From 8b7d982e6ae090eb5b3938db14a8eb2e2c3a1419 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ludovic Courtès Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2020 00:08:05 +0200 Subject: channels: Make channel introductions public. * guix/channels.scm (): Rename constructor to '%make-channel-introduction'. (make-channel-introduction): New procedure. * tests/channels.scm ("authenticate-channel, wrong first commit signer") ("authenticate-channel, .guix-authorizations"): Use 'make-channel-introduction' without '@@' and without third argument. * doc/guix.texi (Channels)[Channel Authentication, Specifying Channel Authorizations]: New subsections. --- doc/guix.texi | 112 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-- 1 file changed, 110 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) (limited to 'doc/guix.texi') diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi index a4c409ea12..67c86de4b6 100644 --- a/doc/guix.texi +++ b/doc/guix.texi @@ -3975,8 +3975,47 @@ deploys Guix itself from the official GNU@tie{}Guix repository. This can be customized by defining @dfn{channels} in the @file{~/.config/guix/channels.scm} file. A channel specifies a URL and branch of a Git repository to be deployed, and @command{guix pull} can be instructed -to pull from one or more channels. In other words, channels can be used to -@emph{customize} and to @emph{extend} Guix, as we will see below. +to pull from one or more channels. In other words, channels can be used +to @emph{customize} and to @emph{extend} Guix, as we will see below. +Before that, some security considerations. + +@subsection Channel Authentication + +@cindex authentication, of channel code +The @command{guix pull} and @command{guix time-machine} commands +@dfn{authenticate} the code retrieved from channels: they make sure each +commit that is fetched is signed by an authorized developer. The goal +is to protect from unauthorized modifications to the channel that would +lead users to run malicious code. + +As a user, you must provide a @dfn{channel introduction} in your +channels file so that Guix knows how to authenticate its first commit. +A channel specification, including its introduction, looks something +along these lines: + +@lisp +(channel + (name 'my-channel) + (url "https://example.org/my-channel.git") + (introduction + (make-channel-introduction + "6f0d8cc0d88abb59c324b2990bfee2876016bb86" + (openpgp-fingerprint + "CABB A931 C0FF EEC6 900D 0CFB 090B 1199 3D9A EBB5")))) +@end lisp + +The specification above shows the name and URL of the channel. The call +to @code{make-channel-introduction} above specifies that authentication +of this channel starts at commit @code{6f0d8cc@dots{}}, which is signed +by the OpenPGP key with fingerprint @code{CABB A931@dots{}}. + +For the main channel, called @code{guix}, you automatically get that +information from your Guix installation. For other channels, include +the channel introduction provided by the channel authors in your +@file{channels.scm} file. Make sure you retrieve the channel +introduction from a trusted source since that is the root of your trust. + +If you're curious about the authentication mechanics, read on! @subsection Using a Custom Guix Channel @@ -4150,6 +4189,75 @@ add a meta-data file @file{.guix-channel} that contains: (directory "guix")) @end lisp +@cindex channel authorizations +@subsection Specifying Channel Authorizations + +As we saw above, Guix ensures the source code it pulls from channels +comes from authorized developers. As a channel author, you need to +specify the list of authorized developers in the +@file{.guix-authorizations} file in the channel's Git repository. The +authentication rule is simple: each commit must be signed by a key +listed in the @file{.guix-authorizations} file of its parent +commit(s)@footnote{Git commits form a @dfn{directed acyclic graph} +(DAG). Each commit can have zero or more parents; ``regular'' commits +have one parent and merge commits have two parent commits. Read +@uref{https://eagain.net/articles/git-for-computer-scientists/, @i{Git +for Computer Scientists}} for a great overview.} The +@file{.guix-authorizations} file looks like this: + +@lisp +;; Example '.guix-authorizations' file. + +(authorizations + (version 0) ;current file format version + + (("AD17 A21E F8AE D8F1 CC02 DBD9 F8AE D8F1 765C 61E3" + (name "alice")) + ("2A39 3FFF 68F4 EF7A 3D29 12AF 68F4 EF7A 22FB B2D5" + (name "bob")) + ("CABB A931 C0FF EEC6 900D 0CFB 090B 1199 3D9A EBB5" + (name "charlie")))) +@end lisp + +Each fingerprint is followed by optional key/value pairs, as in the +example above. Currently these key/value pairs are ignored. + +This authentication rule creates a chicken-and-egg issue: how do we +authenticate the first commit? Related to that: how do we deal with +channels whose repository history contains unsigned commits and lack +@file{.guix-authorizations}? And how do we fork existing channels? + +@cindex channel introduction +Channel introductions answer these questions by describing the first +commit of a channel that should be authenticated. The first time a +channel is fetched with @command{guix pull} or @command{guix +time-machine}, the command looks up the introductory commit and verifies +that it is signed by the specified OpenPGP key. From then on, it +authenticates commits according to the rule above. + +To summarize, as the author of a channel, there are two things you have +to do to allow users to authenticate your code: + +@enumerate +@item +Introduce an initial @file{.guix-authorizations} in the channel's +repository. Do that in a signed commit (@pxref{Commit Access}, for +information on how to sign Git commits.) + +@item +Advertise the channel introduction, for instance on your channel's web +page. The channel introduction, as we saw above, is the commit/key +pair---i.e., the commit that introduced @file{.guix-authorizations}, and +the fingerprint of the OpenPGP used to sign it. +@end enumerate + +Publishing a signed channel requires discipline: any mistake, such as an +unsigned commit or a commit signed by an unauthorized key, will prevent +users from pulling from your channel---well, that's the whole point of +authentication! Pay attention to merges in particular: merge commits +are considered authentic if and only if they are signed by a key present +in the @file{.guix-authorizations} file of @emph{both} branches. + @cindex primary URL, channels @subsection Primary URL -- cgit v1.2.3