Re: Binary only module overview

From: richard offer (offerat_private)
Date: Mon Sep 24 2001 - 16:43:16 PDT

  • Next message: Greg KH: "Re: Binary only module overview"

    * frm chrisat_private "09/24/01 16:23:06 -0700" | sed '1,$s/^/* /'
    *
    ** Crispin Cowan (crispinat_private) wrote:
    *> 
    *> The debate thread 
    *> http://mail.wirex.com/pipermail/linux-security-module/2001-September/002
    *> 017.html  that Greg KH referred to is about whether LSM (security)
    *> modules should  ever be permitted to be proprietary. Some feel that all
    *> LSM modules  should be OSD-compliant Open Source software, while others
    *> feel that LSM  should continue the existing Linux module policy of
    *> permitting  proprietary modules only if they do not require changes to
    *> the Linux  kernel (which would make them a derived work of the kernel).
    * 
    * OK, the above is exactly why i think kernel developers are concerned
    * about the combination of LSM and proprietary binary only modules.
    * LSM _does_ require significant change to the Linux kernel.  So now you
    * have a module that is based on major change to kernel.  In addition these
    * changes make it possible to easily fundamentally change the behavior of
    * the linux kernel with a binary only proprietary module (this is precisely
    * why there is no interface to change the syscall table).
    
    So you're saying that with the current state of Linux, that there is no way
    that I can write a (non security) loadable module that changes the
    behaviour of the existing kernel ?
    
    Whats technically to stop me writing a device driver that replaces the
    exiting capable() code with my own implementation ? Likewise with
    intercepting and replacing system calls ?
    
    * 
    * 
    * -chris
    * 
    
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Richard Offer                     Technical Lead, Trust Technology, SGI
    "Specialization is for insects"
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