Subject: SECDIR review of draft-ietf-pkix-new-asn1-07

From: Richard Barnes <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:21:09 -0500

I have reviewed this document as part of the security directorate's  
ongoing effort to review all IETF documents being processed by the  
IESG.  These comments were written primarily for the benefit of the  
security area directors.  Document editors and WG chairs should treat  
these comments just like any other last call comments.

This document updates the ASN.1 descriptions of several security- 
relevant data objects (e.g., CMS messages and S/MIME objects) from the  
1988 version of ASN.1 to the 2002 version, without changing the  
structure expressed by these definitions -- there are no changes to  
bits on the wire.  The document correctly states that this document  
itself creates no security issues, because it makes no changes to any  
protocols (it simply expresses the structure of those protocols in a  
different, updated syntax).  The only minor concern I have is to be  
sure that the above claims about the lack of changes are true, i.e.,  
that the ASN.1 syntax is correct.  To ensure this correctness, I would  
recommend an expert review focused on the ASN.1, if one has not  
already been done.

--Richard