Abridged Compression for WebPKI Certificates — draft-ietf-tls-cert-abridge#
IETF 123 (Madrid) digest Program Adjacent pick Madrid · 19–25 July 2025
- Tier: Adjacent
- Why: A pragmatic answer to PQ certificate bloat: a shared dictionary of root/intermediate WebPKI certs that removes them from the chain on the wire without changing trust negotiation. Smooths the PQ transition and also helps CT log storage.
- What: A TLS certificate-compression scheme using a shared dictionary of known CA certificates, claiming better compression than alternatives while treating CAs and operators fairly. (from abstract only)
- How: Roots and intermediates are referenced from a shared dictionary instead of transmitted, shrinking the chain; trust decisions are unaffected.
- Where applicable: General TLS, and any system storing cert chains (e.g. CT logs). Pairs naturally with the TLS PQC drafts in Core.