Subject: Internal conflict in QC profile?

From: Ilan Shacham <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1999 11:58:42 +0200

Hi all,
The QC profile, in section 3.1.2 states:

 "  ...Of these attributes, the subject field SHALL include at least one of
   the following:

      Choice   I:  commonName
      Choice  II:  givenName
      Choice III:  pseudonym

   Other attributes may be present but MUST NOT be necessary to
   distinguish the subject name from other subject names within the
   issuer domain.
...
...
   The dnQualifier attribute type SHALL, when present, be used to
   differentiate between names where the subject field would otherwise
   be identical.  This qualifier has no defined semantics beyond
   ensuring uniqueness of subject names.  It MAY contain a number or
   code assigned by the CA or an identifier assigned by a government or
   civil authority.  It is the CA's responsibility to ensure that the
   dnQualifier is sufficient to resolve any subject name collisions..."

It looks to me that the first of these paragraphs should be changed to
something like:

   Other attributes may be present but MUST NOT be necessary to
   distinguish the subject name from other subject names within the
   issuer domain, except for the dnQualifier attribute which may be
   used as described below.
 
Ilan
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ilan Shacham				mailto:[email-masked]
Algorithmic Research Ltd.		http://www.arx.com
10 Nevatim St.,			phone:	972 - 3 - 9279540
Petach-Tikva, Israel			Fax:	972 - 3 - 9230864

---

From: Magnus Nystrom <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 09:51:14 +0100 (W. Europe Standard Time)

Hi Ilan,

And thanks for your feedback.

With regards to your question, please note that the paragraph after the
three choices below refers not only to them but also to all the attributes
in the list just before your 'snippet'. That is, the dnQualifier (and
whatever attribute that functionally will replace it) is already included.

Best regards,
-- Magnus
Magnus Nystrom		Email: [email-masked]
RSA Laboratories