random: add new get_random_bytes_arch() function

commit c2557a303ab6712bb6e09447df828c557c710ac9 upstream.

Create a new function, get_random_bytes_arch() which will use the
architecture-specific hardware random number generator if it is
present.  Change get_random_bytes() to not use the HW RNG, even if it
is avaiable.

The reason for this is that the hw random number generator is fast (if
it is present), but it requires that we trust the hardware
manufacturer to have not put in a back door.  (For example, an
increasing counter encrypted by an AES key known to the NSA.)

It's unlikely that Intel (for example) was paid off by the US
Government to do this, but it's impossible for them to prove otherwise

diff --git a/drivers/char/random.c b/drivers/char/random.c
index 4a832207cd453ab6c92243d11bf90218bbc62d0f..f3200bff922a01e51aef6bb969b377823beee601 100644 (file)
--- a/drivers/char/random.c
+++ b/drivers/char/random.c
@@ -1038,17 +1038,34 @@ static ssize_t extract_entropy_user(struct entropy_store *r, void __user *buf,
 
 /*
  * This function is the exported kernel interface.  It returns some
- * number of good random numbers, suitable for seeding TCP sequence
- * numbers, etc.
+ * number of good random numbers, suitable for key generation, seeding
+ * TCP sequence numbers, etc.  It does not use the hw random number
+ * generator, if available; use get_random_bytes_arch() for that.
  */
 void get_random_bytes(void *buf, int nbytes)
+{
+       extract_entropy(&nonblocking_pool, buf, nbytes, 0, 0);
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL(get_random_bytes);
+
+/*
+ * This function will use the architecture-specific hardware random
+ * number generator if it is available.  The arch-specific hw RNG will
+ * almost certainly be faster than what we can do in software, but it
+ * is impossible to verify that it is implemented securely (as
+ * opposed, to, say, the AES encryption of a sequence number using a
+ * key known by the NSA).  So it's useful if we need the speed, but
+ * only if we're willing to trust the hardware manufacturer not to
+ * have put in a back door.
+ */
+void get_random_bytes_arch(void *buf, int nbytes)
 {
        char *p = buf;
 
        while (nbytes) {
                unsigned long v;
                int chunk = min(nbytes, (int)sizeof(unsigned long));
-               
+
                if (!arch_get_random_long(&v))
                        break;
                
@@ -1057,9 +1074,11 @@ void get_random_bytes(void *buf, int nbytes)
                nbytes -= chunk;
        }
 
-       extract_entropy(&nonblocking_pool, p, nbytes, 0, 0);
+       if (nbytes)
+               extract_entropy(&nonblocking_pool, p, nbytes, 0, 0);
 }
-EXPORT_SYMBOL(get_random_bytes);
+EXPORT_SYMBOL(get_random_bytes_arch);
+
 
 /*
  * init_std_data - initialize pool with system data

diff --git a/include/linux/random.h b/include/linux/random.h
index e14b4387354a672ba93863593c5a0873acbf8f22..29e217a7e6d0d1a51a379ded6d1379a718ee5564 100644 (file)
--- a/include/linux/random.h
+++ b/include/linux/random.h
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ extern void add_input_randomness(unsigned int type, unsigned int code,
 extern void add_interrupt_randomness(int irq, int irq_flags);
 
 extern void get_random_bytes(void *buf, int nbytes);
+extern void get_random_bytes_arch(void *buf, int nbytes);
 void generate_random_uuid(unsigned char uuid_out[16]);
 
 #ifndef MODULE