Kerberos: The Definitive Guide

Chapter 10. Kerberos Futures

Kerberos is constantly evolving to integrate new technologies and thwart new threats. As a result, the Kerberos working group has developed several extensions to the base Kerberos 5 protocol to provide the necessary capabilities to continue using Kerberos in the future. These protocol extensions are currently available as Internet Drafts from the IETF. The principal draft is the Kerberos Clarifications, which will replace the current RFC 1510 as the authoritative document for Kerberos protocol implementers. While the Kerberos Clarifications is true to its name and, for the most part, simply provides a more concise and clear description of the current protocol, it also contains new recommendations and small protocol changes that result from years of practical implementation experience and security reviews. Other related draft documents describe more dramatic protocol extensions that are optional.

The current home page of the Kerberos Clarifications is the Kerberos page at the USC Center for Computer Systems Security, located at http://www.kerberos.isi.edu. Additionally, current Internet Drafts can be downloaded from the IETF home page at http://www.ietf.org. The index to the current Internet Drafts issued by the Kerberos working group is located at http://www.ietf.org/ids.by.wg/krb-wg.html. Readers interested in a more technical discussion of these proposals are encouraged to read the Internet Drafts published at the IETF and USC Kerberos sites.