linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] x86/efi: pull NV+BS variables out before we exit boot services

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:	Tue, 19 Mar 2013 17:17:27 +0000
From:	James Bottomley <James.Bottomley@...senPartnership.com>
To:	Matthew Garrett <mjg59@...f.ucam.org>
Cc:	linux-efi@...r.kernel.org,
	linux-kernel <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] x86/efi: pull NV+BS variables out before we exit boot
 services

On Tue, 2013-03-19 at 16:35 +0000, Matthew Garrett wrote:
> On Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 08:14:45AM +0000, James Bottomley wrote:
> 
> > Any security assumptions that rely on inability to read certain
> > information aren't really going to be that secure.  Inability to modify,
> > sure, but inability to read, not really.
> 
> Well, I guess that's public/private key cryptography screwed.

Well, OK, it's ex-BIOS writers we're dealing with, so I won't say no-one
would be stupid enough to come up with a security scheme embedding
Private Keys in BS+NV variables, but I would have thought the fact that
Linux would blow the lid off it might be a good incentive not to do it
and thus a plus point for this patch.

James


--
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/