Should we require 2FA for provenpackagers? #3618

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opened 2026-06-15 14:26:36 +00:00 by gotmax23 · 32 comments
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See the recent discussion in https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/search?mlist=devel%40lists.fedoraproject.org&q=Fedora%3A+Inaccurate+and+apparently-unsupervised+actions+by+agentic+AI+system+under+your+control and also discussions about being compliant with the CRA at Flock.

Proposal: Require that members of the provenpackager group set up two-factor authentication in FAS.

How we would actually technically implement this is an open question. I am not yet proposing that we enable this for all packagers given the current issues with 2FA in Fedora that have already been mentioned on the devel thread. But I do think the calculus for provenpackagers is different given how much access they have.

See the recent discussion in <https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/search?mlist=devel%40lists.fedoraproject.org&q=Fedora%3A+Inaccurate+and+apparently-unsupervised+actions+by+agentic+AI+system+under+your+control> and also discussions about being compliant with the CRA at Flock. **Proposal**: Require that members of the `provenpackager` group set up two-factor authentication in FAS. How we would actually technically implement this is an open question. I am not yet proposing that we enable this for all packagers given the current issues with 2FA in Fedora that have already been mentioned on the devel thread. But I do think the calculus for provenpackagers is different given how much access they have.
Owner

+1 from me

Not sure if we need to create yet another mailing list thread for this since there's already an ongoing discussion .... but it might be good to post on the ML regardless just so that people are aware that this is now actually a concrete proposal.

+1 from me Not sure if we need to create yet another mailing list thread for this since there's already an ongoing discussion .... but it might be good to post on the ML regardless just so that people are aware that this is now actually a concrete proposal.
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Owner

Yeah, I meant to do that and then forgot :). I just replied to the devel thread.

Yeah, I meant to do that and then forgot :). I just replied to the devel thread.

+1 if the 2FA is not relaying on big tech solutions or "the latest android os" on a phone.

+1 if the 2FA is not relaying on big tech solutions or "the latest android os" on a phone.
Owner

Do we have a self-service MFA recovery method that doesn't involve sending GPG-signed emails to @kevin yet? Otherwise, this effectively forces everyone to have working ability to do GPG-signed emails.

Do we have a self-service MFA recovery method that doesn't involve sending GPG-signed emails to @kevin yet? Otherwise, this effectively forces everyone to have working ability to do GPG-signed emails.
Owner

+1 for 2FA for proven packagers. The MFA is an OTP token right now so you can use any app doing OTP tokens.

+1 for 2FA for proven packagers. The MFA is an OTP token right now so you can use any app doing OTP tokens.
Author
Owner

+1 to requiring this. The first step would be to change the current policy about provenpackagers and 2FA (fesco/docs@!90 (commit 62ce446ce6)) from "SHOULD use" to "MUST use." I think figuring out how to enforce this can be a separate step.

Do we have a self-service MFA recovery method that doesn't involve sending GPG-signed emails to @kevin yet? Otherwise, this effectively forces everyone to have working ability to do GPG-signed emails.

There is currently not a self-service process for it, but I was told that GPG-signed emails are not the only supported mechanism for recovery. When there is no GPG key configured in FAS, it can also be recovered by proving access to SSH keys registered in FAS or some Red Hat internal thing for Red Hatters.

+1 to requiring this. The first step would be to change the current policy about provenpackagers and 2FA (https://forge.fedoraproject.org/fesco/docs/pulls/90/commits/62ce446ce601d682c51d0013dcd60d221ddd3f38) from "SHOULD use" to "MUST use." I think figuring out how to enforce this can be a separate step. > Do we have a self-service MFA recovery method that doesn't involve sending GPG-signed emails to @kevin yet? Otherwise, this effectively forces everyone to have working ability to do GPG-signed emails. There is currently not a self-service process for it, but I was told that GPG-signed emails are not the only supported mechanism for recovery. When there is no GPG key configured in FAS, it can also be recovered by proving access to SSH keys registered in FAS or some Red Hat internal thing for Red Hatters.
Owner

+1

I think we should tell people to always enroll at least two tokens, e.g. a hardware token and freeotp on the phone, or maybe even three.

I tried to enroll a Nitrokey today, and it works, but https://docs.nitrokey.com/software/nitropy/ is not packaged for Fedora. It'd be nice to add that.

Also, we should have good instructions on enrollment for Yubikeys, Nitrokeys, Freeotp, and whatever other popular stuff is out there.

+1 I think we should tell people to always enroll at least two tokens, e.g. a hardware token and freeotp on the phone, or maybe even three. I tried to enroll a Nitrokey today, and it works, but https://docs.nitrokey.com/software/nitropy/ is not packaged for Fedora. It'd be nice to add that. Also, we should have good instructions on enrollment for Yubikeys, Nitrokeys, Freeotp, and whatever other popular stuff is out there.
Owner

I talked to various folks about this at flock and also just posted to that devel list thread the caveats that come to mind.

I also promised @gotmax23 to run the script and see how many people we are affecting here. I'll look for that script and run it and report back when I get caught up enough to do so.

I talked to various folks about this at flock and also just posted to that devel list thread the caveats that come to mind. I also promised @gotmax23 to run the script and see how many people we are affecting here. I'll look for that script and run it and report back when I get caught up enough to do so.
Owner

Just a quick script run ( I haven't checked too closely to see if there's any bugs)

There are 114 provenpackagers.
59 of them do not have a otp enrolled.

So, about 52%

Just a quick script run ( I haven't checked too closely to see if there's any bugs) There are 114 provenpackagers. 59 of them do not have a otp enrolled. So, about 52%
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Owner

I opened fesco/docs#144 to change the policy.

I opened https://forge.fedoraproject.org/fesco/docs/pulls/144 to change the policy.
Author
Owner

As for enforcing it...

59 of them do not have a otp enrolled.

We can manually check for 2FA enrollment when adding any new provenpackagers as kevin pointed out, but what do we want to do about these? We don't currently have a way to block access to services like Koji based on lack of 2FA, but we can set a flag date and directly email users and remove users from provenpackager who haven't set 2FA by the flag date. That kind of stinks, though :(.

As for enforcing it... > 59 of them do not have a otp enrolled. We can manually check for 2FA enrollment when adding any new provenpackagers as kevin pointed out, but what do we want to do about these? We don't currently have a way to block access to services like Koji based on lack of 2FA, but we can set a flag date and directly email users and remove users from provenpackager who haven't set 2FA by the flag date. That kind of stinks, though :(.
Owner

Let's put this on the meeting agenda so we can figure out how to proceed with the implementation.

Let's put this on the meeting agenda so we can figure out how to proceed with the implementation.
Owner

Metadata Update from @zbyszek:

  • Issue tagged with: meeting
**Metadata Update from @zbyszek**: - Issue tagged with: meeting
Owner
This topic is on the agenda for today's meeting: https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/devel@lists.fedoraproject.org/thread/HKQ332NLB7YKBY6AM35PXZ6NRWVAMUI6/
Owner

From today's meeting:

AGREED: Two-factor authentication will be required for members of the provenpackager group. There will be 3 month grace period for existing group members, after which users that don't have 2FA set up will be removed from the group. (+7, 1, -0) (@decathorpe:fedora.im, 18:17:15)

(Meeting log at 18:17:15)

Full text of the agreed-upon proposal:

  1. Announce on devel & discussion
  2. Directly email affected provenpackagers
  3. Timeline is: new proven packagers right now, 3 months for existing ones
  4. Demote pp without 2FA in 3 months
  5. Provenpackagers can file an infra ticket to be readded once 2FA is enabled
From today's meeting: > AGREED: Two-factor authentication will be required for members of the provenpackager group. There will be 3 month grace period for existing group members, after which users that don't have 2FA set up will be removed from the group. (+7, 1, -0) (@decathorpe:fedora.im, 18:17:15) ([Meeting log](https://meetbot.fedoraproject.org/meeting_matrix_fedoraproject-org/2026-06-23/fesco.2026-06-23-17.00.log.html) at 18:17:15) Full text of the agreed-upon proposal: 1. Announce on devel & discussion 2. Directly email affected provenpackagers 3. Timeline is: new proven packagers right now, 3 months for existing ones 4. Demote pp without 2FA in 3 months 5. Provenpackagers can file an infra ticket to be readded once 2FA is enabled
Owner

Metadata Update from @decathorpe:

  • Issue untagged with: meeting
  • Issue tagged with: document it
**Metadata Update from @decathorpe**: - Issue **un**tagged with: meeting - Issue tagged with: document it
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Owner

Announcement proposal

Subject: Two-factor authentication required for provenpackager members

Hi everyone,

FESCo has voted to require two-factor authentication (2FA) for all members of the provenpackager group. Current provenpackager members without 2FA enabled in Fedora Accounts must take action before 2026-09-22.

Please see https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora-accounts/user/#twofactor for more information on setting up 2FA in the Fedora Accounts System. It is recommended to maintain a backup of your 2FA tokens and/or enroll multiple devices (e.g., a hardware security device and a mobile authenticator app).

Any new users applying to the provenpackager group must have 2FA set up in Fedora Accounts.

For existing members who do not have 2FA configured, there is a three month grace period (2026-09-22) to set up 2FA in Fedora Accounts. Affected users will be emailed directly. provenpackager members who have not enabled 2FA by 2026-09-22 will be removed from the provenpackager group. provenpackager members removed during this process can be reinstated once they configure 2FA by filing a ticket with Fedora Infrastructure --- they do NOT need to re-apply with FESCo for provenpackager access.

## Announcement proposal Subject: Two-factor authentication required for provenpackager members Hi everyone, FESCo has voted to require two-factor authentication (2FA) for all members of the provenpackager group. Current provenpackager members without 2FA enabled in Fedora Accounts must take action before 2026-09-22. Please see <https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora-accounts/user/#twofactor> for more information on setting up 2FA in the Fedora Accounts System. It is recommended to maintain a backup of your 2FA tokens and/or enroll multiple devices (e.g., a hardware security device and a mobile authenticator app). Any new users applying to the provenpackager group must have 2FA set up in Fedora Accounts. For existing members who do not have 2FA configured, there is a three month grace period (2026-09-22) to set up 2FA in Fedora Accounts. Affected users will be emailed directly. provenpackager members who have not enabled 2FA by 2026-09-22 will be removed from the provenpackager group. provenpackager members removed during this process can be reinstated once they configure 2FA by filing a ticket with Fedora Infrastructure --- they do NOT need to re-apply with FESCo for provenpackager access.
Author
Owner

Here's a rough draft of an announcement. Feedback welcome!

Here's a rough draft of an announcement. Feedback welcome!
Owner

I think that looks fine.

I think that looks fine.
Owner

+1

+1
Owner

@gotmax23 the only feedback I'd have is that I understand the timeline to be:

  1. send the email you drafted to devel@
  2. some time passes
  3. follow-up with a direct email to provenpackagers who have not yet enabled 2fa
  4. some time passes
  5. revoke rights (with the described remediation)

I think number 3 could be mentioned in the last paragraph of the email?

@gotmax23 the only feedback I'd have is that I understand the timeline to be: 1. send the email you drafted to devel@ 2. some time passes 3. follow-up with a direct email to provenpackagers who have not yet enabled 2fa 4. some time passes 5. revoke rights (with the described remediation) I think number 3 could be mentioned in the last paragraph of the email?
Owner

FESCo has voted to require two-factor authentication (2FA) for all members of the provenpackager group. Current provenpackager members without 2FA enabled in Fedora Accounts must take action before 2026-09-22.

FESCo has voted to require two-factor authentication (2FA) for all members of the provenpackager group (SHOULD is now upgraded to MUST). Please enable 2FA if you haven't yet. In the three-month grace period existing provenpackager accounts without 2FA can continue to be used, but 2FA is required for any new accounts. After the end of the grace period, remaining provenpackager accounts will be temporarily downgraded until 2FA is enabled.

2FA is also strongly recommended for non-provenpackager accounts.

Please see https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora-accounts/user/#twofactor for more information on setting up 2FA in the Fedora Accounts System. It is recommended to maintain a backup of your 2FA tokens and/or enroll multiple devices (e.g., a hardware security device and a mobile authenticator app).

Any new users applying to the provenpackager group must have 2FA set up in Fedora Accounts.

For existing members who do not have 2FA configured, there is a three month grace period (2026-09-22) to set up 2FA in Fedora Accounts. Affected users will be emailed directly. provenpackager members who have not enabled 2FA by 2026-09-22 will be removed from the provenpackager group. provenpackager members removed during this process can be reinstated once they configure 2FA by filing a ticket with Fedora Infrastructure --- they do NOT need to re-apply with FESCo for provenpackager access.

For members who currently do not have 2FA configured, a three month grace period (until 2026-09-24) is provided to set up 2FA in Fedora Accounts. Affected users will be emailed directly. provenpackager members who have not enabled 2FA by 2026-09-24 will be removed from the provenpackager group. Those members can be reinstated once they configure 2FA by filing a ticket with Fedora Infrastructure — they do NOT need to re-apply to FESCo for provenpackager access.


Let's make the three month period start at the time when the email is sent. Shaving off one or two days doesn't change much but it could be an extra annoyance to people receiving the notice.

------------------ > FESCo has voted to require two-factor authentication (2FA) for all members of the provenpackager group. Current provenpackager members without 2FA enabled in Fedora Accounts must take action before 2026-09-22. FESCo has voted to require two-factor authentication (2FA) for all members of the provenpackager group (SHOULD is now upgraded to MUST). Please enable 2FA if you haven't yet. In the three-month grace period existing provenpackager accounts without 2FA can continue to be used, but 2FA is required for any new accounts. After the end of the grace period, remaining provenpackager accounts will be temporarily downgraded until 2FA is enabled. 2FA is also strongly recommended for non-provenpackager accounts. > Please see https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora-accounts/user/#twofactor for more information on setting up 2FA in the Fedora Accounts System. It is recommended to maintain a backup of your 2FA tokens and/or enroll multiple devices (e.g., a hardware security device and a mobile authenticator app). > > Any new users applying to the provenpackager group must have 2FA set up in Fedora Accounts. > > For existing members who do not have 2FA configured, there is a three month grace period (2026-09-22) to set up 2FA in Fedora Accounts. Affected users will be emailed directly. provenpackager members who have not enabled 2FA by 2026-09-22 will be removed from the provenpackager group. provenpackager members removed during this process can be reinstated once they configure 2FA by filing a ticket with Fedora Infrastructure --- they do NOT need to re-apply with FESCo for provenpackager access. For members who currently do not have 2FA configured, a three month grace period (until 2026-09-24) is provided to set up 2FA in Fedora Accounts. Affected users will be emailed directly. provenpackager members who have not enabled 2FA by 2026-09-24 will be removed from the provenpackager group. Those members can be reinstated once they configure 2FA by filing a ticket with Fedora Infrastructure — they do NOT need to re-apply to FESCo for provenpackager access. ------------------ Let's make the three month period start at the time when the email is sent. Shaving off one or two days doesn't change much but it could be an extra annoyance to people receiving the notice.
Author
Owner

I applied @zbyszek's suggestion and made one other fix.


Hi everyone,

FESCo has voted to require two-factor authentication (2FA) for all members of the provenpackager group (SHOULD is now upgraded to MUST). Please enable 2FA if you haven't yet. In the three-month grace period, existing provenpackager accounts without 2FA can continue to be used, but 2FA is required for any new accounts. After the end of the grace period, remaining provenpackager accounts will be temporarily downgraded until 2FA is enabled.

2FA is also strongly recommended for non-provenpackager accounts.

Please see https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora-accounts/user/#twofactor for more information on setting up 2FA in the Fedora Accounts System. It is recommended to maintain a backup of your 2FA tokens and/or enroll multiple devices (e.g., a hardware security device and a mobile authenticator app).

Any new users applying to the provenpackager group must have 2FA set up in Fedora Accounts.

For provenpackager members who currently do not have 2FA configured, a three month grace period (until 2026-09-24) is provided to set up 2FA in Fedora Accounts. Affected users will be emailed directly. Members who have not enabled 2FA by 2026-09-24 will be removed from the provenpackager group. Those members can be reinstated once they configure 2FA by filing a ticket with Fedora Infrastructure — they do NOT need to re-apply to FESCo for provenpackager access.


I applied @zbyszek's suggestion and made one other fix. --- Hi everyone, FESCo has voted to require two-factor authentication (2FA) for all members of the provenpackager group (SHOULD is now upgraded to MUST). Please enable 2FA if you haven't yet. In the three-month grace period, existing provenpackager accounts without 2FA can continue to be used, but 2FA is required for any new accounts. After the end of the grace period, remaining provenpackager accounts will be temporarily downgraded until 2FA is enabled. 2FA is also strongly recommended for non-provenpackager accounts. Please see <https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora-accounts/user/#twofactor> for more information on setting up 2FA in the Fedora Accounts System. It is recommended to maintain a backup of your 2FA tokens and/or enroll multiple devices (e.g., a hardware security device and a mobile authenticator app). Any new users applying to the provenpackager group must have 2FA set up in Fedora Accounts. For provenpackager members who currently do not have 2FA configured, a three month grace period (until 2026-09-24) is provided to set up 2FA in Fedora Accounts. Affected users will be emailed directly. Members who have not enabled 2FA by 2026-09-24 will be removed from the provenpackager group. Those members can be reinstated once they configure 2FA by filing a ticket with Fedora Infrastructure — they do NOT need to re-apply to FESCo for provenpackager access. ---
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If there are any further tweaks, feel free to directly edit the above post. I can send the announcement to devel-announce and Discussion once we're agreed on the announcement text. For the direct emails, I don't have the list of affected provenpackagers.

@supakeen wrote in #3618 (comment):

gotmax23 the only feedback I'd have is that I understand the timeline to be:

1. send the email you drafted to devel@

2. some time passes

3. follow-up with a direct email to provenpackagers who have not yet enabled 2fa

I think number 3 could be mentioned in the last paragraph of the email?

I was thinking we'd send the announcement and directly contact affected users at the same time. The announcement text does say, "affected users will be emailed directly." Are you proposing doing this differently?

If there are any further tweaks, feel free to directly edit the above post. I can send the announcement to devel-announce and Discussion once we're agreed on the announcement text. For the direct emails, I don't have the list of affected provenpackagers. @supakeen wrote in https://forge.fedoraproject.org/fesco/tickets/issues/3618#issuecomment-866589: > gotmax23 the only feedback I'd have is that I understand the timeline to be: > > 1. send the email you drafted to devel@ > > 2. some time passes > > 3. follow-up with a direct email to provenpackagers who have not yet enabled 2fa > I think number 3 could be mentioned in the last paragraph of the email? I was thinking we'd send the announcement and directly contact affected users at the same time. The announcement text does say, "affected users will be emailed directly." Are you proposing doing this differently?
Author
Owner

2FA is also strongly recommended for non-provenpackager accounts.

@zbyszek who proposed it (and anyone else), is this something that we for sure want to keep in the announcement even though the proposal here only applies to provenpackager? I don't think it's a controversial statement, but I don't want to rub people the wrong way.

> 2FA is also strongly recommended for non-provenpackager accounts. @zbyszek who proposed it (and anyone else), is this something that we for sure want to keep in the announcement even though the proposal here only applies to provenpackager? *I* don't think it's a controversial statement, but I don't want to rub people the wrong way.
Owner

[I sent the reply by mail first, but I don't see it here. Sorry if this gets posted twice.]

2FA is also strongly recommended for non-provenpackager accounts.
is this something that we for sure want to keep in the announcement

Yeah, I think we should aim for having 2FA for all packager accounts.
Mentioning this here gives a heads-up for everybody else.

[I sent the reply by mail first, but I don't see it here. Sorry if this gets posted twice.] > > 2FA is also strongly recommended for non-provenpackager accounts. > is this something that we for sure want to keep in the announcement Yeah, I think we should aim for having 2FA for all packager accounts. Mentioning this here gives a heads-up for everybody else.
Owner

see also #3625

see also https://forge.fedoraproject.org/fesco/tickets/issues/3625
Author
Owner

I have posted the devel-announce and Discussion announcements.
We still need to contact individual maintainers. @kevin, would you like to handle this? Or I can if you send me a list of users.

I have posted the devel-announce and Discussion announcements. We still need to contact individual maintainers. @kevin, would you like to handle this? Or I can if you send me a list of users.
Owner

I can get you the list... matrix dm?

I can get you the list... matrix dm?
Author
Owner

The announcements have been posted, and I have individually emailed each affected user. Marking this as stalled for now. Maybe we can send a second set of reminders after waiting some time (say, a month and a half?) as @supakeen suggested.

The announcements have been posted, and I have individually emailed each affected user. Marking this as stalled for now. Maybe we can send a second set of reminders after waiting some time (say, a month and a half?) as @supakeen suggested.
gotmax23 added the due date 2026-09-24 2026-06-24 22:47:16 +00:00
Owner

Quoting #3625 (comment):

There are 112 provenpackagers. 22 of them do not have at least one otp enrolled.

I think we should send out another reminder. We don't want to end up with two dozen accounts to freeze at the deadline.

@kevin If you could send the new list to @gotmax23?


I'll unset document it, because AFAICS, we have updated the docs successfully.

Quoting https://forge.fedoraproject.org/fesco/tickets/issues/3625#issuecomment-1067836: > There are 112 provenpackagers. 22 of them do not have at least one otp enrolled. I think we should send out another reminder. We don't want to end up with two dozen accounts to freeze at the deadline. @kevin If you could send the new list to @gotmax23? --- I'll unset `document it`, because AFAICS, we have updated the docs successfully.
Owner

List sent. (and down to 21... )

List sent. (and down to 21... )
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