Date:   Thu, 13 Jun 2019 23:03:24 +0000
From:   "Xing, Cedric" <cedric.xing@...el.com>
To:     Stephen Smalley <sds@...ho.nsa.gov>,
        "Christopherson, Sean J" <sean.j.christopherson@...el.com>
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Subject: RE: [RFC PATCH v1 2/3] LSM/x86/sgx: Implement SGX specific hooks in
 SELinux

> From: Stephen Smalley [mailto:sds@...ho.nsa.gov]
> Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2019 10:02 AM
> 
> On 6/11/19 6:02 PM, Sean Christopherson wrote:
> > On Tue, Jun 11, 2019 at 09:40:25AM -0400, Stephen Smalley wrote:
> >> I haven't looked at this code closely, but it feels like a lot of
> >> SGX-specific logic embedded into SELinux that will have to be
> >> repeated or reused for every security module.  Does SGX not track
> this state itself?
> >
> > SGX does track equivalent state.
> >
> > There are three proposals on the table (I think):
> >
> >    1. Require userspace to explicitly specificy (maximal) enclave page
> >       permissions at build time.  The enclave page permissions are
> provided
> >       to, and checked by, LSMs at enclave build time.
> >
> >       Pros: Low-complexity kernel implementation, straightforward
> auditing
> >       Cons: Sullies the SGX UAPI to some extent, may increase
> complexity of
> >             SGX2 enclave loaders.
> >
> >    2. Pre-check LSM permissions and dynamically track mappings to
> enclave
> >       pages, e.g. add an SGX mprotect() hook to restrict W->X and WX
> >       based on the pre-checked permissions.
> >
> >       Pros: Does not impact SGX UAPI, medium kernel complexity
> >       Cons: Auditing is complex/weird, requires taking enclave-
> specific
> >             lock during mprotect() to query/update tracking.
> >
> >    3. Implement LSM hooks in SGX to allow LSMs to track enclave
> regions
> >       from cradle to grave, but otherwise defer everything to LSMs.
> >
> >       Pros: Does not impact SGX UAPI, maximum flexibility, precise
> auditing
> >       Cons: Most complex and "heaviest" kernel implementation of the
> three,
> >             pushes more SGX details into LSMs.
> >
> > My RFC series[1] implements #1.  My understanding is that Andy
> > (Lutomirski) prefers #2.  Cedric's RFC series implements #3.
> >
> > Perhaps the easiest way to make forward progress is to rule out the
> > options we absolutely *don't* want by focusing on the potentially
> > blocking issue with each option:
> >
> >    #1 - SGX UAPI funkiness
> >
> >    #2 - Auditing complexity, potential enclave lock contention
> >
> >    #3 - Pushing SGX details into LSMs and complexity of kernel
> > implementation
> >
> >
> > [1]
> > https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20190606021145.12604-1-sean.j.christopherson
> > @intel.com
> 
> Given the complexity tradeoff, what is the clear motivating example for
> why #1 isn't the obvious choice? That the enclave loader has no way of
> knowing a priori whether the enclave will require W->X or WX?  But
> aren't we better off requiring enclaves to be explicitly marked as
> needing such so that we can make a more informed decision about whether
> to load them in the first place?

Are you asking this question at a) page granularity, b) file granularity or c) enclave (potentially comprised of multiple executable files) granularity?

#b is what we have on regular executable files and shared objects (i.e. FILE__EXECMOD). We all know how to do that.

#c is kind of new but could be done via some proxy file (e.g. sigstruct file) hence reduced to #b.

#a is problematic. It'd require compilers/linkers to generate such information, and proper executable image file format to carry that information, to be eventually picked up the loader. SELinux doesn't have PAGE__EXECMOD I guess is because it is generally considered impractical.

Option #1 however requires #a because the driver doesn't track which page was loaded from which file, otherwise it can no longer be qualified "simple". Or we could just implement #c, which will make all options simpler. But I guess #b is still preferred, to be aligned with what SELinux is enforcing today on regular memory pages.

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