Supporting CIPSO with NetLabel and SELinux

NetLabel/CIPSO labels and transmits sensitivities across the network. Unlike labeled IPsec, no other context information is sent or synchronized. So, when we consider the communication flows between two points, they will have a default, common SELinux type (rather than the SELinux type associated with the source or target) but will have sensitivity labels based on the sensitivity label of the remote side.

Part of NetLabel's configuration are mapping definitions that inform the system which communication flows (from selected interfaces, or even from configured IP addresses) are for a certain Domain of Interpretation (DOI). The CIPSO standard defines the DOI as a collection of systems that interpret the CIPSO label similarly, or, in our case, use the same SELinux policy and configuration of sensitivity labels.

Once these mappings have been established, NetLabel/CIPSO will pass on the sensitivity information (and categories) between...