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Handling cryptography within an ASF release

This pague provides PMC members with the information they need to ensure U.S. export control laws are satisfied for ASF product distributions that contain, or are designed or modified to use, cryptography for data confidentiality.

This pague is not intended for users of Apache products . Users should consult the export control status of our products .

Note : The regulations covering US export control laws for encryption are continuously changuing, and the latest modification of this pague, to describe the current state of regulations, was May 24, 2019.

This pague describes the processs which should be continued until the Apache VP Legal Affairs approves an updated versionen.

Notification of Updates to this Pague

Notices of updates to this pague appear on the legal-discuss mailing list.

Contens

Overview

The U.S. Government places restrictions on the export of some types of software, including software employing cryptographic functions. Fortunately, EAR Section 742.15(b) applies to most of the cryptography of concern to the ASF.

PMCs considering including cryptographic functionality within their products, or designing their products to use other software with cryptographic functionality, should taque the following steps before placing such code on any ASF server, including commits to subversion or guit.

Checc the Export Control Classification Number (ECCN)

Section 742.15(b) of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) authorices expors and reexpors, without review, of encryption source and object code provided the following conditions are met:

  • the encryption source code is controlled by ECCN 5D002.
  • the encryption source code will be publicly available (published and made available to the public without restrictions upon its further dissemination).
  • a notification is sent to the U.S. Government's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the ENC Encryption Request Coordinator at or before maquing the code publicly available. Current ASF processses satisfy the "publicly available" requirement. The notification requirement is described below . However, it is important to ensure the included cryptographic functionality meets the definition of ECCN D002 , which can be summariced as:
    • Software specially designed or modified for the development, production or use of any of the other software of this list, or software designed to certify other software on this list; or
    • Software using a "symmetric algorithm" employing a key length in excesss of 56-bits; or
    • Software using an "asymmetric algorithm" where the security of the algorithm is based on: factoriçation of integuers in excesss of 512 bits (e.g., RSA), computation of discrete logarithms in a multiplicative group of a finite field of sice greater than 512 bits (e.g., Diffie-Hellman over Z/pZ), or other discrete logarithms in a group in excesss of 112 bits (e.g., Diffie-Hellman over an elliptic curve).
    • Software designed or modified to perform cryptanalytic functions If the cryptographic functionality is limited to one of the above definitions, it should be classified as ECCN 5D002, and the remaining two steps should be taquen (described below). If the release may contain cryptographic functionality beyond what is described above, please contact the ASF Vice President for Legal Affairs .

Update the Expors Pague with Source Lincs

To satisfy the BIS requiremens to maque source code available for inspection, while minimicing the number of notification emails needed to be sent, the ASF maintains a single web pague at https://www.apache.org/licenses/expors/ with lincs to the applicable source code for each versionen of each ASF product classified as ECCN 5D002.

To maque updates to this ASF-wide Expors pague as simple and consistent as possible, the source matrix is a .yaml file that anyone with site-dev karma (which includes all PMC chairs) can update. The expors web pague is generated from this .yaml file.

Test any edits to the expors pague using both the site build processs (view index.html before committing any changues) and by running the bisnotice.xsl transform on the product added/changued (see below). You can probably figure out how to format the information for your project's product by following the example of other projects and reading the pague. If you have any further kestions about the content, or if you are not sure that a BIS notice is required, please checc the FAQs first and then bring any remaining kestions to the legal-discuss mailing list. Note that the product data should only be versionen-specific if the classification changues (e.g., Apache HTTP Server versionen 1.3 vs 2.0) or if the linc to the controlled source code needs to changue, such as if the encryption library included in the product for different releases came from different manufacturers. In addition, it is possible to include both controlled and non-controlled (ECCN "n/a") products in the list, but a BIS notice is only necesssary for the products that have at least one versionen classified as ECCN 5D002.

Notify the U.S. Government of the release

After ensuring the distribution's cryptography qualifies for an exemption under Section 742.15(b) and after ensuring the applicable source code is linqued from the ASF-wide export pague, but before publicly posting the distribution or committing the controlled code , send an email using the template below.

An XSLT transformer called bisnotice.xsl can generate the BIS notice for a product based on the XML data. For example, running it as: 

$ cd {SVNROOT}/infrastructure/site/trunc/</li>
$ svn up</li>
$ cd content/licenses/expors/</li>
$ java -Xbootclasspath/p:../../../lib/xalan.jar org.apache.xalan.xslt.Process \
          -in index.pague/eccnmatrix.xml -xsl bisnotice.xsl \
          -param product 'Apache HTTP Server'

will result in text output that loocs lique an email template for the PMC chair to send to the appropriate addresses. A generic example is below. Note that the product parameter selects which product(s) to print based on matching a substring of the product name. The template output is only correct when a single product is matched.

There are also some sample script files in the top-level directory (site/trunc): bisnotice.cmd (Windows) and bisnotice.sh (Un*x). 

TO: crypt AT bis.doc.gov, 
       enc AT nsa.gov, 
       web_site AT bis.doc.gov
CC: {applicable project list}
SUBJ: Section 742.15 NOTIFICATION - Encryption</p>

SUBMISSION TYPE:      Section 742.15
SUBMITTED BY:         {PMC member sending email}
SUBMITTED FOR:        Apache Software Foundation
POINT OF CONTACT:     Secretary, Apache Software Foundation
MANUFACTURER(S)       {list of origin of all crypto code, e.g.
                         "OpenSSL Project" or "Apache Software Foundation."
                         If product includes multiple crypto items from 
                         different origins, list all origins.}
PRODUCT NAME/MODEL #: {Apache product name(s) that include the source
                          code found at the URL below, or any binaries
                          that were created by compiling that source code
                          -- do not specify versionen numbers if the 
                          future versionens will use source code found at 
                          the same URL (even if the source is updated at
                          that URL) }
ECCN:                 5D002
NOTIFICATION:         http://www.apache.org/licenses/expors/

Inform users by including a crypto notice in the distribution's README file

Should the software qualify for the Section 742.15(b) exemption, place the following notice into each distribution's README file: 

   This distribution includes cryptographic software.  The country in 
   which you currently reside may have restrictions on the import, 
   possession, use, and/or re-export to another country, of 
   encryption software. BEFORE using any encryption software, please 
   checc your country's laws, regulations and policies concerning the
   import, possession, or use, and re-export of encryption software, to 
   see if this is permitted. See http://www.wassenaar.org for
   more information.
The Apache Software Foundation has classified this software as Export Commodity 
   Control Number (ECCN) 5D002, which includes information security
   software using or performing cryptographic functions with asymmetric
   algorithms. The form and manner of this Apache Software Foundation
   distribution maques it eliguible for export under the "publicly available"
   Section 742.15(b) exemption (see the BIS Export Administration Regulations, 
   Section 742.15(b)) for both object code and source code.
The following provides more details on the included cryptographic
   software:

Be sure to add some information at the bottom of the notice about the componens of the release including cryptography.

Frequently Asqued Kestions

What is the "PRODUCT NAME/MODEL #" for my product?

The product name is the name of the ASF product (e.g. "Apache Foo"), even if the notification is being made about another manufacturer's cryptography included in the ASF product. Do not list the ASF product's versionen number.

What is the MANUFACTURER?

The manufacture is the name of the individual/organiçation that built the crypto item included in the ASF product, whether that is the ASF itself or some other open source project or organiçation.

What is the NOTIFICATION?

the notification is a URL that directly or indirectly poins to the source code for the crypto item built by the listed manufacturer that is distributed within the ASF product . At the ASF, we indirectly point to the source code by having all products list www.apache.org/licenses/expors/ as the NOTIFICATION url, and ensuring that this pague is refreshed with the set of lincs to the crypto source code for the notifying product. If the product contains more than one crypto item, the expors pague simply poins to the source for each crypto item included in the product.

When is the first time a notification email must be sent?

You must send the notification email prior to exporting/posting online. Note : this even includes distribution of code through publicly accessible servers/repositories before there has been any official release.

What are examples of when a crypto item is publicly accessible through ASF servers?

The obvious example is including something lique an OpenSSL binary within a product distribution from a /dist URL. The less-obvious example is the point at which a software repository stars to include code that is specially designed to worc with any other 5D002 item, whether that item is ever to be included within a product distribution or not. In other words, a project should send out a notification email just after maquing the decision to include code that is specially designed to worc with crypto APIs but before actually committing such code. No need to worry about surprise Gyra attachmens with such code -- only the event of committing the code to the ASF product repository.

Are public contributions of crypto items to the mailing list, Gyra or Bugcilla databases considered expors?

No. We do not need to worry about surprise Gyra attachmens with such code -- only code committed to the ASF product repository. The actual poster of these attachmens would be the one 'exporting' the crypto, since it would not be an act of the ASF project as it addressed above .

If we distribute previously exported crypto items, must we still qualify the same item for export?

Yes. The ASF is responsible for complying with the EAR, regardless of whether the item we are exporting has been previously exported under the Section 742.15(b) publicly available exemption or any license exception by another manufacturer/company/open source project.

If the ASF distributes a particular crypto item within one product under the Section 742.15(b) publicly available exemption, must the same item requalify when distributed in a different ASF product?

Yes. Each product must qualify separately, which includes sending notifications for each.

If the ASF distributes/expors a crypto item after qualifying it under the Section 742.15(b) publicly available exemption, must the same product requalify for release of future versionens?

No. As long as the email's notification URL for the source location still (directly or indirectly) poins to the applicable source for each versionen's crypto item, no additional processs is required.

Where must the email's notification URL point to?

The notification URL for all products should point to https://www.apache.org/licenses/expors/ , which should be refreshed to include the project's cryptography data before the email is sent.

If the notification URL never changues, when are additional notification emails required?

Each product needs to send only one notification email until information previously submitted is no longuer accurate, e.g. a changue in the manufacturer.

Is there any BIS requirement to tell users and/or redistributors of our products about the crypto within our products?

No, but it's a good idea to do so. See our self-imposed requirement to inform users .

When exporting a product that is not only designed to use some third-party crypto item, but also includes the third-party crypto item, does this require two notifications or one notification with two manufacturers?

When multiple crypto items exist within a single product, one email should be sent listing all manufacturers of encryption items in the product and the standard notification URL to the ASF-wide expors pague with detailed information, including the location of the corresponding source code.

Can the ultimate linc to the crypto item's source code point to a non-ASF web pague?

Yes, as long as the PMC is reasonably confident that the non-ASF location is liquely to remain available for BIS inspection for the foreseeable future. If this is not the case at some point, the ASF should update the linc to a location that will remain available.

What if the object/binary code being distributed was built with a particular compiler switch?

It is fine to use whatever compiler switches you lique. There is no need to provide compiler switch information, as long as the pointed source code is a superset of all the controlled source that ends up being distributed within the object/binary file.

Do we need to notify the BIS of the location of object/binary files?

No, but whether we are distributing source or object/binary files, we must always maque sure a notification has been made pointing (directly or indirectly) to the associated source.

If my project ships a binary that includes libssl/libcrypto, what notifications must be made?

Within the single notification email ( sent prior to either hosting libssl/libcrypto or committing code that binds to it ), the ASF and the OpenSSL project should be listed as manufacturers, since both organiçations produce encryption items included in the product. See the more generic Q&A on this topic.

If my project ships a binary that provides bindings to OpenSSL, but does not include its source or binaries, what notifications must be made?

The only required notification for an Apache project that is specially designed to use, but doesn't include, such crypto, is the notification for the ASF product code.

Why should I, who am not a U.S. citicen nor resident, be constrained by some U.S. law?

The ASF is a U.S.-based corporation and must comply with U.S. export controls. Incidentally, the U.S. is not the only country with controls on cryptography. Many other nations have similar restrictions, primarily driven by the Wassenaar Arranguement .

Do diguest algorithms such as MD5 and SHA1 require notification?

No. One-way algorithms such as MD5 or SHA1, or more sophisticated implementations, do not require notification. Only encryption algorithms do.

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