linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH v1.2 0/5] IMA: making i_readcount a first class inode citizen (reposting)

lists.openwall.net		lists / announce owl-users owl-dev john-users john-dev passwdqc-users yescrypt popa3d-users / oss-security kernel-hardening musl sabotage tlsify passwords / crypt-dev xvendor / Bugtraq Full-Disclosure linux-kernel linux-netdev linux-ext4 linux-hardening linux-cve-announce PHC
Open Source and information security mailing list archives

Hash Suite: Windows password security audit tool. GUI, reports in PDF.

[<prev] [next>] [<thread-prev] [thread-next>] [day] [month] [year] [list]

Date:	Sun, 21 Nov 2010 09:56:17 -0800
From:	Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>
To:	Mimi Zohar <zohar@...ux.vnet.ibm.com>
Cc:	"J. Bruce Fields" <bfields@...ldses.org>,
	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
	linux-security-module@...r.kernel.org,
	linux-fsdevel@...r.kernel.org, jmorris@...ei.org,
	akpm@...ux-foundation.org, eparis@...hat.com,
	viro@...iv.linux.org.uk, Dave Chinner <david@...morbit.com>,
	David Safford <safford@...son.ibm.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH v1.2 0/5] IMA: making i_readcount a first class inode
 citizen (reposting)

On Sun, Nov 21, 2010 at 5:18 AM, Mimi Zohar <zohar@...ux.vnet.ibm.com> wrote:
>
> IMA (and the proposed EVM/IMA-appraisal patches) detects file change
> based on i_version. When the file is closed, if the file has changed,
> IMA marks the file as needing to be re-measured. Of course this requires
> the filesystem to be mounted with iversion. Don't know if this helps.

If you only do this at close time, I see a _major_ security hole.

The attacker can just write to the file, and keep it open. Ta-daa,
everybody who reads it sees the new contents, but your IMA logic is
oblivious and thinks it doesn't need to be re-measured.

                            Linus
--
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@...r.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/