opened 06:53AM - 27 Nov 18 UTC
T: enhancement
help wanted
C: templates
P: default
This issue serves as a way to track possible [OpenBSD](https://www.openbsd.org/)… support in Qubes OS. OpenBSD and Qubes OS are among the very few operating systems that provide serious security for their users.
To be clear, I think the way we currently do things is _sufficient_, but I don't think it is _proactive_.
### In dom0
Having the OpenBSD operating system in dom0 is a long way off. I would be surprised if OpenBSD provides the ability to (easy) run as dom0. Currently, FreeBSD dom0 [works](https://wiki.xen.org/wiki/FreeBSD_Dom0).
Given that dom0 has a much smaller attack surface than domU, running OpenBSD instead of Fedora would not provide much security benefit. Let me know if I'm wrong here.
I suppose it could be helpful in simplifying dom0, given that OpenBSD is vastly stripped down of anything that could be vulnerable on a default install. With the 4.1 dom0-GUI split, we could remove all `x*` [file sets](https://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq4.html#FilesNeeded) in dom0.
### In domU
OpenBSD [now supports](https://www.openbsd.org/59.html) running as [PVH domU](https://man.openbsd.org/xen) and [Xen paravirtualized networking](https://man.openbsd.org/xnf). However, currently it is not easy to run OpenBSD -- I've been successful running it as a standalone HVM and can only access it through the debug console.
Providing an OpenBSD template, in the same way Fedora, Debian, and Whonix are today (this is what I mean by first-class support), would vastly reduce user attack surface. By attack surface, I mean the kinds of things summarized in [this talk](https://youtu.be/AvSPqo3_3vM?t=2346). We currently strive to reduce Xen's attack surface (and we do a decent job with only 18% of XSA's having affected Qubes OS), so reducing the attack surface in domU is a natural extension of security in depth.
Running OpenBSD gives users a secure-by-default environment for their VMs, something that is lacking currently (#4233, #2748, #2045 etc.).
OpenBSD is well know for its proactive security and development of [many security features](https://www.openbsd.org/innovations.html) that often slowly filter down to other operating systems.
Qubes tools are made with Linux in mind, and some will need to be extended to support *BSD operating systems.
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Let me know what possible obstacles you guys see with this. It would be nice to see these two great operating systems fit together to provide a truly "reasonably secure operating system."
(This issue is a requirement of, and related to, #4245).