Linux Foundation Announces Secure Boot Solution
Linux Foundation announces that Linux will continue to operate under Secure Boot-enabled systems.
As reported previously in Linux magazine online news and by Brian Proffitt, all Windows 8 systems will ship with Secure Boot enabled. To recap, this UEFI specification associates the firmware with a signing key that prohibits users from installing a new operating system. The majority of Linux desktop systems are installed over an OEM version of Windows, so the potential for problems is significant.
This week, however, the Linux Foundation and its Technical Advisory Board announced their plan to enable Linux (and other open source distributions) to continue operating under Secure Boot enabled systems. In the announcement, James Bottomley wrote, “In a nutshell, the Linux Foundation will obtain a Microsoft Key and sign a small pre-bootloader which will, in turn, chain load (without any form of signature check) a predesignated boot loader which will, in turn, boot Linux (or any other operating system).”
According to the announcement, the pre-bootloader will employ a “present user” test to ensure that it cannot be used as a vector for any type of UEFI malware to target secure systems. “The pre-bootloader can be used either to boot a CD/DVD installer or LiveCD distribution or even boot an installed operating system in secure mode for any distribution that chooses to use it. The process of obtaining a Microsoft signature will take a while, but once it is complete, the pre-bootloader will be placed on the Linux Foundation website for anyone to download and make use of,” Bottomley said.
Bottomley noted that this pre-bootloader “provides no security enhancements over booting linux with UEFI secure boot turned off,” and the Linux Foundation welcomes efforts by various distros to tackle the problem and improve platform security. Thus, the pre-bootloader can be seen as a stop-gap measure giving distributions time to come up with plans that take advantage of UEFI secure boot.
You can read the announcement at linuxfoundation.org. The source code for the Linux Foundation pre-bootloader is available as Loader.c.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you've found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
The GNU Project Celebrates Its 40th Birthday
September 27 marks the 40th anniversary of the GNU Project, and it was celebrated with a hacker meeting in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.
-
Linux Kernel Reducing Long-Term Support
LTS support for the Linux kernel is about to undergo some serious changes that will have a considerable impact on the future.
-
Fedora 39 Beta Now Available for Testing
For fans and users of Fedora Linux, the first beta of release 39 is now available, which is a minor upgrade but does include GNOME 45.
-
Fedora Linux 40 to Drop X11 for KDE Plasma
When Fedora 40 arrives in 2024, there will be a few big changes coming, especially for the KDE Plasma option.
-
Real-Time Ubuntu Available in AWS Marketplace
Anyone looking for a Linux distribution for real-time processing could do a whole lot worse than Real-Time Ubuntu.
-
KSMBD Finally Reaches a Stable State
For those who've been looking forward to the first release of KSMBD, after two years it's no longer considered experimental.
-
Nitrux 3.0.0 Has Been Released
The latest version of Nitrux brings plenty of innovation and fresh apps to the table.
-
Linux From Scratch 12.0 Now Available
If you're looking to roll your own Linux distribution, the latest version of Linux From Scratch is now available with plenty of updates.
-
Linux Kernel 6.5 Has Been Released
The newest Linux kernel, version 6.5, now includes initial support for two very exciting features.
-
UbuntuDDE 23.04 Now Available
A new version of the UbuntuDDE remix has finally arrived with all the updates from the Deepin desktop and everything that comes with the Ubuntu 23.04 base.