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    Subject[TOMOYO #7 01/30] TOMOYO Linux documentation.
    Signed-off-by: Kentaro Takeda <takedakn@nttdata.co.jp>
    Signed-off-by: Tetsuo Handa <penguin-kernel@I-love.SAKURA.ne.jp>
    Signed-off-by: Toshiharu Harada <haradats@nttdata.co.jp>
    ---
    Documentation/TOMOYO.txt | 292 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    1 file changed, 292 insertions(+)

    --- /dev/null
    +++ linux-2.6.25-rc8-mm1/Documentation/TOMOYO.txt
    @@ -0,0 +1,292 @@
    +Subject: TOMOYO Linux Security Goal
    +
    +This document is intended to specify the security goal that TOMOYO Linux is
    +trying to achieve, so that users can evaluate whether TOMOYO Linux will meet
    +their needs, and kernel developers can evaluate whether TOMOYO Linux deserved
    +to be in-tree.
    +
    +1. About TOMOYO Linux
    +
    +Project Homepage: http://tomoyo.sourceforge.jp/index.html.en
    +Project Wiki: http://elinux.org/TomoyoLinux
    +
    +TOMOYO Linux is a DIY tool for understanding and protecting your system.
    +TOMOYO Linux policy definitions are absolutely readable to Linux users, and
    +TOMOYO Linux supports unique policy learning mechanism which automatically
    +gathers information and arranges the results as policy definitions.
    +These things made it possible for users to write policy from scratch.
    +Troubleshooting can be done by users.
    +
    +We put some TOMOYO Linux policy examples on our web site.
    +http://tomoyo.sourceforge.jp/cgi-bin/lxr/source/etch/domain_policy.conf?v=policy-sample
    +
    +Here's our version of Linux security comparison table.
    +http://tomoyo.sourceforge.jp/wiki-e/?WhatIs#comparison
    +
    +2. TOMOYO Linux Security Goal
    +
    +The TOMOYO Linux's security goal is to provide "MAC that covers practical
    +requirements for most users and keeps usable for most administrators".
    +TOMOYO Linux is not a tool for security professional but for average users
    +and administrators. We keep TOMOYO Linux understandable and customizable
    +so that end users (i.e. administrators) can configure policy for their systems.
    +
    +TOMOYO Linux can authorize part of kernel resources which SELinux can
    +and part of other resources which SELinux can't.
    +
    +Currently, TOMOYO Linux can authorize
    +
    + * execve() of programs.
    + * open() of files for reading/writing.
    + * creat()/link()/rename()/unlink()/symlink()/mkfifo()/mksock()/mkblock()/
    + mkchar()/truncate()/mkdir()/rmdir() of files and directries
    + that are visible to userland process's namespace.
    + * namespace manipulation. (i.e. mount()/umount()/pivot_root())
    + * TCP/IP networking operations based on IPv4/v6 addresses and port numbers.
    + * booleans for some operations. (Part of POSIX capability and TOMOYO Linux's
    + original capability.)
    + * signal transmissions.
    + * argv[0] passed to execve().
    + * environment variables' names passed to execve().
    +
    +TOMOYO Linux is purely restrictive. No requests which are denied by existent
    +access control mechanisms (e.g. DAC) will be reversed by TOMOYO Linux.
    +
    +TOMOYO Linux is not intended to provide information flow control.
    +Analyzing and restricting how information propagates are not the region of
    +interest for TOMOYO Linux.
    +
    +3. Our Approach
    +
    +To meet the above goal, TOMOYO Linux attempts to make the system where
    +everything is prearranged in an easy-to-understand way.
    +
    + * Make the all subject's all access requests that will occur at least once
    + during the lifetime of the kernel known in advance.
    +
    + * Let the administrator understand what access requests will each subject
    + raise in his/her system and write policy which only allows expected and
    + desirable access requests for his/her needs.
    +
    +Unlike AppArmor, TOMOYO Linux is intended to protect the whole system from
    +attackers exploiting vulnerabilities in applications that the system hosts.
    +The threat is that an attacker can cause a vulnerable application to do
    +something unexpected and undesirable. TOMOYO Linux addresses this threat by
    +recording all applications' behaviors in the test environment and forcing
    +all applications behave within recorded behaviors in the production environment.
    +
    +TOMOYO Linux has a unique concept of "process invocation history"
    +(in short, PIH). The PIH is a developmental lineage of a process.
    +When a process executes a program, the process creates a copy with fork() and
    +replace the copy with execve().
    +TOMOYO Linux appends the pathname of the executed program to the PIH of
    +the replaced process, and associates process's PIH (stored in task_struct)
    +with a domain.
    +As a result, the context switching (a.k.a. domain transition) is unidirectional.
    +This rule allows administrator distinguish and manage fine-grained context.
    +Domain transition forms tree structure like a directory tree of filesystems.
    +Each domain has different set of permissions that are essential for that domain.
    +
    +TOMOYO Linux's region of interest is how to minimize means granted to each PIH,
    +although not all permissions TOMOYO Linux can authorize.
    +
    +The "learning mode" is primary source of policy. TOMOYO Linux depends on change
    +of behavior to detect intruders. All unprecedented behaviors should be detected
    +and rejected. TOMOYO Linux's power comes from
    +"know all and understand what requests can happen within your system".
    +
    +4. Things you can do with TOMOYO Linux.
    +
    +Create policy from scratch.
    +
    + You want to use ready-made policy files supplied by somebody else
    + because testing all paths needed for your usage sounds boring?
    +
    + OK, then you can choose other implementations that provide
    + ready-made policy files, but you should check whether these files
    + contain enough permissions for your usage or not. It is inevitable thing
    + to test all paths needed for your usage if you want to use white listing
    + access control.
    +
    + Also, ready-made policy files tend to contain redundant permissions
    + for your usage which often leads to serious problem.
    +
    + TOMOYO Linux is a DIY tool for understanding and protecting your Linux box.
    + TOMOYO Linux's "learning mode" will automatically generate
    + policy files with necessary and sufficient permissions for you.
    +
    +Understand all possible requests.
    +
    + TOMOYO Linux reports what is happening within your Linux box.
    + You can have the security of knowing that no unexpected requests arise,
    + if you have tested all paths needed for your usage.
    +
    + Please remember, we are not saying that
    + "You can have the security of knowing that no unexpected results happen".
    + Although TOMOYO Linux attempts to filter the request as hard as possible,
    + TOMOYO Linux can't guarantee the result.
    +
    +Analyze system's behavior.
    +
    + TOMOYO Linux resembles to /usr/bin/strace .
    + TOMOYO Linux reports what programs are executed from each program and
    + what files/networks are accessed by each program.
    +
    + You can use TOMOYO Linux for analyzing application's behavior
    + if you want to know "which configuration file does this daemon read?",
    + "what port numbers does this daemon require?" and so on.
    +
    + This helps debugging program's behaviors and writing manuals.
    + TOMOYO Linux is also applicable for educational use.
    +
    +Provide per application firewall.
    +
    + It is userland applications' businesses to perform pathname based access
    + control, but they sometimes make mistakes which are known as OS command
    + injection vulnerability or buffer overflow vulnerability.
    + TOMOYO Linux assists this access control in kernel space to reduce
    + the damage by restricting pathnames which each application can request.
    +
    + TOMOYO Linux can perform TCP_Wrapper-like simple stateless
    + TCP/IP packet filtering based on IPv4/v6 address and ports.
    +
    + TOMOYO Linux can restrict the list of environment variable's name
    + passed to execve() so that some dangerous environment variable
    + (e.g. LD_PRELOAD) won't be passed freely.
    +
    + TOMOYO Linux also supports conditional permissions.
    + You can use uid/gid etc. of a process to restrict the combination of
    + user and accessible resources.
    +
    +Provide support for multi-call binary applications without patches.
    +
    + A multi-call binary (e.g. /sbin/busybox) changes behaviors according to
    + the invocation name (in other words, argv[0] passed to execve()).
    + Users specify the invocation name using symbolic links or hard links.
    +
    + TOMOYO Linux allows administrators to give execute permission and define PIH
    + using the pathname of a symbolic link, if the combination of
    + the pathname of a symbolic link and the pathname of the entity pointed
    + by the symbolic link is registered in the policy file.
    + You can use symbolic links as if they are hard links.
    +
    + TOMOYO Linux supports restricting the combination of
    + path-to-executable-or-symbolic-link and basename-of-argv[0]
    + so that users can't pass different argv[0]
    + from path-to-executable-or-symbolic-link freely.
    +
    + Please be aware that some multi-call binary programs change their behaviors
    + according to the command line parameters (i.e. argv[1] to argv[argc - 1]).
    + Regarding such programs, TOMOYO Linux can't restrict behaviors by restricting
    + the argv[0]. But TOMOYO Linux doesn't attempt to restrict all argv[] elements
    + passed to execve(), because doing so will make the system too inconvenient
    + and frustrating to use.
    +
    +Give different set of permissions to the same application.
    +
    + There are some non-executable applications (e.g. Java's class files).
    + Such applications use the same program for executing (e.g. Java Runtime
    + Environment). Since TOMOYO Linux has PIH, you can give different set of
    + permissions for each application by separating PIH for each application.
    +
    + Although TOMOYO Linux can switch context for every execve() requests,
    + it is preferable to be able to switch context without invoking execve().
    + So far, we are not providing APIs to switch context like AppArmor's
    + change_hat()/change_profile(). We'd like to introduce APIs to switch context
    + when distributors get ready to support TOMOYO Linux (in other words, after
    + TOMOYO Linux is merged into mainline).
    +
    +Provide DMZ for remote logins.
    +
    + Recently, password brute-force attacks against SSH service are increasing.
    + But TOMOYO Linux's PIH can provide a room for deploying DMZ.
    +
    + Why password or public-key authentication is possible for only once?
    + Why not give normal users a chance to beat back attackers who logged in
    + through brute-force attacks?
    +
    + You can deploy extra login authentications that the only normal user knows
    + how to pass.
    +
    +Provide simple RBAC-like administrative task division.
    +
    + TOMOYO Linux's PIH forms a tree structure.
    + This means that you can split one tree into several subtrees
    + and associate each subtree with each administrative task.
    + You can give each subtree necessary and sufficient permissions
    + for each administrative task.
    +
    + You can deploy custom authentication at the entry point of each subtree
    + so that one administrator cannot proceed to other administrator's subtrees.
    +
    +Provide on-demand honey pot.
    +
    + Since TOMOYO Linux's approach is
    + "know all essential requests in advance and create policy that permits only them",
    + you can treat anomalous requests as attacks (if you want to do so).
    +
    + Common MAC implementations merely reject requests that violate policy.
    + But TOMOYO can trigger special handler for execve() requests that are not
    + permitted by policy.
    +
    + Most attackers' purpose is to execute /bin/sh to start something malicious
    + rather than consume CPU resources to slow down the target system.
    +
    + Attackers execute an exploit code using buffer overflow vulnerability
    + to steal control of a process.
    + TOMOYO can get back control if an exploit code requests execve()
    + that is not permitted by policy.
    + TOMOYO executes a different program (i.e. special handler prepared for
    + violation of execve() policy) instead of a program requested by attackers
    + to redirect attackers to somewhere else (e.g. honey pot).
    + This makes it possible to act your Linux box as an on-demand honey pot
    + while keeping regular services for your usage.
    +
    + Of course, you may silently terminate a process who requests execve()
    + that is not permitted by policy using this redirection mechanism.
    + You may merely reject execve() requests like common MAC implementations.
    +
    +And more...
    +
    + Your imagination invents new usage.
    +
    +
    +Authors:
    + Tetsuo Handa <penguin-kernel@I-love.SAKURA.ne.jp>
    + Toshiharu Harada <haradats@nttdata.co.jp>
    + Kentaro Takeda <takedakn@nttdata.co.jp>
    +
    +
    +Appendix 1 - Usability features of TOMOYO Linux
    +
    +TOMOYO Linux switches the context of a process whenever a process executes
    +a program, but there are two exceptions.
    +Administrator may relocate domain of a process if PIH is not meaningful for
    +that process (e.g. daemon programs). This exception allows administrator
    +restart daemon programs.
    +Administrator may suppress domain transition if domain transition is not
    +meaningful for that process (e.g. /bin/touch called from /etc/init.d/ scripts).
    +This exception reduces memory usage for policy.
    +
    +TOMOYO Linux can apply access control over all userspace applications,
    +but administrator can also apply access control over only specific userspace
    +applications if he/she wishes so.
    +
    +TOMOYO Linux supports "delayed enforcing mode" that allows administrator
    +interactively judge whether a request which is not defined in the policy
    +should be permitted or rejected.
    +This mode helps administrator adjust the policy after software updates.
    +
    +
    +Appendix 2 - Presentation slides
    +
    +- PacSec2007: TOMOYO Linux: "A Practical Method to Understand and Protect
    + Your Own Linux Box"
    + http://sourceforge.jp/projects/tomoyo/document/PacSec2007-en-demo.pdf
    +
    +- OLS2007: "TOMOYO Linux BoF"
    + http://sourceforge.jp/projects/tomoyo/document/ols2007-tomoyo-20070629.pdf
    +
    +- ELC2007: "TOMOYO Linux - A Lightweight and Manageable Security System
    + for PC and Embedded Linux"
    + http://sourceforge.jp/projects/tomoyo/document/elc2007-presentation-20070418-for_linux.pdf
    --


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