Remote attestation of workloads running in virtual machines
In one set of embodiments, a computer system executing a virtual machine (VM) packaging tool can receive a reference to a container comprising one or more applications of a workload and a reference to an operating system (OS) kernel to be included in the workload. The computer system can inject an agent into the container that is configured to request execution of a hardware VM attestation function, combine contents of the container and the OS kernel into an image file, and compute a hash of the image file. The computer system can then generate a firmware for the workload that includes the hash.
1 . A method comprising:
receiving, by a computer system executing a virtual machine (VM) packaging tool, a reference to a container comprising one or more applications of a workload and a reference to an operating system (OS) kernel to be included in the workload;
injecting, by the computer system, an agent into the container configured to request execution of a hardware VM attestation function;
subsequently to the injecting, combining, by the computer system, contents of the container and the OS kernel into an image file;
computing, by the computer system, a first hash of the image file; and
generating, by the computer system, a firmware for the workload that includes the first hash.
2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
computing a second hash of the firmware;
creating a distributable VM package for deploying the workload as a VM, the distributable VM package including the firmware, the image file, and VM configuration information; and
providing the second hash and the distributable VM package to a party associated with the workload.
3 . The method of claim 2 wherein the VM configuration information includes a requirement that the VM is encrypted using hardware VM encryption when run.
4 . The method of claim 2 wherein at a time the VM is powered-on on a host system of a computing environment, the agent submits a request to a hypervisor of the host system to execute the hardware VM attestation function.
5 . The method of claim 4 wherein the computing environment is a public cloud.
6 . The method of claim 4 wherein in response to submitting the request, the agent:
receives an attestation report including a third hash signed using a private key associated with a vendor of one or more central processing units (CPUs) of the host system; and
makes the attestation report available to the party.
7 . The method of claim 4 wherein the VM is associated with one or more virtual disks, and wherein the VM:
generates one or more storage encryption keys based on hashes of the firmware and the OS kernel computed by a virtual trusted platform module (TPM) of the VM; and
uses the one or more storage encryption keys to encrypt the one or more virtual disks.
8 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon program code executable by a computer system, the program code causing the computer system to execute a method comprising:
receiving a reference to a container comprising one or more applications of a workload and a reference to an operating system (OS) kernel to be included in the workload;
injecting an agent into the container configured to request execution of a hardware virtual machine (VM) attestation function;
subsequently to the injecting, combining contents of the container and the OS kernel into an image file;
computing a first hash of the image file; and
generating a firmware for the workload that includes the first hash.
9 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 wherein the method further comprises:
computing a second hash of the firmware;
creating a distributable VM package for deploying the workload as a VM, the distributable VM package including the firmware, the image file, and VM configuration information; and
providing the second hash and the distributable VM package to a party associated with the workload.
10 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9 wherein the VM configuration information includes a requirement that the VM is encrypted using hardware VM encryption when run.
11 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9 wherein at a time the VM is powered-on on a host system of a computing environment, the agent submits a request to a hypervisor of the host system to execute the hardware VM attestation function.
12 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein the computing environment is a public cloud.
13 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein in response to submitting the request, the agent:
receives an attestation report including a third hash signed using a private key associated with a vendor of one or more central processing units (CPUs) of the host system; and
makes the attestation report available to the party.
14 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein the VM is associated with one or more virtual disks, and wherein the VM:
generates one or more storage encryption keys based on hashes of the firmware and the OS kernel computed by a virtual trusted platform module (TPM) of the VM; and
uses the one or more storage encryption keys to encrypt the one or more virtual disks.
15 . A computer system comprising:
a processor; and
a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon program code that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to:
receive a reference to a container comprising one or more applications of a workload and a reference to an operating system (OS) kernel to be included in the workload;
inject an agent into the container configured to request execution of a hardware virtual machine (VM) attestation function;
subsequently to the injecting, combine contents of the container and the OS kernel into an image file;
compute a first hash of the image file; and
generate a firmware for the workload that includes the first hash.
16 . The computer system of claim 15 wherein the program code further causes the processor to:
compute a second hash of the firmware;
create a distributable VM package for deploying the workload as a VM, the distributable VM package including the firmware, the image file, and VM configuration information; and
provide the second hash and the distributable VM package to a party associated with the workload.
17 . The computer system of claim 16 wherein the VM configuration information includes a requirement that the VM is encrypted using hardware VM encryption when run.
18 . The computer system of claim 16 wherein at a time the VM is powered-on on a host system of a computing environment, the agent submits a request to a hypervisor of the host system to execute the hardware VM attestation function.
19 . The computer system of claim 18 wherein the computing environment is a public cloud.
20 . The computer system of claim 18 wherein in response to submitting the request, the agent:
receives an attestation report including a third hash signed using a private key associated with a vendor of one or more central processing units (CPUs) of the host system; and
makes the attestation report available to the party.
21 . The computer system of claim 18 wherein the VM is associated with one or more virtual disks, and wherein the VM:
generates one or more storage encryption keys based on hashes of the firmware and the OS kernel computed by a virtual trusted platform module (TPM) of the VM; and
uses the one or more storage encryption keys to encrypt the one or more virtual disks.