Attacks against vulnerable userspace applications with the purpose to break
ASLR or bypass canaries traditionally use some level of brute force with
the help of the fork system call. This is possible since when creating a
new process using fork its memory contents are the same as those of the
parent process (the process that called the fork system call). So, the
attacker can test the memory infinite times to find the correct memory
values or the correct memory addresses without worrying about crashing the
application.
Based on the above scenario it would be nice to have this detected and
mitigated, and this is the goal of this patch serie. Specifically the
following attacks are expected to be detected:
1.- Launching (fork()/exec()) a setuid/setgid process repeatedly until a
desirable memory layout is got (e.g. Stack Clash).
2.- Connecting to an exec()ing network daemon (e.g. xinetd) repeatedly
until a desirable memory layout is got (e.g. what CTFs do for simple
network service).
3.- Launching processes without exec() (e.g. Android Zygote) and exposing
state to attack a sibling.
4.- Connecting to a fork()ing network daemon (e.g. apache) repeatedly until
the previously shared memory layout of all the other children is
exposed (e.g. kind of related to HeartBleed).
In each case, a privilege boundary has been crossed:
Case 1: setuid/setgid process
Case 2: network to local
Case 3: privilege changes
Case 4: network to local
So, what will really be detected are fork/exec brute force attacks that
cross any of the commented bounds.
The implementation details and comparison against other existing
implementations can be found in the "Documentation" patch.
It is important to mention that the v8 and v7 versions have changed the
method used to track the information related to the application crashes.
Prior this versions, a pointer per process (in the task_struct structure)
held a reference to the shared statistical data. Or in other words, these
stats were shared by all the fork hierarchy processes. But this has an
important drawback: a brute force attack that happens through the execve
system call losts the faults info since these statistics are freed when the
fork hierarchy disappears. So, the solution adopted in the v6 version was
to use an upper fork hierarchy to track the info for this attack type. But,
as Valdis Kletnieks pointed out during this discussion [1], this method can
be easily bypassed using a double exec (well, this was the method used in
the kselftest to avoid the detection ;) ). So, in this version, to track
all the statistical data (info related with application crashes), the
extended attributes feature for the executable files are used. The xattr is
also used to mark the executables as "not allowed" when an attack is
detected. Then, the execve system call rely on this flag to avoid following
executions of this file.
[1] https://lore.kernel.org/kernelnewbies/20210330173459.GA3163@ubuntu/
Moreover, I think this solves another problem pointed out by Andi Kleen
during the v5 review [2] related to the possibility that a supervisor
respawns processes killed by the Brute LSM. He suggested adding some way so
a supervisor can know that a process has been killed by Brute and then
decide to respawn or not. So, now, the supervisor can read the brute xattr
of one executable and know if it is blocked by Brute and why (using the
statistical data).
[2] https://lore.kernel.org/kernel-hardening/[email protected]/
Although the xattr of the executable is accessible from userspace, in
complex daemons this file may not be visible directly by the supervisor as
it may be run through some wrapper. So, an extension to the waitid() system
call has been added in this version. This was suggested by Andi Kleen [3]
during the v7 review. (The case with supervisors using cgroups is not yet
tested).
[3] https://lore.kernel.org/kernel-hardening/[email protected]/
Knowing all this information I will explain now the different patches:
The 1/8 patch defines a new LSM hook to get the fatal signal of a task.
This will be useful during the attack detection phase.
The 2/8 patch defines a new LSM and the necessary sysctl attributes to fine
tuning the attack detection.
The 3/8 patch detects a fork/exec brute force attack and narrows the
possible cases taken into account the privilege boundary crossing.
The 4/8 patch mitigates a brute force attack.
The 5/8 patch adds the extension to the waitid system call to notify to
userspace that a task has been killed by Brute LSM when an attack is
mitigated.
The 6/8 patch adds self-tests to validate the Brute LSM expectations.
The 7/8 patch adds the documentation to explain this implementation.
The 8/8 patch updates the maintainers file.
This patch serie is a task of the KSPP [4] and can also be accessed from my
github tree [5] in the "brute_v8" branch.
[4] https://github.com/KSPP/linux/issues/39
[5] https://github.com/johwood/linux/
When I ran the "checkpatch" script I got the following errors, but I think
they are false positives as I follow the same coding style for the others
extended attributes suffixes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
../patches/brute_v8/v8-0003-security-brute-Detect-a-brute-force-attack.patch
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ERROR: Macros with complex values should be enclosed in parentheses
89: FILE: include/uapi/linux/xattr.h:80:
+#define XATTR_NAME_BRUTE XATTR_SECURITY_PREFIX XATTR_BRUTE_SUFFIX
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
../patches/brute_v8/v8-0006-selftests-brute-Add-tests-for-the-Brute-LSM.patch
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ERROR: Macros with complex values should be enclosed in parentheses
159: FILE: tools/testing/selftests/brute/rmxattr.c:18:
+#define XATTR_NAME_BRUTE XATTR_SECURITY_PREFIX XATTR_BRUTE_SUFFIX
When I ran the "kernel-doc" script with the following parameters:
./scripts/kernel-doc --none -v security/brute/brute.c
I got the following warning:
security/brute/brute.c:118: warning: contents before sections
But I don't understand why it is complaining. Could it be a false positive?
The previous versions can be found in:
RFC
https://lore.kernel.org/kernel-hardening/[email protected]/
Version 2
https://lore.kernel.org/kernel-hardening/[email protected]/
Version 3
https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/[email protected]/
Version 4
https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/[email protected]/
Version 5
https://lore.kernel.org/kernel-hardening/[email protected]/
Version 6
https://lore.kernel.org/kernel-hardening/[email protected]/
Version 7
https://lore.kernel.org/kernel-hardening/[email protected]/
Changelog RFC -> v2
-------------------
- Rename this feature with a more suitable name (Jann Horn, Kees Cook).
- Convert the code to an LSM (Kees Cook).
- Add locking to avoid data races (Jann Horn).
- Add a new LSM hook to get the fatal signal of a task (Jann Horn, Kees
Cook).
- Add the last crashes timestamps list to avoid false positives in the
attack detection (Jann Horn).
- Use "period" instead of "rate" (Jann Horn).
- Other minor changes suggested (Jann Horn, Kees Cook).
Changelog v2 -> v3
------------------
- Compute the application crash period on an on-going basis (Kees Cook).
- Detect a brute force attack through the execve system call (Kees Cook).
- Detect an slow brute force attack (Randy Dunlap).
- Fine tuning the detection taken into account privilege boundary crossing
(Kees Cook).
- Taken into account only fatal signals delivered by the kernel (Kees
Cook).
- Remove the sysctl attributes to fine tuning the detection (Kees Cook).
- Remove the prctls to allow per process enabling/disabling (Kees Cook).
- Improve the documentation (Kees Cook).
- Fix some typos in the documentation (Randy Dunlap).
- Add self-test to validate the expectations (Kees Cook).
Changelog v3 -> v4
------------------
- Fix all the warnings shown by the tool "scripts/kernel-doc" (Randy
Dunlap).
Changelog v4 -> v5
------------------
- Fix some typos (Randy Dunlap).
Changelog v5 -> v6
------------------
- Fix a reported deadlock (kernel test robot).
- Add high level details to the documentation (Andi Kleen).
Changelog v6 -> v7
------------------
- Add the "Reviewed-by:" tag to the first patch.
- Rearrange the brute LSM between lockdown and yama (Kees Cook).
- Split subdir and obj in security/Makefile (Kees Cook).
- Reduce the number of header files included (Kees Cook).
- Print the pid when an attack is detected (Kees Cook).
- Use the socket_accept LSM hook instead of socket_sock_rcv_skb hook to
avoid running a hook on every incoming network packet (Kees Cook).
- Update the documentation and fix it to render it properly (Jonathan
Corbet).
- Manage correctly an exec brute force attack avoiding the bypass (Valdis
Kletnieks).
- Other minor changes and cleanups.
Changelog v7 -> v8
------------------
- Rebase against v5.13-rc4.
- Fix a build error if CONFIG_IPV6 and/or CONFIG_SECURITY_NETWORK is not
set (kernel test robot).
- Notify to userspace that a task has been killed by Brute LSM (Andi
Kleen).
- Add a new test to verify that the userspace notification is working.
- Update the documentation accordingly with this new feature.
- Other minor changes and cleanups.
Any constructive comments are welcome.
Thanks in advance.
John Wood (8):
security: Add LSM hook at the point where a task gets a fatal signal
security/brute: Define a LSM and add sysctl attributes
security/brute: Detect a brute force attack
security/brute: Mitigate a brute force attack
security/brute: Notify to userspace "task killed"
selftests/brute: Add tests for the Brute LSM
Documentation: Add documentation for the Brute LSM
MAINTAINERS: Add a new entry for the Brute LSM
Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/Brute.rst | 359 ++++++++++
Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/index.rst | 1 +
MAINTAINERS | 8 +
arch/x86/kernel/signal_compat.c | 2 +-
include/brute/brute.h | 16 +
include/linux/lsm_hook_defs.h | 1 +
include/linux/lsm_hooks.h | 4 +
include/linux/security.h | 4 +
include/uapi/asm-generic/siginfo.h | 3 +-
include/uapi/linux/xattr.h | 3 +
kernel/exit.c | 6 +-
kernel/signal.c | 5 +-
security/Kconfig | 11 +-
security/Makefile | 2 +
security/brute/Kconfig | 15 +
security/brute/Makefile | 2 +
security/brute/brute.c | 795 +++++++++++++++++++++++
security/security.c | 5 +
tools/testing/selftests/Makefile | 1 +
tools/testing/selftests/brute/.gitignore | 3 +
tools/testing/selftests/brute/Makefile | 5 +
tools/testing/selftests/brute/config | 1 +
tools/testing/selftests/brute/exec.c | 46 ++
tools/testing/selftests/brute/rmxattr.c | 34 +
tools/testing/selftests/brute/test.c | 507 +++++++++++++++
tools/testing/selftests/brute/test.sh | 269 ++++++++
26 files changed, 2099 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
create mode 100644 Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/Brute.rst
create mode 100644 include/brute/brute.h
create mode 100644 security/brute/Kconfig
create mode 100644 security/brute/Makefile
create mode 100644 security/brute/brute.c
create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/brute/.gitignore
create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/brute/Makefile
create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/brute/config
create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/brute/exec.c
create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/brute/rmxattr.c
create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/brute/test.c
create mode 100755 tools/testing/selftests/brute/test.sh
--
2.25.1
Add a security hook that allows a LSM to be notified when a task gets a
fatal signal. This patch is a previous step on the way to compute the
task crash period by the "brute" LSM (linux security module to detect
and mitigate fork brute force attack against vulnerable userspace
processes).
Signed-off-by: John Wood <[email protected]>
Reviewed-by: Kees Cook <[email protected]>
---
include/linux/lsm_hook_defs.h | 1 +
include/linux/lsm_hooks.h | 4 ++++
include/linux/security.h | 4 ++++
kernel/signal.c | 1 +
security/security.c | 5 +++++
5 files changed, 15 insertions(+)
diff --git a/include/linux/lsm_hook_defs.h b/include/linux/lsm_hook_defs.h
index 04c01794de83..e28468e84300 100644
--- a/include/linux/lsm_hook_defs.h
+++ b/include/linux/lsm_hook_defs.h
@@ -225,6 +225,7 @@ LSM_HOOK(int, -ENOSYS, task_prctl, int option, unsigned long arg2,
unsigned long arg3, unsigned long arg4, unsigned long arg5)
LSM_HOOK(void, LSM_RET_VOID, task_to_inode, struct task_struct *p,
struct inode *inode)
+LSM_HOOK(void, LSM_RET_VOID, task_fatal_signal, const kernel_siginfo_t *siginfo)
LSM_HOOK(int, 0, ipc_permission, struct kern_ipc_perm *ipcp, short flag)
LSM_HOOK(void, LSM_RET_VOID, ipc_getsecid, struct kern_ipc_perm *ipcp,
u32 *secid)
diff --git a/include/linux/lsm_hooks.h b/include/linux/lsm_hooks.h
index 5c4c5c0602cb..fc8bef0f15d9 100644
--- a/include/linux/lsm_hooks.h
+++ b/include/linux/lsm_hooks.h
@@ -799,6 +799,10 @@
* security attributes, e.g. for /proc/pid inodes.
* @p contains the task_struct for the task.
* @inode contains the inode structure for the inode.
+ * @task_fatal_signal:
+ * This hook allows security modules to be notified when a task gets a
+ * fatal signal.
+ * @siginfo contains the signal information.
*
* Security hooks for Netlink messaging.
*
diff --git a/include/linux/security.h b/include/linux/security.h
index 06f7c50ce77f..609c76c6c764 100644
--- a/include/linux/security.h
+++ b/include/linux/security.h
@@ -433,6 +433,7 @@ int security_task_kill(struct task_struct *p, struct kernel_siginfo *info,
int security_task_prctl(int option, unsigned long arg2, unsigned long arg3,
unsigned long arg4, unsigned long arg5);
void security_task_to_inode(struct task_struct *p, struct inode *inode);
+void security_task_fatal_signal(const kernel_siginfo_t *siginfo);
int security_ipc_permission(struct kern_ipc_perm *ipcp, short flag);
void security_ipc_getsecid(struct kern_ipc_perm *ipcp, u32 *secid);
int security_msg_msg_alloc(struct msg_msg *msg);
@@ -1183,6 +1184,9 @@ static inline int security_task_prctl(int option, unsigned long arg2,
static inline void security_task_to_inode(struct task_struct *p, struct inode *inode)
{ }
+static inline void security_task_fatal_signal(const kernel_siginfo_t *siginfo)
+{ }
+
static inline int security_ipc_permission(struct kern_ipc_perm *ipcp,
short flag)
{
diff --git a/kernel/signal.c b/kernel/signal.c
index f7c6ffcbd044..4380763b3d8d 100644
--- a/kernel/signal.c
+++ b/kernel/signal.c
@@ -2804,6 +2804,7 @@ bool get_signal(struct ksignal *ksig)
/*
* Anything else is fatal, maybe with a core dump.
*/
+ security_task_fatal_signal(&ksig->info);
current->flags |= PF_SIGNALED;
if (sig_kernel_coredump(signr)) {
diff --git a/security/security.c b/security/security.c
index b38155b2de83..208e3e7d4284 100644
--- a/security/security.c
+++ b/security/security.c
@@ -1891,6 +1891,11 @@ void security_task_to_inode(struct task_struct *p, struct inode *inode)
call_void_hook(task_to_inode, p, inode);
}
+void security_task_fatal_signal(const kernel_siginfo_t *siginfo)
+{
+ call_void_hook(task_fatal_signal, siginfo);
+}
+
int security_ipc_permission(struct kern_ipc_perm *ipcp, short flag)
{
return call_int_hook(ipc_permission, 0, ipcp, flag);
--
2.25.1
Add a new Kconfig file to define a menu entry under "Security options"
to enable the "Fork brute force attack detection and mitigation"
feature.
The detection of a brute force attack can be based on the number of
faults per application and its crash rate.
There are two types of brute force attacks that can be detected. The
first one is a slow brute force attack that is detected if the maximum
number of faults per fork hierarchy is reached. The second type is a
fast brute force attack that is detected if the application crash period
falls below a certain threshold.
The application crash period must be a value that is not prone to change
due to spurious data and follows the real crash period. So, to compute
it, the exponential moving average (EMA) will be used.
This kind of average defines a weight (between 0 and 1) for the new
value to add and applies the remainder of the weight to the current
average value. This way, some spurious data will not excessively modify
the average and only if the new values are persistent, the moving
average will tend towards them.
Mathematically the application crash period's EMA can be expressed as
follows:
period_ema = period * weight + period_ema * (1 - weight)
Moreover, it is important to note that a minimum number of faults is
needed to guarantee a trend in the crash period when the EMA is used.
So, based on all the previous information define a LSM with five sysctl
attributes that will be used to fine tune the attack detection.
ema_weight_numerator
ema_weight_denominator
max_faults
min_faults
crash_period_threshold
This patch is a previous step on the way to fine tune the attack
detection.
Signed-off-by: John Wood <[email protected]>
---
security/Kconfig | 11 +--
security/Makefile | 2 +
security/brute/Kconfig | 14 ++++
security/brute/Makefile | 2 +
security/brute/brute.c | 147 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
5 files changed, 171 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)
create mode 100644 security/brute/Kconfig
create mode 100644 security/brute/Makefile
create mode 100644 security/brute/brute.c
diff --git a/security/Kconfig b/security/Kconfig
index 0ced7fd33e4d..2df1727f2c2c 100644
--- a/security/Kconfig
+++ b/security/Kconfig
@@ -241,6 +241,7 @@ source "security/lockdown/Kconfig"
source "security/landlock/Kconfig"
source "security/integrity/Kconfig"
+source "security/brute/Kconfig"
choice
prompt "First legacy 'major LSM' to be initialized"
@@ -278,11 +279,11 @@ endchoice
config LSM
string "Ordered list of enabled LSMs"
- default "landlock,lockdown,yama,loadpin,safesetid,integrity,smack,selinux,tomoyo,apparmor,bpf" if DEFAULT_SECURITY_SMACK
- default "landlock,lockdown,yama,loadpin,safesetid,integrity,apparmor,selinux,smack,tomoyo,bpf" if DEFAULT_SECURITY_APPARMOR
- default "landlock,lockdown,yama,loadpin,safesetid,integrity,tomoyo,bpf" if DEFAULT_SECURITY_TOMOYO
- default "landlock,lockdown,yama,loadpin,safesetid,integrity,bpf" if DEFAULT_SECURITY_DAC
- default "landlock,lockdown,yama,loadpin,safesetid,integrity,selinux,smack,tomoyo,apparmor,bpf"
+ default "landlock,lockdown,brute,yama,loadpin,safesetid,integrity,smack,selinux,tomoyo,apparmor,bpf" if DEFAULT_SECURITY_SMACK
+ default "landlock,lockdown,brute,yama,loadpin,safesetid,integrity,apparmor,selinux,smack,tomoyo,bpf" if DEFAULT_SECURITY_APPARMOR
+ default "landlock,lockdown,brute,yama,loadpin,safesetid,integrity,tomoyo,bpf" if DEFAULT_SECURITY_TOMOYO
+ default "landlock,lockdown,brute,yama,loadpin,safesetid,integrity,bpf" if DEFAULT_SECURITY_DAC
+ default "landlock,lockdown,brute,yama,loadpin,safesetid,integrity,selinux,smack,tomoyo,apparmor,bpf"
help
A comma-separated list of LSMs, in initialization order.
Any LSMs left off this list will be ignored. This can be
diff --git a/security/Makefile b/security/Makefile
index 47e432900e24..94d325256413 100644
--- a/security/Makefile
+++ b/security/Makefile
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ subdir-$(CONFIG_SECURITY_SAFESETID) += safesetid
subdir-$(CONFIG_SECURITY_LOCKDOWN_LSM) += lockdown
subdir-$(CONFIG_BPF_LSM) += bpf
subdir-$(CONFIG_SECURITY_LANDLOCK) += landlock
+subdir-$(CONFIG_SECURITY_FORK_BRUTE) += brute
# always enable default capabilities
obj-y += commoncap.o
@@ -34,6 +35,7 @@ obj-$(CONFIG_SECURITY_LOCKDOWN_LSM) += lockdown/
obj-$(CONFIG_CGROUPS) += device_cgroup.o
obj-$(CONFIG_BPF_LSM) += bpf/
obj-$(CONFIG_SECURITY_LANDLOCK) += landlock/
+obj-$(CONFIG_SECURITY_FORK_BRUTE) += brute/
# Object integrity file lists
subdir-$(CONFIG_INTEGRITY) += integrity
diff --git a/security/brute/Kconfig b/security/brute/Kconfig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..5da314d221aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/security/brute/Kconfig
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+config SECURITY_FORK_BRUTE
+ bool "Fork brute force attack detection and mitigation"
+ depends on SECURITY
+ help
+ This is an LSM that stops any fork brute force attack against
+ vulnerable userspace processes. The detection method is based on
+ the application crash period and as a mitigation procedure all the
+ offending tasks are killed. Also, the executable file involved in the
+ attack will be marked as "not allowed" and new execve system calls
+ using this file will fail. Like capabilities, this security module
+ stacks with other LSMs.
+
+ If you are unsure how to answer this question, answer N.
diff --git a/security/brute/Makefile b/security/brute/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..d3f233a132a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/security/brute/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+obj-$(CONFIG_SECURITY_FORK_BRUTE) += brute.o
diff --git a/security/brute/brute.c b/security/brute/brute.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..0edb89a58ab0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/security/brute/brute.c
@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+#define pr_fmt(fmt) KBUILD_MODNAME ": " fmt
+
+#include <linux/lsm_hooks.h>
+#include <linux/sysctl.h>
+
+/**
+ * DOC: brute_ema_weight_numerator
+ *
+ * Weight's numerator of EMA.
+ */
+static unsigned int brute_ema_weight_numerator __read_mostly = 7;
+
+/**
+ * DOC: brute_ema_weight_denominator
+ *
+ * Weight's denominator of EMA.
+ */
+static unsigned int brute_ema_weight_denominator __read_mostly = 10;
+
+/**
+ * DOC: brute_max_faults
+ *
+ * Maximum number of faults.
+ *
+ * If a brute force attack is running slowly for a long time, the application
+ * crash period's EMA is not suitable for the detection. This type of attack
+ * must be detected using a maximum number of faults.
+ */
+static unsigned int brute_max_faults __read_mostly = 200;
+
+/**
+ * DOC: brute_min_faults
+ *
+ * Minimum number of faults.
+ *
+ * The application crash period's EMA cannot be used until a minimum number of
+ * data has been applied to it. This constraint allows getting a trend when this
+ * moving average is used.
+ */
+static unsigned int brute_min_faults __read_mostly = 5;
+
+/**
+ * DOC: brute_crash_period_threshold
+ *
+ * Application crash period threshold.
+ *
+ * A fast brute force attack is detected when the application crash period falls
+ * below this threshold. The units are expressed in seconds.
+ */
+static unsigned int brute_crash_period_threshold __read_mostly = 30;
+
+#ifdef CONFIG_SYSCTL
+static unsigned int uint_max = UINT_MAX;
+#define SYSCTL_UINT_MAX (&uint_max)
+
+/*
+ * brute_sysctl_path - Sysctl attributes path.
+ */
+static struct ctl_path brute_sysctl_path[] = {
+ { .procname = "kernel", },
+ { .procname = "brute", },
+ { }
+};
+
+/*
+ * brute_sysctl_table - Sysctl attributes.
+ */
+static struct ctl_table brute_sysctl_table[] = {
+ {
+ .procname = "ema_weight_numerator",
+ .data = &brute_ema_weight_numerator,
+ .maxlen = sizeof(brute_ema_weight_numerator),
+ .mode = 0644,
+ .proc_handler = proc_douintvec_minmax,
+ .extra1 = SYSCTL_ZERO,
+ .extra2 = &brute_ema_weight_denominator,
+ },
+ {
+ .procname = "ema_weight_denominator",
+ .data = &brute_ema_weight_denominator,
+ .maxlen = sizeof(brute_ema_weight_denominator),
+ .mode = 0644,
+ .proc_handler = proc_douintvec_minmax,
+ .extra1 = &brute_ema_weight_numerator,
+ .extra2 = SYSCTL_UINT_MAX,
+ },
+ {
+ .procname = "max_faults",
+ .data = &brute_max_faults,
+ .maxlen = sizeof(brute_max_faults),
+ .mode = 0644,
+ .proc_handler = proc_douintvec_minmax,
+ .extra1 = &brute_min_faults,
+ .extra2 = SYSCTL_UINT_MAX,
+ },
+ {
+ .procname = "min_faults",
+ .data = &brute_min_faults,
+ .maxlen = sizeof(brute_min_faults),
+ .mode = 0644,
+ .proc_handler = proc_douintvec_minmax,
+ .extra1 = SYSCTL_ONE,
+ .extra2 = &brute_max_faults,
+ },
+ {
+ .procname = "crash_period_threshold",
+ .data = &brute_crash_period_threshold,
+ .maxlen = sizeof(brute_crash_period_threshold),
+ .mode = 0644,
+ .proc_handler = proc_douintvec_minmax,
+ .extra1 = SYSCTL_ONE,
+ .extra2 = SYSCTL_UINT_MAX,
+ },
+ { }
+};
+
+/**
+ * brute_init_sysctl() - Initialize the sysctl interface.
+ */
+static void __init brute_init_sysctl(void)
+{
+ if (!register_sysctl_paths(brute_sysctl_path, brute_sysctl_table))
+ panic("sysctl registration failed\n");
+}
+
+#else
+static inline void brute_init_sysctl(void) { }
+#endif /* CONFIG_SYSCTL */
+
+/**
+ * brute_init() - Initialize the brute LSM.
+ *
+ * Return: Always returns zero.
+ */
+static int __init brute_init(void)
+{
+ pr_info("becoming mindful\n");
+ brute_init_sysctl();
+ return 0;
+}
+
+DEFINE_LSM(brute) = {
+ .name = KBUILD_MODNAME,
+ .init = brute_init,
+};
--
2.25.1
For a correct management of a fork brute force attack it is necessary to
track all the information related to the application crashes. To do so,
use the extended attributes (xattr) of the executable files and define a
statistical data structure to hold all the necessary information shared
by all the fork hierarchy processes. This info is the number of crashes,
the last crash timestamp and the crash period's moving average.
The same can be achieved using a pointer to the fork hierarchy
statistical data held by the task_struct structure. But this has an
important drawback: a brute force attack that happens through the execve
system call losts the faults info since these statistics are freed when
the fork hierarchy disappears. Using this method makes not possible to
manage this attack type that can be successfully treated using extended
attributes.
Also, to avoid false positives during the attack detection it is
necessary to narrow the possible cases. So, only the following scenarios
are taken into account:
1.- Launching (fork()/exec()) a setuid/setgid process repeatedly until a
desirable memory layout is got (e.g. Stack Clash).
2.- Connecting to an exec()ing network daemon (e.g. xinetd) repeatedly
until a desirable memory layout is got (e.g. what CTFs do for simple
network service).
3.- Launching processes without exec() (e.g. Android Zygote) and
exposing state to attack a sibling.
4.- Connecting to a fork()ing network daemon (e.g. apache) repeatedly
until the previously shared memory layout of all the other children
is exposed (e.g. kind of related to HeartBleed).
In each case, a privilege boundary has been crossed:
Case 1: setuid/setgid process
Case 2: network to local
Case 3: privilege changes
Case 4: network to local
To mark that a privilege boundary has been crossed it is only necessary
to create a new stats for the executable file via the extended attribute
and only if it has no previous statistical data. This is done using four
different LSM hooks, one per privilege boundary:
setuid/setgid process --> bprm_creds_from_file hook (based on secureexec
flag).
network to local -------> socket_accept hook (taking into account only
external connections).
privilege changes ------> task_fix_setuid and task_fix_setgid hooks.
To detect a brute force attack it is necessary that the executable file
statistics be updated in every fatal crash and the most important data
to update is the application crash period. To do so, use the new
"task_fatal_signal" LSM hook added in a previous step.
The application crash period must be a value that is not prone to change
due to spurious data and follows the real crash period. So, to compute
it, the exponential moving average (EMA) is used.
Based on the updated statistics two different attacks can be handled. A
slow brute force attack that is detected if the maximum number of faults
per fork hierarchy is reached and a fast brute force attack that is
detected if the application crash period falls below a certain
threshold.
Moreover, only the signals delivered by the kernel are taken into
account with the exception of the SIGABRT signal since the latter is
used by glibc for stack canary, malloc, etc failures, which may indicate
that a mitigation has been triggered.
Signed-off-by: John Wood <[email protected]>
---
include/uapi/linux/xattr.h | 3 +
security/brute/brute.c | 500 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2 files changed, 503 insertions(+)
diff --git a/include/uapi/linux/xattr.h b/include/uapi/linux/xattr.h
index 9463db2dfa9d..ce1c8497dceb 100644
--- a/include/uapi/linux/xattr.h
+++ b/include/uapi/linux/xattr.h
@@ -76,6 +76,9 @@
#define XATTR_CAPS_SUFFIX "capability"
#define XATTR_NAME_CAPS XATTR_SECURITY_PREFIX XATTR_CAPS_SUFFIX
+#define XATTR_BRUTE_SUFFIX "brute"
+#define XATTR_NAME_BRUTE XATTR_SECURITY_PREFIX XATTR_BRUTE_SUFFIX
+
#define XATTR_POSIX_ACL_ACCESS "posix_acl_access"
#define XATTR_NAME_POSIX_ACL_ACCESS XATTR_SYSTEM_PREFIX XATTR_POSIX_ACL_ACCESS
#define XATTR_POSIX_ACL_DEFAULT "posix_acl_default"
diff --git a/security/brute/brute.c b/security/brute/brute.c
index 0edb89a58ab0..03bebfd1ed1f 100644
--- a/security/brute/brute.c
+++ b/security/brute/brute.c
@@ -2,8 +2,85 @@
#define pr_fmt(fmt) KBUILD_MODNAME ": " fmt
+#include <linux/binfmts.h>
#include <linux/lsm_hooks.h>
#include <linux/sysctl.h>
+#include <linux/xattr.h>
+#include <net/ipv6.h>
+#include <net/sock.h>
+
+/**
+ * struct brute_stats - Fork brute force attack statistics.
+ * @faults: Number of crashes.
+ * @nsecs: Last crash timestamp as the number of nanoseconds in the
+ * International Atomic Time (TAI) reference.
+ * @period: Crash period's moving average.
+ * @flags: Statistics flags as a whole.
+ * @not_allowed: Not allowed executable file flag.
+ * @unused: Remaining unused flags.
+ *
+ * This structure holds the statistical data shared by all the fork hierarchy
+ * processes.
+ */
+struct brute_stats {
+ u32 faults;
+ u64 nsecs;
+ u64 period;
+ union {
+ u8 flags;
+ struct {
+ u8 not_allowed : 1;
+ u8 unused : 7;
+ };
+ };
+};
+
+/**
+ * struct brute_raw_stats - Raw fork brute force attack statistics.
+ * @faults: Number of crashes.
+ * @nsecs: Last crash timestamp as the number of nanoseconds in the
+ * International Atomic Time (TAI) reference.
+ * @period: Crash period's moving average.
+ * @flags: Statistics flags.
+ *
+ * This structure holds the statistical data on disk as an extended attribute.
+ * Since the filesystems on which extended attributes are stored might also be
+ * used on architectures with a different byte order and machine word size, care
+ * should be taken to store attribute values in an architecture-independent
+ * format.
+ */
+struct brute_raw_stats {
+ __le32 faults;
+ __le64 nsecs;
+ __le64 period;
+ u8 flags;
+} __packed;
+
+/**
+ * brute_get_current_exe_file() - Get the current task's executable file.
+ *
+ * Since all the kernel threads associated with a task share the same executable
+ * file, get the thread group leader's executable file.
+ *
+ * Context: The file must be released via fput().
+ * Return: NULL if the current task has no associated executable file. A pointer
+ * to the executable file otherwise.
+ */
+static struct file *brute_get_current_exe_file(void)
+{
+ struct task_struct *task = current;
+ struct file *exe_file;
+
+ rcu_read_lock();
+ if (!thread_group_leader(task))
+ task = rcu_dereference(task->group_leader);
+ get_task_struct(task);
+ rcu_read_unlock();
+
+ exe_file = get_task_exe_file(task);
+ put_task_struct(task);
+ return exe_file;
+}
/**
* DOC: brute_ema_weight_numerator
@@ -19,6 +96,18 @@ static unsigned int brute_ema_weight_numerator __read_mostly = 7;
*/
static unsigned int brute_ema_weight_denominator __read_mostly = 10;
+/**
+ * brute_mul_by_ema_weight() - Multiply by EMA weight.
+ * @value: Value to multiply by EMA weight.
+ *
+ * Return: The result of the multiplication operation.
+ */
+static inline u64 brute_mul_by_ema_weight(u64 value)
+{
+ return mul_u64_u32_div(value, brute_ema_weight_numerator,
+ brute_ema_weight_denominator);
+}
+
/**
* DOC: brute_max_faults
*
@@ -30,6 +119,56 @@ static unsigned int brute_ema_weight_denominator __read_mostly = 10;
*/
static unsigned int brute_max_faults __read_mostly = 200;
+/**
+ * brute_update_crash_period() - Update the application crash period.
+ * @stats: Statistics that hold the application crash period to update. Cannot
+ * be NULL.
+ *
+ * The application crash period must be a value that is not prone to change due
+ * to spurious data and follows the real crash period. So, to compute it, the
+ * exponential moving average (EMA) is used.
+ *
+ * This kind of average defines a weight (between 0 and 1) for the new value to
+ * add and applies the remainder of the weight to the current average value.
+ * This way, some spurious data will not excessively modify the average and only
+ * if the new values are persistent, the moving average will tend towards them.
+ *
+ * Mathematically the application crash period's EMA can be expressed as
+ * follows:
+ *
+ * period_ema = period * weight + period_ema * (1 - weight)
+ *
+ * If the operations are applied:
+ *
+ * period_ema = period * weight + period_ema - period_ema * weight
+ *
+ * If the operands are ordered:
+ *
+ * period_ema = period_ema - period_ema * weight + period * weight
+ *
+ * Finally, this formula can be written as follows:
+ *
+ * period_ema -= period_ema * weight;
+ * period_ema += period * weight;
+ */
+static void brute_update_crash_period(struct brute_stats *stats)
+{
+ u64 current_period;
+ u64 now = ktime_get_clocktai_ns();
+
+ if (stats->faults >= (u32)brute_max_faults)
+ return;
+
+ if (stats->nsecs) {
+ current_period = now > stats->nsecs ? now - stats->nsecs : 0;
+ stats->period -= brute_mul_by_ema_weight(stats->period);
+ stats->period += brute_mul_by_ema_weight(current_period);
+ }
+
+ stats->nsecs = now;
+ stats->faults += 1;
+}
+
/**
* DOC: brute_min_faults
*
@@ -51,6 +190,365 @@ static unsigned int brute_min_faults __read_mostly = 5;
*/
static unsigned int brute_crash_period_threshold __read_mostly = 30;
+/**
+ * brute_attack_running() - Test if a brute force attack is happening.
+ * @stats: Statistical data shared by all the fork hierarchy processes. Cannot
+ * be NULL.
+ *
+ * The decision if a brute force attack is running is based on the statistical
+ * data shared by all the fork hierarchy processes.
+ *
+ * There are two types of brute force attacks that can be detected using the
+ * statistical data. The first one is a slow brute force attack that is detected
+ * if the maximum number of faults per fork hierarchy is reached. The second
+ * type is a fast brute force attack that is detected if the application crash
+ * period falls below a certain threshold.
+ *
+ * Moreover, it is important to note that no attacks will be detected until a
+ * minimum number of faults have occurred. This allows to have a trend in the
+ * crash period when the EMA is used.
+ *
+ * Return: True if a brute force attack is happening. False otherwise.
+ */
+static bool brute_attack_running(const struct brute_stats *stats)
+{
+ u64 threshold;
+
+ if (stats->faults < (u32)brute_min_faults)
+ return false;
+
+ if (stats->faults >= (u32)brute_max_faults)
+ return true;
+
+ threshold = (u64)brute_crash_period_threshold * (u64)NSEC_PER_SEC;
+ return stats->period < threshold;
+}
+
+/**
+ * brute_print_attack_running() - Warn about a fork brute force attack.
+ */
+static inline void brute_print_attack_running(void)
+{
+ pr_warn("fork brute force attack detected [pid %d: %s]\n", current->pid,
+ current->comm);
+}
+
+/**
+ * brute_get_xattr_stats() - Get the stats from an extended attribute.
+ * @dentry: The dentry of the file to get the extended attribute.
+ * @inode: The inode of the file to get the extended attribute.
+ * @stats: The stats where to store the info obtained from the extended
+ * attribute. Cannot be NULL.
+ *
+ * Return: An error code if it is not possible to get the statistical data. Zero
+ * otherwise.
+ */
+static int brute_get_xattr_stats(struct dentry *dentry, struct inode *inode,
+ struct brute_stats *stats)
+{
+ int rc;
+ struct brute_raw_stats raw_stats;
+
+ rc = __vfs_getxattr(dentry, inode, XATTR_NAME_BRUTE, &raw_stats,
+ sizeof(raw_stats));
+ if (rc < 0)
+ return rc;
+
+ stats->faults = le32_to_cpu(raw_stats.faults);
+ stats->nsecs = le64_to_cpu(raw_stats.nsecs);
+ stats->period = le64_to_cpu(raw_stats.period);
+ stats->flags = raw_stats.flags;
+ return 0;
+}
+
+/**
+ * brute_set_xattr_stats() - Set the stats to an extended attribute.
+ * @dentry: The dentry of the file to set the extended attribute.
+ * @inode: The inode of the file to set the extended attribute.
+ * @stats: The stats from where to extract the info to set the extended attribute.
+ * Cannot be NULL.
+ *
+ * Return: An error code if it is not possible to set the statistical data. Zero
+ * otherwise.
+ */
+static int brute_set_xattr_stats(struct dentry *dentry, struct inode *inode,
+ const struct brute_stats *stats)
+{
+ struct brute_raw_stats raw_stats;
+
+ raw_stats.faults = cpu_to_le32(stats->faults);
+ raw_stats.nsecs = cpu_to_le64(stats->nsecs);
+ raw_stats.period = cpu_to_le64(stats->period);
+ raw_stats.flags = stats->flags;
+
+ return __vfs_setxattr(&init_user_ns, dentry, inode, XATTR_NAME_BRUTE,
+ &raw_stats, sizeof(raw_stats), 0);
+}
+
+/**
+ * brute_update_xattr_stats() - Update the stats of a file.
+ * @file: The file that holds the statistical data to update. Cannot be NULL.
+ *
+ * For a correct management of a fork brute force attack it is only necessary to
+ * update the statistics and test if an attack is happening based on these data.
+ * It is important to note that if the file has no stats nothing is updated nor
+ * created. This way, the scenario where an application has not crossed any
+ * privilege boundary is avoided since the existence of the extended attribute
+ * denotes the crossing of bounds.
+ */
+static void brute_update_xattr_stats(const struct file *file)
+{
+ struct dentry *dentry = file_dentry(file);
+ struct inode *inode = file_inode(file);
+ struct brute_stats stats;
+ int rc;
+
+ inode_lock(inode);
+ rc = brute_get_xattr_stats(dentry, inode, &stats);
+ WARN_ON_ONCE(rc && rc != -ENODATA);
+ if (rc) {
+ inode_unlock(inode);
+ return;
+ }
+
+ brute_update_crash_period(&stats);
+ if (brute_attack_running(&stats)) {
+ brute_print_attack_running();
+ stats.not_allowed = true;
+ }
+
+ rc = brute_set_xattr_stats(dentry, inode, &stats);
+ WARN_ON_ONCE(rc);
+ inode_unlock(inode);
+}
+
+/**
+ * brute_reset_stats() - Reset the statistical data.
+ * @stats: Statistics to be reset. Cannot be NULL.
+ */
+static inline void brute_reset_stats(struct brute_stats *stats)
+{
+ memset(stats, 0, sizeof(*stats));
+}
+
+/**
+ * brute_new_xattr_stats() - New statistics for a file.
+ * @file: The file in which to create the new statistical data. Cannot be NULL.
+ *
+ * Only if the file has no statistical data create it. This function will be
+ * called to mark that a privilege boundary has been crossed so, if new stats
+ * are required, they do not contain any useful data. The existence of the
+ * extended attribute denotes the crossing of privilege bounds.
+ *
+ * Return: An error code if it is not possible to get or set the statistical
+ * data. Zero otherwise.
+ */
+static int brute_new_xattr_stats(const struct file *file)
+{
+ struct dentry *dentry = file_dentry(file);
+ struct inode *inode = file_inode(file);
+ struct brute_stats stats;
+ int rc;
+
+ inode_lock(inode);
+ rc = brute_get_xattr_stats(dentry, inode, &stats);
+ if (rc && rc != -ENODATA)
+ goto unlock;
+
+ if (rc == -ENODATA) {
+ brute_reset_stats(&stats);
+ rc = brute_set_xattr_stats(dentry, inode, &stats);
+ if (rc)
+ goto unlock;
+ }
+
+unlock:
+ inode_unlock(inode);
+ return rc;
+}
+
+/**
+ * brute_current_new_xattr_stats() - New stats for the current task's exe file.
+ *
+ * Return: An error code if it is not possible to get or set the statistical
+ * data. Zero otherwise.
+ */
+static int brute_current_new_xattr_stats(void)
+{
+ struct file *exe_file;
+ int rc;
+
+ exe_file = brute_get_current_exe_file();
+ if (WARN_ON_ONCE(!exe_file))
+ return -ENOENT;
+
+ rc = brute_new_xattr_stats(exe_file);
+ WARN_ON_ONCE(rc);
+ fput(exe_file);
+ return rc;
+}
+
+/**
+ * brute_signal_from_user() - Test if a signal is coming from userspace.
+ * @siginfo: Contains the signal information.
+ *
+ * To avoid false positives during the attack detection it is necessary to
+ * narrow the possible cases. So, only the signals delivered by the kernel are
+ * taken into account with the exception of the SIGABRT signal since the latter
+ * is used by glibc for stack canary, malloc, etc failures, which may indicate
+ * that a mitigation has been triggered.
+ *
+ * Return: True if the signal is coming from usersapce. False otherwise.
+ */
+static inline bool brute_signal_from_user(const kernel_siginfo_t *siginfo)
+{
+ return siginfo->si_signo == SIGKILL && siginfo->si_code != SIGABRT;
+}
+
+/**
+ * brute_task_fatal_signal() - Target for the task_fatal_signal hook.
+ * @siginfo: Contains the signal information.
+ *
+ * To detect a brute force attack it is necessary, as a first step, to test in
+ * every fatal crash if the signal is delibered by the kernel. If so, update the
+ * statistics and act based on these data.
+ */
+static void brute_task_fatal_signal(const kernel_siginfo_t *siginfo)
+{
+ struct file *exe_file;
+
+ if (brute_signal_from_user(siginfo))
+ return;
+
+ exe_file = brute_get_current_exe_file();
+ if (WARN_ON_ONCE(!exe_file))
+ return;
+
+ brute_update_xattr_stats(exe_file);
+ fput(exe_file);
+}
+
+/**
+ * brute_task_execve() - Target for the bprm_creds_from_file hook.
+ * @bprm: Contains the linux_binprm structure.
+ * @file: Binary that will be executed without an interpreter.
+ *
+ * This hook is useful to mark that a privilege boundary (setuid/setgid process)
+ * has been crossed. This is done based on the "secureexec" flag.
+ *
+ * To be defensive return an error code if it is not possible to get or set the
+ * stats using an extended attribute since this blocks the execution of the
+ * file. This scenario is treated as an attack.
+ *
+ * It is important to note that here the brute_new_xattr_stats function could be
+ * used with a previous test of the secureexec flag. However it is better to use
+ * the basic xattr functions since in a future commit a test if the execution is
+ * allowed (via the brute_stats::not_allowed flag) will be necessary. This way,
+ * the stats of the file will be get only once.
+ *
+ * Return: An error code if it is not possible to get or set the statistical
+ * data. Zero otherwise.
+ */
+static int brute_task_execve(struct linux_binprm *bprm, struct file *file)
+{
+ struct dentry *dentry = file_dentry(bprm->file);
+ struct inode *inode = file_inode(bprm->file);
+ struct brute_stats stats;
+ int rc;
+
+ inode_lock(inode);
+ rc = brute_get_xattr_stats(dentry, inode, &stats);
+ if (WARN_ON_ONCE(rc && rc != -ENODATA))
+ goto unlock;
+
+ if (rc == -ENODATA && bprm->secureexec) {
+ brute_reset_stats(&stats);
+ rc = brute_set_xattr_stats(dentry, inode, &stats);
+ if (WARN_ON_ONCE(rc))
+ goto unlock;
+ }
+
+ rc = 0;
+unlock:
+ inode_unlock(inode);
+ return rc;
+}
+
+/**
+ * brute_task_change_priv() - Target for the task_fix_setid hooks.
+ * @new: The set of credentials that will be installed.
+ * @old: The set of credentials that are being replaced.
+ * @flags: Contains one of the LSM_SETID_* values.
+ *
+ * This hook is useful to mark that a privilege boundary (privilege changes) has
+ * been crossed.
+ *
+ * Return: An error code if it is not possible to get or set the statistical
+ * data. Zero otherwise.
+ */
+static int brute_task_change_priv(struct cred *new, const struct cred *old, int flags)
+{
+ return brute_current_new_xattr_stats();
+}
+
+#ifdef CONFIG_IPV6
+/**
+ * brute_local_ipv6_rcv_saddr() - Test if an ipv6 rcv_saddr is local.
+ * @sk: The sock that contains the ipv6 address.
+ *
+ * Return: True if the ipv6 rcv_saddr is local. False otherwise.
+ */
+static inline bool brute_local_ipv6_rcv_saddr(const struct sock *sk)
+{
+ return ipv6_addr_equal(&sk->sk_v6_rcv_saddr, &in6addr_loopback);
+}
+#else
+static inline bool brute_local_ipv6_rcv_saddr(const struct sock *sk)
+{
+ return false;
+}
+#endif /* CONFIG_IPV6 */
+
+#ifdef CONFIG_SECURITY_NETWORK
+/**
+ * brute_socket_accept() - Target for the socket_accept hook.
+ * @sock: Contains the listening socket structure.
+ * @newsock: Contains the newly created server socket for connection.
+ *
+ * This hook is useful to mark that a privilege boundary (network to local) has
+ * been crossed. This is done only if the listening socket accepts external
+ * connections. The sockets for inter-process communication (IPC) and those that
+ * are listening on loopback addresses are not taken into account.
+ *
+ * Return: An error code if it is not possible to get or set the statistical
+ * data. Zero otherwise.
+ */
+static int brute_socket_accept(struct socket *sock, struct socket *newsock)
+{
+ struct sock *sk = sock->sk;
+
+ if (sk->sk_family == AF_UNIX || sk->sk_family == AF_NETLINK ||
+ sk->sk_rcv_saddr == htonl(INADDR_LOOPBACK) ||
+ brute_local_ipv6_rcv_saddr(sk))
+ return 0;
+
+ return brute_current_new_xattr_stats();
+}
+#endif /* CONFIG_SECURITY_NETWORK */
+
+/*
+ * brute_hooks - Targets for the LSM's hooks.
+ */
+static struct security_hook_list brute_hooks[] __lsm_ro_after_init = {
+ LSM_HOOK_INIT(task_fatal_signal, brute_task_fatal_signal),
+ LSM_HOOK_INIT(bprm_creds_from_file, brute_task_execve),
+ LSM_HOOK_INIT(task_fix_setuid, brute_task_change_priv),
+ LSM_HOOK_INIT(task_fix_setgid, brute_task_change_priv),
+#ifdef CONFIG_SECURITY_NETWORK
+ LSM_HOOK_INIT(socket_accept, brute_socket_accept),
+#endif
+};
+
#ifdef CONFIG_SYSCTL
static unsigned int uint_max = UINT_MAX;
#define SYSCTL_UINT_MAX (&uint_max)
@@ -137,6 +635,8 @@ static inline void brute_init_sysctl(void) { }
static int __init brute_init(void)
{
pr_info("becoming mindful\n");
+ security_add_hooks(brute_hooks, ARRAY_SIZE(brute_hooks),
+ KBUILD_MODNAME);
brute_init_sysctl();
return 0;
}
--
2.25.1
When a brute force attack is detected all the offending tasks involved
in the attack must be killed. In other words, it is necessary to kill
all the tasks that are executing the same file that is running during
the brute force attack.
Also, to prevent the executable involved in the attack from being
respawned by a supervisor, and thus prevent a brute force attack from
being started again, test the "not_allowed" flag and avoid the file
execution based on this.
Signed-off-by: John Wood <[email protected]>
---
security/brute/brute.c | 113 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----
1 file changed, 102 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)
diff --git a/security/brute/brute.c b/security/brute/brute.c
index 03bebfd1ed1f..4e0fd23990c8 100644
--- a/security/brute/brute.c
+++ b/security/brute/brute.c
@@ -233,6 +233,88 @@ static inline void brute_print_attack_running(void)
current->comm);
}
+/**
+ * brute_print_file_not_allowed() - Warn about a file not allowed.
+ * @dentry: The dentry of the file not allowed.
+ */
+static void brute_print_file_not_allowed(struct dentry *dentry)
+{
+ char *buf, *path;
+
+ buf = __getname();
+ if (WARN_ON_ONCE(!buf))
+ return;
+
+ path = dentry_path_raw(dentry, buf, PATH_MAX);
+ if (WARN_ON_ONCE(IS_ERR(path)))
+ goto free;
+
+ pr_warn_ratelimited("%s not allowed\n", path);
+free:
+ __putname(buf);
+}
+
+/**
+ * brute_is_same_file() - Test if two files are the same.
+ * @file1: First file to compare. Cannot be NULL.
+ * @file2: Second file to compare. Cannot be NULL.
+ *
+ * Two files are the same if they have the same inode number and the same block
+ * device.
+ *
+ * Return: True if the two files are the same. False otherwise.
+ */
+static inline bool brute_is_same_file(const struct file *file1,
+ const struct file *file2)
+{
+ struct inode *inode1 = file_inode(file1);
+ struct inode *inode2 = file_inode(file2);
+
+ return inode1->i_ino == inode2->i_ino &&
+ inode1->i_sb->s_dev == inode2->i_sb->s_dev;
+}
+
+/**
+ * brute_kill_offending_tasks() - Kill the offending tasks.
+ * @file: The file executed during a brute force attack. Cannot be NULL.
+ *
+ * When a brute force attack is detected all the offending tasks involved in the
+ * attack must be killed. In other words, it is necessary to kill all the tasks
+ * that are executing the same file that is running during the brute force
+ * attack. Moreover, the processes that have the same group_leader that the
+ * current task must be avoided since they are in the path to be killed.
+ *
+ * The for_each_process loop is protected by the tasklist_lock acquired in read
+ * mode instead of rcu_read_lock to avoid that the newly created processes
+ * escape this RCU read lock.
+ */
+static void brute_kill_offending_tasks(const struct file *file)
+{
+ struct task_struct *task;
+ struct file *exe_file;
+ bool is_same_file;
+
+ read_lock(&tasklist_lock);
+ for_each_process(task) {
+ if (task->group_leader == current->group_leader)
+ continue;
+
+ exe_file = get_task_exe_file(task);
+ if (!exe_file)
+ continue;
+
+ is_same_file = brute_is_same_file(exe_file, file);
+ fput(exe_file);
+ if (!is_same_file)
+ continue;
+
+ do_send_sig_info(SIGKILL, SEND_SIG_PRIV, task, PIDTYPE_PID);
+ pr_warn_ratelimited("offending process %d [%s] killed\n",
+ task->pid, task->comm);
+ }
+ read_unlock(&tasklist_lock);
+}
+
/**
* brute_get_xattr_stats() - Get the stats from an extended attribute.
* @dentry: The dentry of the file to get the extended attribute.
@@ -295,6 +377,10 @@ static int brute_set_xattr_stats(struct dentry *dentry, struct inode *inode,
* created. This way, the scenario where an application has not crossed any
* privilege boundary is avoided since the existence of the extended attribute
* denotes the crossing of bounds.
+ *
+ * Also, do not update the statistics if the execution of the file is not
+ * allowed and kill all the offending tasks when a brute force attack is
+ * detected.
*/
static void brute_update_xattr_stats(const struct file *file)
{
@@ -306,7 +392,7 @@ static void brute_update_xattr_stats(const struct file *file)
inode_lock(inode);
rc = brute_get_xattr_stats(dentry, inode, &stats);
WARN_ON_ONCE(rc && rc != -ENODATA);
- if (rc) {
+ if (rc || (!rc && stats.not_allowed)) {
inode_unlock(inode);
return;
}
@@ -320,6 +406,9 @@ static void brute_update_xattr_stats(const struct file *file)
rc = brute_set_xattr_stats(dentry, inode, &stats);
WARN_ON_ONCE(rc);
inode_unlock(inode);
+
+ if (stats.not_allowed)
+ brute_kill_offending_tasks(file);
}
/**
@@ -433,21 +522,17 @@ static void brute_task_fatal_signal(const kernel_siginfo_t *siginfo)
* @bprm: Contains the linux_binprm structure.
* @file: Binary that will be executed without an interpreter.
*
- * This hook is useful to mark that a privilege boundary (setuid/setgid process)
- * has been crossed. This is done based on the "secureexec" flag.
+ * If there are statistics, test the "not_allowed" flag and avoid the file
+ * execution based on this. Also, this hook is useful to mark that a privilege
+ * boundary (setuid/setgid process) has been crossed. This is done based on the
+ * "secureexec" flag.
*
* To be defensive return an error code if it is not possible to get or set the
* stats using an extended attribute since this blocks the execution of the
* file. This scenario is treated as an attack.
*
- * It is important to note that here the brute_new_xattr_stats function could be
- * used with a previous test of the secureexec flag. However it is better to use
- * the basic xattr functions since in a future commit a test if the execution is
- * allowed (via the brute_stats::not_allowed flag) will be necessary. This way,
- * the stats of the file will be get only once.
- *
- * Return: An error code if it is not possible to get or set the statistical
- * data. Zero otherwise.
+ * Return: -EPERM if the execution of the file is not allowed. An error code if
+ * it is not possible to get or set the statistical data. Zero otherwise.
*/
static int brute_task_execve(struct linux_binprm *bprm, struct file *file)
{
@@ -461,6 +546,12 @@ static int brute_task_execve(struct linux_binprm *bprm, struct file *file)
if (WARN_ON_ONCE(rc && rc != -ENODATA))
goto unlock;
+ if (!rc && stats.not_allowed) {
+ brute_print_file_not_allowed(dentry);
+ rc = -EPERM;
+ goto unlock;
+ }
+
if (rc == -ENODATA && bprm->secureexec) {
brute_reset_stats(&stats);
rc = brute_set_xattr_stats(dentry, inode, &stats);
--
2.25.1
Add a new SIGCHLD si_code to notify to userspace, using the "waitid"
system call, that a task has been killed by Brute LSM to mitigate a
brute force attack.
This is useful to supervisors in order to decide if a process that has
been killed to avoid an attack needs to be respawned. This way, it is
possible to avoid the scenario where a brute force attack can be
continued due to the respawn of a process. Although the xattr of the
executable is accessible from userspace, in complex daemons this file
may not be visible directly by the supervisor as it may be run through
some wrapper. So, the waitid notification is necessary.
To achieve this, use the task_struct security blob to hold a flag that
shows when a task has been killed by Brute LSM, and also, test this flag
in the "wait_task_zombie" and "do_notify_parent" functions.
Suggested-by: Andi Kleen <[email protected]>
Signed-off-by: John Wood <[email protected]>
---
arch/x86/kernel/signal_compat.c | 2 +-
include/brute/brute.h | 16 ++++++++
include/uapi/asm-generic/siginfo.h | 3 +-
kernel/exit.c | 6 ++-
kernel/signal.c | 4 +-
security/brute/brute.c | 59 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
6 files changed, 85 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)
create mode 100644 include/brute/brute.h
diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/signal_compat.c b/arch/x86/kernel/signal_compat.c
index 06743ec054d2..d4656f1b6341 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kernel/signal_compat.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/signal_compat.c
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ static inline void signal_compat_build_tests(void)
BUILD_BUG_ON(NSIGSEGV != 9);
BUILD_BUG_ON(NSIGBUS != 5);
BUILD_BUG_ON(NSIGTRAP != 6);
- BUILD_BUG_ON(NSIGCHLD != 6);
+ BUILD_BUG_ON(NSIGCHLD != 7);
BUILD_BUG_ON(NSIGSYS != 2);
/* This is part of the ABI and can never change in size: */
diff --git a/include/brute/brute.h b/include/brute/brute.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..8531a7038711
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/brute/brute.h
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 */
+#ifndef _BRUTE_H_
+#define _BRUTE_H_
+
+#include <linux/sched.h>
+
+#ifdef CONFIG_SECURITY_FORK_BRUTE
+bool brute_task_killed(const struct task_struct *task);
+#else
+static inline bool brute_task_killed(const struct task_struct *task)
+{
+ return false;
+}
+#endif
+
+#endif /* _BRUTE_H_ */
diff --git a/include/uapi/asm-generic/siginfo.h b/include/uapi/asm-generic/siginfo.h
index 5a3c221f4c9d..ffc3ed2d4bce 100644
--- a/include/uapi/asm-generic/siginfo.h
+++ b/include/uapi/asm-generic/siginfo.h
@@ -274,7 +274,8 @@ typedef struct siginfo {
#define CLD_TRAPPED 4 /* traced child has trapped */
#define CLD_STOPPED 5 /* child has stopped */
#define CLD_CONTINUED 6 /* stopped child has continued */
-#define NSIGCHLD 6
+#define CLD_BRUTE 7 /* child was killed by brute LSM */
+#define NSIGCHLD 7
/*
* SIGPOLL (or any other signal without signal specific si_codes) si_codes
diff --git a/kernel/exit.c b/kernel/exit.c
index fd1c04193e18..69bcbd00d277 100644
--- a/kernel/exit.c
+++ b/kernel/exit.c
@@ -69,6 +69,8 @@
#include <asm/unistd.h>
#include <asm/mmu_context.h>
+#include <brute/brute.h>
+
static void __unhash_process(struct task_struct *p, bool group_dead)
{
nr_threads--;
@@ -1001,6 +1003,7 @@ static int wait_task_zombie(struct wait_opts *wo, struct task_struct *p)
pid_t pid = task_pid_vnr(p);
uid_t uid = from_kuid_munged(current_user_ns(), task_uid(p));
struct waitid_info *infop;
+ bool killed_by_brute = brute_task_killed(p);
if (!likely(wo->wo_flags & WEXITED))
return 0;
@@ -1114,7 +1117,8 @@ static int wait_task_zombie(struct wait_opts *wo, struct task_struct *p)
infop->cause = CLD_EXITED;
infop->status = status >> 8;
} else {
- infop->cause = (status & 0x80) ? CLD_DUMPED : CLD_KILLED;
+ infop->cause = (status & 0x80) ? CLD_DUMPED :
+ killed_by_brute ? CLD_BRUTE : CLD_KILLED;
infop->status = status & 0x7f;
}
infop->pid = pid;
diff --git a/kernel/signal.c b/kernel/signal.c
index 4380763b3d8d..c85c091ecc27 100644
--- a/kernel/signal.c
+++ b/kernel/signal.c
@@ -55,6 +55,8 @@
#include <asm/siginfo.h>
#include <asm/cacheflush.h>
+#include <brute/brute.h>
+
/*
* SLAB caches for signal bits.
*/
@@ -2012,7 +2014,7 @@ bool do_notify_parent(struct task_struct *tsk, int sig)
if (tsk->exit_code & 0x80)
info.si_code = CLD_DUMPED;
else if (tsk->exit_code & 0x7f)
- info.si_code = CLD_KILLED;
+ info.si_code = brute_task_killed(tsk) ? CLD_BRUTE : CLD_KILLED;
else {
info.si_code = CLD_EXITED;
info.si_status = tsk->exit_code >> 8;
diff --git a/security/brute/brute.c b/security/brute/brute.c
index 4e0fd23990c8..e5c9098addf9 100644
--- a/security/brute/brute.c
+++ b/security/brute/brute.c
@@ -56,6 +56,59 @@ struct brute_raw_stats {
u8 flags;
} __packed;
+/**
+ * struct brute_task - Task info.
+ * @killed: Task killed to mitigate a brute force attack.
+ */
+struct brute_task {
+ u8 killed : 1;
+};
+
+/*
+ * brute_blob_sizes - LSM blob sizes.
+ */
+static struct lsm_blob_sizes brute_blob_sizes __lsm_ro_after_init = {
+ .lbs_task = sizeof(struct brute_task),
+};
+
+/**
+ * brute_task() - Get the task info.
+ * @task: The task to get the info.
+ *
+ * Return: A pointer to the brute_task structure.
+ */
+static inline struct brute_task *brute_task(const struct task_struct *task)
+{
+ return task->security + brute_blob_sizes.lbs_task;
+}
+
+/**
+ * brute_set_task_killed() - Set task killed to mitigate a brute force attack.
+ * @task: The task to set.
+ */
+static inline void brute_set_task_killed(struct task_struct *task)
+{
+ struct brute_task *task_info;
+
+ task_info = brute_task(task);
+ task_info->killed = true;
+}
+
+/**
+ * brute_task_killed() - Test if a task has been killed to mitigate an attack.
+ * @task: The task to test.
+ *
+ * Return: True if the task has been killed to mitigate a brute force attack.
+ * False otherwise.
+ */
+inline bool brute_task_killed(const struct task_struct *task)
+{
+ struct brute_task *task_info;
+
+ task_info = brute_task(task);
+ return task_info->killed;
+}
+
/**
* brute_get_current_exe_file() - Get the current task's executable file.
*
@@ -296,8 +349,10 @@ static void brute_kill_offending_tasks(const struct file *file)
read_lock(&tasklist_lock);
for_each_process(task) {
- if (task->group_leader == current->group_leader)
+ if (task->group_leader == current->group_leader) {
+ brute_set_task_killed(task);
continue;
+ }
exe_file = get_task_exe_file(task);
if (!exe_file)
@@ -311,6 +366,7 @@ static void brute_kill_offending_tasks(const struct file *file)
do_send_sig_info(SIGKILL, SEND_SIG_PRIV, task, PIDTYPE_PID);
pr_warn_ratelimited("offending process %d [%s] killed\n",
task->pid, task->comm);
+ brute_set_task_killed(task);
}
read_unlock(&tasklist_lock);
}
@@ -735,4 +791,5 @@ static int __init brute_init(void)
DEFINE_LSM(brute) = {
.name = KBUILD_MODNAME,
.init = brute_init,
+ .blobs = &brute_blob_sizes,
};
--
2.25.1
Add tests to check the Brute LSM functionality and cover fork/exec brute
force attacks crossing the following privilege boundaries:
1.- setuid process
2.- privilege changes
3.- network to local
Also, as a first step check that fork/exec brute force attacks without
crossing any privilege boundary already commented doesn't trigger the
detection and mitigation stage.
Moreover, test if the userspace notification, via "waitid" system call,
is sent when an attack is mitigated (to inform that all the offending
tasks involved in the attack have been killed by Brute LSM).
Once a brute force attack is detected, the "test" executable is marked
as "not allowed". To start again a new test, use the "rmxattr" app to
revert this state. This way, all the tests can be run using the same
binary.
Signed-off-by: John Wood <[email protected]>
---
tools/testing/selftests/Makefile | 1 +
tools/testing/selftests/brute/.gitignore | 3 +
tools/testing/selftests/brute/Makefile | 5 +
tools/testing/selftests/brute/config | 1 +
tools/testing/selftests/brute/exec.c | 46 ++
tools/testing/selftests/brute/rmxattr.c | 34 ++
tools/testing/selftests/brute/test.c | 507 +++++++++++++++++++++++
tools/testing/selftests/brute/test.sh | 269 ++++++++++++
8 files changed, 866 insertions(+)
create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/brute/.gitignore
create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/brute/Makefile
create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/brute/config
create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/brute/exec.c
create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/brute/rmxattr.c
create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/brute/test.c
create mode 100755 tools/testing/selftests/brute/test.sh
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/Makefile b/tools/testing/selftests/Makefile
index bc3299a20338..5c413a010849 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/Makefile
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/Makefile
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
TARGETS = arm64
TARGETS += bpf
TARGETS += breakpoints
+TARGETS += brute
TARGETS += capabilities
TARGETS += cgroup
TARGETS += clone3
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/brute/.gitignore b/tools/testing/selftests/brute/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..a02aa79249a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/brute/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+exec
+rmxattr
+test
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/brute/Makefile b/tools/testing/selftests/brute/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..3975338c1ecc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/brute/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+CFLAGS += -Wall -O2
+TEST_PROGS := test.sh
+TEST_GEN_FILES := exec rmxattr test
+include ../lib.mk
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/brute/config b/tools/testing/selftests/brute/config
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..3587b7bf6c23
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/brute/config
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+CONFIG_SECURITY_FORK_BRUTE=y
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/brute/exec.c b/tools/testing/selftests/brute/exec.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..a7fc5705f97c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/brute/exec.c
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+#include <libgen.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <sys/types.h>
+#include <sys/wait.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+
+static __attribute__((noreturn)) void error_failure(const char *message)
+{
+ perror(message);
+ exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+}
+
+#define PROG_NAME basename(argv[0])
+#define CLD_BRUTE 7 /* child was killed by brute LSM */
+
+int main(int argc, char **argv)
+{
+ pid_t pid;
+ int rc;
+ siginfo_t siginfo;
+
+ if (argc < 2) {
+ printf("Usage: %s <EXECUTABLE>\n", PROG_NAME);
+ exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+ }
+
+ pid = fork();
+ if (pid < 0)
+ error_failure("fork");
+
+ /* Child process */
+ if (!pid) {
+ execve(argv[1], &argv[1], NULL);
+ error_failure("execve");
+ }
+
+ /* Parent process */
+ rc = waitid(P_PID, pid, &siginfo, WEXITED);
+ if (rc)
+ error_failure("waitid");
+
+ return siginfo.si_code != CLD_BRUTE;
+}
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/brute/rmxattr.c b/tools/testing/selftests/brute/rmxattr.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..9ed90409d337
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/brute/rmxattr.c
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+#include <libgen.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <sys/xattr.h>
+
+static __attribute__((noreturn)) void error_failure(const char *message)
+{
+ perror(message);
+ exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+}
+
+#define PROG_NAME basename(argv[0])
+
+#define XATTR_SECURITY_PREFIX "security."
+#define XATTR_BRUTE_SUFFIX "brute"
+#define XATTR_NAME_BRUTE XATTR_SECURITY_PREFIX XATTR_BRUTE_SUFFIX
+
+int main(int argc, char **argv)
+{
+ int rc;
+
+ if (argc < 2) {
+ printf("Usage: %s <FILE>\n", PROG_NAME);
+ exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+ }
+
+ rc = removexattr(argv[1], XATTR_NAME_BRUTE);
+ if (rc)
+ error_failure("removexattr");
+
+ return EXIT_SUCCESS;
+}
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/brute/test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/brute/test.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..44c32f446dca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/brute/test.c
@@ -0,0 +1,507 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+#include <arpa/inet.h>
+#include <errno.h>
+#include <libgen.h>
+#include <pwd.h>
+#include <signal.h>
+#include <stdbool.h>
+#include <stdint.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <sys/socket.h>
+#include <sys/time.h>
+#include <sys/types.h>
+#include <sys/wait.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+
+static const char *message = "message";
+
+enum mode {
+ MODE_NONE,
+ MODE_CRASH,
+ MODE_SERVER_CRASH,
+ MODE_CLIENT,
+};
+
+enum crash_after {
+ CRASH_AFTER_NONE,
+ CRASH_AFTER_FORK,
+ CRASH_AFTER_EXEC,
+};
+
+enum signal_from {
+ SIGNAL_FROM_NONE,
+ SIGNAL_FROM_USER,
+ SIGNAL_FROM_KERNEL,
+};
+
+struct args {
+ uint32_t ip;
+ uint16_t port;
+ int counter;
+ long timeout;
+ enum mode mode;
+ enum crash_after crash_after;
+ enum signal_from signal_from;
+ unsigned char has_counter : 1;
+ unsigned char has_change_priv : 1;
+ unsigned char has_ip : 1;
+ unsigned char has_port : 1;
+ unsigned char has_timeout : 1;
+};
+
+#define OPT_STRING "hm:c:s:n:Ca:p:t:"
+
+static void usage(const char *prog)
+{
+ printf("Usage: %s <OPTIONS>\n", prog);
+ printf("OPTIONS:\n");
+ printf(" -h: Show this help and exit. Optional.\n");
+ printf(" -m (crash | server_crash | client): Mode. Required.\n");
+ printf("Options for crash mode:\n");
+ printf(" -c (fork | exec): Crash after. Optional.\n");
+ printf(" -s (user | kernel): Signal from. Required.\n");
+ printf(" -n counter: Number of crashes.\n");
+ printf(" Required if the option -c is used.\n");
+ printf(" Not used without the option -c.\n");
+ printf(" Range from 1 to INT_MAX.\n");
+ printf(" -C: Change privileges before crash. Optional.\n");
+ printf("Options for server_crash mode:\n");
+ printf(" -a ip: Ip v4 address to accept. Required.\n");
+ printf(" -p port: Port number. Required.\n");
+ printf(" Range from 1 to UINT16_MAX.\n");
+ printf(" -t secs: Accept timeout. Required.\n");
+ printf(" Range from 1 to LONG_MAX.\n");
+ printf(" -c (fork | exec): Crash after. Required.\n");
+ printf(" -s (user | kernel): Signal from. Required.\n");
+ printf(" -n counter: Number of crashes. Required.\n");
+ printf(" Range from 1 to INT_MAX.\n");
+ printf("Options for client mode:\n");
+ printf(" -a ip: Ip v4 address to connect. Required.\n");
+ printf(" -p port: Port number. Required.\n");
+ printf(" Range from 1 to UINT16_MAX.\n");
+ printf(" -t secs: Connect timeout. Required.\n");
+ printf(" Range from 1 to LONG_MAX.\n");
+}
+
+static __attribute__((noreturn)) void info_failure(const char *message,
+ const char *prog)
+{
+ printf("%s\n", message);
+ usage(prog);
+ exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+}
+
+static enum mode get_mode(const char *text, const char *prog)
+{
+ if (!strcmp(text, "crash"))
+ return MODE_CRASH;
+
+ if (!strcmp(text, "server_crash"))
+ return MODE_SERVER_CRASH;
+
+ if (!strcmp(text, "client"))
+ return MODE_CLIENT;
+
+ info_failure("Invalid mode option [-m].", prog);
+}
+
+static enum crash_after get_crash_after(const char *text, const char *prog)
+{
+ if (!strcmp(text, "fork"))
+ return CRASH_AFTER_FORK;
+
+ if (!strcmp(text, "exec"))
+ return CRASH_AFTER_EXEC;
+
+ info_failure("Invalid crash after option [-c].", prog);
+}
+
+static enum signal_from get_signal_from(const char *text, const char *prog)
+{
+ if (!strcmp(text, "user"))
+ return SIGNAL_FROM_USER;
+
+ if (!strcmp(text, "kernel"))
+ return SIGNAL_FROM_KERNEL;
+
+ info_failure("Invalid signal from option [-s]", prog);
+}
+
+static int get_counter(const char *text, const char *prog)
+{
+ int counter;
+
+ counter = atoi(text);
+ if (counter > 0)
+ return counter;
+
+ info_failure("Invalid counter option [-n].", prog);
+}
+
+static __attribute__((noreturn)) void error_failure(const char *message)
+{
+ perror(message);
+ exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+}
+
+static uint32_t get_ip(const char *text, const char *prog)
+{
+ int ret;
+ uint32_t ip;
+
+ ret = inet_pton(AF_INET, text, &ip);
+ if (!ret)
+ info_failure("Invalid ip option [-a].", prog);
+ else if (ret < 0)
+ error_failure("inet_pton");
+
+ return ip;
+}
+
+static uint16_t get_port(const char *text, const char *prog)
+{
+ long port;
+
+ port = atol(text);
+ if ((port > 0) && (port <= UINT16_MAX))
+ return htons(port);
+
+ info_failure("Invalid port option [-p].", prog);
+}
+
+static long get_timeout(const char *text, const char *prog)
+{
+ long timeout;
+
+ timeout = atol(text);
+ if (timeout > 0)
+ return timeout;
+
+ info_failure("Invalid timeout option [-t].", prog);
+}
+
+static void check_args(const struct args *args, const char *prog)
+{
+ if (args->mode == MODE_CRASH && args->crash_after != CRASH_AFTER_NONE &&
+ args->signal_from != SIGNAL_FROM_NONE && args->has_counter &&
+ !args->has_ip && !args->has_port && !args->has_timeout)
+ return;
+
+ if (args->mode == MODE_CRASH && args->signal_from != SIGNAL_FROM_NONE &&
+ args->crash_after == CRASH_AFTER_NONE && !args->has_counter &&
+ !args->has_ip && !args->has_port && !args->has_timeout)
+ return;
+
+ if (args->mode == MODE_SERVER_CRASH && args->has_ip && args->has_port &&
+ args->has_timeout && args->crash_after != CRASH_AFTER_NONE &&
+ args->signal_from != SIGNAL_FROM_NONE && args->has_counter &&
+ !args->has_change_priv)
+ return;
+
+ if (args->mode == MODE_CLIENT && args->has_ip && args->has_port &&
+ args->has_timeout && args->crash_after == CRASH_AFTER_NONE &&
+ args->signal_from == SIGNAL_FROM_NONE && !args->has_counter &&
+ !args->has_change_priv)
+ return;
+
+ info_failure("Invalid use of options.", prog);
+}
+
+static uid_t get_non_root_uid(void)
+{
+ struct passwd *pwent;
+ uid_t uid;
+
+ while (true) {
+ errno = 0;
+ pwent = getpwent();
+ if (!pwent) {
+ if (errno) {
+ perror("getpwent");
+ endpwent();
+ exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+ }
+ break;
+ }
+
+ if (pwent->pw_uid) {
+ uid = pwent->pw_uid;
+ endpwent();
+ return uid;
+ }
+ }
+
+ endpwent();
+ printf("A user different of root is needed.\n");
+ exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+}
+
+static inline void do_sigsegv(void)
+{
+ int *p = NULL;
+ *p = 0;
+}
+
+static void do_sigkill(void)
+{
+ int ret;
+
+ ret = kill(getpid(), SIGKILL);
+ if (ret)
+ error_failure("kill");
+}
+
+static void crash(enum signal_from signal_from, bool change_priv)
+{
+ int ret;
+
+ if (change_priv) {
+ ret = setuid(get_non_root_uid());
+ if (ret)
+ error_failure("setuid");
+ }
+
+ if (signal_from == SIGNAL_FROM_KERNEL)
+ do_sigsegv();
+
+ do_sigkill();
+}
+
+static void execve_crash(char *const argv[])
+{
+ execve(argv[0], argv, NULL);
+ error_failure("execve");
+}
+
+static void exec_crash_user(void)
+{
+ char *const argv[] = {
+ "./test", "-m", "crash", "-s", "user", NULL,
+ };
+
+ execve_crash(argv);
+}
+
+static void exec_crash_user_change_priv(void)
+{
+ char *const argv[] = {
+ "./test", "-m", "crash", "-s", "user", "-C", NULL,
+ };
+
+ execve_crash(argv);
+}
+
+static void exec_crash_kernel(void)
+{
+ char *const argv[] = {
+ "./test", "-m", "crash", "-s", "kernel", NULL,
+ };
+
+ execve_crash(argv);
+}
+
+static void exec_crash_kernel_change_priv(void)
+{
+ char *const argv[] = {
+ "./test", "-m", "crash", "-s", "kernel", "-C", NULL,
+ };
+
+ execve_crash(argv);
+}
+
+static void exec_crash(enum signal_from signal_from, bool change_priv)
+{
+ if (signal_from == SIGNAL_FROM_USER && !change_priv)
+ exec_crash_user();
+ if (signal_from == SIGNAL_FROM_USER && change_priv)
+ exec_crash_user_change_priv();
+ if (signal_from == SIGNAL_FROM_KERNEL && !change_priv)
+ exec_crash_kernel();
+ if (signal_from == SIGNAL_FROM_KERNEL && change_priv)
+ exec_crash_kernel_change_priv();
+}
+
+static void do_crash(enum crash_after crash_after, enum signal_from signal_from,
+ int counter, bool change_priv)
+{
+ pid_t pid;
+ int status;
+
+ if (crash_after == CRASH_AFTER_NONE)
+ crash(signal_from, change_priv);
+
+ while (counter > 0) {
+ pid = fork();
+ if (pid < 0)
+ error_failure("fork");
+
+ /* Child process */
+ if (!pid) {
+ if (crash_after == CRASH_AFTER_FORK)
+ crash(signal_from, change_priv);
+
+ exec_crash(signal_from, change_priv);
+ }
+
+ /* Parent process */
+ counter -= 1;
+ pid = waitpid(pid, &status, 0);
+ if (pid < 0)
+ error_failure("waitpid");
+ }
+}
+
+static __attribute__((noreturn)) void error_close_failure(const char *message,
+ int fd)
+{
+ perror(message);
+ close(fd);
+ exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+}
+
+static void do_server(uint32_t ip, uint16_t port, long accept_timeout)
+{
+ int sockfd;
+ int ret;
+ struct sockaddr_in address;
+ struct timeval timeout;
+ int newsockfd;
+
+ sockfd = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
+ if (sockfd < 0)
+ error_failure("socket");
+
+ address.sin_family = AF_INET;
+ address.sin_addr.s_addr = ip;
+ address.sin_port = port;
+
+ ret = bind(sockfd, (const struct sockaddr *)&address, sizeof(address));
+ if (ret)
+ error_close_failure("bind", sockfd);
+
+ ret = listen(sockfd, 1);
+ if (ret)
+ error_close_failure("listen", sockfd);
+
+ timeout.tv_sec = accept_timeout;
+ timeout.tv_usec = 0;
+ ret = setsockopt(sockfd, SOL_SOCKET, SO_RCVTIMEO,
+ (const struct timeval *)&timeout, sizeof(timeout));
+ if (ret)
+ error_close_failure("setsockopt", sockfd);
+
+ newsockfd = accept(sockfd, NULL, NULL);
+ if (newsockfd < 0)
+ error_close_failure("accept", sockfd);
+
+ close(sockfd);
+ close(newsockfd);
+}
+
+static void do_client(uint32_t ip, uint16_t port, long connect_timeout)
+{
+ int sockfd;
+ int ret;
+ struct timeval timeout;
+ struct sockaddr_in address;
+
+ sockfd = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
+ if (sockfd < 0)
+ error_failure("socket");
+
+ timeout.tv_sec = connect_timeout;
+ timeout.tv_usec = 0;
+ ret = setsockopt(sockfd, SOL_SOCKET, SO_SNDTIMEO,
+ (const struct timeval *)&timeout, sizeof(timeout));
+ if (ret)
+ error_close_failure("setsockopt", sockfd);
+
+ address.sin_family = AF_INET;
+ address.sin_addr.s_addr = ip;
+ address.sin_port = port;
+
+ ret = connect(sockfd, (const struct sockaddr *)&address,
+ sizeof(address));
+ if (ret)
+ error_close_failure("connect", sockfd);
+
+ ret = write(sockfd, message, strlen(message));
+ if (ret < 0)
+ error_close_failure("write", sockfd);
+
+ close(sockfd);
+}
+
+#define PROG_NAME basename(argv[0])
+
+int main(int argc, char **argv)
+{
+ int opt;
+ struct args args = {
+ .mode = MODE_NONE,
+ .crash_after = CRASH_AFTER_NONE,
+ .signal_from = SIGNAL_FROM_NONE,
+ .has_counter = false,
+ .has_change_priv = false,
+ .has_ip = false,
+ .has_port = false,
+ .has_timeout = false,
+ };
+
+ while ((opt = getopt(argc, argv, OPT_STRING)) != -1) {
+ switch (opt) {
+ case 'h':
+ usage(PROG_NAME);
+ return EXIT_SUCCESS;
+ case 'm':
+ args.mode = get_mode(optarg, PROG_NAME);
+ break;
+ case 'c':
+ args.crash_after = get_crash_after(optarg, PROG_NAME);
+ break;
+ case 's':
+ args.signal_from = get_signal_from(optarg, PROG_NAME);
+ break;
+ case 'n':
+ args.counter = get_counter(optarg, PROG_NAME);
+ args.has_counter = true;
+ break;
+ case 'C':
+ args.has_change_priv = true;
+ break;
+ case 'a':
+ args.ip = get_ip(optarg, PROG_NAME);
+ args.has_ip = true;
+ break;
+ case 'p':
+ args.port = get_port(optarg, PROG_NAME);
+ args.has_port = true;
+ break;
+ case 't':
+ args.timeout = get_timeout(optarg, PROG_NAME);
+ args.has_timeout = true;
+ break;
+ default:
+ usage(PROG_NAME);
+ return EXIT_FAILURE;
+ }
+ }
+
+ check_args(&args, PROG_NAME);
+
+ if (args.mode == MODE_CRASH) {
+ do_crash(args.crash_after, args.signal_from, args.counter,
+ args.has_change_priv);
+ } else if (args.mode == MODE_SERVER_CRASH) {
+ do_server(args.ip, args.port, args.timeout);
+ do_crash(args.crash_after, args.signal_from, args.counter,
+ false);
+ } else if (args.mode == MODE_CLIENT) {
+ do_client(args.ip, args.port, args.timeout);
+ }
+
+ return EXIT_SUCCESS;
+}
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/brute/test.sh b/tools/testing/selftests/brute/test.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000000..393b651ab635
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/brute/test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,269 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+TCID="test.sh"
+
+KSFT_PASS=0
+KSFT_FAIL=1
+KSFT_SKIP=4
+
+errno=$KSFT_PASS
+
+check_root()
+{
+ local uid=$(id -u)
+ if [ $uid -ne 0 ]; then
+ echo $TCID: must be run as root >&2
+ exit $KSFT_SKIP
+ fi
+}
+
+tmp_files_setup()
+{
+ DMESG=$(mktemp --tmpdir -t brute-dmesg-XXXXXX)
+}
+
+tmp_files_cleanup()
+{
+ rm -f "$DMESG"
+}
+
+save_dmesg()
+{
+ dmesg > "$DMESG"
+}
+
+count_attack_matches()
+{
+ dmesg | comm --nocheck-order -13 "$DMESG" - | \
+ grep "brute: fork brute force attack detected" | wc -l
+}
+
+assert_equal()
+{
+ local val1=$1
+ local val2=$2
+
+ if [ $val1 -eq $val2 ]; then
+ echo "$TCID: $message [PASS]"
+ else
+ echo "$TCID: $message [FAIL]"
+ errno=$KSFT_FAIL
+ fi
+}
+
+test_fork_user()
+{
+ COUNTER=20
+
+ save_dmesg
+ ./test -m crash -c fork -s user -n $COUNTER
+ count=$(count_attack_matches)
+
+ message="fork attack (user signals, no bounds crossed)"
+ assert_equal $count 0
+}
+
+test_fork_kernel()
+{
+ save_dmesg
+ ./test -m crash -c fork -s kernel -n $COUNTER
+ count=$(count_attack_matches)
+
+ message="fork attack (kernel signals, no bounds crossed)"
+ assert_equal $count 0
+}
+
+test_exec_user()
+{
+ save_dmesg
+ ./test -m crash -c exec -s user -n $COUNTER
+ count=$(count_attack_matches)
+
+ message="exec attack (user signals, no bounds crossed)"
+ assert_equal $count 0
+}
+
+test_exec_kernel()
+{
+ save_dmesg
+ ./test -m crash -c exec -s kernel -n $COUNTER
+ count=$(count_attack_matches)
+
+ message="exec attack (kernel signals, no bounds crossed)"
+ assert_equal $count 0
+}
+
+assert_not_equal()
+{
+ local val1=$1
+ local val2=$2
+
+ if [ $val1 -ne $val2 ]; then
+ echo $TCID: $message [PASS]
+ else
+ echo $TCID: $message [FAIL]
+ errno=$KSFT_FAIL
+ fi
+}
+
+remove_xattr()
+{
+ ./rmxattr test >/dev/null 2>&1
+}
+
+test_fork_kernel_setuid()
+{
+ save_dmesg
+ chmod u+s test
+ ./test -m crash -c fork -s kernel -n $COUNTER
+ chmod u-s test
+ count=$(count_attack_matches)
+
+ message="fork attack (kernel signals, setuid binary)"
+ assert_not_equal $count 0
+ remove_xattr
+}
+
+test_exec_kernel_setuid()
+{
+ save_dmesg
+ chmod u+s test
+ ./test -m crash -c exec -s kernel -n $COUNTER
+ chmod u-s test
+ count=$(count_attack_matches)
+
+ message="exec attack (kernel signals, setuid binary)"
+ assert_not_equal $count 0
+ remove_xattr
+}
+
+test_fork_kernel_change_priv()
+{
+ save_dmesg
+ ./test -m crash -c fork -s kernel -n $COUNTER -C
+ count=$(count_attack_matches)
+
+ message="fork attack (kernel signals, change privileges)"
+ assert_not_equal $count 0
+ remove_xattr
+}
+
+test_exec_kernel_change_priv()
+{
+ save_dmesg
+ ./test -m crash -c exec -s kernel -n $COUNTER -C
+ count=$(count_attack_matches)
+
+ message="exec attack (kernel signals, change privileges)"
+ assert_not_equal $count 0
+ remove_xattr
+}
+
+network_ns_setup()
+{
+ local vnet_name=$1
+ local veth_name=$2
+ local ip_src=$3
+ local ip_dst=$4
+
+ ip netns add $vnet_name
+ ip link set $veth_name netns $vnet_name
+ ip -n $vnet_name addr add $ip_src/24 dev $veth_name
+ ip -n $vnet_name link set $veth_name up
+ ip -n $vnet_name route add $ip_dst/24 dev $veth_name
+}
+
+network_setup()
+{
+ VETH0_NAME=veth0
+ VNET0_NAME=vnet0
+ VNET0_IP=10.0.1.0
+ VETH1_NAME=veth1
+ VNET1_NAME=vnet1
+ VNET1_IP=10.0.2.0
+
+ ip link add $VETH0_NAME type veth peer name $VETH1_NAME
+ network_ns_setup $VNET0_NAME $VETH0_NAME $VNET0_IP $VNET1_IP
+ network_ns_setup $VNET1_NAME $VETH1_NAME $VNET1_IP $VNET0_IP
+}
+
+test_fork_kernel_network_to_local()
+{
+ INADDR_ANY=0.0.0.0
+ PORT=65535
+ TIMEOUT=5
+
+ save_dmesg
+ ip netns exec $VNET0_NAME ./test -m server_crash -a $INADDR_ANY \
+ -p $PORT -t $TIMEOUT -c fork -s kernel -n $COUNTER &
+ sleep 1
+ ip netns exec $VNET1_NAME ./test -m client -a $VNET0_IP -p $PORT \
+ -t $TIMEOUT
+ sleep 1
+ count=$(count_attack_matches)
+
+ message="fork attack (kernel signals, network to local)"
+ assert_not_equal $count 0
+ remove_xattr
+}
+
+test_exec_kernel_network_to_local()
+{
+ save_dmesg
+ ip netns exec $VNET0_NAME ./test -m server_crash -a $INADDR_ANY \
+ -p $PORT -t $TIMEOUT -c exec -s kernel -n $COUNTER &
+ sleep 1
+ ip netns exec $VNET1_NAME ./test -m client -a $VNET0_IP -p $PORT \
+ -t $TIMEOUT
+ sleep 1
+ count=$(count_attack_matches)
+
+ message="exec attack (kernel signals, network to local)"
+ assert_not_equal $count 0
+ remove_xattr
+}
+
+network_cleanup()
+{
+ ip netns del $VNET0_NAME >/dev/null 2>&1
+ ip netns del $VNET1_NAME >/dev/null 2>&1
+ ip link delete $VETH0_NAME >/dev/null 2>&1
+ ip link delete $VETH1_NAME >/dev/null 2>&1
+}
+
+test_waitid()
+{
+ ./exec test -m crash -c fork -s kernel -n $COUNTER -C
+ local rc=$?
+
+ message="notification to userspace via waitid system call"
+ assert_equal $rc 0
+ remove_xattr
+}
+
+cleanup()
+{
+ network_cleanup
+ tmp_files_cleanup
+ chmod u-s test
+ remove_xattr
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+check_root
+tmp_files_setup
+test_fork_user
+test_fork_kernel
+test_exec_user
+test_exec_kernel
+test_fork_kernel_setuid
+test_exec_kernel_setuid
+test_fork_kernel_change_priv
+test_exec_kernel_change_priv
+network_setup
+test_fork_kernel_network_to_local
+test_exec_kernel_network_to_local
+network_cleanup
+test_waitid
+exit $errno
--
2.25.1
Add some info detailing what is the Brute LSM, its motivation, weak
points of existing implementations, proposed solutions, notifications,
enabling, disabling, configuration and self-tests.
Signed-off-by: John Wood <[email protected]>
---
Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/Brute.rst | 359 ++++++++++++++++++++++++
Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/index.rst | 1 +
security/brute/Kconfig | 3 +-
3 files changed, 362 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
create mode 100644 Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/Brute.rst
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/Brute.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/Brute.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..087da9c07374
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/Brute.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,359 @@
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+=====
+Brute
+=====
+
+Brute is a Linux Security Module that detects and mitigates fork brute force
+attacks against vulnerable userspace processes.
+
+
+Motivation
+==========
+
+Attacks against vulnerable userspace applications with the purpose to break ASLR
+or bypass canaries traditionally use some level of brute force with the help of
+the fork system call. This is possible since when creating a new process using
+fork its memory contents are the same as those of the parent process (the
+process that called the fork system call). So, the attacker can test the memory
+infinite times to find the correct memory values or the correct memory addresses
+without worrying about crashing the application.
+
+Based on the above scenario it would be nice to have this detected and
+mitigated, and this is the goal of this implementation. Specifically the
+following attacks are expected to be detected:
+
+ 1. Launching (fork()/exec()) a setuid/setgid process repeatedly until a
+ desirable memory layout is got (e.g. Stack Clash).
+ 2. Connecting to an exec()ing network daemon (e.g. xinetd) repeatedly until a
+ desirable memory layout is got (e.g. what CTFs do for simple network
+ service).
+ 3. Launching processes without exec() (e.g. Android Zygote) and exposing state
+ to attack a sibling.
+ 4. Connecting to a fork()ing network daemon (e.g. apache) repeatedly until the
+ previously shared memory layout of all the other children is exposed (e.g.
+ kind of related to HeartBleed).
+
+In each case, a privilege boundary has been crossed:
+
+ | Case 1: setuid/setgid process
+ | Case 2: network to local
+ | Case 3: privilege changes
+ | Case 4: network to local
+
+So, what really needs to be detected are fork/exec brute force attacks that
+cross any of the commented bounds.
+
+
+Other implementations
+=====================
+
+The public version of grsecurity, as a summary, is based on the idea of delaying
+the fork system call if a child died due to some fatal signal (``SIGSEGV``,
+``SIGBUS``, ``SIGKILL`` or ``SIGILL``). This has some issues:
+
+Bad practices
+-------------
+
+Adding delays to the kernel is, in general, a bad idea.
+
+Scenarios not detected (false negatives)
+----------------------------------------
+
+This protection acts only when the fork system call is called after a child has
+crashed. So, it would still be possible for an attacker to fork a big amount of
+children (in the order of thousands), then probe all of them, and finally wait
+the protection time before repeating the steps.
+
+Moreover, this method is based on the idea that the protection doesn't act if
+the parent crashes. So, it would still be possible for an attacker to fork a
+process and probe itself. Then, fork the child process and probe itself again.
+This way, these steps can be repeated infinite times without any mitigation.
+
+Scenarios detected (false positives)
+------------------------------------
+
+Scenarios where an application rarely fails for reasons unrelated to a real
+attack.
+
+
+This implementation
+===================
+
+The main idea behind this implementation is to improve the existing ones
+focusing on the weak points annotated before. Basically, the adopted solution is
+to detect a fast crash rate instead of only one simple crash and to detect both
+the crash of parent and child processes. Also, fine tune the detection focusing
+on privilege boundary crossing. And finally, as a mitigation method, kill all
+the offending tasks involved in the attack and mark the executable as "not
+allowed" (to block the following executions) instead of using delays.
+
+To achieve this goal, and going into more details, this implementation is based
+on the use of some statistical data shared across all the processes that can
+have the same memory contents. Or in other words, a statistical data shared
+between all the fork hierarchy processes after an execve system call.
+
+The purpose of these statistics is, basically, collect all the necessary info to
+compute the application crash period in order to detect an attack. To track all
+this information, the extended attributes (xattr) of the executable files are
+used. More specifically, the name of the attribute is "brute" and uses the
+"security" namespace. So, the full xattr name for the Brute LSM is:
+
+ ``security.brute``
+
+The same can be achieved using a pointer to the fork hierarchy statistical data
+held by the ``task_struct`` structure, but this has an important drawback: a
+brute force attack that happens through the execve system call losts the faults
+info since these statistics are freed when the fork hierarchy disappears. Using
+the last method (pointer in the ``task_struct`` structure) makes not possible to
+manage this attack type that can be successfully treated using extended
+attributes.
+
+To detect a brute force attack it is necessary that the statistics shared by all
+the fork hierarchy processes be updated in every fatal crash and the most
+important data to update is the application crash period.
+
+The crash period is the time between two consecutive faults, but this also has a
+drawback: if an application crashes twice in a short period of time for some
+reason unrelated to a real attack, a false positive will be triggered. To avoid
+this scenario the exponential moving average (EMA) is used. This way, the
+application crash period will be a value that is not prone to change due to
+spurious data and follows the real crash period.
+
+These statistics are stored in the executables using the extended attributes
+feature. So, the detection and mitigation of brute force attacks using this LSM
+it is only feasible in filesystems that support xattr.
+
+.. kernel-doc:: security/brute/brute.c
+ :identifiers: brute_raw_stats
+
+This is a fixed sized struct with a very small footprint. So, in reference to
+memory usage, it is not expected to have problems storing it as an extended
+attribute.
+
+Concerning to access rights to this statistical data, as stated above, the
+"security" namespace is used. Since no custom policy, related to this extended
+attribute, has been implemented for the Brute LSM, all processes have read
+access to these statistics, and write access is limited to processes that have
+the ``CAP_SYS_ADMIN`` capability.
+
+Attack detection
+----------------
+
+There are two types of brute force attacks that need to be detected. The first
+one is an attack that happens through the fork system call and the second one is
+an attack that happens through the execve system call. Moreover, these two
+attack types have two variants. A slow brute force attack that is detected if a
+maximum number of faults per fork hierarchy is reached and a fast brute force
+attack that is detected if the application crash period falls below a certain
+threshold.
+
+Attack mitigation
+-----------------
+
+Once an attack has been detected, this is mitigated killing all the offending
+tasks involved. Or in other words, once an attack has been detected, this is
+mitigated killing all the processes that are executing the same file that is
+running during the brute force attack. Also, to prevent the executable involved
+in the attack from being respawned by a supervisor, and thus prevent a brute
+force attack from being started again, the file is marked as "not allowed" and
+the following executions are avoided based on this mark. This method allows
+supervisors to implement their own policy: they can read the statistics, know if
+the executable is blocked by the Brute LSM and why, and act based on this
+information. If they want to respawn the offending executable it is only
+necessary to remove the "``security.brute``" extended attribute and thus remove
+the statistical data.
+
+Fine tuning the attack detection
+--------------------------------
+
+To avoid false positives during the attack detection it is necessary to narrow
+the possible cases. To do so, and based on the threat scenarios that we want to
+detect, this implementation also focuses on the crossing of privilege bounds.
+
+To be precise, only the following privilege bounds are taken into account:
+
+ 1. setuid/setgid process
+ 2. network to local
+ 3. privilege changes
+
+Moreover, only the fatal signals delivered by the kernel are taken into account
+avoiding the fatal signals sent by userspace applications (with the exception of
+the ``SIGABRT`` user signal since this is used by glibc for stack canary,
+malloc, etc. failures, which may indicate that a mitigation has been triggered).
+
+Userspace notification via waitid() system call
+-----------------------------------------------
+
+Although the xattr of the executable is accessible from userspace, in complex
+daemons this file may not be visible directly by the supervisor as it may be run
+through some wrapper. So, an extension to the ``waitid()`` system call has been
+added.
+
+ ``int waitid(idtype_t idtype, id_t id, siginfo_t *infop, int options);``
+
+Upon successful return, ``waitid()`` fills in the ``siginfo_t`` structure
+pointed to by ``infop``, but now, the ``si_code`` field can be:
+
+ ``CLD_BRUTE``: child was killed by brute LSM. Defined as value 7.
+
+in addition to the following codes:
+
+ | ``CLD_EXITED``: child has called exit. Defined as value 1.
+ | ``CLD_KILLED``: child was killed by signal. Defined as value 2.
+ | ``CLD_DUMPED``: child terminated abnormally. Defined as value 3.
+ | ``CLD_TRAPPED``: traced child has trapped. Defined as value 4.
+ | ``CLD_STOPPED``: child has stopped. Defined as value 5.
+ | ``CLD_CONTINUED``: stopped child has continued. Defined as value 6.
+
+Exponential moving average (EMA)
+--------------------------------
+
+This kind of average defines a weight (between 0 and 1) for the new value to add
+and applies the remainder of the weight to the current average value. This way,
+some spurious data will not excessively modify the average and only if the new
+values are persistent, the moving average will tend towards them.
+
+Mathematically the application crash period's EMA can be expressed as follows:
+
+ period_ema = period * weight + period_ema * (1 - weight)
+
+Related to the attack detection, the EMA must guarantee that not many crashes
+are needed. To demonstrate this, the scenario where an application has failed
+and then has been running without any crashes for a month, will be used.
+
+The period's EMA can be written now as:
+
+ period_ema[i] = period[i] * weight + period_ema[i - 1] * (1 - weight)
+
+If the new crash periods have insignificant values related to the first crash
+period (a month in this case), the formula can be rewritten as:
+
+ period_ema[i] = period_ema[i - 1] * (1 - weight)
+
+And by extension:
+
+ | period_ema[i - 1] = period_ema[i - 2] * (1 - weight)
+ | period_ema[i - 2] = period_ema[i - 3] * (1 - weight)
+ | period_ema[i - 3] = period_ema[i - 4] * (1 - weight)
+
+So, if the substitution is made:
+
+ | period_ema[i] = period_ema[i - 1] * (1 - weight)
+ | period_ema[i] = period_ema[i - 2] * (1 - weight)\ :sup:`2`
+ | period_ema[i] = period_ema[i - 3] * (1 - weight)\ :sup:`3`
+ | period_ema[i] = period_ema[i - 4] * (1 - weight)\ :sup:`4`
+
+And in a more generic form:
+
+ period_ema[i] = period_ema[i - n] * (1 - weight)\ :sup:`n`
+
+Where "n" represents the number of iterations to obtain an EMA value. Or in
+other words, the number of crashes to detect an attack.
+
+So, if we isolate the number of crashes:
+
+ | period_ema[i] / period_ema[i - n] = (1 - weight)\ :sup:`n`
+ | log(period_ema[i] / period_ema[i - n]) = log((1 - weight)\ :sup:`n`)
+ | log(period_ema[i] / period_ema[i - n]) = n * log(1 - weight)
+ | n = log(period_ema[i] / period_ema[i - n]) / log(1 - weight)
+
+Then, in the commented scenario (an application has failed and then has been
+running without any crashes for a month), the approximate number of crashes to
+detect an attack (using the default implementation values for the weight and the
+crash period threshold) is:
+
+ | weight = 7 / 10
+ | crash_period_threshold = 30 seconds
+
+ | n = log(crash_period_threshold / seconds_per_month) / log(1 - weight)
+ | n = log(30 / (30 * 24 * 3600)) / log(1 - 0.7)
+ | n = 9.44
+
+So, with 10 crashes for this scenario an attack will be detected. If these steps
+are repeated for different scenarios and the results are collected:
+
+ ======================== =====================================
+ time without any crashes number of crashes to detect an attack
+ ======================== =====================================
+ 1 month 9.44
+ 1 year 11.50
+ 10 years 13.42
+ ======================== =====================================
+
+However, this computation has a drawback. The first data added to the EMA not
+obtains a real average showing a trend. So the solution is simple, the EMA needs
+a minimum number of data to be able to be interpreted. This way, the case where
+a few first faults are fast enough followed by no crashes is avoided.
+
+Per system enabling/disabling
+-----------------------------
+
+This feature can be enabled at build time using the
+``CONFIG_SECURITY_FORK_BRUTE`` option or using the visual config application
+under the following menu:
+
+ Security options ``--->`` Fork brute force attack detection and mitigation
+
+Also, at boot time, this feature can be disable too, by changing the "``lsm=``"
+boot parameter.
+
+Per system configuration
+------------------------
+
+To customize the detection's sensibility there are five new sysctl attributes
+for the Brute LSM that are accessible through the following path:
+
+ ``/proc/sys/kernel/brute/``
+
+More specifically, the files and their description are:
+
+**ema_weight_numerator**
+
+ .. kernel-doc:: security/brute/brute.c
+ :doc: brute_ema_weight_numerator
+
+**ema_weight_denominator**
+
+ .. kernel-doc:: security/brute/brute.c
+ :doc: brute_ema_weight_denominator
+
+**max_faults**
+
+ .. kernel-doc:: security/brute/brute.c
+ :doc: brute_max_faults
+
+**min_faults**
+
+ .. kernel-doc:: security/brute/brute.c
+ :doc: brute_min_faults
+
+**crash_period_threshold**
+
+ .. kernel-doc:: security/brute/brute.c
+ :doc: brute_crash_period_threshold
+
+Kernel selftests
+----------------
+
+To validate all the expectations about this implementation, there is a set of
+selftests. This tests cover fork/exec brute force attacks crossing the following
+privilege boundaries:
+
+ 1. setuid process
+ 2. privilege changes
+ 3. network to local
+
+Also, there are some tests to check that fork/exec brute force attacks without
+crossing any privilege boundary already commented doesn't trigger the detection
+and mitigation stage. Moreover, a test to verify the userspace notification via
+the ``waitid()`` system call has also been added.
+
+To build the tests:
+ ``make -C tools/testing/selftests/ TARGETS=brute``
+
+To run the tests:
+ ``make -C tools/testing/selftests TARGETS=brute run_tests``
+
+To package the tests:
+ ``make -C tools/testing/selftests TARGETS=brute gen_tar``
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/index.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/index.rst
index a6ba95fbaa9f..1f68982bb330 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/index.rst
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/index.rst
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ subdirectories.
:maxdepth: 1
apparmor
+ Brute
LoadPin
SELinux
Smack
diff --git a/security/brute/Kconfig b/security/brute/Kconfig
index 5da314d221aa..d2dd33b08642 100644
--- a/security/brute/Kconfig
+++ b/security/brute/Kconfig
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ config SECURITY_FORK_BRUTE
offending tasks are killed. Also, the executable file involved in the
attack will be marked as "not allowed" and new execve system calls
using this file will fail. Like capabilities, this security module
- stacks with other LSMs.
+ stacks with other LSMs. Further information can be found in
+ Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/Brute.rst.
If you are unsure how to answer this question, answer N.
--
2.25.1
In order to maintain the code for the Brute LSM add a new entry to the
maintainers list.
Signed-off-by: John Wood <[email protected]>
---
MAINTAINERS | 8 ++++++++
1 file changed, 8 insertions(+)
diff --git a/MAINTAINERS b/MAINTAINERS
index 503fd21901f1..665cd6aaadac 100644
--- a/MAINTAINERS
+++ b/MAINTAINERS
@@ -3847,6 +3847,14 @@ L: [email protected]
S: Supported
F: drivers/net/ethernet/brocade/bna/
+BRUTE SECURITY MODULE
+M: John Wood <[email protected]>
+S: Maintained
+F: Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/Brute.rst
+F: include/brute/
+F: security/brute/
+F: tools/testing/selftests/brute/
+
BSG (block layer generic sg v4 driver)
M: FUJITA Tomonori <[email protected]>
L: [email protected]
--
2.25.1
On Sat, Jun 05, 2021 at 05:03:57PM +0200, John Wood wrote:
> [...]
> the kselftest to avoid the detection ;) ). So, in this version, to track
> all the statistical data (info related with application crashes), the
> extended attributes feature for the executable files are used. The xattr is
> also used to mark the executables as "not allowed" when an attack is
> detected. Then, the execve system call rely on this flag to avoid following
> executions of this file.
I have some concerns about this being actually usable and not creating
DoS situations. For example, let's say an attacker had found a hard-to-hit
bug in "sudo", and starts brute forcing it. When the brute LSM notices,
it'll make "sudo" unusable for the entire system, yes?
And a reboot won't fix it, either, IIUC.
It seems like there is a need to track "user" running "prog", and have
that be timed out. Are there use-cases here where that wouldn't be
sufficient?
-Kees
--
Kees Cook
On 6/8/2021 4:19 PM, Kees Cook wrote:
> On Sat, Jun 05, 2021 at 05:03:57PM +0200, John Wood wrote:
>> [...]
>> the kselftest to avoid the detection ;) ). So, in this version, to track
>> all the statistical data (info related with application crashes), the
>> extended attributes feature for the executable files are used. The xattr is
>> also used to mark the executables as "not allowed" when an attack is
>> detected. Then, the execve system call rely on this flag to avoid following
>> executions of this file.
> I have some concerns about this being actually usable and not creating
> DoS situations. For example, let's say an attacker had found a hard-to-hit
> bug in "sudo", and starts brute forcing it. When the brute LSM notices,
> it'll make "sudo" unusable for the entire system, yes?
>
> And a reboot won't fix it, either, IIUC.
>
The whole point of the mitigation is to trade potential attacks against DOS.
If you're worried about DOS the whole thing is not for you.
-Andi
On Tue, Jun 08, 2021 at 04:38:15PM -0700, Andi Kleen wrote:
>
> On 6/8/2021 4:19 PM, Kees Cook wrote:
> > On Sat, Jun 05, 2021 at 05:03:57PM +0200, John Wood wrote:
> > > [...]
> > > the kselftest to avoid the detection ;) ). So, in this version, to track
> > > all the statistical data (info related with application crashes), the
> > > extended attributes feature for the executable files are used. The xattr is
> > > also used to mark the executables as "not allowed" when an attack is
> > > detected. Then, the execve system call rely on this flag to avoid following
> > > executions of this file.
> > I have some concerns about this being actually usable and not creating
> > DoS situations. For example, let's say an attacker had found a hard-to-hit
> > bug in "sudo", and starts brute forcing it. When the brute LSM notices,
> > it'll make "sudo" unusable for the entire system, yes?
> >
> > And a reboot won't fix it, either, IIUC.
> >
> The whole point of the mitigation is to trade potential attacks against DOS.
>
> If you're worried about DOS the whole thing is not for you.
Right, but there's no need to make a system unusable for everyone else.
There's nothing here that relaxes the defense (i.e. stop spawning apache
for 10 minutes). Writing it to disk with nothing that undoes it seems a
bit too much. :)
--
Kees Cook
On Wed, Jun 09, 2021 at 09:52:29AM -0700, Kees Cook wrote:
> On Tue, Jun 08, 2021 at 04:38:15PM -0700, Andi Kleen wrote:
> >
> > On 6/8/2021 4:19 PM, Kees Cook wrote:
> > > On Sat, Jun 05, 2021 at 05:03:57PM +0200, John Wood wrote:
> > > > [...]
> > > > the kselftest to avoid the detection ;) ). So, in this version, to track
> > > > all the statistical data (info related with application crashes), the
> > > > extended attributes feature for the executable files are used. The xattr is
> > > > also used to mark the executables as "not allowed" when an attack is
> > > > detected. Then, the execve system call rely on this flag to avoid following
> > > > executions of this file.
> > >
> > > I have some concerns about this being actually usable and not creating
> > > DoS situations. For example, let's say an attacker had found a hard-to-hit
> > > bug in "sudo", and starts brute forcing it. When the brute LSM notices,
> > > it'll make "sudo" unusable for the entire system, yes?
> > >
> > > And a reboot won't fix it, either, IIUC.
> > >
> > The whole point of the mitigation is to trade potential attacks against DOS.
> >
> > If you're worried about DOS the whole thing is not for you.
>
> Right, but there's no need to make a system unusable for everyone else.
> There's nothing here that relaxes the defense (i.e. stop spawning apache
> for 10 minutes). Writing it to disk with nothing that undoes it seems a
> bit too much. :)
Here I have merge the first reply.
> It seems like there is a need to track "user" running "prog", and have
> that be timed out. Are there use-cases here where that wouldn't be
> sufficient?
Ok, what do you think of the following proposal:
Add an uid_t field to the structure saved in the xattr. So this struct
contains now
faults: Number of crashes.
nsecs: Last crash timestamp as the number of nanoseconds in the
International Atomic Time (TAI) reference.
period: Crash period's moving average.
flags: Statistics flags.
uid: User id not allowed to run the executable.
The logic would be the following:
1. faults, nsecs and period are updated in every crash and is a common info
for all the users.
2. If the max number of faults is reached, it is "not allowed" to run the
executable by any user. This condition blocks the file until root clear
the xattr. No timeout.
3. When an attack is detected the uid of the user that is running the app
is saved in the xattr and the executable is marked as "not allowed" to
run by this user. The "not allowed" state has a timeout (more below).
4. When someone tries to run the executable, if his uid is different from
the uid saved in the xattr, then the operation is "allowed".
5. When someone tries to run the executable, if his uid is equal to the
uid saved in the xattr, then the operation is "not allowed". This user
is banned for a timeout.
6. When someone tries to run the executable and the timeout has expired,
the operation is "allowed" and the saved uid is removed.
7. If the executable crashes again when it is run by a user different from
the one saved in the xattr (and the timeout has no expired), the file
is marked as "not allowed" to run by any user. All users are banned for
a timeout.
The timeout: I think there are two options here.
1. A fixed timeout set by a sysctl attribute.
2. A dynamic timeout calculated from the info stored in the xattr. The
timeout would be the needed period to guarantee that when the app is
run again and it crashes, the attack detection will not be triggered.
To be more clear I expose the formulas:
Mathematically the application crash period's EMA can be expressed as
follows:
period_ema[i] = period[i] * weight + period_ema[i - 1] * (1 - weight)
If we isolate period:
period[i] = (period_ema[i] - period_ema[i - 1] * (1 - weight)) / weight
Where period_ema[i] is the "crash_period_threshold", period_ema[i - 1]
is the last period ema saved in the xattr and period[i] is the dynamic
timeout.
As a final point. Possibly there are more cases but the logic would be the
one explained. I think that it is not necessary to save the uid for every
user that crashes the app nor the crashes info for every user. If more
than one user crashes the application, something "bad" is happening. So,
all users are banned for a timeout. This way the info saved in the xattr
has a fixed size and we prevent an attacker from abusing this size.
I hope this proposal can be enough. What do you think?
John Wood.
Hi,
From: John Wood <[email protected]>
Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2021 17:04:00 +0200
> For a correct management of a fork brute force attack it is necessary to
> track all the information related to the application crashes. To do so,
> use the extended attributes (xattr) of the executable files and define a
> statistical data structure to hold all the necessary information shared
> by all the fork hierarchy processes. This info is the number of crashes,
> the last crash timestamp and the crash period's moving average.
>
> The same can be achieved using a pointer to the fork hierarchy
> statistical data held by the task_struct structure. But this has an
> important drawback: a brute force attack that happens through the execve
> system call losts the faults info since these statistics are freed when
> the fork hierarchy disappears. Using this method makes not possible to
> manage this attack type that can be successfully treated using extended
> attributes.
>
> Also, to avoid false positives during the attack detection it is
> necessary to narrow the possible cases. So, only the following scenarios
> are taken into account:
>
> 1.- Launching (fork()/exec()) a setuid/setgid process repeatedly until a
> desirable memory layout is got (e.g. Stack Clash).
> 2.- Connecting to an exec()ing network daemon (e.g. xinetd) repeatedly
> until a desirable memory layout is got (e.g. what CTFs do for simple
> network service).
> 3.- Launching processes without exec() (e.g. Android Zygote) and
> exposing state to attack a sibling.
> 4.- Connecting to a fork()ing network daemon (e.g. apache) repeatedly
> until the previously shared memory layout of all the other children
> is exposed (e.g. kind of related to HeartBleed).
>
> In each case, a privilege boundary has been crossed:
>
> Case 1: setuid/setgid process
> Case 2: network to local
> Case 3: privilege changes
> Case 4: network to local
>
> To mark that a privilege boundary has been crossed it is only necessary
> to create a new stats for the executable file via the extended attribute
> and only if it has no previous statistical data. This is done using four
> different LSM hooks, one per privilege boundary:
>
> setuid/setgid process --> bprm_creds_from_file hook (based on secureexec
> flag).
> network to local -------> socket_accept hook (taking into account only
> external connections).
> privilege changes ------> task_fix_setuid and task_fix_setgid hooks.
>
> To detect a brute force attack it is necessary that the executable file
> statistics be updated in every fatal crash and the most important data
> to update is the application crash period. To do so, use the new
> "task_fatal_signal" LSM hook added in a previous step.
>
> The application crash period must be a value that is not prone to change
> due to spurious data and follows the real crash period. So, to compute
> it, the exponential moving average (EMA) is used.
>
> Based on the updated statistics two different attacks can be handled. A
> slow brute force attack that is detected if the maximum number of faults
> per fork hierarchy is reached and a fast brute force attack that is
> detected if the application crash period falls below a certain
> threshold.
>
> Moreover, only the signals delivered by the kernel are taken into
> account with the exception of the SIGABRT signal since the latter is
> used by glibc for stack canary, malloc, etc failures, which may indicate
> that a mitigation has been triggered.
>
> Signed-off-by: John Wood <[email protected]>
>
> <snip>
>
> +static int brute_get_xattr_stats(struct dentry *dentry, struct inode *inode,
> + struct brute_stats *stats)
> +{
> + int rc;
> + struct brute_raw_stats raw_stats;
> +
> + rc = __vfs_getxattr(dentry, inode, XATTR_NAME_BRUTE, &raw_stats,
> + sizeof(raw_stats));
> + if (rc < 0)
> + return rc;
> +
> + stats->faults = le32_to_cpu(raw_stats.faults);
> + stats->nsecs = le64_to_cpu(raw_stats.nsecs);
> + stats->period = le64_to_cpu(raw_stats.period);
> + stats->flags = raw_stats.flags;
> + return 0;
> +}
>
> <snip>
>
> +static int brute_task_execve(struct linux_binprm *bprm, struct file *file)
> +{
> + struct dentry *dentry = file_dentry(bprm->file);
> + struct inode *inode = file_inode(bprm->file);
> + struct brute_stats stats;
> + int rc;
> +
> + inode_lock(inode);
> + rc = brute_get_xattr_stats(dentry, inode, &stats);
> + if (WARN_ON_ONCE(rc && rc != -ENODATA))
> + goto unlock;
I think I caught a problem here. Have you tested this with
initramfs?
According to init/do_mount.c's
init_rootfs()/rootfs_init_fs_context(), when `root=` cmdline
parameter is not empty, kernel creates rootfs of type ramfs
(tmpfs otherwise).
The thing about ramfs is that it doesn't support xattrs.
I'm running this v8 on a regular PC with initramfs and having
`root=` in cmdline, and Brute doesn't allow the kernel to run
any init processes (/init, /sbin/init, ...) with err == -95
(-EOPNOTSUPP) -- I'm getting a
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 173 at brute_task_execve+0x15d/0x200
<snip>
Failed to execute /init (error -95)
and so on (and a panic at the end).
If I omit `root=` from cmdline, then the kernel runs init process
just fine -- I guess because initramfs is then placed inside tmpfs
with xattr support.
As for me, this ramfs/tmpfs selection based on `root=` presence
is ridiculous and I don't see or know any reasons behind that.
But that's another story, and ramfs might be not the only one
system without xattr support.
I think Brute should have a fallback here, e.g. it could simply
ignore files from xattr-incapable filesystems instead of such
WARNING splats and stuff.
> +
> + if (rc == -ENODATA && bprm->secureexec) {
> + brute_reset_stats(&stats);
> + rc = brute_set_xattr_stats(dentry, inode, &stats);
> + if (WARN_ON_ONCE(rc))
> + goto unlock;
> + }
> +
> + rc = 0;
> +unlock:
> + inode_unlock(inode);
> + return rc;
> +}
> +
>
> <snip>
Thanks,
Al
Hi,
On Thu, Jul 01, 2021 at 11:55:14PM +0000, Alexander Lobakin wrote:
> Hi,
>
> From: John Wood <[email protected]>
> Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2021 17:04:00 +0200
>
> > +static int brute_task_execve(struct linux_binprm *bprm, struct file *file)
> > +{
> > + struct dentry *dentry = file_dentry(bprm->file);
> > + struct inode *inode = file_inode(bprm->file);
> > + struct brute_stats stats;
> > + int rc;
> > +
> > + inode_lock(inode);
> > + rc = brute_get_xattr_stats(dentry, inode, &stats);
> > + if (WARN_ON_ONCE(rc && rc != -ENODATA))
> > + goto unlock;
>
> I think I caught a problem here. Have you tested this with
> initramfs?
No, it has not been tested with initramfs :(
> According to init/do_mount.c's
> init_rootfs()/rootfs_init_fs_context(), when `root=` cmdline
> parameter is not empty, kernel creates rootfs of type ramfs
> (tmpfs otherwise).
> The thing about ramfs is that it doesn't support xattrs.
It is a known issue that systems without xattr support are not
suitable for Brute (there are a note in the documentation).
However, the purpose is not to panic the system :(
> I'm running this v8 on a regular PC with initramfs and having
> `root=` in cmdline, and Brute doesn't allow the kernel to run
> any init processes (/init, /sbin/init, ...) with err == -95
> (-EOPNOTSUPP) -- I'm getting a
>
> WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 173 at brute_task_execve+0x15d/0x200
> <snip>
> Failed to execute /init (error -95)
>
> and so on (and a panic at the end).
>
> If I omit `root=` from cmdline, then the kernel runs init process
> just fine -- I guess because initramfs is then placed inside tmpfs
> with xattr support.
>
> As for me, this ramfs/tmpfs selection based on `root=` presence
> is ridiculous and I don't see or know any reasons behind that.
> But that's another story, and ramfs might be not the only one
> system without xattr support.
> I think Brute should have a fallback here, e.g. it could simply
> ignore files from xattr-incapable filesystems instead of such
> WARNING splats and stuff.
Ok, it seems reasonable to me: if the file system doesn't support
xattr, but Brute is enabled, Brute will do nothing and the system
will work normally.
I will work on it for the next version.
Thanks for the feedback.
John Wood
From: John Wood <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2021 16:59:54 +0200
> Hi,
>
> On Thu, Jul 01, 2021 at 11:55:14PM +0000, Alexander Lobakin wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > From: John Wood <[email protected]>
> > Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2021 17:04:00 +0200
> >
> > > +static int brute_task_execve(struct linux_binprm *bprm, struct file *file)
> > > +{
> > > + struct dentry *dentry = file_dentry(bprm->file);
> > > + struct inode *inode = file_inode(bprm->file);
> > > + struct brute_stats stats;
> > > + int rc;
> > > +
> > > + inode_lock(inode);
> > > + rc = brute_get_xattr_stats(dentry, inode, &stats);
> > > + if (WARN_ON_ONCE(rc && rc != -ENODATA))
> > > + goto unlock;
> >
> > I think I caught a problem here. Have you tested this with
> > initramfs?
>
> No, it has not been tested with initramfs :(
>
> > According to init/do_mount.c's
> > init_rootfs()/rootfs_init_fs_context(), when `root=` cmdline
> > parameter is not empty, kernel creates rootfs of type ramfs
> > (tmpfs otherwise).
> > The thing about ramfs is that it doesn't support xattrs.
>
> It is a known issue that systems without xattr support are not
> suitable for Brute (there are a note in the documentation).
> However, the purpose is not to panic the system :(
>
> > I'm running this v8 on a regular PC with initramfs and having
> > `root=` in cmdline, and Brute doesn't allow the kernel to run
> > any init processes (/init, /sbin/init, ...) with err == -95
> > (-EOPNOTSUPP) -- I'm getting a
> >
> > WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 173 at brute_task_execve+0x15d/0x200
> > <snip>
> > Failed to execute /init (error -95)
> >
> > and so on (and a panic at the end).
> >
> > If I omit `root=` from cmdline, then the kernel runs init process
> > just fine -- I guess because initramfs is then placed inside tmpfs
> > with xattr support.
> >
> > As for me, this ramfs/tmpfs selection based on `root=` presence
> > is ridiculous and I don't see or know any reasons behind that.
> > But that's another story, and ramfs might be not the only one
> > system without xattr support.
> > I think Brute should have a fallback here, e.g. it could simply
> > ignore files from xattr-incapable filesystems instead of such
> > WARNING splats and stuff.
>
> Ok, it seems reasonable to me: if the file system doesn't support
> xattr, but Brute is enabled, Brute will do nothing and the system
> will work normally.
On the other hand, it leaves a potentional window for attackers to
perform brute force from xattr-incapable filesystems. So at the end
of the day I think that the current implementation (a strong
rejection of such filesystems) is way more secure than having
a fallback I proposed.
I'm planning to make a patch which will eliminate such weird rootfs
type selection and just always use more feature-rich tmpfs if it's
compiled in. So, as an alternative, you could add it to your series
as a preparatory change and just add a Kconfig dependency on
CONFIG_TMPFS && CONFIG_TMPFS_XATTR to CONFIG_SECURITY_FORK_BRUTE
without messing with any fallbacks at all.
What do you think?
> I will work on it for the next version.
> Thanks for the feedback.
>
> John Wood
Thanks,
Al
Hi,
On Fri, Jul 02, 2021 at 05:08:09PM +0000, Alexander Lobakin wrote:
>
> On the other hand, it leaves a potentional window for attackers to
> perform brute force from xattr-incapable filesystems. So at the end
> of the day I think that the current implementation (a strong
> rejection of such filesystems) is way more secure than having
> a fallback I proposed.
I've been thinking more about this: that the Brute LSM depends on xattr
support and I don't like this part. I want that brute force attacks can
be detected and mitigated on every system (with minimal dependencies).
So, now I am working in a solution without this drawback. I have some
ideas but I need to work on it.
> I'm planning to make a patch which will eliminate such weird rootfs
> type selection and just always use more feature-rich tmpfs if it's
> compiled in. So, as an alternative, you could add it to your series
> as a preparatory change and just add a Kconfig dependency on
> CONFIG_TMPFS && CONFIG_TMPFS_XATTR to CONFIG_SECURITY_FORK_BRUTE
> without messing with any fallbacks at all.
> What do you think?
Great. But I hope this patch will not be necessary for Brute LSM :)
Thanks,
John Wood
On Sat, Jul 03, 2021 at 12:59:28PM +0200, John Wood wrote:
> Hi,
>
> On Fri, Jul 02, 2021 at 05:08:09PM +0000, Alexander Lobakin wrote:
> >
> > On the other hand, it leaves a potentional window for attackers to
> > perform brute force from xattr-incapable filesystems. So at the end
> > of the day I think that the current implementation (a strong
> > rejection of such filesystems) is way more secure than having
> > a fallback I proposed.
>
> I've been thinking more about this: that the Brute LSM depends on xattr
> support and I don't like this part. I want that brute force attacks can
> be detected and mitigated on every system (with minimal dependencies).
> So, now I am working in a solution without this drawback. I have some
> ideas but I need to work on it.
I have been coding and testing a bit my ideas but:
Trying to track the applications faults info using kernel memory ends up
in an easy to abuse system (denied of service due to large amount of memory
in use) :(
So, I continue with the v8 idea: xattr to track application crashes info.
> > I'm planning to make a patch which will eliminate such weird rootfs
> > type selection and just always use more feature-rich tmpfs if it's
> > compiled in. So, as an alternative, you could add it to your series
> > as a preparatory change and just add a Kconfig dependency on
> > CONFIG_TMPFS && CONFIG_TMPFS_XATTR to CONFIG_SECURITY_FORK_BRUTE
> > without messing with any fallbacks at all.
> > What do you think?
>
> Great. But I hope this patch will not be necessary for Brute LSM :)
My words are no longer valid ;)
Thanks,
John Wood
From: John Wood <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, 4 Jul 2021 16:01:08 +0200
> On Sat, Jul 03, 2021 at 12:59:28PM +0200, John Wood wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > On Fri, Jul 02, 2021 at 05:08:09PM +0000, Alexander Lobakin wrote:
> > >
> > > On the other hand, it leaves a potentional window for attackers to
> > > perform brute force from xattr-incapable filesystems. So at the end
> > > of the day I think that the current implementation (a strong
> > > rejection of such filesystems) is way more secure than having
> > > a fallback I proposed.
> >
> > I've been thinking more about this: that the Brute LSM depends on xattr
> > support and I don't like this part. I want that brute force attacks can
> > be detected and mitigated on every system (with minimal dependencies).
> > So, now I am working in a solution without this drawback. I have some
> > ideas but I need to work on it.
>
> I have been coding and testing a bit my ideas but:
>
> Trying to track the applications faults info using kernel memory ends up
> in an easy to abuse system (denied of service due to large amount of memor=
> y
> in use) :(
>
> So, I continue with the v8 idea: xattr to track application crashes info.
>
> > > I'm planning to make a patch which will eliminate such weird rootfs
> > > type selection and just always use more feature-rich tmpfs if it's
> > > compiled in. So, as an alternative, you could add it to your series
> > > as a preparatory change and just add a Kconfig dependency on
> > > CONFIG_TMPFS && CONFIG_TMPFS_XATTR to CONFIG_SECURITY_FORK_BRUTE
> > > without messing with any fallbacks at all.
> > > What do you think?
> >
> > Great. But I hope this patch will not be necessary for Brute LSM :)
>
> My words are no longer valid ;)
Ok, so here's the patch that prefers tmpfs for rootfs over ramfs
if it's built-in (which is true for 99% of systems): [0]
For now it hasn't been reviewed by anyone yet, will see. I'm running
my system with this patch for several days already and there were no
issues with rootfs or Brute so far.
[0] https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/[email protected]/
> Thanks,
> John Wood
Thanks,
Al