RFC 6962 section 3.5 clarification

[Graham Edgecombe]

Hi,

Section 3.5 of the RFC 6962 says:

"timestamp" is the current time. The timestamp MUST be at least as
recent as the most recent SCT timestamp in the tree. Each subsequent
timestamp MUST be more recent than the timestamp of the previous
update.

It's not immediately clear to me whether the last sentence means:

(1) The timestamp of future STHs must be more recent than the timestamp
of the current STH.

(2) The timestamp of timestamped_entries with an entry id greater than
or equal to the current STH's tree size must be more recent than the
timestamp of the current STH.

In short I'm not sure if "subsequent timestamp" refers to subsequent STH
timestamps or subsequent timestamped_entry timestamps.

I think it means (1), but is anybody able to confirm?

Thanks,

Graham

[Ben Laurie]

Yes, it means 1. For sure, it is possible to get earlier timestamps in
future entries. BTW, if you're interested in nit-picking the RFC, you
might like to take a look at 6962-bis.