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How Secure Boot Works on M1 Series Macs

eclecticlight.co

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Re: How Secure Boot Works on M1 Series Macs

#3

This is an interesting walkthrough. It would be nice if the code blocks were more distinct from the comments; some combination of indentation, vertical space, coloring.

Type F12 and then paste the following string and hit enter, ya hacker:

    document.querySelectorAll('code').forEach(elt => elt.style.backgroundColor = 'lightGrey')

Re: How Secure Boot Works on M1 Series Macs

#4
There are several inaccuracies.

Everything after “Darwin Kernel Version 21.2.0” is XNU, not iBoot. This is when macOS starts according to the diagram. You don’t see logs from iBoot.

I have no idea what this means:

> The end of the kernel-only phase, which is entirely iBoot, comes almost 20 seconds after the start.

Re: How Secure Boot Works on M1 Series Macs

#5
The details seem ok, but the nomenclature isn’t: iBoot only handles hardware initialization and kernel bootstrapping. Once you’ve got system logging set up the kernel is in control and you’re into XNU, which is doing all the MACF, BSD setup and whatnot. You’re not going to get iBoot logs unless you set up a serial console.

Re: How Secure Boot Works on M1 Series Macs

#7
post #4

There are several inaccuracies. Everything after “Darwin Kernel Version 21.2.0” is XNU, not iBoot. This is when macOS starts according to the diagram. You don’t see logs from iBoot. I have no idea what this means: > The end of the kernel-only phase, which is entirely iBoot, comes almost 20 seconds after the start.

> I have no idea what this means:

Userland is instantiated.

Re: How Secure Boot Works on M1 Series Macs

#10
post #6

completely insecure if you are not the only one with the key

How do you secure something when other's know the secret? There has to be some "secret" (aka key) that some definition of "you" only knows, that the system then tests against (hopefully via some kind of asymmetric system or hash).
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