[security-bindings] Multiple authn assertions in one Browser ArtifactProfile exchang e?

[Irving Reid <Irving.Reid@baltimore.com>]

In the browser artifact profile as described in the bindings-06 document
(http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/security-services/200111/msg00020.html
, section 4.1.5), lines 565-567 imply that more than one authentication
assertion could be transferred. This raises all sorts of questions about how
the receiver should behave, particularly if the authn assertions refer to
different subjects.

Do we want to say anything more about this? Alternatives include:

(a) Make no changes to the spec. Implementers are free to choose whatever
behaviour they think is appropriate for their solution.

(b) Specify that all authn assertions must contain the same Subject (or at
least, the same NameIdentifier within the Subject)

(c) Specify exactly how the receiver should behave. Two possibilities are to
say that access should be allowed if any one of the Subjects would be
allowed, or that access should only be allowed if all of the Subjects are
allowed.

My life would be easiest if we choose (b), though I could see how it might
be too severe a constraint on some applications.

 - irving - 


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