diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/security')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/security/00-INDEX | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/security/IMA-templates.txt | 87 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/security/keys.txt | 20 |
3 files changed, 100 insertions, 9 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/security/00-INDEX b/Documentation/security/00-INDEX index 414235c1fcfc..45c82fd3e9d3 100644 --- a/Documentation/security/00-INDEX +++ b/Documentation/security/00-INDEX @@ -22,3 +22,5 @@ keys.txt - description of the kernel key retention service. tomoyo.txt - documentation on the TOMOYO Linux Security Module. +IMA-templates.txt + - documentation on the template management mechanism for IMA. diff --git a/Documentation/security/IMA-templates.txt b/Documentation/security/IMA-templates.txt new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..a777e5f1df5b --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/security/IMA-templates.txt @@ -0,0 +1,87 @@ + IMA Template Management Mechanism + + +==== INTRODUCTION ==== + +The original 'ima' template is fixed length, containing the filedata hash +and pathname. The filedata hash is limited to 20 bytes (md5/sha1). +The pathname is a null terminated string, limited to 255 characters. +To overcome these limitations and to add additional file metadata, it is +necessary to extend the current version of IMA by defining additional +templates. For example, information that could be possibly reported are +the inode UID/GID or the LSM labels either of the inode and of the process +that is accessing it. + +However, the main problem to introduce this feature is that, each time +a new template is defined, the functions that generate and display +the measurements list would include the code for handling a new format +and, thus, would significantly grow over the time. + +The proposed solution solves this problem by separating the template +management from the remaining IMA code. The core of this solution is the +definition of two new data structures: a template descriptor, to determine +which information should be included in the measurement list; a template +field, to generate and display data of a given type. + +Managing templates with these structures is very simple. To support +a new data type, developers define the field identifier and implement +two functions, init() and show(), respectively to generate and display +measurement entries. Defining a new template descriptor requires +specifying the template format, a string of field identifiers separated +by the '|' character. While in the current implementation it is possible +to define new template descriptors only by adding their definition in the +template specific code (ima_template.c), in a future version it will be +possible to register a new template on a running kernel by supplying to IMA +the desired format string. In this version, IMA initializes at boot time +all defined template descriptors by translating the format into an array +of template fields structures taken from the set of the supported ones. + +After the initialization step, IMA will call ima_alloc_init_template() +(new function defined within the patches for the new template management +mechanism) to generate a new measurement entry by using the template +descriptor chosen through the kernel configuration or through the newly +introduced 'ima_template=' kernel command line parameter. It is during this +phase that the advantages of the new architecture are clearly shown: +the latter function will not contain specific code to handle a given template +but, instead, it simply calls the init() method of the template fields +associated to the chosen template descriptor and store the result (pointer +to allocated data and data length) in the measurement entry structure. + +The same mechanism is employed to display measurements entries. +The functions ima[_ascii]_measurements_show() retrieve, for each entry, +the template descriptor used to produce that entry and call the show() +method for each item of the array of template fields structures. + + + +==== SUPPORTED TEMPLATE FIELDS AND DESCRIPTORS ==== + +In the following, there is the list of supported template fields +('<identifier>': description), that can be used to define new template +descriptors by adding their identifier to the format string +(support for more data types will be added later): + + - 'd': the digest of the event (i.e. the digest of a measured file), + calculated with the SHA1 or MD5 hash algorithm; + - 'n': the name of the event (i.e. the file name), with size up to 255 bytes; + - 'd-ng': the digest of the event, calculated with an arbitrary hash + algorithm (field format: [<hash algo>:]digest, where the digest + prefix is shown only if the hash algorithm is not SHA1 or MD5); + - 'n-ng': the name of the event, without size limitations. + + +Below, there is the list of defined template descriptors: + - "ima": its format is 'd|n'; + - "ima-ng" (default): its format is 'd-ng|n-ng'. + + + +==== USE ==== + +To specify the template descriptor to be used to generate measurement entries, +currently the following methods are supported: + + - select a template descriptor among those supported in the kernel + configuration ('ima-ng' is the default choice); + - specify a template descriptor name from the kernel command line through + the 'ima_template=' parameter. diff --git a/Documentation/security/keys.txt b/Documentation/security/keys.txt index 7b4145d00452..a4c33f1a7c6d 100644 --- a/Documentation/security/keys.txt +++ b/Documentation/security/keys.txt @@ -865,15 +865,14 @@ encountered: calling processes has a searchable link to the key from one of its keyrings. There are three functions for dealing with these: - key_ref_t make_key_ref(const struct key *key, - unsigned long possession); + key_ref_t make_key_ref(const struct key *key, bool possession); struct key *key_ref_to_ptr(const key_ref_t key_ref); - unsigned long is_key_possessed(const key_ref_t key_ref); + bool is_key_possessed(const key_ref_t key_ref); The first function constructs a key reference from a key pointer and - possession information (which must be 0 or 1 and not any other value). + possession information (which must be true or false). The second function retrieves the key pointer from a reference and the third retrieves the possession flag. @@ -961,14 +960,17 @@ payload contents" for more information. the argument will not be parsed. -(*) Extra references can be made to a key by calling the following function: +(*) Extra references can be made to a key by calling one of the following + functions: + struct key *__key_get(struct key *key); struct key *key_get(struct key *key); - These need to be disposed of by calling key_put() when they've been - finished with. The key pointer passed in will be returned. If the pointer - is NULL or CONFIG_KEYS is not set then the key will not be dereferenced and - no increment will take place. + Keys so references will need to be disposed of by calling key_put() when + they've been finished with. The key pointer passed in will be returned. + + In the case of key_get(), if the pointer is NULL or CONFIG_KEYS is not set + then the key will not be dereferenced and no increment will take place. (*) A key's serial number can be obtained by calling: |