Security_Advisory-Ref_QBVR2017-0001-NXP_HAB_bypass.txt

Security advisory: High Assurance Boot (HABv4) bypass
=====================================================

The NXP i.MX53 System-on-Chip, main processor used in the USB armory Mk I board
[1] design, suffers from vulnerabilities that allow bypass of the optional High
Assurance Boot function (HABv4).

The HABv4 [2] enables on-chip internal boot ROM authentication of the initial
bootloader with a digital signature, establishing the first trust anchor for
further code authentication.

This functionality is commonly known as Secure Boot [3] and it can be activated
by users who require authentication of the bootloader (e.g. U-Boot) to further
maintain, and verify, trust of executed code.

Quarkslab reported [4] to NXP, and subsequently to Inverse Path, two different
techniques for bypassing HABv4 by means of exploiting validation errors in the
SoC internal boot ROM [5], which are exposed before bootloader authentication
takes place.

While the two vulnerabilities have been initially reported for the i.MX6 SoC,
Inverse Path evaluated that both issues also apply to the i.MX53 SoC, used on
the USB armory Mk I.

The HABv4 feature is not enabled by default on the USB armory Mk I and does not
impact its normal operation. This advisory concerns only users that follow, and
rely upon, the Secure Boot [3] procedure. See Impact section for a detailed
analysis.

X.509 parsing error (ERR010873)
===============================

The initial HABv4 secure booting process can be summarized as follows:

1. Four Super Root Key (SRK) certification authorities are created.

2. A hash of the four concatenated SRK public keys is permanently fused in
   the SoC.

3. To sign the bootloader the boot image is integrated with a Command Sequence
   File (CSF), parsed by the SoC internal boot ROM in order to:

   A. Load the SRK public keys and verify that their concatenated hash matches
      the one fused in the SoC.

   B. Load the CSF signing public key.

   C. Authenticate the CSF signing public key with one of the SRK keys.

   D. Authenticate the CSF commands, which include the bootloader signature.

The vulnerability takes place in the X.509 parsing of the CSF certificate which
includes the signing public key (3.B). An excessively long `keyUsage` tag in
the certificate triggers a stack overflow that can be leveraged to jump
directly to the bootloader, bypassing authentication.

The X.509 parsing error allows creation of bootloader images that, despite
having an invalid signature, can be successfully booted on a device with HABv4
in 'Closed' state.

The parsing error does not require knowledge of the SRK public keys matching
the fused hash (SRK table), as the certificate parsing step (3.B) can be forced
as first command of the CSF.

Inverse Path developed its own PoC [6] for the parsing error to confirm its
application on the i.MX53 SoC, integrating it with the `usbarmory_csftool`
utility, used to create USB armory Mk I signed bootloader images, by means of
the added `--hab_poc` flag.

SDP protection bypass (ERR010872)
=================================

The i.MX53 boot ROM features a built-in recovery mode that allows execution of
arbitrary code directly through USB when no other boot methods (e.g. microSD
card) are detected.

The Serial Download Protocol (SDP), used on such interface, is supposed to
prevent arbitrary write access on boot ROM own memory when HABv4 is enabled.

Such protection however suffer from incorrect validations, ultimately allowing
overwrite of the boot ROM stack with consequent arbitrary code execution, which
leads to HABv4 bypass.

Impact
======

The HABv4 feature is not enabled by default on the USB armory Mk I and does not
impact its normal operation.

The Secure Boot [3] procedure is supported for specific use cases where
authentication of the initial bootloader is required to further maintain a
chain of trust.

This scenario does not typically apply to Linux distributions, such as the USB
armory Mk I default Debian image, as the chain of trust is typically lost
between the kernel and userspace (and therefore tampering is always possible,
regardless of Secure Boot).

For environments with a complete chain of trust (e.g. embedded kernel ramdisk
images) Secure Boot allows the first hardware anchor.

The USB armory impact is evaluated with the following considerations:

* The USB armory is an unconventional embedded device that promotes, through
  its custom form factor, defensive uses where the device is never left
  unattended and therefore preventing "Evil Maid" kind of attacks.

  Also it should be emphasized that Secure Boot protects the hardware from
  unauthenticated code, and not the other way around. Signed microSD cards can
  always be executed on any USB armory board without HABv4 enabled.

  For these reason the importance of Secure Boot, most valuable on unattended
  hardware, is marginal unless physical tampering or replacement of a valid
  microSD card is considered a potential threat.

* The NXP Security Controller (SCCv2) Linux driver [7] allows AES encryption
  using the USB armory Mk I SoC internal key. The key cannot be read, but only
  used by means of the SCCv2, additionally the key is only activated when HABv4
  is enabled.

  The SCCv2 therefore allows device specific AES encryption/decryption and,
  while the secret key is only activated when HABv4 secure state is assured,
  compromise of the HABv4 does not constitute a key leak as it remains
  unreadable to the CPU.

  For this reason the SCCv2 functionality remains effective in terms of
  restricting AES encryption/decryption to a specific device with its own
  secret key.

  Additionally the SCCv2 use cases promoted by Inverse Path, for the USB
  armory, always consist of two-factor encryption. For instance the INTERLOCK
  [8] encryption front-end allows optional support for the SCCv2 to derive
  device specific keys always in combination with user provided passphrases.

* The vulnerability remains critical for unattended setups that rely on the
  combination of Secure Boot and SCCv2 to protect cryptographic secrets,
  that are meant to be used without any user input (or network based
  challenge/response validation of the SCCv2 secret key).

  An example of such setup would be unattended deployments, without network
  connectivity, such as licensing tokens.

Affected P/Ns
=============

The reported [4] vulnerabilities affect High Assurance Boot version 4 (HABv4)
present on multiple Freescale/NXP i.MX family of application processors.

The i.MX53 family of processors, mounted on all USB armory Mk I boards, is
affected by the X.509 parsing error and SDP protection bypass.

Given that the internal boot ROM cannot be updated, only a new silicon revision
by NXP, with an adequately patched boot ROM, can address the vulnerabilities.

The list of affected NXP application processors can be found in the i.MX
Community post titled "i.MX & Vybrid Security Vulnerability Errata" [10].

NXP is not releasing new i.MX53 revisions, therefore USB armory Mk I Secure
Boot feature is deprecated. However the USB armory Mk II is produced with
i.MX6UL parts with Silicon Revision 1.2 or greater, implemented on Part Numbers
(P/N) with revision "AB" or greater, which address both issues.

Credit
======

Vulnerability discovered and reported [4] by Guillaume Delugré and Kévin
Szkudlapski of Quarkslab.

i.MX53 PoC [6] developed by Andrea Barisani and Andrej Rosano of Inverse Path.

CVE - NXP Erratum
=================

CVE-2017-7936 - ERR010872 ROM: Secure boot vulnerability when using the Serial Downloader
CVE-2017-7932 - ERR010873 ROM: Secure boot vulnerability when authenticating a certificate

Timeline
========

2017-05-18: Quarkslab presents findings at the 2017 Qualcomm Mobile Security
            Summit [9], materials are not disclosed to the public at this time.
2017-05-30: Quarkslab communicates embargo period until 2017-07-18.
2017-05-30: Inverse Path proposes preliminary advisory release on 2017-06-05.
2017-06-05: Inverse Path releases preliminary advisory.
2017-06-06: added assigned CVE numbers.
2017-07-19: Quarkslab public release of findings [4].
2017-07-19: Inverse Path release of full advisory and i.MX53 PoC [6].
2017-07-27: added link to i.MX Community post that lists affected P/Ns.
2019-11-08: added fixed P/Ns information for the USB armory Mk II.

References
==========

[1]  https://github.com/inversepath/usbarmory/wiki
[2]  https://cache.freescale.com/files/32bit/doc/app_note/AN4581.pdf
[3]  https://github.com/inversepath/usbarmory/wiki/Secure-boot
[4]  https://blog.quarkslab.com/vulnerabilities-in-high-assurance-boot-of-nxp-imx-microprocessors.html
[5]  https://github.com/inversepath/usbarmory/wiki/Internal-Boot-ROM
[6]  https://github.com/inversepath/usbarmory/blob/master/software/secure_boot/usbarmory_csftool#L227
[7]  https://github.com/inversepath/mxc-scc2
[8]  https://github.com/inversepath/interlock
[9]  https://qct-qualcomm.secure.force.com/QCTConference/GenericSitePage?eventname=2017Security&page=Summit%20Information
[10] https://community.nxp.com/docs/DOC-334996

Permalink
=========

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