Request for comment: kmod signing by AlmaLinux OS Foundation

Hi @iseletsk

Many thanks for this post.

I am rather new to Linux, and a happy user of AlmaLinux as a desktop OS. My usage is therefore much less critical that people running it on enterprise servers, but I came across the topic of kmod signing too.

This was raised after I experienced some issues with Wireguard, which was running smoothly until something broke it.

I received great support from the community here:

However, after considering the two options (remove SecureBoot or sign kmod-wireguard), I felt that:

  • keeping SecureBoot is the right thing to do
  • signing a module myself is not something I could do, as I considered not having the technical skills to “competently” sign a module (while I trusted the module, it brought a general feeling a bit like signing a blank check).

For my own little Wireguard issue, I chose a workaround (OpenVPN) waiting for AlmaLinux 9, but it’s great to read your post about this matter, as I believe it will address expectations of a number of existing and future AlmaLinux users.

In terms of Product Management or software lifecycle, the proposed steps look great. The step 7 would provide a higher level of assurance as to the software security supply chain but I am just wondering how this could be done as securily and efficiently as possible (audit from vetted securiy vendor is a reliable solution, but how would it affect delivery cycle/speed? could it be somehow integrated in a DevSecOps approach?).

Happy to contribute/volunteer from a Product Management / Process perspective if that could be useful.

And thanks again for raising this topic!

Alex

1 Like