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Description of problem: In order to do a FIPS certifiable installation, people have to boot the OS install with fips=1 kernel parameter. That means that all FIPS modules go into FIPS mode and do an integrity check. This means that they have to find and locate a .hmac file. Due to new requirements handed out by NIST in the last month or so, we had to re-define a FIPS product to be the crypto module + a -fips subpackage. For example, openssl now has a openssl-fips package that has nothing but the .hmac file in it. The upshot of all this is that we now need the -fips package to be installed in the boot image so that anyone having to do FIPS compliant disk encryption has the .hamc files available for the self test. Booting with a fips=1 commandline parameter and selecting an encrypted partition is the test that QE would need to verify. Not fixing this would be a regression.
The request is fine, but in order to avoid a future where changes to FIPS require a change in anaconda, let's establish some conventions: 1) All packages required for FIPS that are special case should be in a @fips group defined in comps. This data is maintained outside of anaconda, but is read by anaconda at install time. 2) When fips=1 is passed, anaconda can simply ensure that the @fips group is explicitly added to the package install set. This avoids us having to maintain a list of packages in anaconda. Does this sound reasonable to everyone? If so, we need another bug to handle the comps changes (#1). We can use this bug to handle #2.
Can we get agreement on a solution and devel ack this blocker bug for 6.5?
You're asking us to move heaven and earth to create a new installation paradigm for fips systems A MONTH AFTER DEVEL FREEZE. Why wasn't this brought up at any point earlier during 6.5 development?
Well, the NIST requirements are very new. We have been wresting with a solution and trying to get all the pieces in place. This part of the problem was discovered earlier this week when someone was trying to do a FIPS install. There may be some misunderstanding of the "ask" here. What we need is -fips files to be in the install media. In know crypt-setup will have one. I don't know if nss, openssl, or openssh is used during install. But that is about the extent of it. There is the secondary issue of wanting -fips files to wind up in the installed system if the install kernel is booted with fips=1.
*** Bug 1011225 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***