Re: [PATCH] LSM: Allow syzbot to ignore security= parameter.
From: Casey Schaufler <casey@schaufler-ca.com>
Date: 2019-02-07 16:24:36
Also in:
lkml, selinux
On 2/6/2019 6:30 PM, Tetsuo Handa wrote:
Casey Schaufler wrote:quoted
On 2/6/2019 2:23 AM, Tetsuo Handa wrote:quoted
But as I update the documentation ( https://tomoyo.osdn.jp/2.6/chapter-3.html.en#3.6 ), I came to think that we should ignore security= parameter when lsm= parameter is specified. Currently, it is possible to enable TOMOYO and only one of SELinux/Smack/AppArmor. Therefore, it is possible to disable only TOMOYO by specifying security=selinux when we want to enable only SELinux, by specifying security=smack when we want to enable only Smack, by specifying security=apparmor when we want to enable only AppArmor. That is, we can use security= parameter in order to specify the other LSM module which should not be disabled. But when it becomes possible to enable TOMOYO and more than one of SELinux/Smack/AppArmor, we will no longer be able to selectively disable one LSM module using security= parameter, for security= parameter is intended for specifying only one LSM module which should be enabled. That is, we will need to use lsm= parameter in order to selectively disable LSM modules.Yes. That is correct. The existing behavior of security= is maintained.But the existing behavior of CONFIG_DEFAULT_SECURITY is not maintained.
That's a developer interface, not a user interface. I realize that may be splitting hairs, but it had to change.
This might cause a problem like
commit e5a3b95f581da62e2054ef79d3be2d383e9ed664
Author: Tetsuo Handa [off-list ref]
Date: Sat Feb 14 11:46:56 2009 +0900
TOMOYO: Don't create securityfs entries unless registered.
TOMOYO should not create /sys/kernel/security/tomoyo/ interface unless
TOMOYO is registered.
for Ubuntu users because Ubuntu kernels are built with
CONFIG_SECURITY_SELINUX=y
CONFIG_SECURITY_SMACK=y
CONFIG_SECURITY_TOMOYO=y
CONFIG_SECURITY_APPARMOR=y
CONFIG_SECURITY_YAMA=y
CONFIG_DEFAULT_SECURITY="apparmor"
. Due to CONFIG_DEFAULT_SECURITY="apparmor", majority of Ubuntu users are enabling
only AppArmor without explicitly specifying "security=apparmor".
Currently default CONFIG_LSM setting is
"yama,loadpin,safesetid,integrity,selinux,smack,tomoyo,apparmor"
but Ubuntu kernels would have to be built with non-default CONFIG_LSM setting like
"yama,loadpin,safesetid,integrity,apparmor,selinux,smack,tomoyo"
in order to make sure that AppArmor is by default chosen for the LSM_FLAG_EXCLUSIVE module.Yes, and Yocto Project is likely to want Smack specified first.
Now that TOMOYO becomes a !LSM_FLAG_EXCLUSIVE module, not specifying "security=apparmor" will automatically enable TOMOYO. And majority of Ubuntu users will unexpectedly encounter TOMOYO messages. But removing "tomoyo" from CONFIG_LSM setting in order to save majority of Ubuntu users from unexpectedly encountering TOMOYO messages also has a problem; Ubuntu users who want to enable only TOMOYO from LSM_FLAG_LEGACY_MAJOR modules can specify "security=tomoyo", but Ubuntu users who want to enable TOMOYO and one of SELinux,Smack,AppArmor (including syzbot) will have to explicitly specify "lsm=" because "security=" can't allow enabling multiple LSM_FLAG_LEGACY_MAJOR modules.
I believe we got general buy in from Ubuntu, and I understand that the LSM list is awkward, but I don't see a rational alternate. I know that I played with a half dozen, and nothing was closer to maintaining the status quo.
quoted
The new behavior of lsm= is provided to allow general handling of a list of security modules. It uses the same form of data as CONFIG_LSM.quoted
Then, I think that it is straightforward (and easier to manage) to ignore security= parameter when lsm= parameter is specified.That reduces flexibility somewhat. If I am debugging security modules I may want to use lsm= to specify the order while using security= to identify a specific exclusive module. I could do that using lsm= by itself, but habits die hard."lsm=" can be used for identifying a specific exclusive module, and Ubuntu kernels would have to use CONFIG_LSM (or "lsm=") for identifying the default exclusive module (in order to allow enabling both TOMOYO and one of SELinux,Smack,AppArmor at the same time). Since "security=" can't be used for selectively enable/disable more than one of SELinux,Smack,TOMOYO,AppArmor, I think that recommending users to migrate to "lsm=" is the better direction. And ignoring "security=" when "lsm=" is specified is easier to understand.
I added Kees to the CC list. Kees, what to you think about ignoring security= if lsm= is specified? I'm ambivalent.