



Media Over QUIC                                                   W. Law
Internet-Draft                                                    Akamai
Intended status: Informational                                C. Lemmons
Expires: 23 January 2026                                         Comcast
                                                                G. Simon
                                                               Synamedia
                                                           S. Nandakumar
                                                                   Cisco
                                                            22 July 2025


       Authentication scheme for MOQT using Common Access Tokens
                       draft-law-moq-cat4moqt-00

Abstract

   A token-based authentication scheme for use with Media Over QUIC
   Transport.

About This Document

   This note is to be removed before publishing as an RFC.

   The latest revision of this draft can be found at
   https://wilaw.github.io/CAT-4-MOQT/draft-law-moq-cat4moqt.html.
   Status information for this document may be found at
   https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-law-moq-cat4moqt/.

   Discussion of this document takes place on the Media Over QUIC
   mailing list (mailto:moq@ietf.org), which is archived at
   https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/moq/.  Subscribe at
   https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/moq/.

   Source for this draft and an issue tracker can be found at
   https://github.com/wilaw/CAT-4-MOQT.

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
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
   working documents as Internet-Drafts.  The list of current Internet-
   Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.






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   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on 23 January 2026.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2025 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
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/
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   Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
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   provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     1.1.  Overview of the authentication workflow . . . . . . . . .   3
   2.  Token format  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.1.  moqt claim  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
       2.1.1.  Text examples of permissions to help with CDDL
               construction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
       2.1.2.  Multiple actions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     2.2.  moqt-reval claim  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   3.  Authenticating the connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     3.1.  Appending a token as a query parameter  . . . . . . . . .   9
     3.2.  Embedding a token in a PATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     3.3.  Usage with WebTransport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     3.4.  Usage with Native QUIC  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   4.  Controlling access to MOQT actions  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   5.  Conventions and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   6.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   7.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   8.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12








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1.  Introduction

   This draft introduces a token-based authentication scheme for use
   with MOQT [MoQTransport].  The scheme protects access to the relay
   during session establishment and also contrains the actions which the
   client may take once connected.

   This draft defines version 1 of this specification.

1.1.  Overview of the authentication workflow

   *  An end-user logs-in to a distribution service.  The service
      authenticates the user (via username/password, OAuth, 2FA or
      another method).  The methods involved in this authentication step
      lie outside the scope of this draft.

   *  Based upon the identity and permissions granted to that end-user,
      the service generates a token.  A token is a data structure that
      has been serialized into a byte array.  The token encodes
      information such as the user's ID, constraints on how and when
      they can access the MOQT distribution network and contraints on
      the actions they can take once connected.  The token may be signed
      to make it tamper-resistent.

   *  The token is given in the clear to the end-user, along with a URL
      to connect to the edge relay of a MOQT distribution network.  The
      edge relay is part of a trusted MOQT distribution network.  It has
      previously shared secrets with the distribution service, so that
      this relay is entitled to decrypt related tokens and to validate
      signatures.

   *  The end-user client application provides the token to the MOQT
      distribution relay when it connects.  This connection may be
      established over WebTransport or raw QUIC.

   *  The relay decrypts the token upon receipt and validates the
      signature.  Based upon claims conveyed in the token, the relay
      accepts or rejects the connection.

   *  If the relay accepts the connection, then the client will take a
      series of MOQT actions: ANNOUNCE, SUBSCRIBE_ANNOUNCES, SUBSCRIBE
      or FETCH.  For each of these, it will supply the token it received
      using the AUTHENTICATION parameter.

   *  As an alternative to this workflow, the distribution service may
      vend multiple tokens to the client.  The client may use one of
      those tokens to establish the initial conneciton and others to
      authenticate its actions.



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2.  Token format

   This draft uses a single token format, namely the Common Access Token
   (CAT) [CAT].  The token is supplied as a byte array.  When it must be
   cast to a string for inclusion in a URL, it is Base64 encoded
   [BASE64].

   To provide control over the MOQT actions, this draft defines a new
   CBOR Web Token (CWT) Claim called "moqt".  Use of the moqt claim is
   optional for clients.  Support for processing the moqt claim is
   mandatory for relays.

   The default for all actions is "Blocked" and this does not need to be
   communicated in the token.  As soon as a token is provided, all
   actions are explicitly blocked unless explicitly enabled.

2.1.  moqt claim

   The "moqt" claim is defined by the following CDDL:

   $$Claims-Set-Claims //= (moqt-label => moqt-value)
   moqt-label = TBD_MOQT
   moqt-value = [ + moqt-scope ]
   moqt-scope = [ moqt-actions, moqt-ns-match, moqt-track-match ]
   moqt-actions = [ + moqt-action ]
   moqt-action = int
   moqt-ns-match = bin-match
   moqt-track-match = bin-match

   bin-match = {
     ? exact-match ^ => bstr,
     ? prefix-match ^ => bstr,
     ? suffix-match ^ => bstr,
     ? contains-match ^ => bstr,
   }

   / match labels defined in CTA-5007-B 4.6.1 /
   exact-match = 0
   prefix-match = 1
   suffix-match = 2
   contains-match = 3

   The "moqt" claim bounds the scope of MOQT actions for which the token
   can provide access.  It is an array of action scopes.  Each scope is
   an array with three elements: an array of integers that identifies
   the actions, a match object for the namespace, and a match object for
   the track name.




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   The actions are integers defined as follows:

        +=====================+=====+=============================+
        | Action              | Key | Reference                   |
        +=====================+=====+=============================+
        | CLIENT_SETUP        | 0   | [MoQTransport] Section 8.3  |
        +---------------------+-----+-----------------------------+
        | SERVER_SETUP        | 1   | [MoQTransport] Section 8.3  |
        +---------------------+-----+-----------------------------+
        | ANNOUNCE            | 2   | [MoQTransport] Section 8.23 |
        +---------------------+-----+-----------------------------+
        | SUBSCRIBE_NAMESPACE | 3   | [MoQTransport] Section 8.28 |
        +---------------------+-----+-----------------------------+
        | SUBSCRIBE           | 4   | [MoQTransport] Section 8.7  |
        +---------------------+-----+-----------------------------+
        | SUBSCRIBE_UPDATE    | 5   | [MoQTransport] Section 8.10 |
        +---------------------+-----+-----------------------------+
        | PUBLISH             | 6   | [MoQTransport] Section 8.13 |
        +---------------------+-----+-----------------------------+
        | FETCH               | 7   | [MoQTransport] Section 8.16 |
        +---------------------+-----+-----------------------------+
        | TRACK_STATUS        | 8   | [MoQTransport] Section 8.20 |
        +---------------------+-----+-----------------------------+

                                  Table 1

   The scope of the moqt claim is limited to the actions provided in the
   array.  Any action not present in the array is not authorized by moqt
   claim.

   The match object is defined to be a binary form of the match object
   defined in [CAT] Section 4.6.1.  The regex and hash match types are
   not defined for use with binary values in this document.

   The first match operation is performed against the namespace and the
   second against the track name (as defined in Section 2.4.1 of {draft-
   ietf-moq-transport}).  Since the match is not being performed against
   a URI, no normalization is performed and the matches are performed
   against the entire string.  An empty match object is a legal
   construct that matches all names.

2.1.1.  Text examples of permissions to help with CDDL construction

   Example: Allow with an exact match "example.com/bob"







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{
    /moqt/ TBD_MOQT: [[
        [ /ANNOUNCE/ 2, /SUBSCRIBE_NAMESPACE/ 3, /PUBLISH/ 6, /FETCH/ 7 ],
        { /exact/ 0: 'example.com'},
        { /exact/ 0: '/bob'}
    ]]
}

   Permits
   * 'example.com', '/bob'

   Prohibits
   * 'example.com', ''
   * 'example.com', '/bob/123'
   * 'example.com', '/alice'
   * 'example.com', '/bob/logs'
   * 'alternate/example.com', /bob
   * '12345', ''
   * 'example', '.com/bob'

   Example: Allow with a prefix match "example.com/bob"

{
    /moqt/ TBD_MOQT: [[
        [ /ANNOUNCE/ 2, /SUBSCRIBE_NAMESPACE/ 3, /PUBLISH/ 6, /FETCH/ 7 ],
        { /exact/ 0: 'example.com'},
        { /prefix/ 1: '/bob'}
    ]]
}

   Permits
   * 'example.com', '/bob'
   * 'example.com', '/bob/123'
   * 'example.com', '/bob/logs'

   Prohibits
   * 'example.com', ''
   * 'example.com', '/alice'
   * 'alternate/example.com', '/bob'
   * '12345', ''
   * 'example', '.com/bob'










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2.1.2.  Multiple actions

   Multiple actions may be communicated within the same token, with
   different permissions.  This can be facilitated by the logical claims
   defined in {draft-lemmons-composite-claims} or simply by defining
   multiple limits, depending on the required restrictions.  In both
   cases, the order in which limits are declared and evaluated is
   unimportant.  The evaluation stops after the first acceptable result
   is discovered.

2.1.2.1.  Example of evaluating multiple actions in the same token:

{
    /moqt/ TBD_MOQT: [
        [/PUBLISH/ 6, { /exact/ 0: 'example.com'}, { /prefix/ 1: 'bob'}],
        [/PUBLISH/ 6, { /exact/ 0: 'example.com'}, { /exact/ 0: 'logs/12345/bob'}]
    ],
    /exp/ 4: 1750000000
}

   *  (1) PUBLISH (Allow with a prefix match) example.com/bob

   *  (2) PUBLISH (Allow with an exact match) example.com/logs/12345/bob

   Evaluating "example.com/bob/123" would succeed on test 1 and test 2
   would never be evaluated.  Evaluating "example.com/logs/12345/bob"
   would fail on test 1 but then succeed on test 2.  Evaluating
   "example.com" would fail on test 1 and on test 2.

   In addition, the entire token expires at 2025-05-02T21:57:24+00:00.

2.1.2.2.  Example of evaluating multiple actions with related claims:

   If there are other claims that depend on which MOQT limit applies, a
   logical claim is required:

{
    /or/ TBD_OR: [
        {
            /moqt/ TBD_MOQT: [[/PUBLISH/ 6, { /exact/ 0: 'example.com'}, { /prefix/ 1: 'bob'}]],
            /exp/ 4: 1750000000
        },
        {
            /moqt/ TBD_MOQT: [[/PUBLISH/ 6, { /exact/ 0: 'example.com'}, { /exact/ 0: 'logs/12345/bob'}]],
            /exp/ 4: 1750000600
        }
    ]
}



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   This provides access to the same tracks as the previous example, but
   in this case, the token is valid for publishing logs up to 10 minutes
   after the time at which the publishing of the bob track expires.

   DISCUSS: Because tokens are designed for instantanous evaluation,
   they naturally only evaluate to an "acceptable" or an "unacceptable".
   It's somewhat tricky to turn an evaluation into a complete bound on
   any particular value.  The CAT has a number of claims about the
   context of the request that can change while the stream is open.  The
   most obvious of these is the expiration time.  The "catnip" (Network
   IP) and geographic claims can also change mid-stream if the
   connection is migrated or the client moves.  Do we need to do
   something special to require periodic re-evalution?

2.2.  moqt-reval claim

   The "moqt-reval" claim is defined by the following CDDL:

   $$Claims-Set-Claims //= (moqt-reval-label => moqt-reval-value)
   moqt-reval-label = TBD_MOQT_REVAL
   moqt-reval-value = number

   The "moqt-reval" claim indicates that the token must be revalidated
   for ongoing streams.  If the token is no longer acceptable, the
   actions authorized by it MUST not be permitted to continue.

   The "moqt-reval-value" is a revalidation interval, expressed in
   seconds.  It provides an upper bound on how long a token may be
   considered acceptable for an ongoing stream.  A revalidator MAY
   revalidate sooner.

   If the revalidation interval is smaller than the recipient is
   prepared or able to revalidate, the recipient MUST reject the token.
   If a recipient is unable to revalidate tokens, it MUST reject all
   tokens with a "moqt-reval" claim.

   A token can be revalidated by simply validating it again, just as if
   it were new.  However, since some claims, signatures, MACs, and other
   attributes that could contribute to unacceptability may be incapable
   of changing acceptability in the duration, a revalidator may optimize
   by skipping some of the checks as long as the outcome of the
   validation is the same.  Revalidators SHOULD skip reverifying MACs
   and signatures when the list of acceptable issuer keys is unchanged.

   When the value of this claim is zero, the token MUST NOT be
   revalidated.  This is the default behaviour when the claim is not
   present.




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   This claim MUST NOT be used outside of a base claimset.  If used
   within a composition claims, the token is not well-formed.

   The claim key for this claim is TBD_MOQT_REVAL and the claim value is
   a number.  Recipients MUST support this claim.  This claim is
   OPTIONAL for issuers.

3.  Authenticating the connection

   The connection to a MOQT distribution relay can take place over a
   WebTransport or native QUIC connection.  In both cases, the token is
   transferred as a query parameter or else embedded in the URI PATH.

3.1.  Appending a token as a query parameter

   The query parameter name SHOULD be "CAT" (case-sensitive) and the
   query parameter value SHOULD be the Base64 encoded [BASE64] token.
   If more than one token is transferred, then the sequential query
   parameter names "CAT1", "CAT2" .. "CATN" SHOULD be used.

3.2.  Embedding a token in a PATH

   The token SHOULD span only a single PATH component and the component
   SHOULD be prefixed with the string "CAT-".  If more than one token is
   transferred, then they SHOULD occupy different components and SHOULD
   carry sequential prefixes of "CAT1", "CAT2" .. "CATN".

3.3.  Usage with WebTransport

   With a WebTransport connection, the token can be transferred as a
   query parameter or as part of the PATH.

   Example of a single token in a query arg:

      https://example.com/
      service?CAT=oRkBDqMAoQBlaHR0cHMDoQFoL2NvbnRlbnQIoQBlLm0zdTg=

   Example of multiple tokens in query args:

      https://example.com/
      service?CAT1=oRkBDqMAoQBlaHR0cHMDoQFoL2NvbnRlbnQIoQBlLm0zdTg=
      &CAT2=IHNramRoZmtjc2pkaGYgc2pkaCBhaCBzIGFzS0pEIDthbGtqIA==

   Example of a single token in the PATH

      https://example.com/service/CAT-
      oRkBDqMAoQBlaHR0cHMDoQFoL2NvbnRlbnQIoQBlLm0zdTg=/




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   Example of multiple tokens in the PATH:

      https://example.com/service/
      CAT1-oRkBDqMAoQBlaHR0cHMDoQFoL2NvbnRlbnQIoQBlLm0zdTg=/CAT2-IHN
      ramRoZmtjc2pkaGYgc2pkaCBhaCBzIGFzS0pEIDthbGtqIA==/

3.4.  Usage with Native QUIC

   With a native QUIC connection, the query components and PATH are
   transmitted via the "PATH" parameter in the CLIENT_SETUP message.

   Example of a single token in a query arg:

      moqt://203.0.113.0:4443 PATH parameter in the CLIENT_SETUP message
      = "service?CAT=oRkBDqMAoQBlaHR0cHMDoQFoL2NvbnRlbnQIoQBlLm0zdTg="

   Example of multiple tokens in query args:

      moqt://203.0.113.0:4443 PATH parameter in the CLIENT_SETUP message
      = "service?CAT1=oRkBDqMAoQBlaHR0cHMDoQFoL2NvbnRlbnQIoQBlLm0zdTg=
      &CAT2=IHNramRoZmtjc2pkaGYgc2pkaCBhaCBzIGFzS0pEIDthbGtqIA=="

   Example of a single token in the PATH

      moqt://203.0.113.0:4443 PATH parameter in the CLIENT_SETUP message
      = "service/CAT-oRkBDqMAoQBlaHR0cHMDoQFoL2NvbnRlbnQIoQBlLm0zdTg=/"

   Example of multiple tokens in the PATH:

      moqt://203.0.113.0:4443 PATH parameter in the CLIENT_SETUP message
      = "service/
      CAT1-oRkBDqMAoQBlaHR0cHMDoQFoL2NvbnRlbnQIoQBlLm0zdTg=/CAT2-IHN
      ramRoZmtjc2pkaGYgc2pkaCBhaCBzIGFzS0pEIDthbGtqIA==/"

4.  Controlling access to MOQT actions

   TODO

5.  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.






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6.  Security Considerations

   TODO Security

7.  IANA Considerations

   IANA will register the following claim in the "CBOR Web Token (CWT)
   Claims" registry:

                +========================+================+
                |                        | Value          |
                +========================+================+
                | Claim Name             | moqt           |
                +------------------------+----------------+
                | Claim Description      | MOQT Action    |
                +------------------------+----------------+
                | JWT Claim Name         | N/A            |
                +------------------------+----------------+
                | Claim Key              | TBD_MOQT (1+2) |
                +------------------------+----------------+
                | Claim Value Type       | array          |
                +------------------------+----------------+
                | Change Controller      | IESG           |
                +------------------------+----------------+
                | Specification Document | RFCthis        |
                +------------------------+----------------+

                                  Table 2

   [RFC Editor: Please replace RFCthis with the published RFC number for
   this document.]

8.  Normative References

   [BASE64]   Josefsson, S., "The Base16, Base32, and Base64 Data
              Encodings", RFC 4648, DOI 10.17487/RFC4648, October 2006,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4648>.

   [CAT]      "CTA 5007-A Common Access Token", December 2024,
              <https://shop.cta.tech/products/cta-5007>.

   [MoQTransport]
              Curley, L., Pugin, K., Nandakumar, S., Vasiliev, V., and
              I. Swett, "Media over QUIC Transport", Work in Progress,
              Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-moq-transport-10, 3 March 2025,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-moq-
              transport-10>.




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   [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>.

   [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>.

Acknowledgments

   The IETF moq workgroup

Authors' Addresses

   Will Law
   Akamai
   Email: wilaw@akamai.com


   Chris Lemmons
   Comcast
   Email: Chris_Lemmons@comcast.com


   Gwendal Simon
   Synamedia
   Email: gsimon@synamedia.com


   Suhas Nandakumar
   Cisco
   Email: snandaku@cisco.com


















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