GbE-region MAC randomisation - #2171
Conversation
|
Confused on how ifdtool is built here vs #1195 (which was unclean still, required coreboot's built ifdtool that is needed to build coreboot (see modules/coreboot there) to add Makefile hacks to pack ifdtool as cbmem is packed to be used inside of Heads. ifdtool needs to be built with musl-cross-make to depend on musl's libc; so unclear how building it with coreboot's buildstack produces an actual working ifdtool to be used inside of heads? You tested this pr @FckBigTch ? |
Yes, I've tested several times, and flashed the resulting ROMs on t480s, t480 and x230. Ifdtool is usable inside of heads. Confirmed it's actually musl: Interpreter is /lib/ld-musl-x86_64.so.1 |
b04ba37 to
931e455
Compare
|
Some notes from deeper review
Will think about that a bit more. If you have ideas let me know @FckBigTch |
The reason I thought the Novacustom models should be excluded is that the config explicitly states: That means it's not possible to generate a random MAC address, right? But I understand that overwriting the GBE region should be avoided during an update. I hadn't even thought of the idea with the dynamic menu. I'll follow your advice and try to implement it. |
Misunderstanding. This means those boards pack a GBE (see coreboot configs) but don't ever flash it per initial flashing instructions or internal flashing. If someone misread initial flashing (which is done by OEM not end users in the case of these boards), then MAC address would become generic as per packed in rom GBE.
|
Also see linuxboot/heads-wiki#209 (needed) |
- nvmutil from libreboot added as a module - ifdtool from coreboot is included as a part of the Makefile Signed-off-by: Rene <chaotic@disroot.org>
931e455 to
fc5e070
Compare
- Ethernet MAC address randomization - menu option is displayed only if $CONFIG_NVMUTIL=y and $CONFIG_IFDTOOL=y are set in the config file - add mac_randomization_options_menu() - to select a completely random mac, an intel pattern or to show the current mac - add show_mac() - add change_mac() - add clean_up_mac(), remove temporary files Signed-off-by: Rene <chaotic@disroot.org>
- add $CONFIG_NVMUTIL - add $CONFIG_IFDTOOL - added only to tested boards: x230, t480, t480s - novacustom v54 and v56, tools are set to no, see linuxboot#1871 (comment) Signed-off-by: Rene <chaotic@disroot.org>
fc5e070 to
03a9a5a
Compare
|
I've revised the menu now. Instead of duplicating the whole function for the gated/non-gated case, the menu items are now built into a bash array, with the MAC randomization entry conditionally appended only when CONFIG_NVMUTIL=y and CONFIG_IFDTOOL=y. |
|
Took a little time to think about linuxboot/heads-wiki#209 and current widespread
It seems that the proper usage pattern would become, in all boards having GBE
Thoughts @FckBigTch ? |
Sorry i misled you @FckBigTch So, what that means is that the SPI chip HAS a GBE, but shipped ROM images don't and keep OEM's. So TLDR: We should have all boards having GBE only write to specific IFD's regions, not touching GBE even if one is provided by rom (excluding GBE from flashprog). And have GBE flashed when user intends it (when one is generated from nvmutil in this PR), where internal upgrade don't touch it unless expressively asked for. Makes sense? Outside of v540tu/v560tu not having GBE in packed ROM; Others have it: Makes sense? |
I'm sorry for the late reply, but I had to think about what you wrote. If the user or whoever first did the (external) flash overwrote the GBE, so it’s DE:AD:CO:FF:EE. If they use the randomization feature, they get a random MAC. If all boards exclude GBE (CONFIG_FLASH_OPTIONS change), the random mac is persistent during an update. I'm not sure if that's really necessary, but I understand that you want to offer an easy way to revert to the default settings. |
So, is there anything else you'd like me to do? |
Sorry for having confused you. I checked the changes, and now I understand why the misunderstandings. Once this is CONFIG_FLASH_OPTIONS and flash.sh used, why I wanted to keep prior CONFIG_FLASH_OPTIONS to restore it before returning to prior operations is exposed, otherwise a reboot.sh would be needed (also normal pattern after a flash. We might need to simply add in all boards CONFIG_FLASH_TOOL="flashprog" and CONFIG_FLASH_OPTIONS=$CONFIG_FLASH_TOOL --programmer....." so that you could use CONFIG_FLASH directly if that is the path you prefer without needing backup of previous board, extract the programmer to call only --ifd -i gbe... That's where I was going to. gui-init.sh should not have additional functions, it should either be in functions.sh or gui_functions.sh that gui-init.sh sources. One cannot cd into /tmp in one function and not change back to prior location either since other heads workflows will break, unless a reboot is done too there. Some of your added functions do not check for ifdtool or nvutil presence (not guarded) which might also cause issues down the line which we try to not have to deal with. Sorry I wasn't clear enough; I didn't see you were calling flashprog directly in added functions under gui-init.sh |
|
Make sense! Thanks for your patience and explanations. I will make the changes. |
Follow-up to the PoC in #1195. This PR builds on that work and it is a feature to view and randomize the Ethernet MAC address stored in the GbE region of the flash.
Module
Makefile
initrd/bin/gui-init.sh
GUI
New submenu under the main menu, shown only when both CONFIG_NVMUTIL and CONFIG_IFDTOOL are set to yes for the board:
Tested boards
Known limitation / open question
Fbwhiptail doesn't support conditionally hiding a single menu entry, so gui-init.sh's show_options_menu is currently duplicated (one version with the MAC randomization entry, one without) selected based on whether the board has the feature enabled.
This works, but duplicating a whole menu function to add one conditional entry doesn't scale well if more optional, board-gated features are added later. An alternative I considered: always show the entry, and if CONFIG_NVMUTIL/CONFIG_IFDTOOL are no on that board, show a message like "This feature is not available on your board" instead of duplicating the menu. That avoids the duplication but surfaces a dead-end option to boards that can never use it. What do you think?
If there are anything changes you'd like me to make, just let me know.