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selinux: deprecate disabling SELinux and runtime Deprecate the CONFIG_SECURITY_SELINUX_DISABLE functionality. The code was originally developed to make it easier for Linux distributions to support architectures where adding parameters to the kernel command line was difficult. Unfortunately, supporting runtime disable meant we had to make some security trade-offs when it came to the LSM hooks, as documented in the Kconfig help text: NOTE: selecting this option will disable the '__ro_after_init' kernel hardening feature for security hooks. Please consider using the selinux=0 boot parameter instead of enabling this option. Fortunately it looks as if that the original motivation for the runtime disable functionality is gone, and Fedora/RHEL appears to be the only major distribution enabling this capability at build time so we are now taking steps to remove it entirely from the kernel. The first step is to mark the functionality as deprecated and print an error when it is used (what this patch is doing). As Fedora/RHEL makes progress in transitioning the distribution away from runtime disable, we will introduce follow-up patches over several kernel releases which will block for increasing periods of time when the runtime disable is used. Finally we will remove the option entirely once we believe all users have moved to the kernel cmdline approach. Acked-by: Casey Schaufler <casey@schaufler-ca.com> Acked-by: Ondrej Mosnacek <omosnace@redhat.com> Acked-by: Stephen Smalley <sds@tycho.nsa.gov> Signed-off-by: Paul Moore <paul@paul-moore.com>
2019-12-18 19:45:08 -07:00
What: /sys/fs/selinux/disable
Date: April 2005 (predates git)
KernelVersion: 2.6.12-rc2 (predates git)
Contact: selinux@vger.kernel.org
Description:
selinux: remove the runtime disable functionality After working with the larger SELinux-based distros for several years, we're finally at a place where we can disable the SELinux runtime disable functionality. The existing kernel deprecation notice explains the functionality and why we want to remove it: The selinuxfs "disable" node allows SELinux to be disabled at runtime prior to a policy being loaded into the kernel. If disabled via this mechanism, SELinux will remain disabled until the system is rebooted. The preferred method of disabling SELinux is via the "selinux=0" boot parameter, but the selinuxfs "disable" node was created to make it easier for systems with primitive bootloaders that did not allow for easy modification of the kernel command line. Unfortunately, allowing for SELinux to be disabled at runtime makes it difficult to secure the kernel's LSM hooks using the "__ro_after_init" feature. It is that last sentence, mentioning the '__ro_after_init' hardening, which is the real motivation for this change, and if you look at the diffstat you'll see that the impact of this patch reaches across all the different LSMs, helping prevent tampering at the LSM hook level. From a SELinux perspective, it is important to note that if you continue to disable SELinux via "/etc/selinux/config" it may appear that SELinux is disabled, but it is simply in an uninitialized state. If you load a policy with `load_policy -i`, you will see SELinux come alive just as if you had loaded the policy during early-boot. It is also worth noting that the "/sys/fs/selinux/disable" file is always writable now, regardless of the Kconfig settings, but writing to the file has no effect on the system, other than to display an error on the console if a non-zero/true value is written. Finally, in the several years where we have been working on deprecating this functionality, there has only been one instance of someone mentioning any user visible breakage. In this particular case it was an individual's kernel test system, and the workaround documented in the deprecation notice ("selinux=0" on the kernel command line) resolved the issue without problem. Acked-by: Casey Schaufler <casey@schaufler-ca.com> Signed-off-by: Paul Moore <paul@paul-moore.com>
2023-03-17 09:43:07 -07:00
REMOVAL UPDATE: The SELinux runtime disable functionality was removed
in March 2023, the original deprecation notice is shown below.
selinux: deprecate disabling SELinux and runtime Deprecate the CONFIG_SECURITY_SELINUX_DISABLE functionality. The code was originally developed to make it easier for Linux distributions to support architectures where adding parameters to the kernel command line was difficult. Unfortunately, supporting runtime disable meant we had to make some security trade-offs when it came to the LSM hooks, as documented in the Kconfig help text: NOTE: selecting this option will disable the '__ro_after_init' kernel hardening feature for security hooks. Please consider using the selinux=0 boot parameter instead of enabling this option. Fortunately it looks as if that the original motivation for the runtime disable functionality is gone, and Fedora/RHEL appears to be the only major distribution enabling this capability at build time so we are now taking steps to remove it entirely from the kernel. The first step is to mark the functionality as deprecated and print an error when it is used (what this patch is doing). As Fedora/RHEL makes progress in transitioning the distribution away from runtime disable, we will introduce follow-up patches over several kernel releases which will block for increasing periods of time when the runtime disable is used. Finally we will remove the option entirely once we believe all users have moved to the kernel cmdline approach. Acked-by: Casey Schaufler <casey@schaufler-ca.com> Acked-by: Ondrej Mosnacek <omosnace@redhat.com> Acked-by: Stephen Smalley <sds@tycho.nsa.gov> Signed-off-by: Paul Moore <paul@paul-moore.com>
2019-12-18 19:45:08 -07:00
The selinuxfs "disable" node allows SELinux to be disabled at runtime
prior to a policy being loaded into the kernel. If disabled via this
mechanism, SELinux will remain disabled until the system is rebooted.
The preferred method of disabling SELinux is via the "selinux=0" boot
parameter, but the selinuxfs "disable" node was created to make it
easier for systems with primitive bootloaders that did not allow for
easy modification of the kernel command line. Unfortunately, allowing
for SELinux to be disabled at runtime makes it difficult to secure the
kernel's LSM hooks using the "__ro_after_init" feature.
Thankfully, the need for the SELinux runtime disable appears to be
gone, the default Kconfig configuration disables this selinuxfs node,
and only one of the major distributions, Fedora, supports disabling
SELinux at runtime. Fedora is in the process of removing the
selinuxfs "disable" node and once that is complete we will start the
slow process of removing this code from the kernel.
More information on /sys/fs/selinux/disable can be found under the
CONFIG_SECURITY_SELINUX_DISABLE Kconfig option.
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