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Wallet Attestation

Wallet Attestations (also called Wallet Instance Attestation or Wallet Trust Evidence) provide the PID or (Q)EAA Provider with the necessary information that a Wallet Instance is authentic and trustworthy and fulfills the security requirements.

Lifecycle

A Wallet Attestation is associated by the Wallet Provider with a particular Wallet Instance and is also associated with a particular Issuer/Relying Party by the Wallet Instance.

The lifecycle of a Wallet Attestation is still being evaluated in the eIDAS process. Two general concepts may be used:

  • Ephemeral Wallet Attestations: A Wallet Attestation is used for a single transaction. A Wallet Attestation is required by the Issuer and the Wallet Instance ad-hoc requests a new one from the Wallet Provider Backend. For every issuance process a new wallet attestation is generated and no linking between these attestations is foreseen. Revocation of Wallet Attestations is not necessary for ephemeral Wallet Attestations.
  • Long-lived Wallet Attestations: A Wallet Attestation is used for multiple transactions. A Wallet Attestation is required by the Issuer and the Wallet Instance either requests a new one from the Wallet Provider Backend or reuses an existing one. Revocation of Wallet Attestations is foreseen and shall be regularly checked by PID and (Q)EAA Providers.

The details of the Wallet Attestation and the corresponding PID/(Q)EAA lifecycles are TBD.

Protocols

Using Wallet Attestations within the OpenID for Verifiable Credentials protocol family are recommended to use the mechanism described in OAuth 2.0 Attestation-Based Client Authentication. This enables the Wallet to send a Wallet Attestation (called wallet attestation in the OpenID scope) within the Pushed Authorization Request (PAR) or within the Token Request. The specification is yet to be finalized, so the details are subject to change.

Attestation format and content

The recommended format for a Wallet Attestation is currently described in the OpenID4VC High Assurance Interoperability Profile with SD-JWT VC. The specification is yet to be finalized as well, so the details are subject to change. The contents of a Wallet Attestation should include:

  • the issuer, i.e. the Wallet Provider Backend
  • the subject, i.e. the client_id of the Wallet Solution
  • validity information, i.e. the issuance and expiration dates
  • the wallet instance' public key
  • the attack potential resistance
  • optionally specifying the used key type and user authentication mechanism
  • optionally a list of device keys that may be used for key binding credentials

The Wallet Attestation should NOT include:

  • information on technical capabilities of the wallet
  • unique identifiers that enable linkability, e.g. information to the Wallet Provider's internal user account

Information within the Wallet Attestation shall be reduced to a minimum for privacy and scalability reasons. Further information about the Wallet Solution should be linked on the trust list:

  • certification scheme
  • certification status
  • information on the Wallet Provider and the Wallet Solution

Revocation

The Wallet Provider may revoke a long-lived Wallet Attestation in the following cases:

  • The Wallet Security Cryptographic Device (WSCD) has a known vulnerability
  • The Wallet Instance application has a known vulnerability

To enable revocation for wallet attestations, the mechanisms described in the revocation section apply.

Cryptographic Formats

Long-Term keys:

  • Wallet Provider has long-term key pair \((wp\_pub, wp\_priv)\)
  • Wallet Security Cryptographic Device generates device key \((device\_pub, device\_priv)\)

Artifacts:

  • Wallet Provider Backend issues Wallet Attestation: \(wallet\_attestation := \text{sign}(\mathit{wallet\_data} | \mathit{device\_pub})_\text{wp\_priv}\)

Sequence Diagram

Issuance of Issuer specific Wallet AttestationsIssuance of Issuer specific Wallet AttestationsUserUserUser's Wallet Security Cryptographic DeviceLong-term Key: (device_pub,device_priv)User's Wallet Security Cryptographic DeviceLong-term Key: (device_pub,device_priv)User's Wallet InstanceWallet Attestion bound todevice_privUser's Wallet InstanceWallet Attestion bound todevice_privUser's Wallet Provider BackendLong-term Key: (wp_pub,wp_priv)User's Wallet Provider BackendLong-term Key: (wp_pub,wp_priv)(001)[TLS] HTTP POST<getWalletAttestationNonces(optionalwallet instance identifier)>(002)generate and store nonces(003)[TLS] HTTP 200walletAttestationNonces(nonces)>(004)generate new key (nonce)(005)check user authenticationuser authentication towards the WSCD maybe cached for a short duration for furtheraccess to WSCD in the issuance processScreen: Wallet User Authentication(006)generate key pair:(device_pub, device_priv),including optional keyattestations(007)generate proof of possession:sign(nonce)device_priv(008)device_pub, optional keyattestation, proof ofpossession(009)request appattestations(nonce) from OSattestation servicethis step involves connection to OS backendservices(010)[TLS] HTTP POST<getWalletAttestation(device_pub,PoP, key attestation, appattestation)>(011)verify PoP, key and appattestation(012)check device black list(Vulnerability Management)(013)generate wallet attestationcontaining device_pub andsign with wp_privwallet attestation as defined in "OpenID4VCHigh Assurance Interoperability Profile withSD-JWT VC - draft 00"(014)[TLS] HTTP 200<walletAttestation>(015)store walletAttestation forIssuer's client_id

Step-by-Step Description

  1. The Wallet Instance requests to perform a wallet attestation. It may provide a wallet instance identifier to the Wallet Provider Backend service, that may be used to match a (pseudonymous) user account.
  2. The Wallet Provider Backend generates and stores a set of nonces linked to this wallet attestation process.
  3. The Wallet Provider Backend returns the wallet attestation nonces to the Wallet Instance.
  4. The Wallet Instance requests the generation of a new key pair from its Wallet Security Cryptographic Device (WSCD).
  5. The WSCD checks the user authentication. If the User is not authenticated (from previous transactions) yet, the WSCD may initiate and perform a user authentication, e.g. with a PIN.
  6. The WSCD generates an attestation key pair (device_priv, device_pub), which is stored in the secure, hardware-bound WSCD. The WSCD may generate a key attestation (if possible) using a nonce, that attests that this key pair is actually originating from a specific, certified type of WSCD.
  7. The WSCD generates a proof of possession by signing a nonce (from Step 3) using device_priv.
  8. The WSCD sends a response to the Wallet Instance, containing:
  9. the attestation key device_pub
  10. the proof of possession
  11. the optional key attestation
  12. The Wallet Instance performs Operating System specific attestation (also called app attestation) using a nonce to validate the status and integrity of the Wallet Instance. This step may involve contacting a backend attestation service of the Operating System.
  13. The Wallet Instance requests a wallet attestation from the Wallet Provider Backend by sending:
    • the attestation key device_pub
    • the proof of possession
    • the optional key attestation
    • the app attestation
  14. The Wallet Provider Backend validates the transmitted keys and attestations
  15. The Wallet Provider Backend checks if the device on which the Wallet Instance is installed is listed on a device black list and is known as a vulnerable device / WSCD.
  16. The Wallet Provider Backend generates wallet attestation using the attestation key device_pub and signing with wp_priv.
  17. The Wallet Provider Backend returns the wallet attestation to the Wallet Instance.
  18. The Wallet Instance stores the wallet attestation on the device and links the usage of the wallet attestation with a specific Issuer.