29
submitted 3 days ago by ZkhqrD5o@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.ml

I use PopOS and I wonder does the TPM processor in my CPU get used for anything out of the box? If not, what could it be used for? Have you guys got practical advice?

top 6 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net 10 points 3 days ago

The TPM could be used to generate a LUKS decryption key from a password or PIN.

That would tie that password to the hardware, but with LUKS you can have multiple ones, so a long password that directly unlocks the key should be possible in addition

[-] Oinks@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

This is probably the main reason every mainboard has TPMs now, since all common operating systems (Android, iOS/MacOS and Windows) do it.

From what I heard the Ubuntu installer offers a version that doesn't suck (if secure boot is enabled at install time) so using that is probably fine, but I would beware of trying to DIY it since it's easy to do incorrectly, most guides are wrong, and you will likely end up with easily bypassable encryption.

[-] user224@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 3 days ago

Thankfully I don't even trust TPM, so I just use regular passphrase unlock. This has added benefit of password expiration if unused (I will forget it eventually).

[-] bassomitron@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

What about it do you not trust, out of curiosity? And how do you ensure OS integrity if not using TPM?

[-] non_burglar@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago

TPM is great on paper, but in practice, there was little planning to ensure that cryptographic keys would be safeguarded by hardware manufacturers, and that's exactly what happened. Now TPM is considered weak as a means of securing data.

https://www.tomshardware.com/software/security-software/secure-boot-key-compromised-in-2022-is-still-in-use-in-over-200-models

[-] just_another_person@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

I'm not aware of any consumer distros that use TPM enrollment for anything out of the box, though the tools may be present.

Have a look at how Clevis works. That will give you an idea of how easy it is to work tish TPM in Linux.

this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2025
29 points (96.8% liked)

Linux

57274 readers
275 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

Rules

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS