linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH 00/14] KEYS: Add support for PGP keys and signatures

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Date:   Mon, 17 Jan 2022 15:34:54 +0100
From:   "Jason A. Donenfeld" <Jason@...c4.com>
To:     Roberto Sassu <roberto.sassu@...wei.com>
Cc:     dhowells@...hat.com, dwmw2@...radead.org,
        herbert@...dor.apana.org.au, davem@...emloft.net,
        keyrings@...r.kernel.org, linux-crypto@...r.kernel.org,
        linux-integrity@...r.kernel.org, linux-fscrypt@...r.kernel.org,
        linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, zohar@...ux.ibm.com,
        ebiggers@...nel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH 00/14] KEYS: Add support for PGP keys and signatures

Hi,

While it looks like you put a lot of work into this patchset, I think
the general idea of adding PGP *to the kernel* is a pretty daunting
proposition. The general consensus in the crypto engineering world is
that PGP ought to be on its way out. We definitely don't want to
perpetuate this project-on-life-support into the permanence of kernel
code. Some quick Google searches will reveal a litany of blog posts to
the tune of, "why oh why are people still using this?" Here's one from
2019: https://latacora.micro.blog/2019/07/16/the-pgp-problem.html . I
think these are arguments to take seriously. And even if you disagree
with some parts, you may want to consider whether the remaining parts
warrant a bit of pause before adding this to the kernel and perpetuating
PGP's design further.

If you're looking for a simple signature mechanism to replace the use of
X.509 and all of that infrastructure, may I suggest just coming up with
something simple using ed25519, similar to signify or minisign? Very
minimal code in the kernel, in userspace, and very few moving parts to
break.

Jason