The Messaging Layer Security Architecture

Abstract

The Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol (RFC 9420) provides a group key agreement protocol for messaging applications. MLS is designed to protect against eavesdropping, tampering, and message forgery, and to provide forward secrecy (FS) and post-compromise security (PCS).

This document describes the architecture for using MLS in a general secure group messaging infrastructure and defines the security goals for MLS. It provides guidance on building a group messaging system and discusses security and privacy trade-offs offered by multiple security mechanisms that are part of the MLS protocol (e.g., frequency of public encryption key rotation). The document also provides guidance for parts of the infrastructure that are not standardized by MLS and are instead left to the application.

While the recommendations of this document are not mandatory to follow in order to interoperate at the protocol level, they affect the overall security guarantees that are achieved by a messaging application. This is especially true in the case of active adversaries that are able to compromise clients, the Delivery Service (DS), or the Authentication Service (AS).

Abstract as published in the RFC, via rfc-editor.org.

What “Informational” means

Published for the general information of the community. It does not define an IETF standard and carries no standards-track status.