RFC 2444 (rfc2444) - Page 1 of 7

The One-Time-Password SASL Mechanism

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Network Working Group                                          C. Newman
Request for Comments: 2444                                      Innosoft
Updates: 2222                                               October 1998
Category: Standards Track


                  The One-Time-Password SASL Mechanism

Status of this Memo

   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   OTP [OTP] provides a useful authentication mechanism for situations
   where there is limited client or server trust.  Currently, OTP is
   added to protocols in an ad-hoc fashion with heuristic parsing.  This
   specification defines an OTP SASL [SASL] mechanism so it can be
   easily and formally integrated into many application protocols.

1. How to Read This Document

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT",
   "RECOMMENDED" and "MAY" in this document are to be interpreted as
   defined in "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels"
   [KEYWORDS].

   This memo assumes the reader is familiar with OTP [OTP], OTP extended
   responses [OTP-EXT] and SASL [SASL].

2. Intended Use

   The OTP SASL mechanism replaces the SKEY SASL mechanism [SASL].  OTP
   is a good choice for usage scenarios where the client is untrusted
   (e.g., a kiosk client), as a one-time password will only give the
   client a single opportunity to act on behalf of the user.  OTP is
   also a good choice for situations where interactive logins are
   permitted to the server, as a compromised OTP authentication database
   is only subject to dictionary attacks, unlike authentication
   databases for other simple mechanisms such as CRAM-MD5 [CRAM-MD5].



Newman                      Standards Track
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