vmware / vmware/photon

Secure Boot with support for FIPS 204 ML-DSA post-quantum signature algorithm

Open
#1,599 2 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

enhancement
Dominant language
C
Stars
3.2k
Forks
692
PR merge metrics
No merged PRs in 30d

Description

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

Hi Photon OS team,
The FIPS 204 ML-DSA post-quantum signature algorithm seems to become the preferred one for future secure boot. The openssl 3.0 series' support will fade out next year and hybrid/composite pqc signature algorithms will be supported in 3.5++ only (https://github.com/openssl/openssl/issues/26121).

Version Release Type Release Date Supported Until
3.0 LTS Sep 2021 Sep 2026
3.5 LTS Apr 2025 Apr 2030

3.0 to 3.5 is a remarkable change. Early impact testing for openssl 3.5 in Photon OS could be helpful.

Describe the solution you'd like

Verified as described in STIG compliances, in dod-compliance-and-automation

Describe alternatives you've considered

No response

Additional context

fyi
https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ir/2024/NIST.IR.8547.ipd.pdf

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reviewing Photon OS's current secure-boot and OpenSSL 3.0 support, then assess the impact of OpenSSL 3.5 and FIPS 204 ML-DSA on the requested workflow. Compare the result with the linked STIG compliance expectations. Done means the required implementation scope and verification criteria are defined.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
c, linux
Domain
cryptography, operating-systems, security
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.