[db-wg] Protecting References to Objects in the RIPE Database

Hi Cynthia,

Thanks for your feedback,

> On 29 Mar 2022, at 03:08, Cynthia Revström <me at cynthia.re> wrote:
> 
> Hi Ed,
> 
> I might be misunderstanding but mnt-ref on mntners sounds like a catch 22.
> 
> If mnt-ref would only be needed for mnt-by and any other references to mntners except mnt-ref I suppose it would be fine.

We can authorise "mnt-ref:" in the same way as the other "mnt" attributes:

- If the referenced mntner itself has an "mnt-ref:" attribute, then the update needs to be authenticated by that mntner.
- If the refereneced mntner does not have an "mnt-ref:" attribute, then the reference is allowed.

A self-referencing "mnt-ref:" attribute is possible (i.e. a reference to a mntner needs to be authenticated by that mntner).

Do I understand your concern correctly?

> But generally speaking here I think I support it for the object types excluding mntners but only if no mnt-ref attribute means that anyone can reference it. (the way it is today)
> 
> This would mean that it's an opt-in functionality that requires adding at least one mnt-ref attribute to the object.
> 
> I think the impact would be too big and uncertain otherwise.
> 

I agree! The "mnt-ref:" attribute should be optional on the other object types (it's mandatory on organisation objects).

Regards
Ed

> -Cynthia
>