this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2024
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Privacy
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Years ago there was a commit to the Linux kernal that strangly had no author. This got some attention of several of the developers.
Looking into the code that had to deal with network transmission. there was a section that if you tried to get network access in a unusual way had a check that was written something like this.
If (usr_permission = ROOT) ... Instead of If (usr_permission == ROOT) ...
The first giving the user root if invoked and the second checking to see if the user was root.
It's widely thought this was the NSA or some other intelligence agency trying to backdoor lin Linux.
The other side of that coin is the NSA developing SELinux
This is because NSA has two roles: eavesdropping on foreign adversaries, and protecting our internal systems from adversaries. Under the first role, they might introduce an exploit known only to themselves. Under the second, they help protect US systems from exploits known to others.
And because of this it makes whatever they fuck with have unnecessary security issues.
Also though they are using it to straight up spy on you whether foreign or not. They got in "trouble" for it once and pinky swore not to do it again.
Fuck the NSA
Now they get the Brits and Aussies to do it and give them the reports.
Or it could of been any person or country. It was a nothing burger and is still a nothing burger
It was clearly an attack. By who is unknown.
Notably this was in 2003 before git (2005) so linux source was in a central bitkeeper repo. So a commit with no associated data about who did it should not have been possible.
Here is a more detailed article. https://lwn.net/Articles/57135/
speaking in burger terms as any good american
Proud to be an American, at least I know I'm free.
Free to buy all the hamburgers!
fork the kernel and yeet it?
It was caught and never made it in the kernel.
Gud gud