Skip to main content

seer_core/
caa.rs

1//! CAA (Certification Authority Authorization) lookup and policy comparison.
2//!
3//! CAA records (RFC 8659) let domain owners declare which Certificate
4//! Authorities may issue certificates for the domain. They are consulted
5//! by CAs at issuance time only; they are *not* part of certificate
6//! validation. A presented certificate whose issuer is not in the current
7//! CAA policy is therefore not necessarily invalid — it may have been
8//! issued before the policy was updated, or via a parent zone. See
9//! [`ISSUANCE_TIME_NOTE`].
10
11use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
12
13use crate::dns::{DnsResolver, RecordData, RecordType};
14
15/// Informational note surfaced alongside every CAA report.
16///
17/// Explains why an issuer/CAA mismatch is not the same as an invalid cert.
18pub const ISSUANCE_TIME_NOTE: &str = "CAA is checked by CAs at issuance time, not by \
19clients at validation time. A cert whose issuer is not in the current CAA policy is \
20not invalid — it may have been issued before the policy was set, or under a parent \
21zone. Treat mismatches as informational.";
22
23/// A single CAA resource record.
24#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
25pub struct CaaRecord {
26    /// CAA flags (only `issuer_critical` = 128 is defined).
27    pub flags: u8,
28    /// Property tag (e.g., `issue`, `issuewild`, `iodef`).
29    pub tag: String,
30    /// Property value (e.g., `letsencrypt.org` or a URI for `iodef`).
31    pub value: String,
32}
33
34/// Result of how a presented cert's issuer relates to the CAA policy.
35#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Eq)]
36#[serde(rename_all = "lowercase")]
37pub enum IssuerCaaMatch {
38    /// No CAA records exist (any CA may issue per default).
39    NoPolicy,
40    /// CAA records exist and at least one `issue`/`issuewild` value plausibly
41    /// matches the presented issuer.
42    Permitted,
43    /// CAA records exist but none of the allowed CAs appear to match the
44    /// presented issuer. Informational, not a validation failure.
45    Mismatch,
46    /// CAA records exist but only contain `iodef` / unknown tags — no
47    /// authoritative answer about issuance.
48    Indeterminate,
49}
50
51/// CAA policy collected for a domain, plus the informational note that
52/// callers should surface to users.
53#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
54pub struct CaaPolicy {
55    /// Records discovered (may be empty if no policy is set).
56    pub records: Vec<CaaRecord>,
57    /// Domain at which the records were found. Per RFC 8659 the resolver
58    /// climbs the tree until a CAA RRset is encountered, so this may be a
59    /// parent of the queried name.
60    pub effective_domain: Option<String>,
61    /// True iff at least one CAA record was found in the tree-walk.
62    pub has_policy: bool,
63    /// Result of comparing a presented cert's issuer against the policy.
64    /// `None` if no cert was supplied for comparison.
65    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
66    pub issuer_match: Option<IssuerCaaMatch>,
67    /// Informational note about CAA semantics. Always populated.
68    pub note: String,
69}
70
71impl CaaPolicy {
72    /// Empty policy — used when no CAA records were found anywhere in the tree.
73    pub fn empty() -> Self {
74        Self {
75            records: Vec::new(),
76            effective_domain: None,
77            has_policy: false,
78            issuer_match: None,
79            note: ISSUANCE_TIME_NOTE.to_string(),
80        }
81    }
82}
83
84/// Looks up CAA records for `domain`, climbing the DNS tree per RFC 8659
85/// section 3 until a record set is found or only a TLD remains.
86///
87/// Returns an [`CaaPolicy::empty`] on resolver errors — CAA is advisory,
88/// so we never want to fail a higher-level check just because a CAA query
89/// did not return.
90pub async fn lookup_caa(resolver: &DnsResolver, domain: &str) -> CaaPolicy {
91    let mut current = domain.trim_end_matches('.').to_ascii_lowercase();
92
93    loop {
94        match resolver.resolve(&current, RecordType::CAA, None).await {
95            Ok(records) if !records.is_empty() => {
96                let caa: Vec<CaaRecord> = records
97                    .into_iter()
98                    .filter_map(|r| match r.data {
99                        RecordData::CAA { flags, tag, value } => Some(CaaRecord {
100                            flags,
101                            tag: tag.to_ascii_lowercase(),
102                            value,
103                        }),
104                        _ => None,
105                    })
106                    .collect();
107
108                if !caa.is_empty() {
109                    return CaaPolicy {
110                        has_policy: true,
111                        records: caa,
112                        effective_domain: Some(current),
113                        issuer_match: None,
114                        note: ISSUANCE_TIME_NOTE.to_string(),
115                    };
116                }
117            }
118            Ok(_) | Err(_) => {}
119        }
120
121        // Strip the leftmost label. Stop when only one label (TLD) remains.
122        match current.split_once('.') {
123            Some((_, rest)) if rest.contains('.') => current = rest.to_string(),
124            _ => return CaaPolicy::empty(),
125        }
126    }
127}
128
129/// Compares a presented certificate's issuer string against a CAA policy
130/// and returns a classification. Pure function — no I/O.
131pub fn classify_issuer(issuer: &str, policy: &CaaPolicy) -> IssuerCaaMatch {
132    if !policy.has_policy {
133        return IssuerCaaMatch::NoPolicy;
134    }
135
136    // RFC 8659 §4.1: if any CAA record has the Issuer Critical flag (bit 7,
137    // 0x80) set AND its tag is unknown to us, the spec mandates that
138    // issuance be treated as forbidden — we cannot honor a critical
139    // property we don't understand. Surface that as `Mismatch` so callers
140    // see a non-permitted verdict.
141    const KNOWN_TAGS: &[&str] = &["issue", "issuewild", "iodef"];
142    let critical_unknown = policy
143        .records
144        .iter()
145        .any(|r| (r.flags & 0x80) != 0 && !KNOWN_TAGS.contains(&r.tag.as_str()));
146    if critical_unknown {
147        return IssuerCaaMatch::Mismatch;
148    }
149
150    let issue_values: Vec<String> = policy
151        .records
152        .iter()
153        .filter(|r| r.tag == "issue" || r.tag == "issuewild")
154        .map(|r| {
155            // RFC 8659 §4.2: value is "<CA domain> [; <parameters>]". We
156            // only need the domain portion for matching.
157            r.value
158                .split(';')
159                .next()
160                .unwrap_or(&r.value)
161                .trim()
162                .to_ascii_lowercase()
163        })
164        .collect();
165
166    if issue_values.is_empty() {
167        return IssuerCaaMatch::Indeterminate;
168    }
169
170    let issuer_lc = issuer.to_ascii_lowercase();
171    let allowed_any = issue_values.iter().any(|v| !v.is_empty());
172
173    let matched = issue_values
174        .iter()
175        .any(|v| !v.is_empty() && ca_value_matches_issuer(v, &issuer_lc));
176
177    if matched {
178        IssuerCaaMatch::Permitted
179    } else if allowed_any {
180        IssuerCaaMatch::Mismatch
181    } else {
182        // Only entries are empty-value (";") — issuance is explicitly forbidden,
183        // yet a cert exists. Report as mismatch with the informational note.
184        IssuerCaaMatch::Mismatch
185    }
186}
187
188/// Best-effort comparison between a CAA `issue` value (a CA's domain) and a
189/// certificate issuer string (typically a CN/O like "Let's Encrypt").
190///
191/// CAA values are short reverse-DNS-ish labels; issuer strings vary by CA.
192/// We use a small alias table for the common public CAs and fall back to a
193/// direct substring check.
194fn ca_value_matches_issuer(caa_value: &str, issuer_lc: &str) -> bool {
195    if issuer_lc.contains(caa_value) {
196        return true;
197    }
198    // Strip the registrable trailing label (e.g. ".org", ".com") to match
199    // base names — "letsencrypt" in "let's encrypt".
200    let base = caa_value
201        .rsplit_once('.')
202        .map(|(b, _)| b)
203        .unwrap_or(caa_value);
204    if !base.is_empty() && issuer_lc.contains(base) {
205        return true;
206    }
207    // Curated aliases for well-known CAs.
208    for (cv, aliases) in CA_ALIASES {
209        if caa_value == *cv && aliases.iter().any(|a| issuer_lc.contains(a)) {
210            return true;
211        }
212    }
213    false
214}
215
216/// Hand-maintained map from common CAA `issue` values to substrings that
217/// frequently appear in the issuer CN/O of certs from that CA.
218const CA_ALIASES: &[(&str, &[&str])] = &[
219    ("letsencrypt.org", &["let's encrypt", "letsencrypt"]),
220    ("pki.goog", &["google trust services", "gts "]),
221    ("digicert.com", &["digicert"]),
222    ("sectigo.com", &["sectigo", "comodo"]),
223    ("globalsign.com", &["globalsign"]),
224    ("amazon.com", &["amazon"]),
225    ("amazontrust.com", &["amazon"]),
226    ("zerossl.com", &["zerossl"]),
227    ("buypass.com", &["buypass"]),
228    ("entrust.net", &["entrust"]),
229    ("ssl.com", &["ssl.com"]),
230    ("certum.pl", &["certum"]),
231    ("identrust.com", &["identrust"]),
232];
233
234#[cfg(test)]
235mod tests {
236    use super::*;
237
238    fn policy_with(records: Vec<(&str, &str)>) -> CaaPolicy {
239        CaaPolicy {
240            records: records
241                .into_iter()
242                .map(|(tag, value)| CaaRecord {
243                    flags: 0,
244                    tag: tag.to_string(),
245                    value: value.to_string(),
246                })
247                .collect(),
248            effective_domain: Some("example.com".to_string()),
249            has_policy: true,
250            issuer_match: None,
251            note: ISSUANCE_TIME_NOTE.to_string(),
252        }
253    }
254
255    #[test]
256    fn classify_no_policy() {
257        assert_eq!(
258            classify_issuer("Let's Encrypt R3", &CaaPolicy::empty()),
259            IssuerCaaMatch::NoPolicy
260        );
261    }
262
263    #[test]
264    fn classify_indeterminate_when_only_iodef() {
265        let policy = policy_with(vec![("iodef", "mailto:sec@example.com")]);
266        assert_eq!(
267            classify_issuer("Let's Encrypt R3", &policy),
268            IssuerCaaMatch::Indeterminate
269        );
270    }
271
272    #[test]
273    fn classify_permitted_letsencrypt() {
274        let policy = policy_with(vec![("issue", "letsencrypt.org")]);
275        assert_eq!(
276            classify_issuer("CN=R3, O=Let's Encrypt", &policy),
277            IssuerCaaMatch::Permitted
278        );
279    }
280
281    #[test]
282    fn classify_permitted_via_alias() {
283        // Issuer CN/O does not literally contain "pki.goog"; alias table
284        // maps it to "Google Trust Services".
285        let policy = policy_with(vec![("issue", "pki.goog")]);
286        assert_eq!(
287            classify_issuer("CN=GTS CA 1C3, O=Google Trust Services LLC", &policy),
288            IssuerCaaMatch::Permitted
289        );
290    }
291
292    #[test]
293    fn classify_mismatch_when_only_other_ca_allowed() {
294        let policy = policy_with(vec![("issue", "digicert.com")]);
295        assert_eq!(
296            classify_issuer("CN=R3, O=Let's Encrypt", &policy),
297            IssuerCaaMatch::Mismatch
298        );
299    }
300
301    #[test]
302    fn classify_mismatch_when_issuance_forbidden() {
303        // A bare `issue ";"` forbids all issuance, yet a cert exists.
304        let policy = policy_with(vec![("issue", ";")]);
305        assert_eq!(
306            classify_issuer("CN=R3, O=Let's Encrypt", &policy),
307            IssuerCaaMatch::Mismatch
308        );
309    }
310
311    #[test]
312    fn classify_issuewild_treated_like_issue() {
313        let policy = policy_with(vec![("issuewild", "letsencrypt.org")]);
314        assert_eq!(
315            classify_issuer("CN=R3, O=Let's Encrypt", &policy),
316            IssuerCaaMatch::Permitted
317        );
318    }
319
320    #[test]
321    fn empty_policy_has_no_issuer_match_set() {
322        let p = CaaPolicy::empty();
323        assert!(p.records.is_empty());
324        assert!(!p.has_policy);
325        assert!(p.issuer_match.is_none());
326        assert_eq!(p.note, ISSUANCE_TIME_NOTE);
327    }
328
329    /// RFC 8659 §4.1: a CAA record carrying an unknown tag with the Issuer
330    /// Critical flag (bit 7 of `flags`) set MUST be treated as forbidding
331    /// issuance — we cannot honor a critical property we don't understand.
332    #[test]
333    fn classify_unknown_critical_tag_forces_mismatch() {
334        let policy = CaaPolicy {
335            records: vec![
336                // Valid issue that would otherwise match Let's Encrypt.
337                CaaRecord {
338                    flags: 0,
339                    tag: "issue".to_string(),
340                    value: "letsencrypt.org".to_string(),
341                },
342                // Unknown tag with critical flag — must veto issuance.
343                CaaRecord {
344                    flags: 0x80,
345                    tag: "auth".to_string(),
346                    value: "future-extension".to_string(),
347                },
348            ],
349            effective_domain: Some("example.com".to_string()),
350            has_policy: true,
351            issuer_match: None,
352            note: ISSUANCE_TIME_NOTE.to_string(),
353        };
354        assert_eq!(
355            classify_issuer("CN=R3, O=Let's Encrypt", &policy),
356            IssuerCaaMatch::Mismatch,
357            "critical unknown tag must veto otherwise-matching issue"
358        );
359    }
360
361    #[test]
362    fn classify_unknown_non_critical_tag_does_not_veto() {
363        // Same shape but flags = 0 (non-critical). Per RFC the unknown tag
364        // is ignored; the matching `issue` carries through.
365        let policy = CaaPolicy {
366            records: vec![
367                CaaRecord {
368                    flags: 0,
369                    tag: "issue".to_string(),
370                    value: "letsencrypt.org".to_string(),
371                },
372                CaaRecord {
373                    flags: 0,
374                    tag: "auth".to_string(),
375                    value: "future-extension".to_string(),
376                },
377            ],
378            effective_domain: Some("example.com".to_string()),
379            has_policy: true,
380            issuer_match: None,
381            note: ISSUANCE_TIME_NOTE.to_string(),
382        };
383        assert_eq!(
384            classify_issuer("CN=R3, O=Let's Encrypt", &policy),
385            IssuerCaaMatch::Permitted
386        );
387    }
388
389    #[test]
390    fn classify_critical_known_tag_does_not_veto() {
391        // A critical `issue` (a known tag) is just a normal critical-issue.
392        // It must NOT trip the unknown-critical veto.
393        let policy = CaaPolicy {
394            records: vec![CaaRecord {
395                flags: 0x80,
396                tag: "issue".to_string(),
397                value: "letsencrypt.org".to_string(),
398            }],
399            effective_domain: Some("example.com".to_string()),
400            has_policy: true,
401            issuer_match: None,
402            note: ISSUANCE_TIME_NOTE.to_string(),
403        };
404        assert_eq!(
405            classify_issuer("CN=R3, O=Let's Encrypt", &policy),
406            IssuerCaaMatch::Permitted
407        );
408    }
409}