TaLoS: Efficient TLS Termination Inside SGX Enclaves for Existing Applications

TaLoS¹ is a TLS library that allows existing applications (with an OpenSSL/LibreSSL interface) to securely terminate their TLS connection. For this, TaLoS places security-sensistive code and data of the TLS library inside an Intel SGX enclave, while the rest of the application remains outside. It can then be used as the building block for a wide range of security-critical applications for which the integrity and/or confidentiality of TLS connections must be guaranteed. TaLoS offers the developper a simple interface to process TLS communications securely. For example, this interface can be used to securely send the HTTPS requests and responses to another enclave or to encrypt them before logging them to persistent storage. TaLoS provides good performance by executing enclave transitions asynchronously and leveraging user-level threading inside the enclave.

The code is accompanied with a technical report, containing details about the architecture and performance results.

In contrast to the SSL add-on for the Intel SGX SDK, TaLoS exposes the OpenSSL/LibreSSL API to untrusted code outside of the enclave. This means that existing applications can use the TaLoS library with no or only minor modifications. The Intel SGX SDK SSL add-on does not expose an outside interface, which means that applications must be modified to use it.

The current implementation of TaLoS utilises libreSSL v2.4.1 and has been tested with the following applications under Linux:

Apache web server (v2.4.23);
Nginx web server (v1.11.0);
Squid proxy (v3.5.23).

Quick set-up using Docker

We provide a Dockerfile that is configured to run Apache with TaLoS and the SGX simulator. The Dockerfile can be found in the root folder of this repository. To use it:

Clone the repository
Build the TaLoS Docker image by running docker build -t talos . from within the root directory of the repository
Run Apache with TaLoS by running the Docker image: docker run -dt -p 7778:7778 talos /start.sh
Verify that Apache is running: wget --no-check-certificate https://localhost:7778/index.html

Manual Installation

Follow these instructions to build the TaLoS library and the sample applications. We assume that the path to the repository is ${PROJECT_ROOT} (eg /home/<username>/talos/).

Compiling the TaLoS Library

The source code specific to TaLoS can be found in ${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/talos while the original code of libreSSL is in ${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/libressl-2.4.1.

To patch libreSSL, you need to execute:

$ cd ${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/talos
$ ./patch_libressl.sh

To compile TaLos, go to the ${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/libressl-2.4.1/crypto directory and edit the enclaveshim_config.h file. In particular, you need to undefine COMPILE_OPTIMISATION_FOR_APACHE when compiling TaLoS for Squid or Nginx. Afer that, execute one of the following lines:

$ make -f Makefile.nosgx # no SGX
$ make -f Makefile.sgx   # SGX, simulator mode
$ SGX_PRERELEASE=1 SGX_MODE=HW make -f Makefile.sgx # SGX, real hardware mode

This creates three files:

libenclave.so and libenclave.a are the untrusted libraries that link against the application. The Makefile generates both a static and shared versions, but you should use only one of them, depending on your application.
The trusted library, which executes inside an SGX enclave, is enclave.signed.so. The code expects this library to be present in the current directory when launching the application. The easiest way to ensure this is to create a symbolic link, as shown in the next sections.

Finally, several symbolic links to the untrusted TaLoS library file have to be created in ${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/libressl-2.4.1/lib :

make -f Makefile.nosgx install # without SGX
make -f Makefile.sgx install # with SGX, simulator or hardware mode

Note that, since the SGX SDK v2.0, the SDK libraries make calls to OpenSSL in simulation mode to emulate cryptographic functions that would normally happen inside the enclave. However, as TaLoS replaces OpenSSL this creates a conflict (see issue #12). TaLoS, when created in simulation mode, separately loads the system OpenSSL library. The path is defined by the OPENSSL_LIBRARY_PATH macro in enclaveshim_config.h.

Using TaLoS with Nginx

First, download Nginx v1.11.0:

wget http://nginx.org/download/nginx-1.11.0.tar.gz

We assume that you have downloaded and extracted Nginx to ${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/nginx-1.11.0. You can then to run configure:

./configure --prefix=${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/nginx-1.11.0/install --with-http_ssl_module --with-openssl=${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/libressl-2.4.1/

You then need to edit objs/Makefile:

check that the path for the include directory of libressl is correct in ALL_INCS and CORE_INCS;
remove the include/openssl/ssh.h line in CORE_DEPS and the include/openssl/ssh.h rule (we have already compiled libressl);
in objs/nginx, for the LINK phase, update the following line with the correct path to libssl.a and libcrypto.a and add -lsgx_urts -lsgx_uae_service. Depending on how you compiled TaLoS, you may want to change -lsgx_urts -lsgx_uae_service (real hardware) to -lsgx_urts_sim -lsgx_uae_service_sim (simulator).

The code is ready to be compiled:

$ make
$ make install

Before starting the server, you need to copy the Nginx configuration from ${PROJECT_ROOT}/conf/nginx/ to install/conf, create your own TLS certificate and associated keys, and change the paths in install/conf/nginx.conf to reflect the location where you cloned TaLoS:

$ cp ${PROJECT_ROOT}/conf/nginx/* install/conf/
$ sed -i 's#/home/talos/talos#${PROJECT_ROOT}#' install/conf/nginx.conf
$ echo "\nABC\nMy City\nMy Institution\n\nwww.example.com\n\n" | openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout ${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/nginx-1.11.0/install/conf/cert.key -out ${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/nginx-1.11.0/install/conf/cert.crt
$ ln -s ../libressl-2.4.1/crypto/enclave.signed.so

To start Nginx (LD_LIBRARY_PATH is needed only if you use the TaLoS shared library):

$ LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}:$(pwd)/../libressl-2.4.1/lib ./objs/nginx

You should be able to access the web pages with:

$ wget --no-check-certificate https://localhost:7778/index.html

Using TaLoS with Apache

First, download Apache v2.4.23:

wget http://archive.apache.org/dist/httpd/httpd-2.4.23.tar.bz2

We assume that you have extracted Apache to ${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/httpd-2.4.23. You can now configure it:

$ ./configure --prefix=${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/httpd-2.4.23/install --enable-http --enable-proxy --enable-ssl --enable-ssl-staticlib-deps --with-ssl=${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/libressl-2.4.1 --enable-file-cache --enable-cache --enable-disk-cache --enable-mem-cache --enable-deflate --enable-expires --enable-headers --enable-usertrack --enable-cgi --enable-vhost-alias --enable-rewrite --enable-so --with-mpm=worker

You then need to update modules/ssl/modules.mk as follows (you may want to change -lsgx_urts -lsgx_uae_service to -lsgx_urts_sim -lsgx_uae_service_sim to use the SGX simulator; note that you need to expand the ${PROJECT_ROOT} variable in this file):

MOD_CFLAGS = -I${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/libressl-2.4.1/include
MOD_LDFLAGS = -L${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/libressl-2.4.1/lib -lssl -lcrypto -ldl -luuid -lrt -lcrypt -lpthread -lsgx_urts -lsgx_uae_service

To work properly with TaLoS, Apache requires the COMPILE_OPTIMISATION_FOR_APACHE macro in enclaveshim_config.h to be defined. If this is not the case, then you will first need to define it and compile TaLoS again.

Apache is now ready to be compiled and installed:

$ make
$ make install

The configuration to use Apache with HTTPS can be found in ${PROJECT_ROOT}/conf/apache/. You need to copy the content of this directory to install/conf/ and edit it to reflect your configuration. You may want to change the user and group to run httpd as well as the /talos path. You also need to create your own TLS certificate and associated keys:

$ echo "\nABC\nMy City\nMy Institution\n\nwww.example.com\n\n" | openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout ${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/httpd-2.4.23/install/conf/cert.key -out ${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/httpd-2.4.23/install/conf/cert.crt
$ ln -s ../libressl-2.4.1/crypto/enclave.signed.so

Before starting Apache, you need to create the following symbolic links:

$ ln -s ../libressl-2.4.1/crypto/enclave.signed.so
$ ln -s ../../../libressl-2.4.1/lib/libssl.so install/lib/libssl.so
$ ln -s ../../../libressl-2.4.1/lib/libcrypto.so install/lib/libcrypto.so

Finally, you can use the following command to start Apache:

$ ./install/bin/httpd -X #-> only 1 process, no fork

You can access web pages with:

$ wget --no-check-certificate https://localhost:7778/index.html

Note that, by default, TaLoS is compiled for 50 concurrent threads inside the enclave (see TCSNum in enclave.config.xml) while Apache might use hundreds of threads (see the worker module options in http-2.4.23/install/config/extra/http-mpm.conf). You might want to make these numbers consistent.

Using TaLoS with Squid

First, download Squid v3.5.23:

wget http://www.squid-cache.org/Versions/v3/3.5/squid-3.5.23.tar.gz

We assume that you have downloaded and extracted the code to ${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/squid-3.5.23. You first need to configure it:

$ ./configure --prefix=${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/squid-3.5.23/install --disable-shared --enable-static --enable-silent-rules --enable-dependency-tracking --enable-icmp --enable-delay-pools --enable-useragent-log --enable-esi --enable-follow-x-forwarded-for --enable-auth --with-openssl=/home/talos/talos/src/libressl-2.4.1
$ patch -p0 -i ${PROJECT_ROOT}/conf/squid/src.ssl.gadgets.cc.patch
$ find . -name "Makefile" -exec sed --in-place 's/-lcrypto/-lcrypto -lsgx_urts -lsgx_uae_service -lpthread/' {} \; # as stated previously, add _sim if TaLoS has been compiled for the SGX simulator
$ make && make install

To configure Squid, copy the content of ${PROJECT_ROOT}/conf/squid/ to install/etc/, update the configuration to reflect your installation and create your own TLS certificate and associated keys. This installation is configured to use the ssl_bump module to decrypt the HTTPS traffic.

$ cp ${PROJECT_ROOT}/conf/squid/* install/etc/
$ echo "\nABC\nMy City\nMy Institution\n\nwww.example.com\n\n" | openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout ${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/squid-3.5.23/install/etc/cert.key -out ${PROJECT_ROOT}/src/squid-3.5.23/install/etc/cert.crt

You also need to create a symbolic link to the enclave library:

$ ln -s ../libressl-2.4.1/crypto/enclave.signed.so

To run Squid (LD_LIBRARY_PATH is needed only if you use TaLoS shared library):

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}:$(pwd)/../libressl-2.4.1/lib ./install/sbin/squid -CNd3
# -C: do not catch fatal signals
# -N: no daemon mode (i.e., stays on foreground)
# -d3 is to have some debugging messages

For testing, the port is 3128 in https_proxy, which corresponds to the http proxy port, as the client needs to send a CONNECT request in clear text first:

$ wget --no-check-certificate --debug --verbose -e use_proxy=on -e https_proxy=localhost:3128 https://google.com

Limtations and Common Compilation Errors

Intel SGX does not support the fork system call. Therefore neither the multi-processes version of Nginx nor the prefork module of Apache can be used.
application/source_file.c: undefined reference to SSL_function: this error happens when the untrusted library of TaLoS does not export the symbol SSL_function. To fix this, you need to add the definition of the function in enclaveshim_ecalls.c and its declaration in enclaveshim_ecalls.h:

// we assume the following prototype for SSL_function:
int SSL_function(SSL* ssl, void* args) {
   fprintf(stderr, "%s:%i need to implement ecall %s\n", __FILE__, __LINE__, __func__);
   return 0;
}

when compiling Apache you might encounter the following warning. In addition, Apache might fail to load the SSL module because the RAND_egd function is not defined. This is due to the configure step that uses the system OpenSSL headers instead of TaLoS ones. To fix this, you need to undefine the HAVE_RAND_EGD macro in http-2.4.23/include/ap_config_auto.h.

ssl_engine_rand.c: In function 'ssl_rand_seed':
ssl_engine_rand.c:90:26: warning: implicit declaration of function 'RAND_egd' [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
                 if ((n = RAND_egd(pRandSeed->cpPath)) == -1)

In simulation mode and when compiling TaLoS as a shared library, Apache fails with a call to free() inside the enclave when processing an HTTPS request. Other modes (static library and/or hardware mode) are not affected.

Documentation

TaLoS Interface

TaLoS exposes the same interface as LibreSSL. The functions of the interface are defined in enclaveshim_ecalls.c. This file also loads the enclave (ie enclave.signed.so) and makes the necessary ecalls, transitioning from untrusted code to enclave code.

The functions of the interface follow a common schema:

<type> function(<arguments>) {
   type retval = 0;
   log_enter_ecall(__func__);

   sgx_status_t ret = SGX_ERROR_UNEXPECTED;
   ret = ecall_function(global_eid, &retval, <arguments>);
   if (ret != SGX_SUCCESS) {
      print_error_message(ret, __func__);
      return <error_code>; // generally 0, -1 or NULL
   }

   log_exit_ecall(__func__);
   return retval;
}

The log_enter_ecall() and log_exit_ecall() functions are defined in enclaveshim_log.h. If the LOG_ENCLAVE_ENTER_EXIT macro is defined, a printf will be issued with the current time and the called function for every ecall and ocall for debugging.

The ecall_function() function is defined in enclave.edl. Refer to the Intel SGX SDK syntax for its format. It is also defined in libreSSL code near the definition of function(). While ecall_function() is the entry point of the enclave, function() is the actual function of the TLS library. For example, in ssl/ssl_lib.c:

ecall_SSL_CTX_set_session_id_context(SSL_CTX *ctx, const unsigned char *sid_ctx,
    unsigned int sid_ctx_len) {
        return SSL_CTX_set_session_id_context(ctx, sid_ctx, sid_ctx_len);
}
int
SSL_CTX_set_session_id_context(SSL_CTX *ctx, const unsigned char *sid_ctx,
    unsigned int sid_ctx_len)
{
  ...
}

Ocalls, ie transitions from enclave code to untrusted code, are defined in a similar way in enclaveshim_ocalls.c (code executed inside the enclave) and ocalls.c (code executed outside of the enclave).

If an interface function does not have an associated ecall, it prints a need to implement ecall ... message.

Secure processing of TLS communications

TaLoS can be used to build other systems that need to process the TLS communication in a secure manner, inside an SGX enclave. The interface consists of a set of private functions, called by LibreSSL, and public functions, used by your TLS processing module to register callbacks. These callbacks are called by the "private" functions. The public interface is the following:

void tls_processing_register_ssl_read_processing_cb(void (*cb)(const SSL*, char*, unsigned int)): register the callback that will be called by ssl3_read_bytes() in ssl/s3_pkt.c when data is read from the TLS connection socket;
void tls_processing_register_ssl_write_processing_cb(void (*cb)(const SSL*, char*, unsigned int)): register the callback that will be called by do_ssl3_write() in ssl/s3_pkt.c when data is read from the TLS connection socket;
void tls_processing_register_set_ssl_type_cb(void (*cb)(const void*, const long)): register the callback that will be called by BIO_int_ctrl() when the command is BIO_C_SET_FD. This callback is used for Squid in SSL proxy mode to differentiate the connection between the client and the proxy from the connection between the proxy and the server;
void tls_processing_register_new_connection_cb(void (*cb)(const SSL*)): register the callback that will be called from SSL_new() in ssl/ssl_lib.c when a new TLS connection is created;
void tls_processing_register_free_connection_cb(void (*cb)(const SSL*)): register the callback that will be called from SSL_free() in ssl/ssl_lib.c when a TLS connection is terminated.

In addition, your TLS processing module must implement the void tls_processing_module_init(void), which is called upon the enclave creation. In this function you can register the callbacks and initialise your code.

The callbacks registered for tls_processing_register_ssl_read_processing_cb() and tls_processing_register_ssl_write_processing_cb() can not only read the data buffer but also modify it in place. This can for example be used to ensure that an application calling SSL_read() does not observe sensitive data that goes through the TLS connection.

The file logpoint.c is a minimal example of a TLS processing module that uses this interface to log the TLS communications. To enable it, please define the DO_LOGGING macro in logpoint.c. The Makefiles define a variable TLSPROCESSINGMODULE which lists the files that need to be compiled for your module.

Note that, because TaLoS cannot load existing shared libraries inside an enclave, a recompilation of TaLoS is necessary to use a different module.

Asynchronous Enclave Transitions

To reduce the cost of enclave transitions, it is possible to activate the asynchronous queue. Instead of threads entering and exiting the enclave, user-level tasks, implemented by the lthread library inside the enclave, perform call executions.

Applications threads share two arrays with the lthread tasks to send ecalls and ocalls requests and results. These arrays are defined at lines 206 and 207 of enclaveshim_ecalls.c.

To add an ecall/ocall to the asynchronous queue, you need to:

modify make_asynchronous_ecall in enclaveshim_ecalls.c to enqueue your async ecall and wait for the result or any ocall to execute;
modify your interface function in enclaveshim_ecalls.c to create the async ecall with the necessary arguments and read the result (see SSL_read() line 545 for an example);
add your new ecall (or ocall) type in ecall_queue.h;
create a new function in enclaveshim_ocalls.h to make an asynchronous ocall;
modify lthread_main_handler() in ../ssl/ssl_lib.c to read your ecall from the ecall queue and execute the corresponding function.

Shadow Data Structure Mechanism

TaLoS uses shadow structures to protect the security and integrity of the SSL object. It maintains a sanitised copy of the SSL structure outside the enclave, with all sensitive data removed.

The association between the enclave structure and the shadow structure is stored in a hashmap inside the enclave.

TaLoS synchronises the two SSL structures at ecalls and ocalls, as shown in the listing below:

BIO* ecall_SSL_get_wbio(const SSL *s)
{
  SSL* out_s = (SSL*)s;

  // retrieve the in-enclave structure from the hashmap
  sgx_spin_lock(&ssl_hardening_map_lock);
  SSL* in_s = (SSL*) hashmapGet(ssl_hardening_map, (unsigned long)out_s);
  sgx_spin_unlock(&ssl_hardening_map_lock);

  // copy fields from out structure to in structure
  SSL_copy_fields_to_in_struct(in_s, out_s);

  // execute the TLS function by passing it a pointer to the in structure
  BIO* ret = SSL_get_wbio((const SSL*)in_s);

  // copy fields form in structure to out structure
  SSL_copy_fields_to_out_struct(in_s, out_s);

  return ret;
}

Secure Callbacks

Several API functions permit the application to submit function pointers. As TaLoS executes inside an SGX enclave, it must trigger an ocall before calling such functions. To address this problem, we create wrapper functions. See bio/bio_lib.c for more details.

References

1: "In Greek mythology, Talos was a giant automaton made of bronze to protect Europa in Crete from pirates and invaders.", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talos

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