linux-kernel - Re: Firmware signing -- Re: [PATCH 00/27] security, efi: Add kernel lockdown

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Date:   Tue, 14 Nov 2017 09:34:29 -0800
From:   Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>
To:     Mimi Zohar <zohar@...ux.vnet.ibm.com>
Cc:     David Howells <dhowells@...hat.com>,
        Alan Cox <gnomes@...rguk.ukuu.org.uk>,
        "Luis R. Rodriguez" <mcgrof@...nel.org>,
        "AKASHI, Takahiro" <takahiro.akashi@...aro.org>,
        Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@...uxfoundation.org>,
        Jan Blunck <jblunck@...radead.org>,
        Julia Lawall <julia.lawall@...6.fr>,
        Marcus Meissner <meissner@...e.de>, Gary Lin <GLin@...e.com>,
        LSM List <linux-security-module@...r.kernel.org>,
        linux-efi <linux-efi@...r.kernel.org>,
        Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
        Matthew Garrett <mjg59@...gle.com>
Subject: Re: Firmware signing -- Re: [PATCH 00/27] security, efi: Add kernel lockdown

On Tue, Nov 14, 2017 at 4:21 AM, Mimi Zohar <zohar@...ux.vnet.ibm.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 2017-11-13 at 14:09 -0800, Linus Torvalds wrote:
>>
>> Seriously, if you have firmware in /lib/firmware, and you don't trust
>> it, what the hell are you doing?
>
> I might "trust" the files in /lib/firmware, but I also want to make
> sure that they haven't changed.  File signatures provide file
> provenance and integrity guarantees.

Sure. But that has absolutely nothing to do with "firmware".

It is equally true of /usr/bin/* and pretty much everything in the system.

It's this insane "firmware is special" that I disagree with. It's not
special at all.

                Linus