linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH v1.3 4/4] keys: add new key-type encrypted

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Message-ID: <27900.1289597013@redhat.com>
Date:	Fri, 12 Nov 2010 21:23:33 +0000
From:	David Howells <dhowells@...hat.com>
To:	Mimi Zohar <zohar@...ux.vnet.ibm.com>
Cc:	dhowells@...hat.com, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
	linux-security-module@...r.kernel.org, keyrings@...ux-nfs.org,
	linux-crypto@...r.kernel.org,
	Jason Gunthorpe <jgunthorpe@...idianresearch.com>,
	James Morris <jmorris@...ei.org>,
	David Safford <safford@...son.ibm.com>,
	Rajiv Andrade <srajiv@...ux.vnet.ibm.com>,
	Mimi Zohar <zohar@...ibm.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH v1.3 4/4] keys: add new key-type encrypted

Mimi Zohar <zohar@...ux.vnet.ibm.com> wrote:

> > Why do you allow the master key to be supplied by a user-defined key rather
> > than requiring a trusted-key unconditionally?
> 
> This is for systems without a TPM. The logic needs to exist, whether it
> is here or in EVM.  By doing it here, a user could provide a passphrase
> in the initramfs, which is used to decrypt the encrypted key.

I thought that might be the case.  In which case, it might be better to allow
someone to add a trusted key, supplying both encrypted and unencrypted
versions of the data so that the TPM need not be consulted.  You might want to
mark such a key so that it can be seen when it is dumped.

But if you're going to use a user-defined key, you really need to prefix the
description with something suitable.

David
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