alum.mit.edu>
Authors
Mark Bartel <mbartel@JetForm.com>
John Boyer <jboyer@uwi.com>
Barb Fox <bfox@Exchange.Microsoft.com>
Contributors
See Acknowledgements

Abstract

This document specifies digital signature processing rules and XML syntax. XML Signatures provide integrity, message authentication, and/or signer authentication services for data of any type, whether located within the XML that includes the signature or elsewhere.

Status of this document

This is an internal WG Draft that captures the move towards References and Reference from the 991216-tele call and other documented discussion.

Please send comments to the editors and cc: the list <w3c-ietf-xmldsig@w3.org>. Publication as a Working Draft does not imply endorsement by the W3C membership or IETF. This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to cite W3C Drafts as other than "work in progress." A list of current W3C working drafts can be found at http://www.w3.org/TR

Patent disclosures relevant to this specification may be found on the WG's patent disclosure page.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
    1. Editorial Conventions
    2. Design Philosophy
    3. Namespaces and Identifiers
    4. Versions
  2. Signature Overview
    1. The Signature Element
    2. The SignedInfo Element
    3. The Reference Element
    4. The Manifest and Package Elements
    5. The SignatureProperties Element
  3. Core Signature Syntax
    1. The Signature element
    2. The SignatureValue Element
    3. The SignedInfo Element
    4. The KeyInfo Element
    5. The Object Element
  4. Additional Signature Syntax
    1. The Manifest and Package Elements
    2. The SignatureProperties Element
    3. Processing Instructions
    4. Comments in dsig Elements
  5. Algorithms
    1. Algorithm Identifiers, Parameters, and Implementation Requirements
    2. Message Digests
    3. Message Authentication Codes
    4. Signature Algorithms
    5. Canonicalization Algorithms
    6. Transform Algorithms
  6. Processing Rules
    1. Generation
    2. Signature Validation
  7. Security Considerations
    1. Only What is Signed is Secure
    2. Only What is "Seen" Should be Signed
    3. Check the Security Model
    4. Algorithms, Key Lengths, Etc.
  8. Example Syntax
  9. Schema
  10. Definitions
  11. Other Useful Types (normative)
  12. References
  13. Acknowledgements (non-normative)
  14. Open Issues (non-normative)

1.0 Introduction

This document specifies XML syntax and processing rules for creating and representing digital signatures. XML Signatures can be applied to any digital content (data object) including XML or other data. Furthermore, an XML Signature may be applied to the content of one or more resources: enveloped or envoloping signatures are over data within the same XML document as the signature; detached signatures are over data  referenced externally via a URI.

This document also defines other useful types including methods of referencing collections of resources, and key management and algorithm definitions.

1.1 Editorial 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].

This document includes a list of open issues which are still being addressed by the working group and may include editorial comments within the text.

1.2 Design Philosophy

The design philosophy and requirements of this specification are addressed in the XML-Signature Requirements document [XML-Signature-RD].

1.3 Namespaces and Identifiers

The XML namespace [XML-ns] URI that MUST be used by experimental implementations of this dated specification is:

xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/12/xmldsig-core"

While applications MUST support XML and XML-namespaces, the use of internal entities [XML] or our "dsig" XML namespace prefix and defaulting/scoping conventions are OPTIONAL; we use these facilities so as to provide compact and readable examples.

This specification uses Uniform  Resource Identifiers [URI] to identify resources, algorithms, and semantics. The URI in the namespace declaration above is also used as a prefix for URIs under the control of this specification. For resources not under the control of this specification, we use the designated Uniform Resource Names [URN] or Uniform Resource Locators [URL] defined by the external specification. If an external specification has not allocated itself a Uniform Resource Identifier we allocate an identifier under our own namespace. For instance:

SignatureProperties is identified and defined by this specifications namespace
http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/SignatureProperties
XSLT is identified and defined by an external namespace
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/PR-xslt-19991008
SHA1 is identified via this specification's namespace and defined via a normative reference
http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/SHA1

FIPS PUB 180-1. Secure Hash Standard. U.S. Department of Commerce/National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Finally, in order to provide for terse namespace declarations we use XML internal entities [XML]as macros within URIs. For instance:

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<!DOCTYPE Signature SYSTEM "xmldsig.dtd" [
<!ENTITY dsig 'http://www.w3.org/1999/10/signature-core'>]>
  ...
  <SignedInfo>
    <SignatureMethod Algorithm="&dsig;/dsaWithSHA-1"/>
    ...
  </SignedInfo>

Security Comment: XML processors will automatically expand entity declarations prior to signature generation. Consequently, this feature does not permit a substitution attack whereby an attacker replaces the entity declaration with another so as to change the meaning of the signature. Furthemore, we define this entity as part of the Signature XML Schema such that one does not have to rely upon an internal subset declaration. However, since this specification presently permits a CanonicalizationMethod of null over SignedInfo, entity declarations will not be expanded in those instances (or where the schema is not present) and we have not completely assessed the security risk.

1.4 Versions

No provision is made for an explicit version number in this syntax. If a future version is needed, it is expected to use a different Namespace.

2.0 Signature Overview

This section provides an overview of XML digital signature syntax and processing. The formal specification is provided in the section-3: Core Signature Syntax. We assume the reader is familiar with basic digital signature and XML concepts.

In this section, an informal representation is used to describe the structure of the XML signature syntax. This representation omits many attributes and details. The following suffix symbols are used to represent the number of times elements may occur: "?" denotes zero or one occurance; "+" denotes one or more occurances; and "*" denotes zero or more occurances.

2.1 The Signature Element

XML Signatures are very flexible and can sign arbitrary digital content (data objects). An XML Signature is applied via an indirection. Data objects are digested; the resulting value is placed in an element (with other information) and that element is then digested and cryptographically signed. While the data object(s) are not directly operated on by a cryptographic algorithm, we still refer to the signature as being over the data object(s). Frequently, content is obtained by dereferencing an identified resource. Within an XML document, signatures are related to data objects via IDREFs [XML] and the data can be included within an envoloping signature or can enclose an enveloped signature. Signatures are related to external data objects via URIs [URI] and the signature and data object are said to be detached.

XML digital signatures are represented by the Signature element which has the following structure:

<Signature>
  (SignedInfo)
  (SignatureValue)
  (KeyInfo)?
  (Object)*
</Signature>

The required SignedInfo element is the information which is actually signed. SignedInfo includes a list of References to data objects and their calculated digest value. The core validation consists of two mandatory processes: validation of the signature over SignedInfo and validation of each Reference digest within SignedInfo. The algorithms used in calculating the SignatureValue are also included in the signed information while the SignatureValue element is outside SignedInfo.

KeyInfo indicates what key is to be used to validate the signature. Possible forms for identification include certificates, key names, and key agreement algorithms and information -- we define only a few. KeyInfo is optional for two reasons. First, KeyInfo might contain information the signer does not wish to reveal to all signature verifiers. Second, the information may be known within the application's context and need not be represented explicitly. However, if the signer wishes to bind the keying information to the signature, a Reference can easily identify and include the KeyInfo as part of the signature.

Object is an optional element for including the signed resources within the signature document. The Object can be optionally typed and/or encoded.

Signature properties, such as time of signing, can be optionally included in a SignatureProperties within Object. (These properties are traditionally called signature "attributes" although that term in that context has no relationship to the XML term "attribute".) SignatureProperties can be included within an Object and signed at the signer's discretion.

2.2 The SignedInfo Element

The SignedInfo element has the structure indicated below.

<Signature>
  <SignedInfo>
    (CanonicalizationMethod)?
    (SignatureMethod)
    (Reference)+
  </SignedInfo>
  (SignatureValue)
  (KeyInfo)?
  (Object)*
</Signature>

The CanonicalizationMethod is the algorithm which is used to canonicalize the SignedInfo element before it is digested as part of the signature operation. In the absence of a CanonicalizationMethod element, no canonicalization is done.

The SignatureMethod is the algorithm used to convert the canonicalized SignedInfo into the SignatureValue. It is a combination of a digest algorithm and a key dependent algorithm and possibly other algorithms such as padding, for example RSA-SHA1 or HMAC-SHA1. The algorithm names are signed to resist attacks based on substituting a weaker algorithm.

To promote application interoperability we specify mandatory to implement canonicalization, digest, and signature algorithms. We specify additional algorithms as Recommended or Optional and the signature design permits arbitrary signer algorithm specification.

Each Reference element includes the digest method and resulting digest value calculated over the identified data object. It also may include transformations that produce the input to the digest operation. A data object is signed by computing its digest value and a signature over that value. The signature is later checked via reference and signature validation.

2.3 The Reference Element

The Reference element has the structure indicated below.

...
<SignedInfo>
   (CanonicalizationMethod)?
   (SignatureMethod)
   <Reference (URI=|IDREF=)? Type=?>
     (Transforms)?
     (DigestMethod)
     (DigestValue)
   </Reference>+
</SignedInfo>
...

The optional URI/IDREF attribute of Reference idenitifies the data object to be signed. This attribute may be omitted on at most one Reference in a Signature.

This identification, along with the transforms, are a description provided by the signer on how to obtain the signed resource in the form it was digested (i.e. the digested content). The verifier (i.e., relying party) may obtain the digested content in another method so long as the digest verifies. In particular, the verifier may obtain the content from a different location (particularly a local store) other than that specified in the URI/IDREF.

The optional Type attribute provides information about the content of the resource identified by URI/IDREF. In particular, it can indicate that it contains a SignatureProperties, Manifest, or Package element.

Transforms is an optional ordered list of processing steps that are applied to the resource's content before it is digested. Transforms can include arbitrary specifications such as canonicalization, encoding/decoding (including compression/inflation), XSLT and XPath. XPath transforms permit the signer to derive an XML document that omits portions of the source document. Consequently those excluded portions can change without affecting signature validity (this is how the Working Group satisfied the requirement of signing portions of a document.) For example, if the resource being signed encloses the signature itself, such a transform must be used to exclude the signature value from its own computation  If no Transforms element is present, the resource's content is digested directly.

Arbritrary user specified transforms are permitted. To promote interoperability, we specify mandatory to implement canonicalization and decoding transformation algorithms. Additional canonicalization, coding, XSLT, and XPath based transform algorithms are specified as recommended or optional;

DigestMethod is the algorithm applied to the data, after Transforms is applied if specified, to yield the DigestValue. The signing of the DigestValue is what bind's a resources content to the signer's key.

2.4 The Manifest and Package Elements

The Manifest and Package elements are included to meet requirements not directly addressed by this document. The level of indirection provided by these elements readily meets these requirements. Two examples follow.

First, applications frequently need to efficiently sign multiple data objects. This requirement can be achieved by including multiple References within SignedInfo. However, some applications may not want the core validation behaviour associated with this approach: each Reference within SignedInfo undergoes reference validation -- the DigestValues are checked. Some applications may wish to reserve reference validation decision logic to themselves. For example, an application might receive a signature valid SignedInfo element that includes three References. If a single Reference fails (the identified data object when digested does not yield the specified DigestValue) the signature would fail core validation. However, the application may wish to treat the signature over the two valid References as valid. Second, consider an application where many signatures (using different keys) are applied to thousands of documents. An inefficient solution is to have a seperate signature (per key) repeatedly applied to a large SignedInfo element (with thousands of References); this is very redundant.

To address these requirements, additional element types have been defined which may be referenced by SignedInfo References. First, the Manifest element may contain a collection of References and Objects, but leaves reference validation up to the application. Second, multiple signatures over the thousands of  References need only point to a single Manifest with the many references.

The structure of Manifest, which reuses the Reference and Object elements described above, is as follows:

<Manifest>
  (Reference)+
  (Object)*
</Manifest>

A Package is syntactically identical to a Manifest, and may appear anywhere a Manifest may appear, but asserts the identity of each of its Reference elements after Transforms application.

Manifest and Package may appear as the content of an Object.

2.5 The SignatureProperties Element

This specification does not address mechanisms for making statements or assertions. Instead, this whole document singly defines what it means for something to be signed by an XML Signature (message authentication, integrity, and/or signer authentication). Applications that wish to represent other semantics must rely upon other technologies, such as [XML, XML-schema, RDF]. However, we do define a SignatureProperties element type for the inclusion of assertions about how the signature was produced (e.g., the time of signing or the serial number or hardware used in cryptographic processes). We do not define those element types however, they may, or may not be, signed via a Reference, as desired.

<SignatureProperties>
  (SignatureProperty Target= )+
</SignatureProperties>

The structure of SignatureProperties is shown above. Any content about the signature generation may be located within the SignatureProperty element. The mandatory Target attribute references the element to which the property applies. In particular, target may include a reference to a SignedInfo or Reference element.

3.0 Core Signature Syntax

The general structure of an XML signature is described in section-2: Signature Overview. This section provides detailed syntax of the core signature features and actual examples. Features described in this section are mandatory to implement unless otherwise indicated. The syntax is defined via [XML-Schema] with the following XML preamble, declaration, and internal entity:

Schema Definition:

<?xml version='1.0'?>
<!DOCTYPE schema
SYSTEM 'http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-xmlschema-1-19991105/structures.dtd'
[
<!ENTITY dsig 'http://www.w3.org/1999/12/signature-core'>
]>
<schema targetNS='http://www.w3.org/1999/12/signature-core'
   version='0.1'
   xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/XMLSchema'>
<textEntity name="dsig">http://www.w3.org/1999/12/signature-core</textEntity>

3.1 The Signature element

The Signature element is the root element of a XML Signature. A simple example of a complete signature follows:

Example:

<!DOCTYPE Signature [
<!ENTITY dsig 'http://www.w3.org/1999/12/signature-core'>]>
<Signature xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/12/xmldsig-core">
  <SignedInfo>
    <CanonicalizationMethod
     Algorithm="http://www.w3.org/1999/07/WD-xml-c14n-19990729"/>
    <SignatureMethod Algorithm="&dsig;/dsaWithSHA-1"/>
    <Reference Location="http://www.mypage.com">
      <DigestMethod Algorithm="&dsig;/sha1"/>
      <DigestValue encoding="&dsig;/base64">a23bcd43</DigestValue>
    </Reference>
  </SignedInfo>
  <SignatureValue>dd2323dd</SignatureValue>
  <KeyInfo>
     <KeyName>Solo</KeyName>
  </KeyInfo>
</Signature>

Note: this example will be revised to include generated hash/signature values that validate.

Schema Definition:

<element name='Signature'>
  <archetype order='seq' content='elemOnly'>
    <element ref='SignedInfo'/>
    <element ref='SignatureValue'/>
    <element ref='KeyInfo' minOccurs='0' maxOccurs='1' />
    <element ref='Object' minOccurs='0' maxOccurs='*'/>
    <attribute name='Id' type='ID' />
  </archetype>
</element>

3.2 The SignatureValue Element

The SignatureValue element contains the actual value of the digital signature. The encoding of this value is determined by SignatureMethod. Base64 [MIME] is the encoding method for all SignatureMethods specified within this specification. The ability to define a SignatureMethod and SignatureValue pair which includes multiple distinct signatures is explicitly permitted (e.g. "rsawithsha-1 and ecdsawithsha-1").

Schema Definition:

<element name='SignatureValue' type='string'/>

DTD:

<!ELEMENT SignatureValue CDATA >

3.3 The SignedInfo Element

The structure of SignedInfo includes the canonicalization algorithm (if any), a signature algorithm, and one or more references to objects. The SignedInfo element may contain an optional ID attribute that will allow it to be referenced by other signatures and objects.

Schema Definition:

<element name='SignedInfo'>
  <archetype order='seq' content='elemOnly'>
    <element ref='CanonicalizationMethod' minOccurs='0' maxOccurs='1'/>
    <element ref='SignatureMethod'/>
    <element ref='Reference' minOccurs='1' maxOccurs='*'/>
    <attribute name='Id' type='ID' />
  </archtype>
</element>

SignedInfo does not include explicit signature properties (such as signing time, signing device, etc.). If an application needs to associate properties with the signature or digest, it may include such information in an Object element that is referenced by a Reference. See the SignatureProperties element below.

3.3.1 The CanonicalizationMethod Element

CanonicalizationMethod is an optional element which specifies the canonicalization algorithm applied to the SignedInfo element prior to performing signature calculations. This element uses the general structure here for algorithms described in section-5.1: Algorithm Identifiers. Possible options may include a minimal algorithm (CRLF and charset normalization), or more extensive operations such as [XML-C14N]. If the CanonicalizationMethod is omitted, no change is made to SignedInfo.

Schema Definition:

<element name='CanonicalizationMethod'>
  <archetype content='elemOnly' >
    <element ref='Parameter' >
    <attribute name='Algorithm' type='uri' />
  </archetype>
</element>

DTD:

<!ELEMENT CanonicalizationMethod Parameter* >
<!ATTLIST CanonicalizationMethod
          Algorithm CDATA #REQUIRED >

3.3.2 The SignatureMethod Element

SignatureMethod is a required element which specifies the algorithm used for signature generation and validation. This algorithm identifies all cryptographic functions involved in the signature operation (e.g. hashing, public key algorithms, MACs, padding, etc.). This element uses the general structure here for algorithms described in section 5.1.   While there is a single identifier, that identifier may specify a format containing multiple distinct signature values.

Schema Definition:

<element name='SignatureMethod'>
  <archetype content='elemOnly'>
    <element ref='Parameter' >
    <attribute name='Algorithm' type='uri' />
  </archetype>
</element>

DTD:

<!ELEMENT SignatureMethod Parameter* >
<!ATTLIST SignatureMethod
          Algorithm CDATA #REQUIRED >

3.3.3 The Reference Element

Reference is an element that may occur one or more times. It specifies a digest algorithm and digest value, and optionally the object being signed, the type of the object, and/or a list of transforms to be applied prior to digesting. The identification, and transforms are information provided to inform the verifier how the digested content (i.e., the input to the digest method) may be created. The type attribute facilitates the processing of referenced data. For example, while this specification makes no requirements over external data, an application may wish to signal that the referent is a Manifest. An optional ID attribute permits a Reference to be easily referenced from elsewhere.

Schema Definition:

<element name='Reference' >
  <archetype order='seq'>
    <element ref='Transforms' minOccurs='0' maxOccurs='1'/>
    <element ref='DigestMethod'/>
    <element ref='DigestValue'/>
    <attribute name='Id' type='ID' />
    <attribute name='URI' type='uri' />
    <attribute name='IDREF' type='IDREF' />
    <attribute name='Type' type='uri' />
  </archetype>
</element>

The URI/IDREF attribute identifies a data object using a URI [URI] or IDREF [XML]. We distinguish between URIs and IDREFs so as to provide expositional clarity and ease signature processing. Note there is some confusion about URIs and fragment identifiers. As specified by RFC2396 [URI], URIs can be used in conjunction with a fragment identifier by use of a separating pound symbol '#', but the URI proper does not include the fragment identifier. (The meaning of the fragment is defined by the resource's MIME type). URI/IDREF only permits a 'clean' URI or IDREF; fragment identification is specified under Transforms. This choice permits References to identify a fragment of a document that is encoded: the Reference identifies the resource, the first Transform specifies decoding, the second Transform specifies the fragement.

Note that a null URI (URI="") is permitted and identifies the parent document.

If the URI/IDREF attribute is omitted all-together, the receiving application is expected to know the identity of the object. For example, a lightweight data protocol might ommit this attribute given the identity of the object is part of the application context. This attribute may be omitted from at most one Reference in any particular SignedInfo, Manifest, or Package.

The digest algorithm is applied to the data octets being secured. Typically that is done by locating (possibly using the URI/IDREF if provided) the data and transforming it. If the data is an XML document, the document is assumed to be unparsed prior to the application of Transforms. If there are no Transforms, then the data is passed to the digest algorithm unmodified.

The optional Type attribute contains information about the type of object being signed (e.g. manifest, package, signature properties, document). This is represented as a URI. For example:

Type="&dsig;/Manifest"
Type="&dsig;/SignatureProperty"

3.3.3.1 The Transforms Element

Transforms is an optional element that contains one or more operations to be performed on an indicated data object prior to digest calculation. (These operations are different from the CanonicalizationMethod specified in the Signature which is applied to SignedInfo.) If the Transforms element is omitted, no operations are indicated.

The Transforms element contains an ordered list of Transform elements. The output of each Transform serves as input to the next Transform. The input to the first Transform is the source data. The output from the last Transform is the input for the DigestMethod algorithm. When transforms are applied the signer is not signing the native (original) document but the resulting (transformed) document.

Each Transform consists of an Algorithm attribute, optional MimeType and Charset attributes, and content parameters, if any, appropriate for the given algorithm. The Algorithm attribute value specifies the name of the algorithm to be performed, and the Transform content provides additional data to govern the algorithm's processing of the input resource.

The optional MimeType and Charset (IANA registered character set) attributes are made available to algorithms which need and are otherwise unable to deduce that information about the data they are processing.

Schema Definition:

<element name='Transforms' >
  <archetype>
    <element ref='Transform' minOccurs='1' maxOccurs='*' />
  </archetype>
</element>

<element name='Transform' >
  <archetype>
    <element ref='Parameter' minOccurs='0' maxOccurs='*'/>
    <attribute name='Algorithm' type='string' />
    <attribute name='Type' type='uri' />
    <attribute name='Charset' type='string' />
  </archetype>
</element>

Examples of transforms include but are not limited to base-64 decoding [MIME], canonicalization [XML-c14n], XPath filtering [Xpath], and XSLT [XSLT]. The generic definition of the Transform element also allows application-specific transform algorithms. For example, the transform could be a decompression routine given by a Java class appearing as a base-64 encoded parameter to the Java Transform algorithm. However, applications should refrain from using application-specific transforms if they wish their signatures to be verifiable outside of their application domain. Section 5-6: Transform Algorithms defines the list of standard transformations.

3.3.3.2 The DigestMethod Element

DigestMethod is a required element which identifies the digest algorithm to be applied to the signed object. This element uses the general structure here for algorithms specified in section-5.1: Algorithm Identifiers.

Schema Definition:

<element name='DigestMethod'>
  <archetype content='elemOnly'>
    <element ref='Parameter' minOccurs='0' maxOccurs='*'/>
    <attribute name='Algorithm' type='uri' />
  </archetype>
</element>

DTD:

<!ELEMENT DigestMethod Parameter* >
<!ATTLIST DigestMethod
          Algorithm CDATA #REQUIRED >

3.3.3.3 The DigestValue Element

DigestValue is an element which contains the encoded value of the digest. The optional Encoding attribute gives the encoding method which defaults to Base 64 [MIME].

Schema Definition:

<element name='DigestValue' type='string'>
  <archetype>
    <attribute name='Encoding' type='uri' default="&dsig;/Base64"/ />
  </archetype>
</element>

3.4 The KeyInfo Element

KeyInfo may contain keys, names, certificates and other public key management information (such as inband key distribution or agreement data or data supporting any other method.) This specification defines a few simple types but applications may place their own key identification and exchange semantics within this element through the XML-namespace facility. [XML-namespace]

Schema Definition:

<element name='KeyInfo' minOccurs='0' maxOccurs='1'>
  <archetype order='seq' content='any'>
    <element name='KeyName' type='string' />
    <element name='KeyValue' type='string' />
    <element name='SubjectName' type='string' />
    <element name='RetrievalMethod' type='string' />
    <element ref='X509Data' type='string'>
    <element ref='PGPData' type='string'>
    <element ref='MgmtData' type='string' minOccurs='0' maxOccurs='1'/>
    <attribute name='Id' type='ID' />
  </archetype>
</element>

KeyInfo is an optional element which enables the recipient(s) to obtain the key(s) needed to validate the signature. If omitted, the recipient is expected to be able to identify the key based on application context information. This element contains one KeyInfo data element providing information for the recipient(s). Applications may define and use any mechanism they choose through inclusion of elements from a different namespace.

Compliant versions implementing KeyInfo MUST implement KeyValue, and SHOULD implement RetrievalMethod.

Schema Definition:

<element name='X509Data' type='string'>
  <archetype order='seq' content='any'>
    <element name='X509IssuerSerial' type='string'>
      <archetype order='seq' content='elemOnly'>
        <element name='X509Name' type='string' />
        <element name='X509SerialNumber' type='string' />
      </archetype>
    </element>
    <element name='X509SKI' type='string' />
    <element name='X509Name' type='string' />
    <element name='X509Certificate' type='string' />
    <element name='X509CRL' type='string' />
  </archetype>
</element>

<element name='PGPData' type='string'>
  <archetype order='seq' content='elemOnly'>
    <element name='PGPKeyID' type='string' />
    <element name='PGPKeyPacket' type='string' />
  </archetype>
</element>

<element name='MgmtData' type='string' minOccurs='0' maxOccurs='1'/>
  </archetype>
</element>

3.5 The Object Element

Object is an optional element which may occur one or more times. When present, this element may contain any data. The Object element may include optional type, ID, and encoding attributes.

The Object's ID is commonly referenced from an Reference in SignedInfo, Manifest or Package. This element is typically used for envoloping signatures where the object being signed is to be included in the signature document. The digest is calculated over the entire Object element including start and end tags.

Note, if the application wishes to exclude the <Object> tags from the digest calculation the Reference must identify the acual data object (easy for XML documents) or a transform must be used to remove the Object tags (likely where the data object is non-XML). Exclusion of the object tags may be desired for cases where one wants the signature to remain valid if the data object is moved from inside a signature to outside the signature (or vice-versa), or where the content of the Object is an encoding of an original binary document and it is desired to extract and decode so as to sign the original bitwise representation.

Schema Definition:

<element name='Object' >
  <archetype content='any'>
    <attribute name='Id' type='ID' />
    <attribute name='Type' type='uri' />
    <attribute name='Encoding' type='uri' />
  </archetype>
</element>

3.6 The Parameter Element

Algorithms are provided with parameters and input data, when necessary, by having Parameter elements in the content of the algorithm element. Algorithms also have implicit input, such as the canonicalized SignedInfo for SignatureMethod and the transformed data for DigestMethod.

Where more than one Parameter appears, they are passed to the algorithm as an ordered vector corresponding to the order they appear in the algorithm element content.

Schema Definition:

<element name='Parameter' >
  <archetype content='any'>
    <attribute name='Encoding' type='uri' />
  </archetype>
</element>

4.0 Additional Signature Syntax

This section describes the optional to implement Manifest, SignatureProperties, and Package elements and describes the handling of XML Processing Instructions and Comments. With respect to the elements Manifest, SignatureProperties, and Package, this section specifies syntax and little behaviour -- it is left to the application. These elements can appear anywhere the parent's content model permits; the signature content model only permits them within Object.

4.1 The Manifest and Package Elements

The Manifest element provides a list of References. The difference from the list in SignedInfo is that it is application defined which, if any, of the digests are actually checked against the objects referenced and what to do if the object is inaccessible or the digest compare fails. If a Manifest is pointed to from SignedInfo, the digest over the Manifest itself will be checked by the core signature validation behavior. The digests within such a Manifest are checked at application discretion. If a Manifest is referenced from another Manifest, even the overall digest of this two level deep Manifest might not be checked.

A Package is syntactically identical to a Manifest, and may appear anywhere a Manifest may appear, but asserts the identity of each of its Reference elements after Transforms application. The testing of this relationship and consequent action is at the discretion of the applicaiton.

Schema Definition:

<element name='Manifest'>
  <archetype>
    <element ref='Reference' minOccurs='1' maxOccurs='*'/>
    <element ref='Object' minOccurs='0' maxOccurs='*'/>
    <attribute name='Id' type='id' />
  </archetype>
</element>

Schema Definition:

<element name='Package'>
  <archetype>
    <element ref='Reference' minOccurs='1' maxOccurs='*'/>
    <element ref='Object' minOccurs='0' maxOccurs='*'/>
    <attribute name='Id' type='id' />
  </archetype>
</element>

4.2 The SignatureProperties Element

Additional information items concerning the generation of the signature(s) can be placed in a SignatureProperty element (i.e., date/time stamp or the serial number of cryptographic hardware used in signature generation.)

Schema Definition:

<element name='SignatureProperties' >
  <archetype content='elemOnly' >
    <element ref='SignatureProperty' minOccurs='1' maxOccurs='*'>
    <attribute name='Id' type='id' />
  </archetype>
</element>

<element name='SignatureProperty' >
  <archetype content='any' >
    <attribute name='Target' type='idref' />
  </archetype>
</element>

4.3 Processing Instructions

TDB - will specify the use, if any, of XML processing instructions by this specification and the handling of PIs appearing within elements specified in this document.

4.4 Comments in dsig Elements

TDB - will specify the use, if any, and handling of XML comments appearing within elements specified in this document.

5.0 Algorithms

This section identifies algorithms used with the XML digital signature standard. Entries contain the identifier to be used in Signature elements, a reference to the formal specification, and definitions, where applicable, for the representation of keys and the results of cryptographic operations.

5.1 Algorithm Identifiers, Parameters, and Implementation Requirements

Algorithms are identified by URIs that appear as an attribute to the element that identifies the algorithms' role (DigestMethod, Transform, SignatureMethod, or CanonicalizationMethod). All algorithms used herein take parameters but in many cases the parameters are implicit. For example, a SignatureMethod is implicitly given two parameters: the keying info and the output of CanonicalizationMethod (or SignedInfo directly if there is no CanonicalizationMethod). Explicit additional parameters to an algorithm appear as content elements within the algorithm role element. Such parameter elements have a descriptive element name, which is frequently algorithm specific, and MUST be in an algorithm specific namespace.

This specification defines a set of algorithms, their URIs, and requirements for implementation. Requirements are specified over implementation, not over requirements for signature use. Furthermore, the mechanism is extensible, alternative algorithms may be used by signature applications.

Algorithm Type Algorithm Requirements Algorithm URI
Digest      
  SHA1 REQUIRED http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/sha1
Encoding      
  Base64 REQUIRED http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/base64 
  QuotedPrintable RECOMMENDED http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/qp 
MAC      
  HMAC-SHA1 REQUIRED http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/hmac-sha1
Signature      
  DSAwithSHA1 (DSS) REQUIRED http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/dsa
  RSAwithSHA1 RECOMMENDED http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/rsa-sha1
  ECDSAwithSHA1 OPTIONAL http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/ecdsa
Canonicalization      
  minimal REQUIRED http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/minimal
  XML-Canonicalization RECOMMENDED http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-xml-c14n-19991115
Transform      
  XSLT RECOMMENDED http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-xslt-19991116
  XPath RECOMMENDED http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-xpath-19991116
  XPointer RECOMMENDED http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-xptr-19991206
  Java OPTIONAL urn:ECMA-org:java

Note that the normative identifier is the complete URIs in the table though they are frequently abbreviated in XML syntax as  "&dsig;/hmac".

5.2 Message Digests

Only one digest algorithm is defined herein. However, it is expected that one or more additional strong digest algorithms will be developed in connection with the US Advanced Encryption Standard effort. Use of MD5 [MD5] is NOT RECOMMENDED because recent advances in cryptography have cast doubt on its strength.

Digest algorithms take as an implicit parameter a byte string to be digested.

5.2.1 SHA-1

Identifier:
http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/sha1

The SHA-1 algorithm [SHA-1] takes no explicit parameters. An example of an SHA-1 DigestAlg element is:

<DigestMethod Algorithm="&dsig;/sha1"/>

A SHA-1 digest is a 160-bit string. The content of the DigestValue element shall be the base64 encoding of this bit string viewed as a 20-octet octet stream. Example, the DigestValue element for the message digest:

A9993E36 4706816A BA3E2571 7850C26C 9CD0D89D

from Appendix A of the SHA-1 standard would be:

<DigestValue>qZk+NkcGgWq6PiVxeFDCbJzQ2J0=</DigestValue>

5.3 Message Authentication Codes

MAC algorithms take two implicit parameters, their keying material determined from KeyInfo and the byte stream output by CanonicalizationMethod or SignedInfo directly if there is no CanonicalizationMethod. MACs and signature algorithms are syntactically identical but a MAC implies a shared secret key.

5.3.1 HMAC

Identifier:
http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/hmac-sha1

The HMAC algorithm [RFC2104:HMAC] takes the truncation length in bits as a parameter. An example of an HMAC SignatureMethod element:

<SignatureMethod Algorithm="&dsig;/hmac-sha1">
  <hmac-outputlength xmlns="&dsig;/hmac-sha1">
     128
  </hmac-outputlength>
</SignatureMethod>

The output of the HMAC algorithm is ultimately the output (possibly truncated) of the chosen digest algorithm. This value shall be base64 encoded in the same straightforward fashion as the output of the digest algorithms. Example: the SignatureValue element for the HMAC-MD5 digest

9294727A 3638BB1C 13F48EF8 158BFC9D

from the test vectors in [HMAC] would be

<SignatureValue>kpRyejY4uxwT9I74FYv8nQ==</SignatureValue>

5.4 Signature Algorithms

Signature algorithms take two implicit parameters, their keying material determined from KeyInfo and the byte stream output by CanonicalizationMethod or SignedInfo directly if there is no CanonicalizationMethod. Signature and MAC algorithms are syntactically identical but a signature implies public key cryptography.

5.4.1 DSA

Identifier:
http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/dsa

The DSA algorithm [DSA] takes no explicit parameters. An example of a DSA SignatureMethod element is:

<SignatureMethod Algorithm="&dsig;/dsa"/>

The output of the DSA algorithm consists of a pair of integers usually referred by the pair (r, s). The signature value shall consist of the base64 encoding of the concatenation of two octet-streams that respectively result from the octet-encoding of the values r and s. Integer to octet-stream conversion shall be done according to the I2OSP operation defined in the RFC 2437 [RSA] specification with a k parameter equal to 20. Example: the SignatureValue element for a DSA signature (r, s) with values specified in hexadecimal

r = 8BAC1AB6 6410435C B7181F95 B16AB97C 92B341C0
s = 41E2345F 1F56DF24 58F426D1 55B4BA2D B6DCD8C8

from the example in Appendix 5 of the DSS standard would be

<SignatureValue
>i6watmQQQ1y3GB+VsWq5fJKzQcBB4jRfH1bfJFj0JtFVtLotttzYyA==</SignatureValue>

DSA key values have the following set of fields: P, Q, G and Y are mandatory when appearing as a key value, J, seed and pgenCounter are optional but SHOULD be present. (The seed and pgenCounter fields MUST both either appear or be absent). All parameters are encoded as base64 values.

DTD:

<!ELEMENT DssKeyValue (P, Q, G, Y, J?, (seed, pgenCounter)?) >

<!-- Each of these fields consists a CDATA where the data is base64 encoded -->

5.4.2 RSA

Identifier:
http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/rsa-sha1

The expression "RSA algorithm" as used in this document refers to the RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 algorithm described in  RFC 2437 [RSA]. The RSA algorithm takes no parameters. An example of an RSA SignatureMethod element is:

<SignatureMethod Algorithm="&dsig;/rsa-sha1"/>

The output of the RSA algorithm is an octet string. The SignatureValue content for an RSA signature shall be the base64 encoding of this octet string. Example: TBD

RSA key values have two fields: Modulus and Exponent.

<!ELEMENT RSAKeyValue ( Modulus, Exponent ) > <!-- Each field contains a CDATA which is the value for that item base64 encoded -->

5.4.3 ECDSA

The expression ECDSA  [ECDSA] as used in this document refers to the signature algorithms specified in ANSI X9.62.  Additional details are to be provided.

5.5 Canonicalization Algorithms

5.5.1 Null Canonicalization

Null canonicalization, i.e., no modification whatsoever, can be achieved for digested data by simply not putting any canonicalization in the Transforms element (omitting it entirely if no other tranforms are needed) for a data object or omitting CanonicalizationMethod for SignedInfo.

5.5.2 Minimal Canonicalization

Identifier:
http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/minimal

The algorithm identifier for the minimal canonicalization is &dsig;/minimal. An example of a minimal canonicalization element is:

<CanonicalizationMethod Algorithm="&dsig;/minimal"/>

The minimal canonicalization algorithm:

5.5.3 Canonical XML

Identifier:
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-xml-c14n-19991115

An example of an XML canonicalization element is:

<CanonicalizationMethod Algorithm="http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-xml-c14n-19991115"/>

The normative specificatin of Canonical XML is [XML-c14n].

5.6 Transform Algorithms

A Transform algorithm has three implicit parameters. The first is a byte stream from the Reference or as the output of an earlier Transform. The second and third are the optional MimeType and Charset attributes that can be specified on the Transform element.

Application developers are strongly encouraged to support all transforms listed in this section as RECOMMENDED unless the application environment has resource constraints that would make such support impractical. The working group goal is to maximize application interoperability on XML signatures, and the working group expects ubiquitous availability of software to support these transforms that can be incorporated into applications without extensive development.

5.6.1 Canonicalization

Any canonicalization algorithm that can be used for CanonicalizationMethod can be used as a Transform.

5.6.2 Base-64 and Quoted-Printable Decoding

Identifiers:
http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/base-64
http://www.w3.org/1999/12/dsig-core/qp

The normative specification for base 64 and quoted-printable decoding transforms is [MIME]. The base-64 Transform element has no content. The input is base-64 decoded by this algorithm. This transform is useful if an application needs to sign the raw data associated with base-64 encoded content of an element.

5.6.3 XPath Filtering

Identifier:
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-xpath-19991116

The Transform element content MUST conform to the XML Path Language [XPath] syntax. XPath is a language for addressing parts of an XML document. Hence, an XPath expression MUST be applied to an entire well-formed XML document.

Note: The current output of a Reference's IDREF cannot be used as input to an XPath transform. The XPath transform could be defined to provide an XML declaration when one is found not to exist since the encoding attribute could be set equal to the XPath transform's Charset attribute. However, there is currently no way to communicate the correct byte order mark to the transform. For security reasons, a default cannot be selected.

The XPath transform applies the W3C XML canonicalization [XML-C14N] to the input resource. This ensures all entity reference substitutions and attribute normalizations are performed in a manner consistent with a validating XML processor. Linefeeds are normalized, and CDATA sections are eliminated. The types of quotes around attributes are normalized, and the order of attributes is defined. Namespace attributes are created in descendant elements that use namespace definitions. All of these modifications are necessary to achieve a consistent interpretation of the XPath expression and a consistent output of the XPath transform.

Finally, the XPath expression is evaluated assuming that the entity references created by canonicalization have been replaced by the corresponding entity values and that each block of consecutive text characters has been replaced by a single text node.

The result of the XPath is a string, boolean, number, or node-set. If the result of the XPath expression is a string, then the string is the output of the XPath transform. If the XPath result is a boolean or number, then the result is converted to a string using the XPath string() function. If the result of the XPath expression is a node-set, then the output of the transform is a string containing the text rendering of the nodes in the node-set. The nodes are selected for rendering based on the document order (as defined in [XPath]) of the canonicalized input resource. The text rendering is performed in accordance with [XML-C14N].

It is RECOMMENDED that the XPath be constructed such that the result of this operation is a well-formed XML document. This should be the case if root element of the input resource is included by the XPath (even if a number of its descendant elements and attributes are omitted by the XPath).

5.6.4 XPointer Filtering

Identifier:
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-xptr-19991206

The Transform element content MUST conform to the XML Pointer Language [XPointer] syntax.

The processing rules for XPointer filtering are identical to those for XPath filtering (stated above), except that the additional functionality offered by XPointer can be utilized in constructing the output.

5.6.5 XSLT Transform

Identifier:
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-xslt-19991116

The Transform element content MUST conform to the XSL Transforms [XSLT] language syntax. The processing rules for the XSLT transform are stated in the XSLT specification [XSLT].

5.6.6 Java Transform

The Algorithm value for the Java transform is urn:ECMA-org:java.

Details to be determined.

Although the Algorithm attribute of a Transform can take application-specific values, having a Java transform seems to be the most reasonable way to allow application-specific transforms that can be processed outside of the application domain.

6.0 Processing rules

These sections describe the operations to be performed as part of signature generation and validation. The description is of a logical behavior and does not specify an order of execution, nor specify discrete steps.

6.1 Generation

  1. apply Transforms determined by application to each object being signed.
  2. calculate digest over each transformed object
  3. create Reference element(s) including location of object, digest, digest algorithm, and transform elements, if required.
  4. create SignedInfo element with SignatureMethod, CanonicalizationMethod if required, and Reference(s).
  5. canonicalize and calculate signature over SignedInfo based on algorithms in step 4.
  6. construct signature document with SignedInfo, Object (s) (if desired, encoding may be different than that used for signing), KeyInfo (if required), and SignatureValue.

6.2 Core Validation

Validating an XML signature consists of two mandatory processing steps. These are signature validation, the cryptographic validation of the signature calculated over SignedInfo; and reference validation, the verification of the digest contained in each Reference in SignedInfo. Both steps MUST be performed as part of all XML signature validations.

6.2.1 Signature Validation

  1. canonicalize the SignedInfo element based on the CanonicalizationMethod, if any, in SignedInfo.
  2. obtain the validation keying info from KeyInfo or externally.
  3. validate the SignatureValue based on the SignatureMethod in the SignedInfo element, the key obtained in step 2, and the results of step 1. Digest calculation is performed over the SignedInfo element including start and end tags.

6.2.2 Reference Validation

  1. For each object reference in SignedInfo, obtain digested content (this may be obtained by locating object and applying Transforms to the specified resource based on each Reference(s) in the SignedInfo element. Each transform is applied in order from left to right to the object with the output of each transform being the input to the next.).
  2. calculate digest over each transformed signed object(s)  based on the algorithm in Reference(s).
  3. compare value against DigestValue in SignedInfo for each reference (if any mismatch, validation fails).

Any processing beyond cryptographic validation (e.g. certificate validation, applicability decisions, time related processing) is outside the scope of this specification.

7.0 Security Considerations

The XML Signature specification provides a very flexible digital signature mechanism. Implementors must give consideration to the application threat models and to the following factors.

7.1 Only What is Signed is Secure

A requirement of this specification is to permit signatures to "apply to a part or totality of a XML document." [3.1.3 XML-Signature-RD] The Transforms mechanism meets this requirement by permitting one to sign a document derived from processing the identified source document. For instance, applications that wish to sign a form, but permit users to enter field data without invalidating the form itself might use XPath [XPath] to select only those portions the user does not change. However, Transforms may be arbitrarly specified and may include canonicalization instructions or even XSLT transformations. We stress that the signature is placed over the derived document, and those portions that were excluded by transformation can be arbitrarily modified and the signature will still validate! This is a feature, though one that is used at the application's risk. (Some applications may not be willing to trust such signatures all-together.)

Furthermore, core validation behaviour does not confirm that the signed resource was obtained by applying transforms to the specified source document. This behaviour is left to the application as core validation only checks the digest values of the source document and the signature over SignedInfo. If this fact is important, then additional information (such as by including References to both the original and transformed documents) is needed.

7.2 Only What is "Seen" Should be Signed

If signing is intended to convey the judgment or consent of an automated mechanism or person concerning some information, then it is normally necessary to secure as exactly as practical the information that was presented to that mechanism or person. Note that this can be accomplished by literally signing what was presented, for example the screen images shown a user. However, this may result in data which it is difficult for subsequent software to manipulate. It can be effective instead to secure the full data along with whatever filters, style sheets, or the like were used to control the part of the information that was presented.

7.3 Check the Security Model

This standard specifies public key signatures and secret key keyed hash authentication codes. These have substantially different security models. Furthermore, it permits user specified additions which may have other models.

With public key signatures, any number of parties can hold the public key and verify signatures while only the parties with the secret key can create signatures. The number of holders of the secret key should be minimized and preferably be one. Confidence by verifiers in the public key they are using and its binding to the entity or capabilities represented by the corresponding secret key is an important issue, usually addressed by certificate or online authority systems.

Keyed hash authentication codes, based on secret keys, are typically much more efficient in terms of the computational effort required but have the characteristic that all verifiers need to have possession of the same key as the signer. Thus any verifier can forge signatures.

This standard permits user provided signature algorithms and keying information designators. Such user provided algorithms may have further different security models. For example, methods involving biometrics usually depend on a "key" which is a physical characteristic of the user and thus can not be changed the way public or secret keys can be and may have other security model differences.

7.4 Key Lengths, Algorithms, Etc.

The strength of a particular signature depends on all links in the security chain. This includes the signature and digest algorithms used, the strength of the key generation [RFC1750] and the size of the key, the security of key and certificate authentication and distribution mechanisms, protection of all cryptographic processing from hostile observation and tampering, etc. The security of an overall system would also depend on the security and integrity of its operating procedures, its personnel, and on the administrative enforcement of those procedures. The factors listed in this paragraph, while critical to the overall security of a system, are mostly beyond the scope of this document.

8.0 Example syntax

<Signature xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/11/xmldsig-core">
  <SignedInfo ID="5">
    <CanonicalizationMethod
     Algorithm="http://www.w3.org/1999/07/WD-xml-c14n-19990729"/>
    <SignatureMethod Algorithm="&dsig;/dsa"/>
    <Reference URI="http://www.mypage.com">
      <Transforms>
         <Transform Algorithm="&dsig;/null">
         <Encoding Algorithm="&dsig;/base64"/>
      </Transforms>
      <DigestMethod Algorithm="&dsig;/sha1"/>
      <DigestValue>a23bcd43</DigestValue>
    </Reference>
    <Reference IDREF="timestamp"
       Type="&dsig;/signatureattributes">
      <Transforms>
         <CanonicalizationMethod name="http://..."/>
      </Transforms>
      <DigestMethod Algorithm="&dsig;/sha1"/>
      <DigestValue>a53uud43</DigestValue>
    </Reference>
  </SignedInfo>
  <SignatureValue>dd2323dd</SignatureValue>
  <Object ID="timestamp"
   type="&dsig;/SignatureAttributes" >
    <timestamp about="5"
     xmlns="http://www.ietf.org/rfcXXXX.txt">
      <date>19990908</date>
      <time>14:34:34:34</time>
    </timestamp>
  </Object>
  <KeyInfo>
     <keyname>Solo</keyname>
  </KeyInfo>
</Signature>

9.0 Schema

[TBD: http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-xmldsig-core-19991119/xmldsig-core-schema.xml]

10 Definitions

Authentication, Message
"A signature should identify what is signed, making it impracticable to falsify or alter either the signed matter or the signature without detection." [Digital Signature Guidelines, ABA]
Authentication, Signer
"A signature should indicate who signed a document, message or record, and should be difficult for another person to produce without authorization." [Digital Signature Guidelines, ABA] See non-repudiation.
Core
The syntax and processing defined by this specification, including core validation. We use this term to distinguish other markup, processing, and applications semantics from our own.
Data Object (Content/Document)
The actual binary/octet data being operated on (transformed, digested, or signed) by an application -- frequently an HTTP entity [HTTP]. Note that the proper noun Objectdesignates a specific XML element. Occasionally we refer to a data object as a document or as a resource's content. The term element content is used to describe the data between XML start and end tags [XML]. The term XML document is used to describe data objects which conform to the XML specification [XML].
Integrity
The inability to change a message without also changing the signature value. See message authentication.
Non-repudiation
The inability of a key holder to assert that their key was not associated with a message given a strong signature algorithm. (This definition speaks nothing of the number of key holders, the key length, whether the key is comprised, whether the signature was coerced, etc.) See signer authentication.
Object
An XML Signature element wherein arbitrary (non-core) data may be placed. An Object element is merely one type of digital data (or document) that can be signed via a Reference.
Resource
"A resource can be anything that has identity. Familiar examples include an electronic document, an image, a service (e.g., 'today's weather report for Los Angeles'), and a collection of other resources.... The resource is the conceptual mapping to an entity or set of entities, not necessarily the entity which corresponds to that mapping at any particular instance in time. Thus, a resource can remain constant even when its content---the entities to which it currently corresponds---changes over time, provided that the conceptual mapping is not changed in the process." [URI] In order to avoid a collision of the term entity within the URI and XML specifications, we use the term data object, content or document to refer to the actual bits being operated upon.
Signature
A value generated from the application of a key to a message via a cryptographic algorithm such that it has the properties of signer authentication, integrity, and non-repudiation.
Signature, Detached
The signature is over external content identified via a URI. Cosequently, the signature is "detached" from the content it signs.
Signature, Enveloping
The signature is over content found within the signature itself via an IDREF to an Object element. The Signature provides the root XML document element.
Signature, Enveloped
The signature is over the XML content that contains the signature as an element. The content provides the root XML document element. Obviously, enveloped signatures must take care not to include their own value in the calculation of the SignatureValue.
Transform
The processing of a byte stream from source content to derived content. Typical transforms include XML Canonicalization, XPath, and XSLT.
Validation, Core
The core processing requirements of this specification requiring signature validation and SignedInfo reference validation.
Validation, Reference
The hash value of the identified and transformed content, specified by Reference, matches its specified DigetsValue.
Validation, Signature
The SignatureValue matches the result of processing SignedInfo with  CanonicalizationMethod and SignatureMethod as specified in 6.2.
Validation, Trust/Application
The application determines that the semantics associated with a signature are valid. For example, an application may validate the time stamps or the integrity of the signer key -- though this behvaiour is external to this core specification.

11.0 Other Useful Types (normative)

We define the following URIs for use in identifying XML resources that include non-core but signature related semantics.

http://www.w3.org/1999/11/xmldsig-core/SignatureProperties
designates that the referenced resource is a statement about the referring signature.
http://www.w3.org/1999/11/xmldsig-core/Manifest
designates that the referenced resource is a collection of other resources.
http://www.w3.org/1999/11/xmldsig-core/Package
designates that the referenced resources is a collection of other resources and the creator of that collection asserts that the specified resources, when transformed as specified, yield the same exact content.

12.0 References

ABA
Digital Signature Guidelines.
http://www.abanet.org/scitech/ec/isc/dsgfree.html
DOMHASH
Internet Draft. Digest Values for DOM (DOMHASH)
http://search.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-hiroshi-dom-hash-01.txt .
DSS
FIPS PUB 186-1. Digital Signature Standard (DSS). U.S. Department of Commerce/National Institute of Standards and Technology.
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2104.txt
ECSDA
?ANSI X9.62
HMAC
RFC 2104. HMAC: Keyed-Hashing for Message Authentication. H. Krawczyk, M. Bellare, R. Canetti. INFORMATIONAL.
HTTP
RFC 2616.Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1. J. Gettys, J. Mogul, H. Frystyk, L. Masinter, P. Leach, T. Berners-Lee.
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2616.txt
MD5
RFC 1321. The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm. R. Rivest. INFORMATIONAL.
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1321.txt
MIME
RFC 2045. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) Part One: Format of Internet Message Bodies. N. Freed & N. Borenstein. DRAFT STANDARD.
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2045.txt
RDF
RDF Schema
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/PR-rdf-schema-19990303
RDF Model and Syntax http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-rdf-syntax-19990222
RFC1750
RFC1750 -- Randomness Recommendations for Security.
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1750.txt
RFC2119
RFC2119 -- Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels.
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2119.txt
RSA
RFC 2437. PKCS #1: RSA Cryptography Specifications Version 2.0. B. Kaliski, J. Staddon. INFORMATIONAL.
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2432.txt
SHA-1
FIPS PUB 180-1. Secure Hash Standard. U.S. Department of Commerce/National Institute of Standards and Technology.
http://csrc.nist.gov/fips/fip180-1.pdf
URI
RFC2396 - Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI): Generic Syntax
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2396.txt
URL
RFC1738. Uniform Resource Locators (URL). Berners-Lee, T., Masinter, L., and M. McCahill . December 1994.
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1738.txt
URN
RFC 2141. URN Syntax. R. Moats. PROPOSED STANDARD.
ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2141.txt
RFC 2611. URN Namespace Definition Mechanisms. L. Daigle, D. van Gulik, R. Iannella, P. Falstrom. BEST CURRENT PRACTICE.
ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2611.txt
XLink
XML Linking Language
http://www.w3.org/1999/07/WD-xlink-19990726
XML
Extensible Markup Language (XML) Recommendation.
http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-xml-19980210
XML-c14n
Canonical XML. W3C Working Draft
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-xml-c14n-19991115
XML-ns
Namespaces in XML
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-xml-names-19990114
XPath
XML Path Language (XPath)Version 1.0. W3C Proposed Recommendation
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/PR-xpath-19991008
XPointer
XML Pointer Language (XPointer). W3C Working Draft.
http://www.w3.org/1999/07/WD-xptr-19990709
XML-schema
XML Schema Part 1: Structures
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-xmlschema-1-19991217/
XML Schema Part 2: Datatypes
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-xmlschema-2-19991217/
XML-Signature-RD
XML-Signature Requirements
http://www.w3.org/1999/08/WD-xmldsig-requirements-990820
XSL
Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) W3C Working Draft
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-xsl-19990421
XSLT
XSL Transforms (XSLT) Version 1.0. W3C Proposed Recommendation
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/PR-xslt-19991008
WebData
Web Architecture: Describing and Exchanging Data.
http://www.w3.org/1999/04/WebData

13.0 Acknowledgements (non-normative)

14.0 Open Issues (non-normative)

  1. More detail for KeyInfo types, based on IETF'46, we need proposals for the actual XML'ized algorithm parameters.
  2. Make sure we are consistent with respect to types, algorithm IDs, URIs, etc.
  3. The signature data structures specified in this document are not yet associated with a data model.