RFC 3698 PROPOSED STANDARD DIRECTORY · LDAP · SCHEMA

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP): Additional Matching Rules

Twelve more ways for an LDAP directory to decide that two values match, borrowed from X.500.

On rfc-editor.org ↗
PUBLISHED
February 2004
AUTHORS
K. Zeilenga
STREAM
IETF
BUILDS ON
RFC 2798 — inetOrgPerson
UPDATED BY
RFC 4517 — LDAP syntaxes
MATCHING RULES DEFINED
12
OID ARC
2.5.13.x
REPLACES
Section 9.3.3 of RFC 2798
NEW OID ASSIGNMENTS
None
REGISTRY TYPE
M (matching rule)
DOI
10.17487/RFC3698

RFC text

Contents
Original text · RFC Editor View on rfc-editor.org ↗
Network Working Group                                   K. Zeilenga, Ed.
Request for Comments: 3698                           OpenLDAP Foundation
Updates: 2798                                              February 2004
Category: Standards Track


             Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP):
                       Additional Matching Rules

Status of this Memo

   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   This document provides a collection of matching rules for use with
   the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).  As these matching
   rules are simple adaptations of matching rules specified for use with
   the X.500 Directory, most are already in wide use.

Table of Contents

   1.  Background and Intended Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
   2.  Matching Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
       2.1.  booleanMatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
       2.2.  caseExactMatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
       2.3.  caseExactOrderingMatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
       2.4.  caseExactSubstringsMatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
       2.5.  caseIgnoreListSubstringsMatch. . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
       2.6.  directoryStringFirstComponentMatch . . . . . . . . . . .  4
       2.7.  integerOrderingMatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
       2.8.  keywordMatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
       2.9.  numericStringOrderingMatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
       2.10. octetStringOrderingMatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
       2.11. storedPrefixMatch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
       2.12. wordMatch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
   3.  Security Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
   4.  IANA Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
   5.  Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
   6.  References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7

       6.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
       6.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
   7.  Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
   8.  Full Copyright Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9

1.  Background and Intended Use

   This document adapts additional X.500 Directory [X.500] matching
   rules [X.520] for use with the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
   (LDAP) [RFC3377].  Most of these rules are widely used today on the
   Internet, such as in support of the inetOrgPerson [RFC2798] and
   Policy Core Information Model [RFC3703] LDAP schemas.  The rules are
   applicable to many other applications.

   This document supersedes the informational matching rules
   descriptions provided in RFC 2798 that are now provided in this
   document.  Specifically, section 2 of this document replaces section
   9.3.3 of RFC 2798.

   Schema definitions are provided using LDAP description formats
   [RFC2252].  Definitions provided here are formatted (line wrapped)
   for readability.

2.  Matching Rules

2.1.  booleanMatch

   The booleanMatch rule compares for equality a asserted Boolean value
   with an attribute value of BOOLEAN syntax.  The rule returns TRUE if
   and only if the values are the same, i.e., both are TRUE or both are
   FALSE.  (Source: X.520)

       ( 2.5.13.13 NAME 'booleanMatch'
         SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.7 )

   The BOOLEAN (1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.7) syntax is described in
   [RFC2252].

2.2.  caseExactMatch

   The caseExactMatch rule compares for equality the asserted value with
   an attribute value of DirectoryString syntax.  The rule is identical
   to the caseIgnoreMatch [RFC2252] rule except that case is not
   ignored.  (Source: X.520)

       ( 2.5.13.5 NAME 'caseExactMatch'
         SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 )

   The DirectoryString (1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15) syntax is
   described in [RFC2252].

2.3.  caseExactOrderingMatch

   The caseExactOrderingMatch rule compares the collation order of the
   asserted string with an attribute value of DirectoryString syntax.
   The rule is identical to the caseIgnoreOrderingMatch [RFC2252] rule
   except that letters are not folded.  (Source: X.520)

       ( 2.5.13.6 NAME 'caseExactOrderingMatch'
         SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 )

   The DirectoryString (1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15) syntax is
   described in [RFC2252].

2.4.  caseExactSubstringsMatch

   The caseExactSubstringsMatch rule determines whether the asserted
   value(s) are substrings of an attribute value of DirectoryString
   syntax.  The rule is identical to the caseIgnoreSubstringsMatch
   [RFC2252] rule except that case is not ignored.  (Source: X.520)

       ( 2.5.13.7 NAME 'caseExactSubstringsMatch'
         SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.58 )

   The SubstringsAssertion (1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.58) syntax is
   described in [RFC2252].

2.5. caseIgnoreListSubstringsMatch

   The caseIgnoreListSubstringMatch rule compares the asserted substring
   with an attribute value which is a sequence of DirectoryStrings, but
   where the case (upper or lower) is not significant for comparison
   purposes.  The asserted value matches a stored value if and only if
   the asserted value matches the string formed by concatenating the
   strings of the stored value.  This matching is done according to the
   caseIgnoreSubstringsMatch [RFC2252] rule; however, none of the
   initial, any, or final values of the asserted value are considered to
   match a substring of the concatenated string which spans more than
   one of the strings of the stored value.  (Source: X.520)

       ( 2.5.13.12 NAME 'caseIgnoreListSubstringsMatch'
         SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.58 )

   The SubstringsAssertion (1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.58) syntax is
   described in [RFC2252].

2.6.  directoryStringFirstComponentMatch

   The directoryStringFirstComponentMatch rule compares for equality the
   asserted DirectoryString value with an attribute value of type
   SEQUENCE whose first component is mandatory and of type
   DirectoryString.  The rule returns TRUE if and only if the attribute
   value has a first component whose value matches the asserted
   DirectoryString using the rules of caseIgnoreMatch [RFC2252].  A
   value of the assertion syntax is derived from a value of the
   attribute syntax by using the value of the first component of the
   SEQUENCE.  (Source: X.520)

       ( 2.5.13.31 NAME 'directoryStringFirstComponentMatch'
         SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 )

   The DirectoryString (1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15) syntax is
   described in [RFC2252].

2.7.  integerOrderingMatch

   The integerOrderingMatch rule compares the ordering of the asserted
   integer with an attribute value of INTEGER syntax.  The rule returns
   True if the attribute value is less than the asserted value. (Source:
   X.520)

       ( 2.5.13.15 NAME 'integerOrderingMatch'
         SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.27 )

   The INTEGER (1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.27) syntax is described in
   [RFC2252].

2.8.  keywordMatch

   The keywordMatch rule compares the asserted string with keywords in
   an attribute value of DirectoryString syntax.  The rule returns TRUE
   if and only if the asserted value matches any keyword in the
   attribute value.  The identification of keywords in an attribute
   value and of the exactness of match are both implementation specific.
   (Source: X.520)

       ( 2.5.13.33 NAME 'keywordMatch'
         SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 )

   The DirectoryString (1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15) syntax is
   described in [RFC2252].

2.9.  numericStringOrderingMatch

   The numericStringOrderingMatch rule compares the collation order of
   the asserted string with an attribute value of NumericString syntax.
   The rule is identical to the caseIgnoreOrderingMatch [RFC2252] rule
   except that all space characters are skipped during comparison (case
   is irrelevant as characters are numeric).  (Source: X.520)

       ( 2.5.13.9 NAME 'numericStringOrderingMatch'
         SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.36 )

   The NumericString (1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.36) syntax is described
   in [RFC2252].

2.10.  octetStringOrderingMatch

   The octetStringOrderingMatch rule compares the collation order of the
   asserted octet string with an attribute value of OCTET STRING syntax.
   The rule compares octet strings from first octet to last octet, and
   from the most significant bit to the least significant bit within the
   octet.  The first occurrence of a different bit determines the
   ordering of the strings.  A zero bit precedes a one bit.  If the
   strings are identical but contain different numbers of octets, the
   shorter string precedes the longer string.  (Source: X.520)

       ( 2.5.13.18 NAME 'octetStringOrderingMatch'
         SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.40 )

   The OCTET STRING (1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.40) syntax is described
   in [RFC2252].

2.11.  storedPrefixMatch

   The storedPrefixMatch rule determines whether an attribute value,
   whose syntax is DirectoryString is a prefix (i.e., initial substring)
   of the asserted value, without regard to the case (upper or lower) of
   the strings.  The rule returns TRUE if and only if the attribute
   value is an initial substring of the asserted value with
   corresponding characters identical except possibly with regard to
   case.  (Source: X.520)

       ( 2.5.13.41 NAME 'storedPrefixMatch'
         SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 )

   Note: This rule can be used, for example, to compare values in the
         Directory which are telephone area codes with a purported value
         which is a telephone number.

   The DirectoryString (1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15) syntax is
   described in [RFC2252].

2.12.  wordMatch

   The wordMatch rule compares the asserted string with words in an
   attribute value of DirectoryString syntax.  The rule returns TRUE if
   and only if the asserted word matches any word in the attribute
   value.  Individual word matching is as for the caseIgnoreMatch
   [RFC2252] matching rule.  The precise definition of a "word" is
   implementation specific.  (Source: X.520)

       ( 2.5.13.32 NAME 'wordMatch'
         SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 )

   The DirectoryString (1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15) syntax is
   described in [RFC2252].

3.  Security Considerations

   General LDAP security considerations [RFC3377] is applicable to the
   use of this schema.  Additional considerations are noted above where
   appropriate.

4.  IANA Considerations

   The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has updated the LDAP
   descriptors registry [RFC3383] as indicated in the following
   template:

       Subject: Request for LDAP Descriptor Registration Update
       Descriptor (short name): see comment
       Object Identifier: see comments
       Person & email address to contact for further information:
           Kurt Zeilenga <kurt@OpenLDAP.org>
       Usage: see comments
       Specification: RFC 3698
       Author/Change Controller: IESG
       Comments:

       The following descriptors have been added:

         NAME                               Type OID
         ------------------------           ---- ---------
         booleanMatch                       M    2.5.13.13
         caseExactMatch                     M    2.5.13.5
         caseExactOrderingMatch             M    2.5.13.6
         caseExactSubstringsMatch           M    2.5.13.7
         caseIgnoreListSubstringsMatch      M    2.5.13.12
         directoryStringFirstComponentMatch M    2.5.13.31
         integerOrderingMatch               M    2.5.13.15
         keywordMatch                       M    2.5.13.33
         numericStringOrderingMatch         M    2.5.13.9
         octetStringOrderingMatch           M    2.5.13.18
         storedPrefixMatch                  M    2.5.13.41
         wordMatch                          M    2.5.13.32

       where Type M is Matching Rule.

   This document makes no new OID assignments.  It only associates LDAP
   matching rule descriptions with existing X.500 matching rules.

5.  Acknowledgments

   This document borrows from [X.520], an ITU-T Recommendation.

6.  References

6.1.  Normative References

   [RFC2252]     Wahl, M., Coulbeck, A., Howes, T. and S. Kille,
                 "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (v3):  Attribute
                 Syntax Definitions", RFC 2252, December 1997.

   [RFC3377]     Hodges, J. and R. Morgan, "Lightweight Directory Access
                 Protocol (v3): Technical Specification", RFC 3377,
                 September 2002.

6.2.  Informative References

   [RFC2798]     Smith, M., "The LDAP inetOrgPerson Object Class", RFC
                 2798, April 2000.

   [RFC3383]     Zeilenga, K., "IANA Considerations for LDAP", BCP 64
                 RFC 3383, September 2002.

   [RFC3703]     Strassner, J., Moore, B., Moats, R. and E. Ellesson,
                 "Policy Core LDAP Schema", RFC 3703, February 2004.

   [X.500]       International Telecommunication Union -
                 Telecommunication Standardization Sector, "The
                 Directory -- Overview of concepts, models and
                 services," X.500(1993) (also ISO/IEC 9594-1:1994).

   [X.520]       International Telecommunication Union -
                 Telecommunication Standardization Sector, "The
                 Directory: Selected Attribute Types", X.520(1997).

7.  Author's Address

   Kurt D. Zeilenga
   OpenLDAP Foundation

   EMail: Kurt@OpenLDAP.org

8.  Full Copyright Statement

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004).  This document is subject
   to the rights, licenses and restrictions contained in BCP 78 and
   except as set forth therein, the authors retain all their rights.

   This document and the information contained herein are provided on an
   "AS IS" basis and THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/SHE
   REPRESENTS OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE
   INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR
   IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF
   THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED
   WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Intellectual Property

   The IETF takes no position regarding the validity or scope of any
   Intellectual Property Rights or other rights that might be claimed
   to pertain to the implementation or use of the technology
   described in this document or the extent to which any license
   under such rights might or might not be available; nor does it
   represent that it has made any independent effort to identify any
   such rights.  Information on the procedures with respect to
   rights in RFC documents can be found in BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Copies of IPR disclosures made to the IETF Secretariat and any
   assurances of licenses to be made available, or the result of an
   attempt made to obtain a general license or permission for the use
   of such proprietary rights by implementers or users of this
   specification can be obtained from the IETF on-line IPR repository
   at http://www.ietf.org/ipr.

   The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention
   any copyrights, patents or patent applications, or other
   proprietary rights that may cover technology that may be required
   to implement this standard.  Please address the information to the
   IETF at ietf-ipr@ietf.org.

Acknowledgement

   Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
   Internet Society.

AI ELI5

On this page
PROBLEMLDAP directories need rules that say when a search value matches a stored value, and several rules already used with X.500 directories were not yet written down for LDAP.
MECHANISMThe RFC adapts twelve X.500 matching rules for LDAP, giving each one a plain description, an object identifier (OID) and the attribute syntax it applies to.
WHY IT MATTERSMost of the rules were already in wide use, for example with the inetOrgPerson and Policy Core schemas. The text replaces the matching rule descriptions in RFC 2798, and RFC 4517 later updated this RFC.

§1Background and Intended Use

RFC 3698 adapts additional matching rules from the X.500 Directory (described in X.520) for use with the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). Most of them were already widely used on the Internet, for instance by the inetOrgPerson and Policy Core Information Model LDAP schemas, and the RFC says they apply to many other applications too.

The document also tidies up an earlier one. It supersedes the informational matching rule descriptions that were in RFC 2798: section 2 of this RFC replaces section 9.3.3 of that one. That is why the metadata lists RFC 3698 as updating RFC 2798.

A directory already knew some ways to compare names. This paper writes down twelve more that people were already using, so everyone describes them the same way.

§2How Each Rule Is Defined

A matching rule tells a directory server how to compare an asserted value (what a search asks for) with an attribute value (what is stored). Every rule here gets the same treatment: a short prose definition, a note of its source (X.520), and a schema definition written in the LDAP description format from RFC 2252.

A definition has the form ( 2.5.13.13 NAME 'booleanMatch' SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.7 ). It carries the rule's OID, its name, and the OID of the syntax it expects for the stored value. The RFC says the line wrapping is only for readability.

The syntaxes used are all described in RFC 2252: BOOLEAN, DirectoryString, SubstringsAssertion, INTEGER, NumericString and OCTET STRING.

Each rule comes with a name tag, a number and a note saying what kind of thing it compares, like a label on a drawer in a filing cabinet.

§2.1Equality and Substring Rules

Several rules decide whether a stored value equals, or contains, what was asked for.

  • booleanMatch returns TRUE if and only if both values are TRUE or both are FALSE.
  • caseExactMatch is identical to caseIgnoreMatch except that case is not ignored.
  • caseExactSubstringsMatch is identical to caseIgnoreSubstringsMatch except that case is not ignored.
  • caseIgnoreListSubstringsMatch works on a stored value that is a sequence of DirectoryStrings. It matches the concatenation of those strings, but no initial, any or final part of the asserted value may span more than one of the stored strings.
  • directoryStringFirstComponentMatch looks only at the first component of a stored SEQUENCE, which must be a DirectoryString, and compares it using caseIgnoreMatch.

Some rules are like asking whether two words are exactly the same, with capital letters counting. Others check whether a small piece of text appears inside a bigger one.

§2.2Ordering Rules

Ordering rules compare which value comes first, which supports greater-than or less-than style searches.

  • caseExactOrderingMatch is identical to caseIgnoreOrderingMatch except that letters are not folded.
  • integerOrderingMatch returns True if the attribute value is less than the asserted value.
  • numericStringOrderingMatch is identical to caseIgnoreOrderingMatch except that all space characters are skipped during comparison.
  • octetStringOrderingMatch compares octets from first to last and bits from most to least significant. The first different bit decides, a zero bit precedes a one bit, and if the strings are otherwise identical the shorter one comes first.

Ordering rules are like lining kids up by height or words up like in a dictionary, so you can tell who goes before whom.

§2.3Keyword, Word and Prefix Rules

Three rules match parts of a stored string rather than the whole of it.

  • keywordMatch returns TRUE if and only if the asserted value matches any keyword in the attribute value. How keywords are identified, and how exact the match is, are implementation specific.
  • wordMatch returns TRUE if and only if the asserted word matches any word in the attribute value, using caseIgnoreMatch for each word. What counts as a word is implementation specific.
  • storedPrefixMatch returns TRUE if and only if the stored value is an initial substring of the asserted value, ignoring case. Note the direction: the stored value is the prefix.

The RFC gives one example use for storedPrefixMatch: comparing stored telephone area codes with a purported value that is a full telephone number.

These rules look for a single word inside a sentence, or check that a short stored label like an area code is the start of a longer phone number.

§3Security Considerations

The security section is brief. It says that the general LDAP security considerations from RFC 3377 apply to use of this schema, and that additional considerations are noted in the rule descriptions where appropriate. It adds no new security mechanism of its own.

The safety rules for the directory are the ones that already exist. This paper does not add new ones.

§4IANA Registry Updates

IANA updated the LDAP descriptors registry (from RFC 3383) to add all twelve names as Type M, meaning matching rule, each with its OID. The contact and change controller are given as Kurt Zeilenga and the IESG.

The RFC makes no new OID assignments. It only associates LDAP matching rule descriptions with existing X.500 matching rules.

The official list of names got twelve new entries. The numbers were already handed out earlier, so nothing new was invented.

MATCHING RULES AND OIDS (RFC 3698)
  • 2.5.13.13booleanMatch — Equality of BOOLEAN values.
  • 2.5.13.5caseExactMatch — Equality of DirectoryStrings, case significant.
  • 2.5.13.6caseExactOrderingMatch — Ordering of DirectoryStrings, letters not folded.
  • 2.5.13.7caseExactSubstringsMatch — Substring match, case significant.
  • 2.5.13.12caseIgnoreListSubstringsMatch — Substring match across a sequence of strings, without spanning.
  • 2.5.13.31directoryStringFirstComponentMatch — Equality on the first component of a SEQUENCE.
  • 2.5.13.15integerOrderingMatch — Ordering of INTEGER values.
  • 2.5.13.33keywordMatch — Matches any keyword in the stored value.
  • 2.5.13.9numericStringOrderingMatch — Ordering of NumericStrings, spaces skipped.
  • 2.5.13.18octetStringOrderingMatch — Bitwise ordering of OCTET STRINGs.
  • 2.5.13.41storedPrefixMatch — Stored value is a prefix of the asserted value.
  • 2.5.13.32wordMatch — Matches any word in the stored value.

§8References