linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH v2 0/3] initramfs: add support for xattrs in the initial ram disk

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Message-Id: <1557665567.10635.222.camel@linux.ibm.com>
Date:   Sun, 12 May 2019 08:52:47 -0400
From:   Mimi Zohar <zohar@...ux.ibm.com>
To:     Dominik Brodowski <linux@...inikbrodowski.net>,
        Roberto Sassu <roberto.sassu@...wei.com>
Cc:     viro@...iv.linux.org.uk, linux-security-module@...r.kernel.org,
        linux-integrity@...r.kernel.org, initramfs@...r.kernel.org,
        linux-api@...r.kernel.org, linux-fsdevel@...r.kernel.org,
        linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, zohar@...ux.vnet.ibm.com,
        silviu.vlasceanu@...wei.com, dmitry.kasatkin@...wei.com,
        takondra@...co.com, kamensky@...co.com, hpa@...or.com,
        arnd@...db.de, rob@...dley.net, james.w.mcmechan@...il.com
Subject: Re: [PATCH v2 0/3] initramfs: add support for xattrs in the initial
 ram disk

On Sun, 2019-05-12 at 11:17 +0200, Dominik Brodowski wrote:
> On Thu, May 09, 2019 at 01:24:17PM +0200, Roberto Sassu wrote:
> > This proposal consists in marshaling pathnames and xattrs in a file called
> > .xattr-list. They are unmarshaled by the CPIO parser after all files have
> > been extracted.
> 
> Couldn't this parsing of the .xattr-list file and the setting of the xattrs
> be done equivalently by the initramfs' /init? Why is kernel involvement
> actually required here?

It's too late.  The /init itself should be signed and verified.

Mimi