Issue #8120 has been updated by Jeff Weiss.

In terms of Ruby compatibility, it looks like 
<code>ossl_digest_initialize</code> in the  [trunk of 
1.8.7](http://svn.ruby-lang.org/cgi-bin/viewvc.cgi/branches/ruby_1_8_7/ext/openssl/ossl_digest.c?revision=16732&view=markup)
 and 
[1.9.2-p381](http://svn.ruby-lang.org/cgi-bin/viewvc.cgi/tags/v1_9_2_381/ext/openssl/ossl_digest.c?revision=34678&view=markup)
 do not check the appropriate return code from <code>EVP_DigestInit_ex</code>.

If we're going to support running in a FIPS 140-2 environment, for now we'll 
need to specify that it will only work with 
[1.9.3-p0](http://svn.ruby-lang.org/cgi-bin/viewvc.cgi/tags/v1_9_3_0/ext/openssl/ossl_digest.c?revision=33570&view=markup)
 or greater.
----------------------------------------
Feature #8120: Let user change hashing algorithm, to avoid crashing on 
FIPS-compliant hosts
https://projects.puppetlabs.com/issues/8120#change-58687

Author: jared jennings
Status: Needs Decision
Priority: Normal
Assignee: Jason McKerr
Category: security
Target version: 
Affected Puppet version: 
Keywords: 
Branch: https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet/pull/195


I'm using Puppet in part to ensure [Federal Information Processing Standard 
140-2](http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/fips/fips140-2/fips1402.pdf) (FIPS 
140-2) compliance on my network. Part of this compliance for the system 
underlying Puppet is to make sure that only [FIPS 
Approved](http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/fips/fips140-2/fips1402annexa.pdf) 
algorithms are used. OpenSSL does this by ensuring that any attempts to run an 
unapproved algorithm result in either a SIGSEGV or a SIGABRT. MD5 has been 
broken enough that it is no longer a FIPS Approved algorithm.

The consequence for Puppet is that, if it tries to use MD5 on a FIPS-compliant 
system, it will crash. Here is where I have seen Puppet crash for this reason:

 1. the puppet/util/checksums.rb, used by File resources;
 2. the puppet/parser/functions/md5.rb, implementation of the md5 DSL function;
 3. certificate signature in puppet/ssl/certificate_request.rb;
 4. certificate fingerprinting in puppet/ssl/base.rb;
 5. outside Puppet, in the session ID code in openssl/ssl-internal.rb, class 
OpenSSL::SSLServer, due to using WEBrick.

It was easy enough to replace MD5 with SHA256 in all those places - and, in 
case 4, it appears I may not have needed to change the code; but the DSL 
function is still called md5, and MD5 is still named in some of the messages. 
My changes lack the refinement necessary to be useful to others.

What I think I need is to be able to say, in one place like puppet.conf, "use 
SHA256, not MD5," and algorithms and messages alike will change. I think the 
`md5` DSL function would need to be replaced with a `digest` function which 
uses the configured algorithm, and there should also be a way in the DSL to 
find out which digest is being used, like a `digestname` function.

Then, in some years when SHA2 is decertified, I can tell Puppet, "use SHA3, not 
SHA2," instead of filing an issue like this one and doing code changes. (I 
don't know what migration issues this scenario may pose.)

[How can I make Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 FIPS 140-2 
compliant?](https://access.redhat.com/kb/docs/DOC-39230) (Red Hat login 
required)


-- 
You have received this notification because you have either subscribed to it, 
or are involved in it.
To change your notification preferences, please click here: 
http://projects.puppetlabs.com/my/account

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"Puppet Bugs" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to 
[email protected].
For more options, visit this group at 
http://groups.google.com/group/puppet-bugs?hl=en.

Reply via email to