Unified Extensible Firmware Interface/Secure Boot
For an overview about Secure Boot in Linux see Rodsbooks' Secure Boot article. This article focuses on how to set up Secure Boot in Arch Linux.
The factual accuracy of this article or section is disputed.![]()
Reason: Secure Boot is in no way related to LUKS. Secure Boot has dbx for blacklisting keys and hashes. Using a unified kernel image signed with a custom key, althought the most secure, is not the only way to use Secure Boot. (Discuss in Talk:Unified Extensible Firmware Interface/Secure Boot#)
Secure Boot is a security feature of modern motherboards, which can protect boot manager, kernel and initramfs from tampering: e.g. from installing a keylogger or bootkit able to steal your LUKS master key. Minimal configuration in which using Secure boot worth time spent:
- UEFI considered trusted, despite it still can have backdoors or being vulnerable to Evil Maid able to flash your hardware
- User must not use 3rd party keys, especially from Microsoft (there is at least one known boot manager, signed by Microsoft, able to load anything [1])
- UEFI loads EFISTUB with both kernel+initram signed by user Image Signing Key, so no one can tamper it
- Kernel mounts encrypted root and home filesystems (LVM on LUKS), so no one can tamper them, read mentioned private keys, password hashes or user sensitive data
In future, Evil Maid attack can be potentially prevented by using a TPM.
Contents
- 1 Secure Boot status
- 2 Using a signed boot loader
- 3 Using your own keys
- 4 Disable Secure Boot
- 5 Booting an installation medium
- 6 Platform configuration registers
- 7 See also
Secure Boot status
Check the status
Before booting the OS
At this point, one has to look at the firmware setup. If the machine was booted and is running, in most cases it will have to be rebooted.
You may access the firmware configuration by pressing a special key during the boot process. The key to use depends on the firmware. It is usually one of Esc, F2, Del or possibly another Fn key. Sometimes the right key is displayed for a short while at the beginning of the boot process. The motherboard manual usually records it. You might want to press the key, and keep pressing it, immediately following powering on the machine, even before the screen actually displays anything.
After entering the firmware setup, be careful not to change any settings without prior intention. Usually there are navigation instructions, and short help for the settings, at the bottom of each setup screen. The setup itself might be composed of several pages. You will have to navigate to the correct place. The interesting setting might be simply denoted by secure boot, which can be set on or off.
After booting the OS
To check if the machine was booted with Secure Boot, use this command:
$ od --address-radix=n --format=u1 /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/SecureBoot*
If Secure Boot is enabled, this command returns 1 as the final integer in a list of five, for example:
6 0 0 0 1
For a verbose status, another way is to execute:
$ bootctl status
Change the status
This article or section needs expansion.![]()
Reason: Layout quick steps how an Arch install can gain Secure Boot with either #Using a signed boot loader or #Using your own keys. In the steps it is best mentioned that the structure of those two sections relies on having booted into Arch, i.e. #Disable Secure Boot first. (Discuss in Talk:Unified Extensible Firmware Interface/Secure Boot#)
Using a signed boot loader
Using a signed boot loader means using a boot loader signed with Microsoft's key. There are two known signed boot loaders PreLoader and shim, their purpose is to chainload other EFI binaries (usually boot loaders). Since Microsoft would never sign a boot loader that automatically launches any unsigned binary, PreLoader and shim use a whitelist called Machine Owner Key list, abbreviated MokList. If the SHA256 hash of the binary (Preloader and shim) or key the binary is signed with (shim) is in the MokList they execute it, if not they launch a key management utility which allows enrolling the hash or key.
PreLoader
When run, PreLoader tries to launch loader.efi. If the hash of loader.efi is not in MokList, PreLoader will launch HashTool.efi. In HashTool you must enroll the hash of the EFI binaries you want to launch, that means your boot loader (loader.efi) and kernel.
Note: Each time you update any of the binaries (e.g. boot loader or kernel) you will need to enroll their new hash.
Tip: The rEFInd boot manager's refind-install script can copy the rEFInd and PreLoader EFI binaries to the ESP. See rEFInd#Using PreLoader for instructions.
Set up PreLoader
Note: PreLoader.efi and HashTool.efi in efitools package are not signed, so their usefulness is limited. You can get a signed PreLoader.efi and HashTool.efi from preloader-signedAUR or download them manually.
Install preloader-signedAUR and copy PreLoader.efi and HashTool.efi to the boot loader directory; for systemd-boot use:
# cp /usr/share/preloader-signed/{PreLoader,HashTool}.efi esp/EFI/systemd
Now copy over the boot loader binary and rename it to loader.efi; for systemd-boot use:
# cp esp/EFI/systemd/systemd-bootx64.efi esp/EFI/systemd/loader.efi
Finally, create a new NVRAM entry to boot PreLoader.efi:
# efibootmgr --verbose --disk /dev/sdX --part Y --create --label "PreLoader" --loader /EFI/systemd/PreLoader.efi
Replace X with the drive letter and replace Y with the partition number of the EFI system partition.
This entry should be added to the list as the first to boot; check with the efibootmgr command and adjust the boot-order if necessary.
Fallback
If there are problems booting the custom NVRAM entry, copy HashTool.efi and loader.efi to the default loader location booted automatically by UEFI systems:
# cp /usr/share/preloader-signed/HashTool.efi esp/EFI/Boot # cp esp/EFI/systemd/systemd-bootx64.efi esp/EFI/Boot/loader.efi
Copy over PreLoader.efi and rename it:
# cp /usr/share/preloader-signed/PreLoader.efi esp/EFI/Boot/bootx64.efi
For particularly intransigent UEFI implementations, copy PreLoader.efi to the default loader location used by Windows systems:
# mkdir -p esp/EFI/Microsoft/Boot # cp /usr/share/preloader-signed/PreLoader.efi esp/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
Note: If dual-booting with Windows, backup the original bootmgfw.efi first as replacing it may cause problems with Windows updates.
As before, copy HashTool.efi and loader.efi to esp/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/.
When the system starts with Secure Boot enabled, follow the steps above to enroll loader.efi and /vmlinuz-linux (or whichever kernel image is being used).
How to use while booting?
A message will show up that says Failed to Start loader... I will now execute HashTool. To use HashTool for enrolling the hash of loader.efi and vmlinuz.efi, follow these steps. These steps assume titles for a remastered archiso installation media. The exact titles you will get depends on your boot loader setup.
- Select OK
- In the HashTool main menu, select Enroll Hash, choose
\loader.efiand confirm with Yes. Again, select Enroll Hash andarchisoto enter the archiso directory, then selectvmlinuz.efiand confirm with Yes. Then choose Exit to return to the boot device selection menu. - In the boot device selection menu choose Arch Linux archiso x86_64 UEFI CD
Remove PreLoader
Note: Since you are going to remove stuff, is a good idea to backup it.
Uninstall preloader-signedAUR and simply remove the copied files and revert configuration; for systemd-boot use:
# rm esp/EFI/systemd/{PreLoader,HashTool}.efi
# rm esp/EFI/systemd/loader.efi
# efibootmgr --verbose --bootnum N --delete-bootnum
# bootctl update
Where N is the NVRAM boot entry created for booting PreLoader.efi.
Check with the efibootmgr command and adjust the boot-order if necessary.
Note: The above commands cover the easiest case; if you have created, copied, renamed or edited further files probably you have to handle with them, too. If PreLoader was your operational boot entry, you obviously also need to #Disable Secure Boot.
shim
When run, shim tries to launch grubx64.efi. If MokList does not contain the hash of grubx64.efi or the key it is signed with, shim will launch MokManager (mmx64.efi). In MokManager you must enroll the hash of the EFI binaries you want to launch (your boot loader (grubx64.efi) and kernel) or enroll the key they are signed with.
Note: If you use #shim with hash, each time you update any of the binaries (e.g. boot loader or kernel) you will need to enroll their new hash.
Set up shim
Tip: The rEFInd boot manager's refind-install script can sign rEFInd EFI binaries and copy them along with shim and the MOK certificates to the ESP. See rEFInd#Using shim for instructions.
Install shim-signedAUR.
Rename your current boot loader to grubx64.efi
# mv esp/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.efi esp/EFI/BOOT/grubx64.efi
Copy shim and MokManager to your boot loader directory on ESP; use previous filename of your boot loader as as the filename for shimx64.efi:
# cp /usr/share/shim-signed/shimx64.efi esp/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.efi # cp /usr/share/shim-signed/mmx64.efi esp/EFI/BOOT/
Finally, create a new NVRAM entry to boot BOOTX64.efi:
# efibootmgr --verbose --disk /dev/sdX --part Y --create --label "Shim" --loader /EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.efi
shim can authenticate binaries by Machine Owner Key or hash stored in MokList.
- Machine Owner Key (MOK)
- A key that a user generates and uses to sign EFI binaries.
- hash
- A SHA256 hash of an EFI binary.
Using hash is simpler, but each time you update your boot loader or kernel you will need to add their hashes in MokManager. With MOK you only need to add the key once, but you will have to sign the boot loader and kernel each time it updates.
shim with hash
If shim does not find the SHA256 hash of grubx64.efi in MokList it will launch MokManager (mmx64.efi).
In MokManager select Enroll hash from disk, find grubx64.efi and add it to MokList. Repeat the steps and add your kernel vmlinuz-linux. When done select Continue boot and your boot loader will launch and it will be capable launching the kernel.
shim with key
Install sbsigntools.
You will need:
- .key
- PEM format private key for EFI binary signing.
- .crt
- PEM format certificate for sbsign.
- .cer
- DER format certificate for MokManager.
Create a Machine Owner Key:
$ openssl req -newkey rsa:4096 -nodes -keyout MOK.key -new -x509 -sha256 -days 3650 -subj "/CN=my Machine Owner Key/" -out MOK.crt $ openssl x509 -outform DER -in MOK.crt -out MOK.cer
Sign your boot loader (named grubx64.efi) and kernel:
# sbsign --key MOK.key --cert MOK.crt --output /boot/vmlinuz-linux /boot/vmlinuz-linux # sbsign --key MOK.key --cert MOK.crt --output esp/EFI/BOOT/grubx64.efi esp/EFI/BOOT/grubx64.efi
You will need to do this each time they are updated. You can automate the kernel signing with a pacman hook, e.g.:
/etc/pacman.d/hooks/999-sign_kernel_for_secureboot.hook
[Trigger]
Operation = Install
Operation = Upgrade
Type = Package
Target = linux
Target = linux-lts
Target = linux-hardened
Target = linux-zen
[Action]
Description = Signing kernel with Machine Owner Key for Secure Boot
When = PostTransaction
Exec = /usr/bin/find /boot/ -maxdepth 1 -name 'vmlinuz-*' -exec /usr/bin/sh -c 'if ! /usr/bin/sbverify --list {} 2>/dev/null | /usr/bin/grep -q "signature certificates"; then /usr/bin/sbsign --key MOK.key --cert MOK.crt --output {} {}; fi' ;
Depends = sbsigntools
Depends = findutils
Depends = grep
Copy MOK.cer to a FAT formatted file system (you can use EFI system partition).
Reboot and enable Secure Boot. If shim does not find the certificate grubx64.efi is signed with in MokList it will launch MokManager (mmx64.efi).
In MokManager select Enroll key from disk, find MOK.cer and add it to MokList. When done select Continue boot and your boot loader will launch and it will be capable launching any binary signed with your Machine Owner Key.
shim with key and GRUB
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Warning: With secureboot active GRUB can't chainload EFI binaries even if they are signed.
For signing you can for example use the grub2-signing extension: [2]
There is also a package in the aur: grub2-signing-extensionAUR
Run gpg --gen-key as root to create a keypair.
If you get a permission denied error try:
# chown root:root $(tty) # export GPG_TTY"="$(tty)
Activate the gpg-agent:
/root/.gnupg/gpg.conf
use-agent
/root/.gnupg/gpg-agent.conf
pinentry-program /usr/bin/pinentry no-grab default-cache-ttl 1800
Export your public key:
gpg --export -o ~/pubkey
Mount your boot partition. (Re)install GRUB2:
# grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=esp --bootloader-id=GRUB -k /root/pubkey --modules="gcry_sha256 gcry_dsa gcry_rsa"
Copy your publickey to your boot partiton.
cp /root/pubkey /boot/pubkey
Edit your GRUB custom config and add:
/etc/grub.d/40_Custom
insmod verify insmod gcry_sha256 insmod gcry_dsa gcry_rsa set check_signatures=enforce trust (crypto0)/pubkey insmod shim_lock
Tip: (crypt0) is the name of the partition in GRUB.
Rebuild your grub config:
grub-mkconfig > /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Ensure that you created MOK.key and signed your kernel and grubx64.efi like
described in shim with key.
Sign the grub files: grub-sign
Run grub-verify and check if there are errors.
Here is a simple unsign hook:
10-unsign-grub-before-update.hook
[Trigger] Operation = Install Operation = Upgrade Operation = Remove Type = Package Target = linux Target = linux-lts Target = linux-zen Target = grub Target = intel-ucode Target = amd-ucode [Action] Description = Unsigning GRUB When = PreTransaction Exec = /usr/bin/grub-unsign
And a bash script you can use to sign again after the update.
.bashrc
function sign-update () {
/usr/bin/grub-unsign
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then return 1; fi
/usr/bin/find /boot/ -maxdepth 1 -name 'vmlinuz-*' -not -name "*.sig" -exec /usr/bin/sh -c \
'if ! /usr/bin/sbverify --list {} 2>/dev/null | /usr/bin/grep -q "signature certificates"; \
then echo "Signing with sbsign."; /usr/bin/sbsign --key MOK.key --cert MOK.crt --output {} {}; fi' \;
/usr/bin/grub-sign
/usr/bin/find /boot/ -maxdepth 1 -name 'vmlinuz-*' -not -name "*.sig" -exec /usr/bin/sh -c \
'echo ""; echo {}; /usr/bin/sbverify --list {};' \;
}
Remove shim
Uninstall shim-signedAUR, remove the copied shim and MokManager files and rename back your boot loader.
Using your own keys
Tip:
- It is advised to read Rod Smith's Controlling Secure Boot.
- You can use
cryptboot-efikeysscript from cryptbootAUR package for simplified creating keys, enrolling keys, signing bootloader and verifying signatures.- Note that cryptbootAUR requires the encrypted
/bootpartition to be specified in/etc/crypttabbefore it runs, and if you are using it in combination with sbupdate-gitAUR, sbupdate expects the/boot/efikeys/db.*files created by cryptboot to be capitalized likeDB.*unless otherwise configured in/etc/sbupdate.conf. Users who do not use systemd to handle encryption may not have anything in their/etc/crypttabfile and would need to create an entry.
- Note that cryptbootAUR requires the encrypted
Secure Boot implementations use these keys:
- Platform Key (PK)
- Top-level key.
- Key Exchange Key (KEK)
- Keys used to sign Signatures Database and Forbidden Signatures Database updates.
- Signature Database (db)
- Contains keys and/or hashes of allowed EFI binaries.
- Forbidden Signatures Database (dbx)
- Contains keys and/or hashes of blacklisted EFI binaries.
See The Meaning of all the UEFI Keys for a more detailed explanation.
Custom keys
To use Secure Boot you need at least PK, KEK and db keys. While you can add multiple KEK, db and dbx certificates, only one Platform Key is allowed.
Once Secure Boot is in "User Mode" keys can only be updated by signing the update (using sign-efi-sig-list) with a higher level key. Platform key can be signed by itself.
Creating keys
To generate keys, install efitools and perform the following steps. As an alternative, install and run sbkeysAUR to generate a new set of keys automatically.
You will need private keys and certificates in multiple formats:
- .key
- PEM format private keys for EFI binary and EFI signature list signing.
- .crt
- PEM format certificates for sbsign(1), sbvarsign(1) and sign-efi-sig-list(1).
- .cer
- DER format certificates for firmware.
- .esl
- Certificates in an EFI Signature List for sbvarsign(1), efi-updatevar(1), KeyTool and firmware.
- .auth
- Certificates in an EFI Signature List with an authentication header (i.e. a signed certificate update file) for efi-updatevar(1), sbkeysync, KeyTool and firmware.
Create a GUID for owner identification:
$ uuidgen --random > GUID.txt
Platform key:
$ openssl req -newkey rsa:4096 -nodes -keyout PK.key -new -x509 -sha256 -days 3650 -subj "/CN=my Platform Key/" -out PK.crt $ openssl x509 -outform DER -in PK.crt -out PK.cer $ cert-to-efi-sig-list -g "$(< GUID.txt)" PK.crt PK.esl $ sign-efi-sig-list -g "$(< GUID.txt)" -k PK.key -c PK.crt PK PK.esl PK.auth
Sign an empty file to allow removing Platform Key when in "User Mode":
$ sign-efi-sig-list -g "$(< GUID.txt)" -c PK.crt -k PK.key PK /dev/null rm_PK.auth
Key Exchange Key:
$ openssl req -newkey rsa:4096 -nodes -keyout KEK.key -new -x509 -sha256 -days 3650 -subj "/CN=my Key Exchange Key/" -out KEK.crt $ openssl x509 -outform DER -in KEK.crt -out KEK.cer $ cert-to-efi-sig-list -g "$(< GUID.txt)" KEK.crt KEK.esl $ sign-efi-sig-list -g "$(< GUID.txt)" -k PK.key -c PK.crt KEK KEK.esl KEK.auth
Signature Database key:
$ openssl req -newkey rsa:4096 -nodes -keyout db.key -new -x509 -sha256 -days 3650 -subj "/CN=my Signature Database key/" -out db.crt $ openssl x509 -outform DER -in db.crt -out db.cer $ cert-to-efi-sig-list -g "$(< GUID.txt)" db.crt db.esl $ sign-efi-sig-list -g "$(< GUID.txt)" -k KEK.key -c KEK.crt db db.esl db.auth
Updating keys
Once Secure Boot is in "User Mode" any changes to KEK, db and dbx need to be signed with a higher level key.
For example, if you wanted to replace your db key with a new one:
- Create the new key,
- Convert it to EFI Signature List,
- Sign the EFI Signature List,
- Enroll the signed certificate update file.
$ cert-to-efi-sig-list -g "$(< GUID.txt)" new_db.crt new_db.esl $ sign-efi-sig-list -g "$(< GUID.txt)" -k KEK.key -c KEK.crt db new_db.esl new_db.auth
If instead of replacing your db key, you want to add another one to the Signature Database, you need to use the option -a (see sign-efi-sig-list(1)):
$ sign-efi-sig-list -a -g "$(< GUID.txt)" -k KEK.key -c KEK.crt db new_db.esl new_db.auth
When new_db.auth is created, enroll it.
Signing EFI binaries
When Secure Boot is active (i.e. in "User Mode"), only signed EFI binaries (e.g. applications, drivers, unified kernel images) can be launched. Install sbsigntools to sign EFI binaries with sbsign(1).
Tip:
- To check if a binary is signed and list its signatures use
sbverify --list /path/to/binary. - The rEFInd boot manager's
refind-installscript can sign rEFInd EFI binaries and copy them together with the db certificates to the ESP. See rEFInd#Using your own keys for instructions.
Note: If running sbsign without --output the resulting file will be filename.signed. See sbsign(1) for more information.
Signing the kernel and boot manager
Warning: Signing kernel only will not protect the initramfs from tampering.
To sign your kernel and boot manager use sbsign. E.g.:
# sbsign --key db.key --cert db.crt --output /boot/vmlinuz-linux /boot/vmlinuz-linux # sbsign --key db.key --cert db.crt --output esp/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI esp/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI
Signing the kernel with a pacman hook
You can also use mkinitcpio's pacman hook to sign the kernel on install and updates.
Copy /usr/share/libalpm/hooks/90-mkinitcpio-install.hook to /etc/pacman.d/hooks/90-mkinitcpio-install.hook and /usr/share/libalpm/scripts/mkinitcpio-install to /usr/local/share/libalpm/scripts/mkinitcpio-install.
In /etc/pacman.d/hooks/90-mkinitcpio-install.hook, replace:
Exec = /usr/share/libalpm/scripts/mkinitcpio-install
with:
Exec = /usr/local/share/libalpm/scripts/mkinitcpio-install
In /usr/local/share/libalpm/scripts/mkinitcpio-install, replace:
install -Dm644 "${line}" "/boot/vmlinuz-${pkgbase}"
with:
sbsign --key /path/to/db.key --cert /path/to/db.crt --output "/boot/vmlinuz-${pkgbase}" "${line}"
If you are using systemd-boot, there is a dedicated pacman hook doing this task semi-automatically.
Put firmware in "Setup Mode"
Secure Boot is in Setup Mode when the Platform Key is removed. To put firmware in Setup Mode, enter firmware setup utility and find an option to delete or clear certificates. How to enter the setup utility is described in #Before booting the OS.
Enroll keys in firmware
Copy all *.cer, *.esl, *.auth to a FAT formatted file system (you can use EFI system partition).
Launch firmware setup utility or KeyTool and enroll db, KEK and PK certificates.
If the used tool supports it prefer using .auth and .esl over .cer.
Warning: Enrolling Platform Key sets Secure Boot in "User Mode", leaving "Setup Mode", so it should be enrolled last in sequence.
Using sbkeysync
Install sbsigntools. Create a directory /etc/secureboot/keys with the following directory structure -
/etc/secureboot/keys ├── db ├── dbx ├── KEK └── PK
Copy each of the .auth files that were generated earlier into their respective locations (for example, PK.auth into /etc/secureboot/keys/PK and so on). Finally use sbkeysync to enroll your keys.
# sbkeysync --verbose # sbkeysync --verbose --pk
Using firmware setup utility
Firmwares have various different interfaces, see Replacing Keys Using Your Firmware's Setup Utility for example how to enroll keys.
Using KeyTool
KeyTool.efi is in efitools package, copy it to ESP. To use it after enrolling keys, sign it with sbsign.
# sbsign --key db.key --cert db.crt --output esp/KeyTool-signed.efi /usr/share/efitools/efi/KeyTool.efi
Launch KeyTool-signed.efi using firmware setup utility, boot loader or UEFI Shell and enroll keys.
See Replacing Keys Using KeyTool for explanation of KeyTool menu options.
Dual booting with other operating systems
Microsoft Windows
To dual boot with Windows, you would need to add Microsoft's certificates to the Signature Database. Microsoft has two db certificates:
- Microsoft Windows Production PCA 2011 for Windows
- Microsoft Corporation UEFI CA 2011 for third-party binaries like UEFI drivers, option ROMs etc.
Create EFI Signature Lists from Microsoft's DER format certificates using Microsoft's GUID (77fa9abd-0359-4d32-bd60-28f4e78f784b) and combine them in one file for simplicity:
$ sbsiglist --owner 77fa9abd-0359-4d32-bd60-28f4e78f784b --type x509 --output MS_Win_db.esl MicWinProPCA2011_2011-10-19.crt $ sbsiglist --owner 77fa9abd-0359-4d32-bd60-28f4e78f784b --type x509 --output MS_UEFI_db.esl MicCorUEFCA2011_2011-06-27.crt $ cat MS_Win_db.esl MS_UEFI_db.esl > MS_db.esl
Sign a db update with your KEK. Use sign-efi-sig-list with option -a to add not replace a db certificate:
$ sign-efi-sig-list -a -g 77fa9abd-0359-4d32-bd60-28f4e78f784b -k KEK.key -c KEK.crt db MS_db.esl add_MS_db.auth
Follow #Enroll keys in firmware to add add_MS_db.auth to Signature Database.
Disable Secure Boot
The Secure Boot feature can be disabled via the UEFI firmware interface. How to access the firmware configuration is described in #Before booting the OS.
If using a hotkey did not work and you can boot Windows, you can force a reboot into the firmware configuration in the following way (for Windows 10): Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Advanced startup (Restart now) > Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware settings > restart.
Note that some motherboards (this is the case in a Packard Bell laptop) only allow to disable secure boot if you have set an administrator password (that can be removed afterwards). See also Rod Smith's Disabling Secure Boot.
Booting an installation medium
Note: The official installation image does not support Secure Boot (FS#53864). To successfully boot the installation medium you will need to disable Secure Boot.
Secure Boot support was initially added in archlinux-2013.07.01-dual.iso and later removed in archlinux-2016.06.01-dual.iso. At that time prebootloader was replaced with efitools, even though the latter uses unsigned EFI binaries. There has been no support for Secure Boot in the official installation medium ever since.
Remastering the installation image
One might want to remaster the Install ISO in a way described by previous topics of this article. For example, the signed EFI applications PreLoader.efi and HashTool.efi from #PreLoader can be adopted to here. Another option would be to borrow the bootx64.efi (shim) and grubx64.efi from installation media of another GNU+Linux distribution that supports Secure Boot and modify the GRUB configuration to one's needs. In this case, the authentication chain of Secure Boot in said distribution's installation media should end to the grubx64.efi ( for example Ubuntu) so that GRUB would boot the unsigned kernel and initramfs from archiso. Note that up to this point, the article assumed one can access the ESP of the machine. But when installing a machine that never had an OS before, there is no ESP present. You should explore other articles, for example Unified Extensible Firmware Interface#Create UEFI bootable USB from ISO, to learn how this situation should be handled.
Platform configuration registers
Platform configuration registers (PCRs) are hashes that can be read at any time but can only be written via the extend operation, which depends on the previous hash value, thus making a sort of blockchain.
They can be used to unlock encryption keys and proving that the correct OS was booted.
| PCR | Use | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PCR0 | Core System Firmware executable code (aka Firmware) | May change if you upgrade your UEFI |
| PCR1 | Core System Firmware data (aka UEFI settings) | |
| PCR2 | Extended or pluggable executable code | |
| PCR3 | Extended or pluggable firmware data | Set during Boot Device Select UEFI boot phase |
| PCR4 | Boot Manager | |
| PCR5 | GPT / Partition Table | |
| PCR6 | Resume from S4 and S5 Power State Events | |
| PCR7 | Secure Boot State | |
| PCR 8 to 10 | Reserved for Future Use | |
| PCR11 | BitLocker Access Control | |
| PCR12 | Data events and highly volatile events | |
| PCR13 | Boot Module Details | |
| PCR14 | Boot Authorities | |
| PCR 15 to 23 | Reserved for Future Use |
See also
- Wikipedia:Unified Extensible Firmware Interface#Secure boot
- Dealing with Secure Boot by Rod Smith
- Controlling Secure Boot by Rod Smith
- UEFI secure booting (part 2) by Matthew Garrett
- UEFI Secure Boot by James Bottomley
- efitools README
- Will your computer's "Secure Boot" turn out to be "Restricted Boot"? — Free Software Foundation
- Free Software Foundation recommendations for free operating system distributions considering Secure Boot
- Intel's UEFI Secure Boot Tutorial[dead link 2020-04-03 ⓘ]
- Secure Boot, Signed Modules and Signed ELF Binaries
- National Security Agency docs: UEFI Defensive Practices Guidance and unclassified UEFI Secure Boot customization
- sbkeysync & maintaining uefi key databases by Jeremy Kerr