Messages in this thread | | | Date | Thu, 5 Sep 2013 10:48:18 -0400 | From | Theodore Ts'o <> | Subject | Re: [PATCH] random, Add user configurable get_bytes_random() |
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On Thu, Sep 05, 2013 at 08:18:44AM -0400, Prarit Bhargava wrote: > The current code has two exported functions, get_bytes_random() and > get_bytes_random_arch(). The first function only calls the entropy > store to get random data, and the second only calls the arch specific > hardware random number generator. > > The problem is that no code is using the get_bytes_random_arch() and switching > over will require a significant code change. Even if the change is > made it will be static forcing a recompile of code if/when a user has a > system with a trusted random HW source. A better thing to do is allow > users to decide whether they trust their hardare random number generator.
I fail to see the benefit of just using the hardware random number generator. We are already mixing in the hardware random number generator into the /dev/random pool, and so the only thing that using only the HW source is to make the kernel more vulnerable to an attack where the NSA leans on a few Intel employee and forces/bribes them to make a change such that the last step in the RDRAND's AES whitening step is changed to use a counter plus a AES key known by the NSA.
- Ted
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