netdev - Net driver module dependencies on PHY driver modules

lists.openwall.net		lists / announce owl-users owl-dev john-users john-dev passwdqc-users yescrypt popa3d-users / oss-security kernel-hardening musl sabotage tlsify passwords / crypt-dev xvendor / Bugtraq Full-Disclosure linux-kernel linux-netdev linux-ext4 linux-hardening linux-cve-announce PHC
Open Source and information security mailing list archives

Hash Suite: Windows password security audit tool. GUI, reports in PDF.

[<prev] [next>] [thread-next>] [day] [month] [year] [list]

Date:	Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:42:06 +0000
From:	Ben Hutchings <ben@...adent.org.uk>
To:	Matt Carlson <mcarlson@...adcom.com>,
	Michael Chan <mchan@...adcom.com>,
	netdev <netdev@...r.kernel.org>
Cc:	553024@...s.debian.org
Subject: Net driver module dependencies on PHY driver modules

I'm handling a bug report <http://bugs.debian.org/553024> relating to
tg3 using phylib and missing the broadcom module.

There seem to be two general problems here:
1. PHY drivers are not auto-loaded
2. An initramfs builder cannot statically determine that a net device
requires a PHY driver

It seems to me that PHY drivers should have aliases based on MDIO PHY
ids, and phylib should request_module() if no suitable driver is
registered.  This would solve (1) and go some way to solving (2).

Ben.

-- 
Ben Hutchings
The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to chance.
                                                            - Robert Coveyou

Download attachment "signature.asc" of type "application/pgp-signature" (829 bytes)