DISCONTINUATION OF PROJECT

This project will no longer be maintained by Intel.

Intel has ceased development and contributions including, but not limited to, maintenance, bug fixes, new releases, or updates, to this project.

Intel no longer accepts patches to this project.

If you have an ongoing need to use this project, are interested in independently developing it, or would like to maintain patches for the open source software community, please create your own fork of this project.

Contact: webadmin@linux.intel.com Intel(R) Software Guard Extensions Software Enabling Application for Linux*

Introduction

This application will enable Intel SGX on Linux systems where the BIOS supports Intel SGX, but does not provide an explicit option to enable it. These systems can only enable Intel SGX via the "software enable" procedure.

License

This application is distributed under the BSD 3-Clause "New" or "Revised" License.

Requirements

Performing the software enable procedure requires:

• An Intel SGX capable processor
• A BIOS that supports Intel SGX and the software enable procedure. Some BIOS manufacturers provide an option to explicitly enable or disable Intel SGX.
• A supported Linux distribution that has been booted in UEFI mode. Systems booted in Legacy mode cannot perform the software enable as the procedure depends on EFI variables. A Legacy mode system can be enabled by booting a Linux Live CD in UEFI mode, and then performing the software enable. Intel SGX enabling occurs at the platform, not OS, level.
• The EFI filesystem, which should be mounted by default if your Linux system is booted in UEFI mode.

Building the Application

Build the application by running 'make'.

$ make

There are no package requirements beyond a C compiler. If you wish to use a compiler other than gcc*, edit the Makefile and change the CC variable.

There is no installer, as this is a one-time use executable. Once Intel SGX is enabled, it will stay enabled until explicitly disabled in your BIOS (if your BIOS supports this capability).

Running the Application

Usage is:

usage: sgx-enable [ options ]

Options:
  -s, --status      Report the enabling status only
  -h, --help        Show this help

Running sgx_enable with no options will attempt to perform the software enabling procedure on your system. You will need write access to the EFI filesystem which typically means it must be run as root:

$ sudo ./sgx_enable

Once the software enabling procedure has completed successfully you will need to reboot your system for Intel SGX to be available.

The software enabling procedure is a one-time procedure. You will not need to run this application again unless you explicitly disable Intel SGX in your BIOS at a later date.

The --status option prints the status of Intel SGX on your system and does not attempt to enable it. This will also report whether or not your system supports Intel SGX and the software enable procedure.

$ sgx_enable --status

You should not need to be root to display the enabling status of the system unless your EFI filesystem is not world-readable.

The utility will report the enabling status on your system, and the success or failure of the software enabling procedure.

Result Messages

Intel SGX is disabled and can be enabled using this utility

Your system supports Intel SGX, and is in the "software enable" state. Rerun the utility without the --status option to enable Intel SGX.

Intel SGX is already enabled on this system

Your system supports Intel SGX and it has already been enabled. No further action is necessary.

Software enable has been set. Please reboot your system.

The software enabling procedure completed successfully. Once your system is rebooted Intel SGX will be available for use.

You may need to rerun this utility as root

The software enabling procedure could not be performed because you do not have write access to the EFI filesystem. Rerun the utility as root.

This CPU does not support Intel SGX

Your CPU does not support Intel SGX.

Intel SGX is explicitly disabled on your system

Either Intel SGX is explicitly disabled in your BIOS, or your BIOS does not support Intel SGX. Reboot your system into the BIOS setup screen and look for an Intel SGX option. If you don't find any, your system may not support Intel SGX.

Contact your OEM for assistance.

This processor supports Intel SGX but was booted in legacy mode

A UEFI booted system is required to perform the software enabling procedure. If your system has already been built and booted in Legacy mode, you can boot a Linux Live CD in UEFI mode and perform the procedure from the Live image.

Intel SGX is explicitly disabled, and your BIOS does not support the "software enable" option

Your BIOS provides explicit options to enable or disable Intel SGX, and does not have a software enable capability. To enable Intel SGX, boot your system into the BIOS setup screen, locate the Intel SGX options and explicitly set the status to "enabled". You do not need this utility.

Contact your OEM for assistance.

The software enable has been performed on this system and Intel SGX will be enabled after the system is rebooted

The software enable procedure has already been executed. You need to reboot your system for Intel SGX to be enabled for use. You do not need to run this utility again.

I could not attempt the software enable

Your system supports Intel SGX and is in the software enable state, but the software enabling could not be completed because an unexpected error occurred. This is almost always the result of a system error. See the accompanying error message for clues as to what went wrong.

I couldn't make sense of your system

Something terrible has happened. This message usually means that an unexpected error has occurred and is almost always the result of a more serious system error. Look at the error message output for clues as to what might have gone wrong.