This topic describes how to build a Software Guard Extensions (SGX) encrypted computing environment in a g7t, c7t, or r7t instance (vSGX instance) and run sample code to verify SGX features.

Prerequisites

A vSGX instance that uses the Alibaba Cloud Linux 2.1903 64-bit (UEFI) image is created, and you are logged on to the instance.

Background information

Intel® SGX ensures data security by providing hardware-based protections instead of firmware- or software-based protections, and can provide you with a physical-level encrypted computing environment. Intel® SGX uses instruction set extensions and the access control mechanism to isolate the runtime environment of SGX programs. This can protect the confidentiality and integrity of key code and data against malware attacks. Compared with other security technologies, Intel® SGX uses the root of trust that contains only hardware. This can avoid defects caused by security vulnerabilities of software on which the root of trust is based, and improve system security.

The g7t, c7t, and r7t security-enhanced instance families provide encrypted memory based on Intel® SGX and support the SGX technology applicable to virtual machines. You can develop and run SGX programs in vSGX instances.

Build an SGX encrypted computing environment

Before you develop SGX programs, you must install the runtime and SDK on a vSGX instance and configure the remote attestation service. We recommend that you use the Alibaba Cloud Linux 2.1903 64-bit (UEFI) image for a better user experience. Alibaba Cloud Linux 2.1903 64-bit (UEFI) is equipped with the SGX driver and provides TEE SDK that is fully compatible with Intel® SGX SDK.

  1. Install the Alibaba Cloud SGX runtime.
    Note If you create a vSGX instance in the Elastic Compute Service (ECS) console, the Alibaba Cloud SGX runtime is automatically installed. You can skip this step and install Alibaba Cloud TEE SDK.
    1. Import the YUM software repository for Alibaba Cloud encrypted computing.
      • Public endpoints are in the following format: https://enclave-[Region-ID].oss-[Region-ID].aliyuncs.com/repo/alinux/enclave-expr.repo.
      • Virtual private cloud (VPC) endpoint are in the following format: https://enclave-[Region-ID].oss-[Region-ID]-internal.aliyuncs.com/repo/alinux/enclave-expr.repo.
      Replace [Region-ID] in the preceding URLs with the region ID of the vSGX instance. The following example shows the VPC endpoint of a vSGX instance in the China (Beijing) region:
      sudo yum install -y yum-utils && \
    sudo yum-config-manager --add-repo \
    https://enclave-cn-beijing.oss-cn-beijing-internal.aliyuncs.com/repo/alinux/enclave-expr.repo
    2. Install the Alibaba Cloud SGX runtime. 
      yum install -y \
    libsgx-ae-le libsgx-ae-pce libsgx-ae-qe3 libsgx-ae-qve \
    libsgx-aesm-ecdsa-plugin libsgx-aesm-launch-plugin libsgx-aesm-pce-plugin libsgx-aesm-quote-ex-plugin \
    libsgx-dcap-default-qpl libsgx-dcap-ql libsgx-dcap-quote-verify \
    libsgx-enclave-common libsgx-launch libsgx-pce-logic libsgx-qe3-logic libsgx-quote-ex \
    libsgx-ra-network libsgx-ra-uefi libsgx-uae-service libsgx-urts sgx-ra-service \
    sgx-aesm-service
      Note SGX Architectural Enclave Service Manager (AESM) is used to manage services such as enclave start, key configuration, and remote attestation. The default installation path of SGX AESM is /opt/intel/sgx-aesm-service.
  2. Install Alibaba Cloud TEE SDK. 
    yum install -y teesdk
    Alibaba Cloud TEE SDK is fully compatible with Intel® SGX SDK. After Alibaba Cloud TEE SDK is installed, you can see Intel® SGX Developer Reference to develop SGX programs.
    Note The default installation path of Intel® SGX SDK in Alibaba Cloud TEE SDK is /opt/alibaba/teesdk/intel/sgxsdk/.
  3. Install patches.
    The SGX driver that comes with Alibaba Cloud Linux 2.1903 64-bit (UEFI) experiences memory leaks in specific cases. This issue will be fixed in the next version. If you create a vSGX instance by calling an API operation, we recommend that you install patches to avoid this issue. If you create a vSGX instance in the ECS console, skip this step. 
    yum install -y alinux-release-experimentals && \
    yum install -y kernel-hotfix-5577959-23.al7.x86_64
  4. Configure the Alibaba Cloud SGX remote attestation service.
    The Alibaba Cloud SGX remote attestation service is fully compatible with Intel® SGX Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA)-based remote attestation service and Intel® SGX SDK. Therefore, vSGX instances provided by Alibaba Cloud can gain trust from remote providers and producers by using remote attestation. For more information, see Intel® ECDSA remote attestation service. The Alibaba Cloud SGX remote attestation service provides the following information for SGX SDK:
    • SGX certificates
    • Revocation list: a list of revoked SGX certificates
    • Trusted computing base information: information about the root of trust
    The Alibaba Cloud SGX remote attestation service is deployed on a per-region basis. You can access this service deployed in the region where the vSGX instance is located for optimal stability. After Alibaba Cloud TEE SDK is installed, the default configuration file /etc/sgx_default_qcnl.conf is automatically generated for the remote attestation service. You must manually adapt the file to the Alibaba Cloud SGX remote attestation service in the region where the vSGX instance is located.
    Note The Alibaba Cloud SGX remote attestation service is supported only within mainland China regions. For more information, see Regions and zones.
    • If the vSGX instance is assigned a public IP address, change the configurations in /etc/sgx_default_qcnl.conf to the following content:
      # PCCS server address
PCCS_URL=https://sgx-dcap-server.[Region-ID].aliyuncs.com/sgx/certification/v3/
# To accept insecure HTTPS cert, set this option to FALSE
USE_SECURE_CERT=TRUE
      Replace [Region-ID] with the region ID of the vSGX instance. Example for a vSGX instance in the China (Beijing) region:
      # PCCS server address
PCCS_URL=https://sgx-dcap-server.cn-beijing.aliyuncs.com/sgx/certification/v3/
# To accept insecure HTTPS cert, set this option to FALSE
USE_SECURE_CERT=TRUE
    • If the vSGX instance is in a VPC and has only internal IP addresses, change the configurations in /etc/sgx_default_qcnl.conf to the following content:
      # PCCS server address
PCCS_URL=https://sgx-dcap-server-vpc.[Region-ID].aliyuncs.com/sgx/certification/v3/
# To accept insecure HTTPS cert, set this option to FALSE
USE_SECURE_CERT=TRUE
      Replace [Region-ID] with the region ID of the vSGX instance. Example for a vSGX instance in the China (Beijing) region:
      # PCCS server address
PCCS_URL=https://sgx-dcap-server-vpc.cn-beijing.aliyuncs.com/sgx/certification/v3/
# To accept insecure HTTPS cert, set this option to FALSE
USE_SECURE_CERT=TRUE

Example 1 of verifying SGX features: Start an enclave

Alibaba Cloud TEE SDK provides SGX sample code to verify SGX features. By default, the code is stored in the /opt/alibaba/teesdk/intel/sgxsdk/SampleCode directory.

This section describes an example of how to start an enclave to verify whether the installed SGX SDK works normally. If the enclave is started, the SDK works normally.

  1. Install devtoolset.
    1. Open the Alibaba Cloud experimentals repository. 
      rpmkeys --import http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/epel/RPM-GPG-KEY-EPEL-7 && \
    yum install -y alinux-release-experimentals
    2. Install devtoolset. 
      yum install -y devtoolset-9
    3. Set the environment variable related to devtoolset. 
      source /opt/rh/devtoolset-9/enable
  2. Set the environment variable related to SGX SDK. 
    source /opt/alibaba/teesdk/intel/sgxsdk/environment
  3. Compile the sample code SampleEnclave.
    1. Go to the SampleEnclave directory. 
      cd /opt/alibaba/teesdk/intel/sgxsdk/SampleCode/SampleEnclave
    2. Compile SampleEnclave. 
      make
  4. Run the compiled executable file. 
    ./app

Example 2 of verifying SGX features: SGX remote attestation

Alibaba Cloud TEE SDK provides SGX sample code to verify SGX features. By default, the code is stored in the /opt/alibaba/teesdk/intel/sgxsdk/SampleCode directory.

This section describes an example of the SGX remote attestation service (QuoteGenerationSample and QuoteVerificationSample). The expected result is that Quote is generated and verified. The example involves the challenged party (SGX programs that run in the vSGX instance) and the challenging party (the party that wants to verify whether the SGX programs are trusted). QuoteGenerationSample is the sample code used by the challenged party to generate Quote, and QuoteVerificationSample is the sample code used by the challenging party to verify Quote.

  1. Install devtoolset.
    1. Open the Alibaba Cloud experimentals repository. 
      rpmkeys --import http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/epel/RPM-GPG-KEY-EPEL-7 && \
    yum install -y alinux-release-experimentals
    2. Install devtoolset. 
      yum install -y devtoolset-9
    3. Set the environment variable related to devtoolset. 
      source /opt/rh/devtoolset-9/enable
  2. Set the environment variable related to SGX SDK. 
    source /opt/alibaba/teesdk/intel/sgxsdk/environment
  3. Compile the sample code QuoteGenerationSample used by the challenged party.
    1. Go to the QuoteGenerationSample directory. 
      cd /opt/alibaba/teesdk/intel/sgxsdk/SampleCode/QuoteGenerationSample
    2. Compile QuoteGenerationSample. 
      make
  4. Run the compiled executable file to generate Quote. 
    ./app
  5. Compile the sample code QuoteVerificationSample used by the challenging party.
    1. Go to the QuoteVerificationSample directory. 
      cd /opt/alibaba/teesdk/intel/sgxsdk/SampleCode/QuoteVerificationSample
    2. Compile QuoteVerificationSample. 
      make
  6. Sign the QuoteVerificationSample enclave.
    To release an official version of an enclave, you must provide the signature key to sign the enclave. 
    sgx_sign sign -key Enclave/Enclave_private_sample.pem -enclave enclave.so -out enclave.signed.so -config Enclave/Enclave.config.xml
  7. Run the compiled executable file to verify Quote. 
    ./app