linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] module,bug: Add TAINT_OOT_MODULE flag for modules not built in-tree

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Date:	Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:58:18 +0000
From:	Ben Hutchings <ben@...adent.org.uk>
To:	"Luis R. Rodriguez" <mcgrof@...jolero.org>
Cc:	"John W. Linville" <linville@...driver.com>,
	LKML <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	Dave Jones <davej@...hat.com>, Greg KH <greg@...ah.com>,
	Debian kernel maintainers <debian-kernel@...ts.debian.org>,
	Rusty Russell <rusty@...tcorp.com.au>,
	linux-wireless <linux-wireless@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] module,bug: Add TAINT_OOT_MODULE flag for modules not
 built in-tree

On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 01:40:44PM -0800, Luis R. Rodriguez wrote:
> On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 6:12 AM, Ben Hutchings <ben@...adent.org.uk> wrote:
> > Use of the GPL or a compatible licence doesn't necessarily make the code
> > any good.  We already consider staging modules to be suspect, and this
> > should also be true for out-of-tree modules which may receive very
> > little review.
> >
> > Signed-off-by: Ben Hutchings <ben@...adent.org.uk>
> > ---
> > Debian has been carrying this for the last few kernel versions.  The
> > recent thread '[RFC] virtualbox tainting.' and discussions at KS suggest
> > that this might be more generally useful.
> 
> This indeed seems like a good idea to advocate getting things upstream
> (not just staging) but what about the case where we have upstream
> drivers from future kernels backported to older kernels and the newer
> driver is simply provided as a feature for users who may need new
> features / chipset support on their old distribution kernel?

They continue to work without any loss of functionality.  (After the
follow-up patches to keep dynamic debugging and lock debugging
working.)

> It seems this taint flag will be used for driers backported through
> compat-wireless, the compat kernel module or any other backported
> driver, even if it is indeed upstream and whereby kernel developer
> *do* commit to actually fixing issues. In our experience
> compat-wireless bugs *are real bugs*, not backport bugs so we do look
> into them. In our latest linux-next.git based release for example
> backport code consists only of 1.3804% of the code.

Now you can look for (O) after the module name in a BUG/Oops message
and you can tell whether the user really had the original or
compat-wireless version of the driver.

It is really up to each distributor or developer how they treat
bug reports with the O taint.  When handling Debian bug reports I
won't automatically reject such a tainted kernel but I will look
carefully at the module list.

Ben.

-- 
Ben Hutchings
We get into the habit of living before acquiring the habit of thinking.
                                                              - Albert Camus
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