SCONE: Secure Linux Containers with Intel SGX
SCONE: Secure Linux Containers with Intel SGX
Authors: Sergei Arnautov, Bohdan Trach, Franz Gregor, Thomas Knauth, and Andre Martin, Technische Universität Dresden; Christian Priebe, Joshua Lind, Divya Muthukumaran, Dan O'Keeffe, and Mark L Stillwell, Imperial College London; David Goltzsche, Technische Universität Braunschweig; Dave Eyers, University of Otago; Rüdiger Kapitza, Technische Universität Braunschweig; Peter Pietzuch, Imperial College London; Christof Fetzer, Technische Universität DresdenAbstract: In multi-tenant environments, Linux containers managed by Docker or Kubernetes have a lower resource footprint, faster startup times, and higher I/O performance compared to virtual machines (VMs) on hypervisors. Yet their weaker isolation guarantees, enforced through software kernel mechanisms, make it easier for attackers to compromise the confidentiality and integrity of application data within containers.
We describe SCONE, a secure container mechanism for Docker that uses the SGX trusted execution support of Intel CPUs to protect container processes from outside attacks. The design of SCONE leads to (i) a small trusted computing base (TCB) and (ii) a low performance overhead: SCONE offers a secure C standard library interface that transparently encrypts/decrypts I/O data; to reduce the performance impact of thread synchronization and system calls within SGX enclaves, SCONE supports user-level threading and asynchronous system calls. Our evaluation shows that it protects unmodified applications with SGX, achieving 0.6x–1.2x of native throughput.Open Access MediaUSENIX is committed to Open Access to the research presented at our events. Papers and proceedings are freely available to everyone once the event begins. Any video, audio, and/or slides that are posted after the event are also free and open to everyone. Support USENIX and our commitment to Open Access.Presentation Audio

