Eve Os

Due to the implementation of "deriveVaultKey", prior to version 7.10, the generated vault key would always have the last 16 bytes predetermined to be "arfoobarfoobarfo". This issue happens because "deriveVaultKey" calls "retrieveCloudKey" (which will always return "foobarfoobarfoobarfoobarfoobarfo" as the key), and then merges the 32byte randomly generated key with this key (by takeing 16bytes from each, see "mergeKeys"). This makes the key a lot weaker. This issue does not persist in devices that were initialized on/after version 7.10, but devices that were initialized before that and updated to a newer version still have this issue. Roll an update that enforces the full 32bytes key usage.

Published: 2023-09-21T13:20:05.473Z
Updated: 2024-09-24T17:48:30.086Z

In EVE OS, the “measured boot” mechanism prevents a compromised device from accessing the encrypted data located in the vault. As per the “measured boot” design, the PCR values calculated at different stages of the boot process will change if any of their respective parts are changed. This includes, among other things, the configuration of the bios, grub, the kernel cmdline, initrd, and more. However, this mechanism does not validate the entire rootfs, so an attacker can edit the filesystem and gain control over the system. As the default filesystem used by EVE OS is squashfs, this is somewhat harder than an ext4, which is easily changeable. This will not stop an attacker, as an attacker can repackage the squashfs with their changes in it and replace the partition altogether. This can also be done directly on the device, as the “003-storage-init” container contains the “mksquashfs” and “unsquashfs” binaries (with the corresponding libs). An attacker can gain full control over the device without changing the PCR values, thus not triggering the “measured boot” mechanism, and having full access to the vault. Note: This issue was partially fixed in these commits (after disclosure to Zededa), where the config partition measurement was added to PCR13: • aa3501d6c57206ced222c33aea15a9169d629141 • 5fef4d92e75838cc78010edaed5247dfbdae1889. This issue was made viable in version 9.0.0 when the calculation was moved to PCR14 but it was not included in the measured boot.

Published: 2023-09-20T14:50:17.950Z
Updated: 2024-09-24T18:32:54.341Z

Vault Key Sealed With SHA1 PCRs The measured boot solution implemented in EVE OS leans on a PCR locking mechanism. Different parts of the system update different PCR values in the TPM, resulting in a unique value for each PCR entry. These PCRs are then used in order to seal/unseal a key from the TPM which is used to encrypt/decrypt the “vault” directory. This “vault” directory is the most sensitive point in the system and as such, its content should be protected. This mechanism is noted in Zededa’s documentation as the “measured boot” mechanism, designed to protect said “vault”. The code that’s responsible for generating and fetching the key from the TPM assumes that SHA256 PCRs are used in order to seal/unseal the key, and as such their presence is being checked. The issue here is that the key is not sealed using SHA256 PCRs, but using SHA1 PCRs. This leads to several issues: • Machines that have their SHA256 PCRs enabled but SHA1 PCRs disabled, as well as not sealing their keys at all, meaning the “vault” is not protected from an attacker. • SHA1 is considered insecure and reduces the complexity level required to unseal the key in machines which have their SHA1 PCRs enabled. An attacker can very easily retrieve the contents of the “vault”, which will effectively render the “measured boot” mechanism meaningless.

Published: 2023-09-20T14:58:07.687Z
Updated: 2024-09-25T14:37:39.566Z

When sealing/unsealing the “vault” key, a list of PCRs is used, which defines which PCRs are used. In a previous project, CYMOTIVE found that the configuration is not protected by the secure boot, and in response Zededa implemented measurements on the config partition that was mapped to PCR 13. In that process, PCR 13 was added to the list of PCRs that seal/unseal the key. In commit “56e589749c6ff58ded862d39535d43253b249acf”, the config partition measurement moved from PCR 13 to PCR 14, but PCR 14 was not added to the list of PCRs that seal/unseal the key. This change makes the measurement of PCR 14 effectively redundant as it would not affect the sealing/unsealing of the key. An attacker could modify the config partition without triggering the measured boot, this could result in the attacker gaining full control over the device with full access to the contents of the encrypted “vault”

Published: 2023-09-21T13:05:14.046Z
Updated: 2024-09-24T16:54:58.431Z

On boot, the Pillar eve container checks for the existence and content of “/config/GlobalConfig/global.json”. If the file exists, it overrides the existing configuration on the device on boot. This allows an attacker to change the system’s configuration, which also includes some debug functions. This could be used to unlock the ssh with custom “authorized_keys” via the “debug.enable.ssh” key, similar to the “authorized_keys” finding that was noted before. Other usages include unlocking the usb to enable the keyboard via the “debug.enable.usb” key, allowing VNC access via the “app.allow.vnc” key, and more. An attacker could easily enable these debug functionalities without triggering the “measured boot” mechanism implemented by EVE OS, and without marking the device as “UUD” (“Unknown Update Detected”). This is because the “/config” partition is not protected by “measured boot”, it is mutable and it is not encrypted in any way. An attacker can gain full control over the device without changing the PCR values, thereby not triggering the “measured boot” mechanism, and having full access to the vault. Note: This issue was partially fixed in these commits (after disclosure to Zededa), where the config partition measurement was added to PCR13: • aa3501d6c57206ced222c33aea15a9169d629141 • 5fef4d92e75838cc78010edaed5247dfbdae1889. This issue was made viable in version 9.0.0 when the calculation was moved to PCR14 but it was not included in the measured boot.

Published: 2023-09-21T13:08:58.659Z
Updated: 2024-09-24T17:00:40.426Z