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Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2012 13:46:47 +0100
From: Florian Weimer <fweimer@...hat.com>
To: "oss-security@...ts.openwall.com" <oss-security@...ts.openwall.com>
Subject: Plug-and-wipe and Secure Boot semantics
Some UEFI machines seem to boot from USB by default, without any
prompting, probably assuming that a signed boot loader cannot cause any
damage. Most signed Linux boot loaders only verify the kernel (and,
indirectly, code that's loaded into the kernel), but not the initrd
contents. (This isn't possible because initrds are system-specific and
thus cannot be signed in general. Recovery images signed by system
manufactures likely have similar issues.) As a result, the signed
loader might start something that wipes the hard disk or uploads its
contents somewhere
I'm wondering if this is a problem. I haven't investigated boot order
defaults for legacy systems, so I don't know if this plug-and-wipe issue
is a regression. In the end, this boils down to what Secure Boot means,
semantically.
--
Florian Weimer / Red Hat Product Security Team
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