Subject: [secdir] SecDir Review of draft-bormann-cbor-04

From: Matthew Lepinski <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 21:45:26 -0400

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 appears ready for publication.

This document specifies the CBOR (Compact Binary Object Representation)
binary encoding format. The document is generally clearly written, and in
particular, is to be commended for providing a clear explanation of why one
would want to specify yet another binary encoding for arbitrary objects.

One minor note:
In the security considerations section, the authors explain potential
vulnerabilities in network protocols due to parser errors. (This is good
cautionary guidance to provide implementers.) However, at the very end of
the section, they suggest that an encoder/decoder used in a security
context should provide at least one "strict" mode of operation. I would
suggest adding another sentence or two explaining what the phrase "strict
mode of operation" means in this context.