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Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 22:46:19 -0800
From: Mike Castle <dalgoda@ix.netcom.com>
To: Linux Kernel List <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: ISA slot detection on PCI systems?
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On Thu, Jan 03, 2002 at 02:49:04PM +1100, Cameron Simpson wrote:
> 	- opening a publicly readable file in /proc to get some info,
> 	  which will run some kernel code (which can presumably be trusted;
> 	  if you don't trust your kernel you have a serious problem)

Some unnecessary kernel code.  Which, because it's unnecessary, won't
necessarily be checked for correctness.

>     versus
> 
> 	- running a setuid binary (however audited) to get the info; said
> 	  binary may have bugs, security holes, race conditions etc; it may be
> 	  hacked post boot (no so easy to do to the live kernel image), etc

vs

- running a single app as root upon boot.

> Further, binaries which grovel in /dev/kmem tend to have to be kept in sync
> with the kernel; in-kernel code is fundamentally in sync.

Bull.  There have been several drivers that simply can not compile because
they are out of sync, in the 2.4 kernel

mrc
-- 
     Mike Castle      dalgoda@ix.netcom.com      www.netcom.com/~dalgoda/
    We are all of us living in the shadow of Manhattan.  -- Watchmen
fatal ("You are in a maze of twisty compiler features, all different"); -- gcc
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