Internet DRAFT - draft-ietf-httpbis-connect-tcp
draft-ietf-httpbis-connect-tcp
httpbis B. M. Schwartz
Internet-Draft Meta Platforms, Inc.
Intended status: Standards Track 7 December 2023
Expires: 9 June 2024
Template-Driven HTTP CONNECT Proxying for TCP
draft-ietf-httpbis-connect-tcp-02
Abstract
TCP proxying using HTTP CONNECT has long been part of the core HTTP
specification. However, this proxying functionality has several
important deficiencies in modern HTTP environments. This
specification defines an alternative HTTP proxy service configuration
for TCP connections. This configuration is described by a URI
Template, similar to the CONNECT-UDP and CONNECT-IP protocols.
Status of This Memo
This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.
Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
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This Internet-Draft will expire on 9 June 2024.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2023 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
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Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.1. History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2. Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3. Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Conventions and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. Specification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1. In HTTP/1.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2. In HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.3. Use of Relevant Headers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.3.1. Origin-scoped Headers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.3.2. Authentication Headers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4. Additional Connection Setup Behaviors . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.1. Latency optimizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.2. Conveying metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5. Applicability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.1. Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.2. Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.3. Multi-purpose proxies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
6. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
7. Operational Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
8. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
8.1. New Upgrade Token . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
8.2. New MASQUE Default Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
9. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
9.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
9.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1. Introduction
1.1. History
HTTP has used the CONNECT method for proxying TCP connections since
HTTP/1.1. When using CONNECT, the request target specifies a host
and port number, and the proxy forwards TCP payloads between the
client and this destination ([RFC9110], Section 9.3.6). To date,
this is the only mechanism defined for proxying TCP over HTTP. In
this specification, this is referred to as a "classic HTTP CONNECT
proxy".
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HTTP/3 uses a UDP transport, so it cannot be forwarded using the pre-
existing CONNECT mechanism. To enable forward proxying of HTTP/3,
the MASQUE effort has defined proxy mechanisms that are capable of
proxying UDP datagrams [CONNECT-UDP], and more generally IP datagrams
[CONNECT-IP]. The destination host and port number (if applicable)
are encoded into the HTTP resource path, and end-to-end datagrams are
wrapped into HTTP Datagrams [RFC9297] on the client-proxy path.
1.2. Problems
HTTP clients can be configured to use proxies by selecting a proxy
hostname, a port, and whether to use a security protocol. However,
CONNECT requests using the proxy do not carry this configuration
information. Instead, they only indicate the hostname and port of
the target. This prevents any HTTP server from hosting multiple
distinct proxy services, as the server cannot distinguish them by
path (as with distinct resources) or by origin (as in "virtual
hosting").
The absence of an explicit origin for the proxy also rules out the
usual defenses against server port misdirection attacks (see
Section 7.4 of [RFC9110]) and creates ambiguity about the use of
origin-scoped response header fields (e.g., "Alt-Svc" [RFC7838],
"Strict-Transport-Security" [RFC6797]).
Classic HTTP CONNECT proxies can be used to reach a target host that
is specified as a domain name or an IP address. However, because
only a single target host can be specified, proxy-driven Happy
Eyeballs and cross-IP fallback can only be used when the host is a
domain name. For IP-targeted requests to succeed, the client must
know which address families are supported by the proxy via some out-
of-band mechanism, or open multiple independent CONNECT requests and
abandon any that prove unnecessary.
1.3. Overview
This specification describes an alternative mechanism for proxying
TCP in HTTP. Like [CONNECT-UDP] and [CONNECT-IP], the proxy service
is identified by a URI Template. Proxy interactions reuse standard
HTTP components and semantics, avoiding changes to the core HTTP
protocol.
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2. Conventions and Definitions
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
"OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in
BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
capitals, as shown here.
3. Specification
A template-driven TCP transport proxy for HTTP is identified by a URI
Template [RFC6570] containing variables named "target_host" and
"tcp_port". The client substitutes the destination host and port
number into these variables to produce the request URI.
The "target_host" variable MUST be a domain name, an IP address
literal, or a list of IP addresses. The "tcp_port" variable MUST be
a single integer. If "target_host" is a list (as in Section 2.4.2 of
[RFC6570]), the server SHOULD perform the same connection procedure
as if these addresses had been returned in response to A and AAAA
queries for a domain name.
3.1. In HTTP/1.1
In HTTP/1.1, the client uses the proxy by issuing a request as
follows:
* The method SHALL be "GET".
* The request SHALL include a single "Host" header field containing
the origin of the proxy.
* The request SHALL include a "Connection" header field with the
value "Upgrade". (Note that this requirement is case-insensitive
as per Section 7.6.1 of [RFC9110].)
* The request SHALL include an "Upgrade" header field with the value
"connect-tcp".
* The request's target SHALL correspond to the URI derived from
expansion of the proxy's URI Template.
If the request is well-formed and permissible, the proxy MUST attempt
the TCP connection before returning its response header. If the TCP
connection is successful, the response SHALL be as follows:
* The HTTP status code SHALL be "101 (Switching Protocols)".
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* The response SHALL include a "Connection" header field with the
value "Upgrade".
* The response SHALL include a single "Upgrade" header field with
the value "connect-tcp".
If the request is malformed or impermissible, the proxy MUST return a
4XX error code. If a TCP connection was not established, the proxy
MUST NOT switch protocols to "connect-tcp", and the client MAY reuse
this connection for additional HTTP requests.
After a success response is returned, the connection SHALL conform to
all the usual requirements for classic CONNECT proxies in HTTP/1.1
([RFC9110], Section 9.3.6). Additionally, if the proxy observes a
connection error from the client (e.g., a TCP RST, TCP timeout, or
TLS error), it SHOULD send a TCP RST to the target. If the proxy
observes a connection error from the target, it SHOULD send a TLS
"internal_error" alert to the client, or set the TCP RST bit if TLS
is not in use.
Client Proxy
GET /proxy?target_host=192.0.2.1&tcp_port=443 HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Connection: Upgrade
Upgrade: connect-tcp
** Proxy establishes a TCP connection to 192.0.2.1:443 **
HTTP/1.1 101 Switching Protocols
Connection: Upgrade
Upgrade: connect-tcp
Figure 1: Templated TCP proxy example in HTTP/1.1
3.2. In HTTP/2 and HTTP/3
In HTTP/2 and HTTP/3, the client uses the proxy by issuing an
"extended CONNECT" request as follows:
* The :method pseudo-header field SHALL be "CONNECT".
* The :protocol pseudo-header field SHALL be "connect-tcp".
* The :authority pseudo-header field SHALL contain the authority of
the proxy.
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* The :path and :scheme pseudo-header fields SHALL contain the path
and scheme of the request URI derived from the proxy's URI
Template.
From this point on, the request and response SHALL conform to all the
usual requirements for classic CONNECT proxies in this HTTP version
(see Section 8.5 of [RFC9113] and Section 4.4 of [RFC9114]).
HEADERS
:method = CONNECT
:scheme = https
:authority = request-proxy.example
:path = /proxy?target_host=192.0.2.1,2001:db8::1&tcp_port=443
:protocol = connect-tcp
...
Figure 2: Templated TCP proxy example in HTTP/2
3.3. Use of Relevant Headers
3.3.1. Origin-scoped Headers
Ordinary HTTP headers apply only to the single resource identified in
the request or response. An origin-scoped HTTP header is a special
response header that is intended to change the client's behavior for
subsequent requests to any resource on this origin.
Unlike classic HTTP CONNECT proxies, a templated TCP proxy has an
unambiguous origin of its own. Origin-scoped headers apply to this
origin when they are associated with a templated TCP proxy response.
Here are some origin-scoped headers that could potentially be sent by
a templated TCP proxy:
* "Alt-Svc" [RFC7838]
* "Strict-Transport-Security" [RFC6797]
* "Public-Key-Pins" [RFC7469]
* "Accept-CH" [RFC8942]
* "Set-Cookie" [RFC6265], which has configurable scope.
* "Clear-Site-Data" [CLEAR-SITE-DATA]
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3.3.2. Authentication Headers
Authentication to a templated TCP proxy normally uses ordinary HTTP
authentication via the "401 (Unauthorized)" response code, the "WWW-
Authenticate" response header field, and the "Authorization" request
header field ([RFC9110], Section 11.6). A templated TCP proxy does
not use the "407 (Proxy Authentication Required)" response code and
related header fields ([RFC9110], Section 11.7) because they do not
traverse HTTP gateways (see Section 7).
Clients SHOULD assume that all proxy resources generated by a single
template share a protection space (i.e., a realm) ([RFC9110],
Section 11.5). For many authentication schemes, this will allow the
client to avoid waiting for a "401 (Unauthorized)" response before
each new connection through the proxy.
4. Additional Connection Setup Behaviors
This section discusses some behaviors that are permitted or
recommended in order to enhance the performance or functionality of
connection setup.
4.1. Latency optimizations
When using this specification in HTTP/2 or HTTP/3, clients MAY start
sending TCP stream content optimistically, subject to flow control
limits (Section 5.2 of [RFC9113] or Section 4.1 of [RFC9000]).
Proxies MUST buffer this "optimistic" content until the TCP stream
becomes writable, and discard it if the TCP connection fails. (This
"optimistic" behavior is not permitted in HTTP/1.1 because it would
interfere with reuse of the connection after an error response such
as "401 (Unauthorized)".)
Servers that host a proxy under this specification MAY offer support
for TLS early data in accordance with [RFC8470]. Clients MAY send
"connect-tcp" requests in early data, and MAY include "optimistic"
TCP content in early data (in HTTP/2 and HTTP/3). At the TLS layer,
proxies MAY ignore, reject, or accept the early_data extension
([RFC8446], Section 4.2.10). At the HTTP layer, proxies MAY process
the request immediately, return a "425 (Too Early)" response
([RFC8470], Section 5.2), or delay some or all processing of the
request until the handshake completes. For example, a proxy with
limited anti-replay defenses might choose to perform DNS resolution
of the target_host when a request arrives in early data, but delay
the TCP connection until the TLS handshake completes.
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4.2. Conveying metadata
This specification supports the "Expect: 100-continue" request header
([RFC9110], Section 10.1.1) in any HTTP version. The "100
(Continue)" status code confirms receipt of a request at the proxy
without waiting for the proxy-destination TCP handshake to succeed or
fail. This might be particularly helpful when the destination host
is not responding, as TCP handshakes can hang for several minutes
before failing. Implementation of "100 (Continue)" support is
OPTIONAL for clients and REQUIRED for proxies.
Proxies implementing this specification SHOULD include a "Proxy-
Status" response header [RFC9209] in any success or failure response
(i.e., status codes 101, 2XX, 4XX, or 5XX) to support advanced client
behaviors and diagnostics. In HTTP/2 or HTTP/3, proxies MAY
additionally send a "Proxy-Status" trailer in the event of an unclean
shutdown.
5. Applicability
5.1. Servers
For server operators, template-driven TCP proxies are particularly
valuable in situations where virtual-hosting is needed, or where
multiple proxies must share an origin. For example, the proxy might
benefit from sharing an HTTP gateway that provides DDoS defense,
performs request sanitization, or enforces user authorization.
The URI template can also be structured to generate high-entropy
Capability URLs [CAPABILITY], so that only authorized users can
discover the proxy service.
5.2. Clients
Clients that support both classic HTTP CONNECT proxies and template-
driven TCP proxies MAY accept both types via a single configuration
string. If the configuration string can be parsed as a URI Template
containing the required variables, it is a template-driven TCP proxy.
Otherwise, it is presumed to represent a classic HTTP CONNECT proxy.
In some cases, it is valuable to allow "connect-tcp" clients to reach
"connect-tcp"-only proxies when using a legacy configuration method
that cannot convey a URI template. To support this arrangement,
clients SHOULD treat certain errors during classic HTTP CONNECT as
indications that the proxy might only support "connect-tcp":
* In HTTP/1.1: the response status code is "426 (Upgrade Required)",
with an "Upgrade: connect-tcp" response header.
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* In any HTTP version: the response status code is "501 (Not
Implemented)".
- Requires SETTINGS_ENABLE_CONNECT_PROTOCOL to have been
negotiated in HTTP/2 or HTTP/3.
If the client infers that classic HTTP CONNECT is not supported, it
SHOULD retry the request using the registered default template for
"connect-tcp":
https://$PROXY_HOST:$PROXY_PORT/.well-known/masque
/tcp/{target_host}/{tcp_port}/
Figure 3: Registered default template
If this request succeeds, the client SHOULD record a preference for
"connect-tcp" to avoid further retry delays.
5.3. Multi-purpose proxies
The names of the variables in the URI Template uniquely identify the
capabilities of the proxy. Undefined variables are permitted in URI
Templates, so a single template can be used for multiple purposes.
Multipurpose templates can be useful when a single client may benefit
from access to multiple complementary services (e.g., TCP and UDP),
or when the proxy is used by a variety of clients with different
needs.
https://proxy.example/{?target_host,tcp_port,target_port,
target,ipproto,dns}
Figure 4: Example multipurpose template for a combined TCP, UDP,
and IP proxy and DoH server
6. Security Considerations
Template-driven TCP proxying is largely subject to the same security
risks as classic HTTP CONNECT. For example, any restrictions on
authorized use of the proxy (see [RFC9110], Section 9.3.6) apply
equally to both.
A small additional risk is posed by the use of a URI Template parser
on the client side. The template input string could be crafted to
exploit any vulnerabilities in the parser implementation. Client
implementers should apply their usual precautions for code that
processes untrusted inputs.
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7. Operational Considerations
Templated TCP proxies can make use of standard HTTP gateways and
path-routing to ease implementation and allow use of shared
infrastructure. However, current gateways might need modifications
to support TCP proxy services. To be compatible, a gateway must:
* support Extended CONNECT (if acting as an HTTP/2 or HTTP/3
server).
* support HTTP/1.1 Upgrade to "connect-tcp" (if acting as an
HTTP/1.1 server)
- only after forwarding the upgrade request to the origin and
observing a success response.
* forward the "connect-tcp" protocol to the origin.
* convert "connect-tcp" requests between all supported HTTP server
and client versions.
* allow any "Proxy-Status" headers to traverse the gateway.
8. IANA Considerations
8.1. New Upgrade Token
IF APPROVED, IANA is requested to add the following entry to the HTTP
Upgrade Token Registry:
* Value: "connect-tcp"
* Description: Proxying of TCP payloads
* Reference: (This document)
8.2. New MASQUE Default Template
IF APPROVED, IANA is requested to add the following entry to the
"MASQUE URI Suffixes" registry:
+==============+==============+=================+
| Path Segment | Description | Reference |
+==============+==============+=================+
| tcp | TCP Proxying | (This document) |
+--------------+--------------+-----------------+
Table 1
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9. References
9.1. Normative References
[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2119>.
[RFC6570] Gregorio, J., Fielding, R., Hadley, M., Nottingham, M.,
and D. Orchard, "URI Template", RFC 6570,
DOI 10.17487/RFC6570, March 2012,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6570>.
[RFC8174] Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8174>.
[RFC8446] Rescorla, E., "The Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocol
Version 1.3", RFC 8446, DOI 10.17487/RFC8446, August 2018,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8446>.
[RFC8470] Thomson, M., Nottingham, M., and W. Tarreau, "Using Early
Data in HTTP", RFC 8470, DOI 10.17487/RFC8470, September
2018, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8470>.
[RFC9000] Iyengar, J., Ed. and M. Thomson, Ed., "QUIC: A UDP-Based
Multiplexed and Secure Transport", RFC 9000,
DOI 10.17487/RFC9000, May 2021,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9000>.
[RFC9110] Fielding, R., Ed., Nottingham, M., Ed., and J. Reschke,
Ed., "HTTP Semantics", STD 97, RFC 9110,
DOI 10.17487/RFC9110, June 2022,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110>.
[RFC9113] Thomson, M., Ed. and C. Benfield, Ed., "HTTP/2", RFC 9113,
DOI 10.17487/RFC9113, June 2022,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9113>.
[RFC9114] Bishop, M., Ed., "HTTP/3", RFC 9114, DOI 10.17487/RFC9114,
June 2022, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9114>.
[RFC9209] Nottingham, M. and P. Sikora, "The Proxy-Status HTTP
Response Header Field", RFC 9209, DOI 10.17487/RFC9209,
June 2022, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9209>.
9.2. Informative References
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[CAPABILITY]
"Good Practices for Capability URLs", February 2014,
<https://www.w3.org/TR/capability-urls/>.
[CLEAR-SITE-DATA]
"Clear Site Data", November 2017,
<https://www.w3.org/TR/clear-site-data/>.
[CONNECT-IP]
Pauly, T., Ed., Schinazi, D., Chernyakhovsky, A.,
Kühlewind, M., and M. Westerlund, "Proxying IP in HTTP",
RFC 9484, DOI 10.17487/RFC9484, October 2023,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9484>.
[CONNECT-UDP]
Schinazi, D., "Proxying UDP in HTTP", RFC 9298,
DOI 10.17487/RFC9298, August 2022,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9298>.
[RFC6265] Barth, A., "HTTP State Management Mechanism", RFC 6265,
DOI 10.17487/RFC6265, April 2011,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6265>.
[RFC6797] Hodges, J., Jackson, C., and A. Barth, "HTTP Strict
Transport Security (HSTS)", RFC 6797,
DOI 10.17487/RFC6797, November 2012,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6797>.
[RFC7469] Evans, C., Palmer, C., and R. Sleevi, "Public Key Pinning
Extension for HTTP", RFC 7469, DOI 10.17487/RFC7469, April
2015, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7469>.
[RFC7838] Nottingham, M., McManus, P., and J. Reschke, "HTTP
Alternative Services", RFC 7838, DOI 10.17487/RFC7838,
April 2016, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7838>.
[RFC8942] Grigorik, I. and Y. Weiss, "HTTP Client Hints", RFC 8942,
DOI 10.17487/RFC8942, February 2021,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8942>.
[RFC9297] Schinazi, D. and L. Pardue, "HTTP Datagrams and the
Capsule Protocol", RFC 9297, DOI 10.17487/RFC9297, August
2022, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9297>.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Amos Jeffries, Tommy Pauly, Kyle Nekritz, David Schinazi,
and Kazuho Oku for close review and suggested changes.
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Author's Address
Benjamin M. Schwartz
Meta Platforms, Inc.
Email: ietf@bemasc.net
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