tree bfb1d65281863811ad46d54f82e52e8924df3284
parent dddfa461fc8951f9b5f951c13565b6cac678635a
author Michael Halcrow <mhalcrow@us.ibm.com> 1171270425 -0800
committer Linus Torvalds <torvalds@woody.linux-foundation.org> 1171302516 -0800

[PATCH] eCryptfs: xattr flags and mount options

This patch set introduces the ability to store cryptographic metadata into an
lower file extended attribute rather than the lower file header region.

This patch set implements two new mount options:

ecryptfs_xattr_metadata
 - When set, newly created files will have their cryptographic
   metadata stored in the extended attribute region of the file rather
   than the header.

   When storing the data in the file header, there is a minimum of 8KB
   reserved for the header information for each file, making each file at
   least 12KB in size.  This can take up a lot of extra disk space if the user
   creates a lot of small files.  By storing the data in the extended
   attribute, each file will only occupy at least of 4KB of space.

   As the eCryptfs metadata set becomes larger with new features such as
   multi-key associations, most popular filesystems will not be able to store
   all of the information in the xattr region in some cases due to space
   constraints.  However, the majority of users will only ever associate one
   key per file, so most users will be okay with storing their data in the
   xattr region.

   This option should be used with caution.  I want to emphasize that the
   xattr must be maintained under all circumstances, or the file will be
   rendered permanently unrecoverable.  The last thing I want is for a user to
   forget to set an xattr flag in a backup utility, only to later discover
   that their backups are worthless.

ecryptfs_encrypted_view
 - When set, this option causes eCryptfs to present applications a
   view of encrypted files as if the cryptographic metadata were
   stored in the file header, whether the metadata is actually stored
   in the header or in the extended attributes.

   No matter what eCryptfs winds up doing in the lower filesystem, I want
   to preserve a baseline format compatibility for the encrypted files.  As of
   right now, the metadata may be in the file header or in an xattr.  There is
   no reason why the metadata could not be put in a separate file in future
   versions.

   Without the compatibility mode, backup utilities would have to know to
   back up the metadata file along with the files.  The semantics of eCryptfs
   have always been that the lower files are self-contained units of encrypted
   data, and the only additional information required to decrypt any given
   eCryptfs file is the key.  That is what has always been emphasized about
   eCryptfs lower files, and that is what users expect.  Providing the
   encrypted view option will provide a way to userspace applications wherein
   they can always get to the same old familiar eCryptfs encrypted files,
   regardless of what eCryptfs winds up doing with the metadata behind the
   scenes.

This patch:

Add extended attribute support to version bit vector, flags to indicate when
xattr or encrypted view modes are enabled, and support for the new mount
options.

Signed-off-by: Michael Halcrow <mhalcrow@us.ibm.com>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
Signed-off-by: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>