Roman Danyliw has entered the following ballot position for
draft-ietf-oauth-cross-device-security-14: Discuss

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DISCUSS:
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There are diverse use cases to satisfy with the guidance provided in this
document.  In my assessment, additional consideration is needed to balance the
listing the considerations and prescribing them in Section 2.  More
specifically:

** Section 2.
   1.  Implementers MUST perform a risk assessment before implementing
       cross-device flows, weighing the risks from Cross-Device Consent
       Phishing and Cross-Device Session Phishing attacks against
       benefits for users.

Unless there is a defined process for performing a risk assessment, it seems to
me to have little value to normatively require this step.  Without a defined
process, nearly everything done by an implementer would be conformant.  To
exaggerate a bit, would “just thinking about the risk for a fleeting second”
not qualify as an assessment?

** Section 2.
   4.  Implementers MUST implement practical mitigations as listed in
       Section 6.1 that are appropriate for the use case, architecture,
       and selected protocols.

With all of the helpful guidance in 6.1, how does an implementer know which
they MUST implement based on the use case/architecture/selected protocol.  Is
there a deterministic (interoperable) list to arrive at what is mandatory?

** Section 2
   5.  Implementers SHOULD implement proximity checks as defined in
       Section 6.1.1 if possible.

Doesn’t this bullet #5 conflict with bullet #4?  Bullet #4 seems to suggest
that it is mandatory to implement all of Section 6.1 (of which proximity checks
in Section 6.1.1 is a subset) if it applies to the relevant use
case/architecture/protocol while bullet #5 appears to say that it is merely a
recommendation (SHOULD).  How does one implement both of these requirements at
the same time consistently?


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COMMENT:
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you to Paul Kyzivat for the GENART review.

** Section 6.1.1
   *  Physical connectivity: This is a good indicator of proximity, but
      requires specific ports, cables and hardware and may be
      challenging from a user experience perspective or may not be
      possible in certain settings (e.g., when USB ports are blocked or
      removed for security purposes).  Physical connectivity may be
      better suited to dedicated hardware like FIDO devices that can be
      used with protocols that are resistant to the exploits described
      in this document.

Doesn’t requiring one to plug into something, specifically if there is a data
channel, present some risks with certain hardware (e.g., USB)

** Section 6.1.14
   It SHOULD be clear to the user how to decline the request.

Are there usecases or desirable user experience designs where it is optimal for
the user to be unclear on how to decline a request?  I also note that what is
“clear” seems subjective given the huge variability in the “user” population.

** Reference
   [FIDOCTAP22]
              Bradley, J., Jones, M.B., Kumar, A., Lindemann, R.,
              Verrept, S., and D. Waite, "Client to Authenticator
              Protocol (CTAP)", July 2025.

Please provide more detail in this reference.  This citation provides no
indication that this is a FIDO standard or which version applies.  Looking at
https://fidoalliance.org/specifications/download/, it looks like there are
various versions such as:

V2.1 =
https://fidoalliance.org/specs/fido-v2.1-ps-20210615/fido-client-to-authenticator-protocol-v2.1-ps-20210615.html

V2.2 =
https://fidoalliance.org/specs/fido-v2.2-ps-20250714/fido-client-to-authenticator-protocol-v2.2-ps-20250714.html



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