[CentOS] Low random entropy

Mon May 29 14:44:41 UTC 2017
Robert Moskowitz <rgm at htt-consult.com>


On 05/29/2017 10:18 AM, Leon Fauster wrote:
>> Am 29.05.2017 um 14:41 schrieb Robert Moskowitz <rgm at htt-consult.com>:
>>
>>
>>
>> On 05/29/2017 06:46 AM, Leon Fauster wrote:
>>>> Am 29.05.2017 um 05:46 schrieb Robert Moskowitz <rgm at htt-consult.com>:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 05/28/2017 06:57 PM, Rob Kampen wrote:
>>>>> On 28/05/17 23:56, Leon Fauster wrote:
>>>>> so there are mitigations - the question really is: why hasn't redhat made these mitigations the default for their enterprise products - maybe other influences we are unaware of - seems like a huge big hole. With the advent of SSL/TLS being mandated by google et al, every device needs access to entropy.
>>>> The challenge is this is so system dependent.  Some are just fine with stock install.  Others need rng-tools.  Still others need haveged.  If Redhat were to do anything, it would be to stop making the default cert during firstboot.  Rather spin off a one-time process that would wait until there was enough entropy and then create the default cert.  Thing is I can come up with situations were that can go wrong.
>>>>
>>>> There are a lot of best practices with certificates and crypto that are not apparent to most admins.  I know some things for the crypto work I do (I am the author of the HIP protocol in the IETF).  There is just not one size fits all here, and people need to collect clues along with random entropy....
>>> This default cert is not valid anyway and as random source they use:
>> Not valid in what way?  Yes the Subject and Issuer names are dorkie, but how are they not valid?
>
> Not valid in terms of validation (PKI), not equal with verification in terms of "it works".

Oh, and in my 8 years with Verizon, I worked with the Cybertrust PKI 
team.  And I am the author of the Bridge CA model used in the US Fed 
PKI, the BioPharm PKI and a few others.

I despair about what it costs to do decent Identity management.  And how 
meaningless much of it still is.