summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/kernel/Documentation/security/Smack.txt
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
authorYunhong Jiang <yunhong.jiang@intel.com>2015-08-04 12:17:53 -0700
committerYunhong Jiang <yunhong.jiang@intel.com>2015-08-04 15:44:42 -0700
commit9ca8dbcc65cfc63d6f5ef3312a33184e1d726e00 (patch)
tree1c9cafbcd35f783a87880a10f85d1a060db1a563 /kernel/Documentation/security/Smack.txt
parent98260f3884f4a202f9ca5eabed40b1354c489b29 (diff)
Add the rt linux 4.1.3-rt3 as base
Import the rt linux 4.1.3-rt3 as OPNFV kvm base. It's from git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/rt/linux-rt-devel.git linux-4.1.y-rt and the base is: commit 0917f823c59692d751951bf5ea699a2d1e2f26a2 Author: Sebastian Andrzej Siewior <bigeasy@linutronix.de> Date: Sat Jul 25 12:13:34 2015 +0200 Prepare v4.1.3-rt3 Signed-off-by: Sebastian Andrzej Siewior <bigeasy@linutronix.de> We lose all the git history this way and it's not good. We should apply another opnfv project repo in future. Change-Id: I87543d81c9df70d99c5001fbdf646b202c19f423 Signed-off-by: Yunhong Jiang <yunhong.jiang@intel.com>
Diffstat (limited to 'kernel/Documentation/security/Smack.txt')
-rw-r--r--kernel/Documentation/security/Smack.txt717
1 files changed, 717 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/kernel/Documentation/security/Smack.txt b/kernel/Documentation/security/Smack.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..abc82f852
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kernel/Documentation/security/Smack.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,717 @@
+
+
+ "Good for you, you've decided to clean the elevator!"
+ - The Elevator, from Dark Star
+
+Smack is the Simplified Mandatory Access Control Kernel.
+Smack is a kernel based implementation of mandatory access
+control that includes simplicity in its primary design goals.
+
+Smack is not the only Mandatory Access Control scheme
+available for Linux. Those new to Mandatory Access Control
+are encouraged to compare Smack with the other mechanisms
+available to determine which is best suited to the problem
+at hand.
+
+Smack consists of three major components:
+ - The kernel
+ - Basic utilities, which are helpful but not required
+ - Configuration data
+
+The kernel component of Smack is implemented as a Linux
+Security Modules (LSM) module. It requires netlabel and
+works best with file systems that support extended attributes,
+although xattr support is not strictly required.
+It is safe to run a Smack kernel under a "vanilla" distribution.
+
+Smack kernels use the CIPSO IP option. Some network
+configurations are intolerant of IP options and can impede
+access to systems that use them as Smack does.
+
+The current git repository for Smack user space is:
+
+ git://github.com/smack-team/smack.git
+
+This should make and install on most modern distributions.
+There are five commands included in smackutil:
+
+chsmack - display or set Smack extended attribute values
+smackctl - load the Smack access rules
+smackaccess - report if a process with one label has access
+ to an object with another
+
+These two commands are obsolete with the introduction of
+the smackfs/load2 and smackfs/cipso2 interfaces.
+
+smackload - properly formats data for writing to smackfs/load
+smackcipso - properly formats data for writing to smackfs/cipso
+
+In keeping with the intent of Smack, configuration data is
+minimal and not strictly required. The most important
+configuration step is mounting the smackfs pseudo filesystem.
+If smackutil is installed the startup script will take care
+of this, but it can be manually as well.
+
+Add this line to /etc/fstab:
+
+ smackfs /sys/fs/smackfs smackfs defaults 0 0
+
+The /sys/fs/smackfs directory is created by the kernel.
+
+Smack uses extended attributes (xattrs) to store labels on filesystem
+objects. The attributes are stored in the extended attribute security
+name space. A process must have CAP_MAC_ADMIN to change any of these
+attributes.
+
+The extended attributes that Smack uses are:
+
+SMACK64
+ Used to make access control decisions. In almost all cases
+ the label given to a new filesystem object will be the label
+ of the process that created it.
+SMACK64EXEC
+ The Smack label of a process that execs a program file with
+ this attribute set will run with this attribute's value.
+SMACK64MMAP
+ Don't allow the file to be mmapped by a process whose Smack
+ label does not allow all of the access permitted to a process
+ with the label contained in this attribute. This is a very
+ specific use case for shared libraries.
+SMACK64TRANSMUTE
+ Can only have the value "TRUE". If this attribute is present
+ on a directory when an object is created in the directory and
+ the Smack rule (more below) that permitted the write access
+ to the directory includes the transmute ("t") mode the object
+ gets the label of the directory instead of the label of the
+ creating process. If the object being created is a directory
+ the SMACK64TRANSMUTE attribute is set as well.
+SMACK64IPIN
+ This attribute is only available on file descriptors for sockets.
+ Use the Smack label in this attribute for access control
+ decisions on packets being delivered to this socket.
+SMACK64IPOUT
+ This attribute is only available on file descriptors for sockets.
+ Use the Smack label in this attribute for access control
+ decisions on packets coming from this socket.
+
+There are multiple ways to set a Smack label on a file:
+
+ # attr -S -s SMACK64 -V "value" path
+ # chsmack -a value path
+
+A process can see the Smack label it is running with by
+reading /proc/self/attr/current. A process with CAP_MAC_ADMIN
+can set the process Smack by writing there.
+
+Most Smack configuration is accomplished by writing to files
+in the smackfs filesystem. This pseudo-filesystem is mounted
+on /sys/fs/smackfs.
+
+access
+ This interface reports whether a subject with the specified
+ Smack label has a particular access to an object with a
+ specified Smack label. Write a fixed format access rule to
+ this file. The next read will indicate whether the access
+ would be permitted. The text will be either "1" indicating
+ access, or "0" indicating denial.
+access2
+ This interface reports whether a subject with the specified
+ Smack label has a particular access to an object with a
+ specified Smack label. Write a long format access rule to
+ this file. The next read will indicate whether the access
+ would be permitted. The text will be either "1" indicating
+ access, or "0" indicating denial.
+ambient
+ This contains the Smack label applied to unlabeled network
+ packets.
+change-rule
+ This interface allows modification of existing access control rules.
+ The format accepted on write is:
+ "%s %s %s %s"
+ where the first string is the subject label, the second the
+ object label, the third the access to allow and the fourth the
+ access to deny. The access strings may contain only the characters
+ "rwxat-". If a rule for a given subject and object exists it will be
+ modified by enabling the permissions in the third string and disabling
+ those in the fourth string. If there is no such rule it will be
+ created using the access specified in the third and the fourth strings.
+cipso
+ This interface allows a specific CIPSO header to be assigned
+ to a Smack label. The format accepted on write is:
+ "%24s%4d%4d"["%4d"]...
+ The first string is a fixed Smack label. The first number is
+ the level to use. The second number is the number of categories.
+ The following numbers are the categories.
+ "level-3-cats-5-19 3 2 5 19"
+cipso2
+ This interface allows a specific CIPSO header to be assigned
+ to a Smack label. The format accepted on write is:
+ "%s%4d%4d"["%4d"]...
+ The first string is a long Smack label. The first number is
+ the level to use. The second number is the number of categories.
+ The following numbers are the categories.
+ "level-3-cats-5-19 3 2 5 19"
+direct
+ This contains the CIPSO level used for Smack direct label
+ representation in network packets.
+doi
+ This contains the CIPSO domain of interpretation used in
+ network packets.
+load
+ This interface allows access control rules in addition to
+ the system defined rules to be specified. The format accepted
+ on write is:
+ "%24s%24s%5s"
+ where the first string is the subject label, the second the
+ object label, and the third the requested access. The access
+ string may contain only the characters "rwxat-", and specifies
+ which sort of access is allowed. The "-" is a placeholder for
+ permissions that are not allowed. The string "r-x--" would
+ specify read and execute access. Labels are limited to 23
+ characters in length.
+load2
+ This interface allows access control rules in addition to
+ the system defined rules to be specified. The format accepted
+ on write is:
+ "%s %s %s"
+ where the first string is the subject label, the second the
+ object label, and the third the requested access. The access
+ string may contain only the characters "rwxat-", and specifies
+ which sort of access is allowed. The "-" is a placeholder for
+ permissions that are not allowed. The string "r-x--" would
+ specify read and execute access.
+load-self
+ This interface allows process specific access rules to be
+ defined. These rules are only consulted if access would
+ otherwise be permitted, and are intended to provide additional
+ restrictions on the process. The format is the same as for
+ the load interface.
+load-self2
+ This interface allows process specific access rules to be
+ defined. These rules are only consulted if access would
+ otherwise be permitted, and are intended to provide additional
+ restrictions on the process. The format is the same as for
+ the load2 interface.
+logging
+ This contains the Smack logging state.
+mapped
+ This contains the CIPSO level used for Smack mapped label
+ representation in network packets.
+netlabel
+ This interface allows specific internet addresses to be
+ treated as single label hosts. Packets are sent to single
+ label hosts without CIPSO headers, but only from processes
+ that have Smack write access to the host label. All packets
+ received from single label hosts are given the specified
+ label. The format accepted on write is:
+ "%d.%d.%d.%d label" or "%d.%d.%d.%d/%d label".
+onlycap
+ This contains the label processes must have for CAP_MAC_ADMIN
+ and CAP_MAC_OVERRIDE to be effective. If this file is empty
+ these capabilities are effective at for processes with any
+ label. The value is set by writing the desired label to the
+ file or cleared by writing "-" to the file.
+ptrace
+ This is used to define the current ptrace policy
+ 0 - default: this is the policy that relies on Smack access rules.
+ For the PTRACE_READ a subject needs to have a read access on
+ object. For the PTRACE_ATTACH a read-write access is required.
+ 1 - exact: this is the policy that limits PTRACE_ATTACH. Attach is
+ only allowed when subject's and object's labels are equal.
+ PTRACE_READ is not affected. Can be overridden with CAP_SYS_PTRACE.
+ 2 - draconian: this policy behaves like the 'exact' above with an
+ exception that it can't be overridden with CAP_SYS_PTRACE.
+revoke-subject
+ Writing a Smack label here sets the access to '-' for all access
+ rules with that subject label.
+unconfined
+ If the kernel is configured with CONFIG_SECURITY_SMACK_BRINGUP
+ a process with CAP_MAC_ADMIN can write a label into this interface.
+ Thereafter, accesses that involve that label will be logged and
+ the access permitted if it wouldn't be otherwise. Note that this
+ is dangerous and can ruin the proper labeling of your system.
+ It should never be used in production.
+
+You can add access rules in /etc/smack/accesses. They take the form:
+
+ subjectlabel objectlabel access
+
+access is a combination of the letters rwxatb which specify the
+kind of access permitted a subject with subjectlabel on an
+object with objectlabel. If there is no rule no access is allowed.
+
+Look for additional programs on http://schaufler-ca.com
+
+From the Smack Whitepaper:
+
+The Simplified Mandatory Access Control Kernel
+
+Casey Schaufler
+casey@schaufler-ca.com
+
+Mandatory Access Control
+
+Computer systems employ a variety of schemes to constrain how information is
+shared among the people and services using the machine. Some of these schemes
+allow the program or user to decide what other programs or users are allowed
+access to pieces of data. These schemes are called discretionary access
+control mechanisms because the access control is specified at the discretion
+of the user. Other schemes do not leave the decision regarding what a user or
+program can access up to users or programs. These schemes are called mandatory
+access control mechanisms because you don't have a choice regarding the users
+or programs that have access to pieces of data.
+
+Bell & LaPadula
+
+From the middle of the 1980's until the turn of the century Mandatory Access
+Control (MAC) was very closely associated with the Bell & LaPadula security
+model, a mathematical description of the United States Department of Defense
+policy for marking paper documents. MAC in this form enjoyed a following
+within the Capital Beltway and Scandinavian supercomputer centers but was
+often sited as failing to address general needs.
+
+Domain Type Enforcement
+
+Around the turn of the century Domain Type Enforcement (DTE) became popular.
+This scheme organizes users, programs, and data into domains that are
+protected from each other. This scheme has been widely deployed as a component
+of popular Linux distributions. The administrative overhead required to
+maintain this scheme and the detailed understanding of the whole system
+necessary to provide a secure domain mapping leads to the scheme being
+disabled or used in limited ways in the majority of cases.
+
+Smack
+
+Smack is a Mandatory Access Control mechanism designed to provide useful MAC
+while avoiding the pitfalls of its predecessors. The limitations of Bell &
+LaPadula are addressed by providing a scheme whereby access can be controlled
+according to the requirements of the system and its purpose rather than those
+imposed by an arcane government policy. The complexity of Domain Type
+Enforcement and avoided by defining access controls in terms of the access
+modes already in use.
+
+Smack Terminology
+
+The jargon used to talk about Smack will be familiar to those who have dealt
+with other MAC systems and shouldn't be too difficult for the uninitiated to
+pick up. There are four terms that are used in a specific way and that are
+especially important:
+
+ Subject: A subject is an active entity on the computer system.
+ On Smack a subject is a task, which is in turn the basic unit
+ of execution.
+
+ Object: An object is a passive entity on the computer system.
+ On Smack files of all types, IPC, and tasks can be objects.
+
+ Access: Any attempt by a subject to put information into or get
+ information from an object is an access.
+
+ Label: Data that identifies the Mandatory Access Control
+ characteristics of a subject or an object.
+
+These definitions are consistent with the traditional use in the security
+community. There are also some terms from Linux that are likely to crop up:
+
+ Capability: A task that possesses a capability has permission to
+ violate an aspect of the system security policy, as identified by
+ the specific capability. A task that possesses one or more
+ capabilities is a privileged task, whereas a task with no
+ capabilities is an unprivileged task.
+
+ Privilege: A task that is allowed to violate the system security
+ policy is said to have privilege. As of this writing a task can
+ have privilege either by possessing capabilities or by having an
+ effective user of root.
+
+Smack Basics
+
+Smack is an extension to a Linux system. It enforces additional restrictions
+on what subjects can access which objects, based on the labels attached to
+each of the subject and the object.
+
+Labels
+
+Smack labels are ASCII character strings. They can be up to 255 characters
+long, but keeping them to twenty-three characters is recommended.
+Single character labels using special characters, that being anything
+other than a letter or digit, are reserved for use by the Smack development
+team. Smack labels are unstructured, case sensitive, and the only operation
+ever performed on them is comparison for equality. Smack labels cannot
+contain unprintable characters, the "/" (slash), the "\" (backslash), the "'"
+(quote) and '"' (double-quote) characters.
+Smack labels cannot begin with a '-'. This is reserved for special options.
+
+There are some predefined labels:
+
+ _ Pronounced "floor", a single underscore character.
+ ^ Pronounced "hat", a single circumflex character.
+ * Pronounced "star", a single asterisk character.
+ ? Pronounced "huh", a single question mark character.
+ @ Pronounced "web", a single at sign character.
+
+Every task on a Smack system is assigned a label. The Smack label
+of a process will usually be assigned by the system initialization
+mechanism.
+
+Access Rules
+
+Smack uses the traditional access modes of Linux. These modes are read,
+execute, write, and occasionally append. There are a few cases where the
+access mode may not be obvious. These include:
+
+ Signals: A signal is a write operation from the subject task to
+ the object task.
+ Internet Domain IPC: Transmission of a packet is considered a
+ write operation from the source task to the destination task.
+
+Smack restricts access based on the label attached to a subject and the label
+attached to the object it is trying to access. The rules enforced are, in
+order:
+
+ 1. Any access requested by a task labeled "*" is denied.
+ 2. A read or execute access requested by a task labeled "^"
+ is permitted.
+ 3. A read or execute access requested on an object labeled "_"
+ is permitted.
+ 4. Any access requested on an object labeled "*" is permitted.
+ 5. Any access requested by a task on an object with the same
+ label is permitted.
+ 6. Any access requested that is explicitly defined in the loaded
+ rule set is permitted.
+ 7. Any other access is denied.
+
+Smack Access Rules
+
+With the isolation provided by Smack access separation is simple. There are
+many interesting cases where limited access by subjects to objects with
+different labels is desired. One example is the familiar spy model of
+sensitivity, where a scientist working on a highly classified project would be
+able to read documents of lower classifications and anything she writes will
+be "born" highly classified. To accommodate such schemes Smack includes a
+mechanism for specifying rules allowing access between labels.
+
+Access Rule Format
+
+The format of an access rule is:
+
+ subject-label object-label access
+
+Where subject-label is the Smack label of the task, object-label is the Smack
+label of the thing being accessed, and access is a string specifying the sort
+of access allowed. The access specification is searched for letters that
+describe access modes:
+
+ a: indicates that append access should be granted.
+ r: indicates that read access should be granted.
+ w: indicates that write access should be granted.
+ x: indicates that execute access should be granted.
+ t: indicates that the rule requests transmutation.
+ b: indicates that the rule should be reported for bring-up.
+
+Uppercase values for the specification letters are allowed as well.
+Access mode specifications can be in any order. Examples of acceptable rules
+are:
+
+ TopSecret Secret rx
+ Secret Unclass R
+ Manager Game x
+ User HR w
+ Snap Crackle rwxatb
+ New Old rRrRr
+ Closed Off -
+
+Examples of unacceptable rules are:
+
+ Top Secret Secret rx
+ Ace Ace r
+ Odd spells waxbeans
+
+Spaces are not allowed in labels. Since a subject always has access to files
+with the same label specifying a rule for that case is pointless. Only
+valid letters (rwxatbRWXATB) and the dash ('-') character are allowed in
+access specifications. The dash is a placeholder, so "a-r" is the same
+as "ar". A lone dash is used to specify that no access should be allowed.
+
+Applying Access Rules
+
+The developers of Linux rarely define new sorts of things, usually importing
+schemes and concepts from other systems. Most often, the other systems are
+variants of Unix. Unix has many endearing properties, but consistency of
+access control models is not one of them. Smack strives to treat accesses as
+uniformly as is sensible while keeping with the spirit of the underlying
+mechanism.
+
+File system objects including files, directories, named pipes, symbolic links,
+and devices require access permissions that closely match those used by mode
+bit access. To open a file for reading read access is required on the file. To
+search a directory requires execute access. Creating a file with write access
+requires both read and write access on the containing directory. Deleting a
+file requires read and write access to the file and to the containing
+directory. It is possible that a user may be able to see that a file exists
+but not any of its attributes by the circumstance of having read access to the
+containing directory but not to the differently labeled file. This is an
+artifact of the file name being data in the directory, not a part of the file.
+
+If a directory is marked as transmuting (SMACK64TRANSMUTE=TRUE) and the
+access rule that allows a process to create an object in that directory
+includes 't' access the label assigned to the new object will be that
+of the directory, not the creating process. This makes it much easier
+for two processes with different labels to share data without granting
+access to all of their files.
+
+IPC objects, message queues, semaphore sets, and memory segments exist in flat
+namespaces and access requests are only required to match the object in
+question.
+
+Process objects reflect tasks on the system and the Smack label used to access
+them is the same Smack label that the task would use for its own access
+attempts. Sending a signal via the kill() system call is a write operation
+from the signaler to the recipient. Debugging a process requires both reading
+and writing. Creating a new task is an internal operation that results in two
+tasks with identical Smack labels and requires no access checks.
+
+Sockets are data structures attached to processes and sending a packet from
+one process to another requires that the sender have write access to the
+receiver. The receiver is not required to have read access to the sender.
+
+Setting Access Rules
+
+The configuration file /etc/smack/accesses contains the rules to be set at
+system startup. The contents are written to the special file
+/sys/fs/smackfs/load2. Rules can be added at any time and take effect
+immediately. For any pair of subject and object labels there can be only
+one rule, with the most recently specified overriding any earlier
+specification.
+
+Task Attribute
+
+The Smack label of a process can be read from /proc/<pid>/attr/current. A
+process can read its own Smack label from /proc/self/attr/current. A
+privileged process can change its own Smack label by writing to
+/proc/self/attr/current but not the label of another process.
+
+File Attribute
+
+The Smack label of a filesystem object is stored as an extended attribute
+named SMACK64 on the file. This attribute is in the security namespace. It can
+only be changed by a process with privilege.
+
+Privilege
+
+A process with CAP_MAC_OVERRIDE or CAP_MAC_ADMIN is privileged.
+CAP_MAC_OVERRIDE allows the process access to objects it would
+be denied otherwise. CAP_MAC_ADMIN allows a process to change
+Smack data, including rules and attributes.
+
+Smack Networking
+
+As mentioned before, Smack enforces access control on network protocol
+transmissions. Every packet sent by a Smack process is tagged with its Smack
+label. This is done by adding a CIPSO tag to the header of the IP packet. Each
+packet received is expected to have a CIPSO tag that identifies the label and
+if it lacks such a tag the network ambient label is assumed. Before the packet
+is delivered a check is made to determine that a subject with the label on the
+packet has write access to the receiving process and if that is not the case
+the packet is dropped.
+
+CIPSO Configuration
+
+It is normally unnecessary to specify the CIPSO configuration. The default
+values used by the system handle all internal cases. Smack will compose CIPSO
+label values to match the Smack labels being used without administrative
+intervention. Unlabeled packets that come into the system will be given the
+ambient label.
+
+Smack requires configuration in the case where packets from a system that is
+not Smack that speaks CIPSO may be encountered. Usually this will be a Trusted
+Solaris system, but there are other, less widely deployed systems out there.
+CIPSO provides 3 important values, a Domain Of Interpretation (DOI), a level,
+and a category set with each packet. The DOI is intended to identify a group
+of systems that use compatible labeling schemes, and the DOI specified on the
+Smack system must match that of the remote system or packets will be
+discarded. The DOI is 3 by default. The value can be read from
+/sys/fs/smackfs/doi and can be changed by writing to /sys/fs/smackfs/doi.
+
+The label and category set are mapped to a Smack label as defined in
+/etc/smack/cipso.
+
+A Smack/CIPSO mapping has the form:
+
+ smack level [category [category]*]
+
+Smack does not expect the level or category sets to be related in any
+particular way and does not assume or assign accesses based on them. Some
+examples of mappings:
+
+ TopSecret 7
+ TS:A,B 7 1 2
+ SecBDE 5 2 4 6
+ RAFTERS 7 12 26
+
+The ":" and "," characters are permitted in a Smack label but have no special
+meaning.
+
+The mapping of Smack labels to CIPSO values is defined by writing to
+/sys/fs/smackfs/cipso2.
+
+In addition to explicit mappings Smack supports direct CIPSO mappings. One
+CIPSO level is used to indicate that the category set passed in the packet is
+in fact an encoding of the Smack label. The level used is 250 by default. The
+value can be read from /sys/fs/smackfs/direct and changed by writing to
+/sys/fs/smackfs/direct.
+
+Socket Attributes
+
+There are two attributes that are associated with sockets. These attributes
+can only be set by privileged tasks, but any task can read them for their own
+sockets.
+
+ SMACK64IPIN: The Smack label of the task object. A privileged
+ program that will enforce policy may set this to the star label.
+
+ SMACK64IPOUT: The Smack label transmitted with outgoing packets.
+ A privileged program may set this to match the label of another
+ task with which it hopes to communicate.
+
+Smack Netlabel Exceptions
+
+You will often find that your labeled application has to talk to the outside,
+unlabeled world. To do this there's a special file /sys/fs/smackfs/netlabel
+where you can add some exceptions in the form of :
+@IP1 LABEL1 or
+@IP2/MASK LABEL2
+
+It means that your application will have unlabeled access to @IP1 if it has
+write access on LABEL1, and access to the subnet @IP2/MASK if it has write
+access on LABEL2.
+
+Entries in the /sys/fs/smackfs/netlabel file are matched by longest mask
+first, like in classless IPv4 routing.
+
+A special label '@' and an option '-CIPSO' can be used there :
+@ means Internet, any application with any label has access to it
+-CIPSO means standard CIPSO networking
+
+If you don't know what CIPSO is and don't plan to use it, you can just do :
+echo 127.0.0.1 -CIPSO > /sys/fs/smackfs/netlabel
+echo 0.0.0.0/0 @ > /sys/fs/smackfs/netlabel
+
+If you use CIPSO on your 192.168.0.0/16 local network and need also unlabeled
+Internet access, you can have :
+echo 127.0.0.1 -CIPSO > /sys/fs/smackfs/netlabel
+echo 192.168.0.0/16 -CIPSO > /sys/fs/smackfs/netlabel
+echo 0.0.0.0/0 @ > /sys/fs/smackfs/netlabel
+
+
+Writing Applications for Smack
+
+There are three sorts of applications that will run on a Smack system. How an
+application interacts with Smack will determine what it will have to do to
+work properly under Smack.
+
+Smack Ignorant Applications
+
+By far the majority of applications have no reason whatever to care about the
+unique properties of Smack. Since invoking a program has no impact on the
+Smack label associated with the process the only concern likely to arise is
+whether the process has execute access to the program.
+
+Smack Relevant Applications
+
+Some programs can be improved by teaching them about Smack, but do not make
+any security decisions themselves. The utility ls(1) is one example of such a
+program.
+
+Smack Enforcing Applications
+
+These are special programs that not only know about Smack, but participate in
+the enforcement of system policy. In most cases these are the programs that
+set up user sessions. There are also network services that provide information
+to processes running with various labels.
+
+File System Interfaces
+
+Smack maintains labels on file system objects using extended attributes. The
+Smack label of a file, directory, or other file system object can be obtained
+using getxattr(2).
+
+ len = getxattr("/", "security.SMACK64", value, sizeof (value));
+
+will put the Smack label of the root directory into value. A privileged
+process can set the Smack label of a file system object with setxattr(2).
+
+ len = strlen("Rubble");
+ rc = setxattr("/foo", "security.SMACK64", "Rubble", len, 0);
+
+will set the Smack label of /foo to "Rubble" if the program has appropriate
+privilege.
+
+Socket Interfaces
+
+The socket attributes can be read using fgetxattr(2).
+
+A privileged process can set the Smack label of outgoing packets with
+fsetxattr(2).
+
+ len = strlen("Rubble");
+ rc = fsetxattr(fd, "security.SMACK64IPOUT", "Rubble", len, 0);
+
+will set the Smack label "Rubble" on packets going out from the socket if the
+program has appropriate privilege.
+
+ rc = fsetxattr(fd, "security.SMACK64IPIN, "*", strlen("*"), 0);
+
+will set the Smack label "*" as the object label against which incoming
+packets will be checked if the program has appropriate privilege.
+
+Administration
+
+Smack supports some mount options:
+
+ smackfsdef=label: specifies the label to give files that lack
+ the Smack label extended attribute.
+
+ smackfsroot=label: specifies the label to assign the root of the
+ file system if it lacks the Smack extended attribute.
+
+ smackfshat=label: specifies a label that must have read access to
+ all labels set on the filesystem. Not yet enforced.
+
+ smackfsfloor=label: specifies a label to which all labels set on the
+ filesystem must have read access. Not yet enforced.
+
+These mount options apply to all file system types.
+
+Smack auditing
+
+If you want Smack auditing of security events, you need to set CONFIG_AUDIT
+in your kernel configuration.
+By default, all denied events will be audited. You can change this behavior by
+writing a single character to the /sys/fs/smackfs/logging file :
+0 : no logging
+1 : log denied (default)
+2 : log accepted
+3 : log denied & accepted
+
+Events are logged as 'key=value' pairs, for each event you at least will get
+the subject, the object, the rights requested, the action, the kernel function
+that triggered the event, plus other pairs depending on the type of event
+audited.
+
+Bringup Mode
+
+Bringup mode provides logging features that can make application
+configuration and system bringup easier. Configure the kernel with
+CONFIG_SECURITY_SMACK_BRINGUP to enable these features. When bringup
+mode is enabled accesses that succeed due to rules marked with the "b"
+access mode will logged. When a new label is introduced for processes
+rules can be added aggressively, marked with the "b". The logging allows
+tracking of which rules actual get used for that label.
+
+Another feature of bringup mode is the "unconfined" option. Writing
+a label to /sys/fs/smackfs/unconfined makes subjects with that label
+able to access any object, and objects with that label accessible to
+all subjects. Any access that is granted because a label is unconfined
+is logged. This feature is dangerous, as files and directories may
+be created in places they couldn't if the policy were being enforced.