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---
title: Application
---

**Application Hardening**: Best practices to apply to the build and release of
user space applications, in order to reduce the number of attack surfaces used
by potential attackers.

The term of Application (App) has a very wide definition in **AGL**. Almost
anything which is not in the core Operating System (OS) is an Application.
Applications can be included in the base software package (image) or can be
added at run-time.

Application containment is achieved using the following protections:

- Linux Native protection
  - Mandatory Access Control (**MAC**)
- AGL Platform protections
  - Origin Tracking and Validation
  - Application Privilege Management and Enforcement via Cynara
  - Authenticated Transport via D-Bus

## Application Types

AGL provides a framework for applications to be written in different forms:

- Web application: HTML5 + JavaScript
- Qt application: in a QML file
- Native application: in C

While there is no harm in providing multiple types of applications, from a
security perspective this does increase the attack surface for an intruder. The
application framework (**AppFw**) consists of a number of utilities and daemons
which provide context for the applications. Isolation is provided through
**SMACK** labels.

## Application Store

Although the Tizen system has defined a [system of App signing and signing
flow](https://wiki.tizen.org/Security/Tizen_3.X_Overview#Application_Singing_and_Certificates)
to avoid the spread of unauthorized Apps that might contain malware. At this
point, it is unclear how much of this flow AGL will adopt. However, judging from
the experience, it is an essential topic. For example, the Google Play Store
controls the authorization of Apps through signing, and still, there are [many
accounts of Apps containing malware on the
store](http://www.eweek.com/mobile/researchers-find-132-malware-infected-android-apps-on-google-play).

Tizen defines 5 levels of certificates and signing at each level, including an
author, testing distributor, public level store distributor, partner level store
distributor, and platform level store distributor. AGL may define a different
number of third parties, but at a minimum an author and store distributor should
be defined.

![App Signing Flow](images/App_signing_flow.png)

Once the number of signatures has been established, verification of those
signatures needs to be done at a minimum at installation time on the AGL device.
It is important to ensure the robustness/integrity of the public key used for
signature verification. If the public key is modified, then this compromised key
can be used to verify an attacker's private key signature.

Further to this, installation-time verification is limited. Attacks can happen
to apps in-memory at runtime. Any modifications made after installation will be
missed by installation-time verification. Integrity verification that runs
during execution makes for a more complete security story.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

## Acronyms and Abbreviations

The following table lists the terms utilized within this part of the document.

Acronyms or Abbreviations | Description
------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------
_3GPP_                    | **3**rd **G**eneration **P**artnership **P**roject
_CASB_                    | **C**loud **A**ccess **S**ecurity **B**roker
_DAST_                    | **D**ynamic **A**pplication **S**ecurity **T**esting
_DPI_                     | **D**eep **P**acket **I**nspection
_IDS_                     | **I**ntrusion **D**etection **S**ystems
_IPS_                     | **I**ntrusion **P**revention **S**ystems
_IPSec_                   | **I**nternet **P**rotocol **Sec**urity
_LSM_                     | **L**inux **S**ecurity **M**odule
_MITM_                    | **M**an **I**n **T**he **M**iddle
_OSI_                     | **O**pen **S**ystems **I**nterconnection
_SATS_                    | **S**tatic **A**pplication **S**ecurity **T**esting

# Local

Domain                     | Improvement
-------------------------- | ------------------------------
Application-Installation-1 | Talk about AppFw offline mode.

## Installation

Applications can be delivered and installed with the base image using a special
offline-mode provided by the **AppFw**. Apps can also be installed at run time.

During early release, default Apps are installed on the image at first boot.

Domain                     | Object    | Recommendations
-------------------------- | --------- | -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Application-Installation-1 | AppFw     | Provide offline-mode in order to install app with the base image.
Application-Installation-2 | Integrity | Allow the installation of applications only if their integrity is good.

# Local

## Privilege Management

Application privileges are managed by **Cynara** and the security manager in the
**AppFw**. For more details, please refer to the **AppFw** documentation in
Platform part.

# App Signature

Domain                  | Improvement
----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------
Application-Signature-1 | Add content (see secure build in Secure development part).


# Services

Domain                 | Improvement
---------------------- | ------------
Application-Services-1 | Add content (Which services?).
Application-Services-2 | Add Binder.