linux-kernel - Re: The policy on initramfs decompression failure

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

Date:	Wed, 14 Jan 2009 07:51:01 +0100
From:	Alain Knaff <alain@...ff.lu>
To:	Theodore Tso <tytso@....edu>, "H. Peter Anvin" <hpa@...or.com>,
	Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	Ingo Molnar <mingo@...e.hu>,
	Thomas Gleixner <tglx@...utronix.de>,
	Al Viro <viro@....linux.org.uk>, Alain Knaff <alain@...ff.lu>
Subject: Re: The policy on initramfs decompression failure

Theodore Tso wrote:
>    failed-initramfs-decode=panic      Panic on failed initramfs
>    failed-initramfs-decode=partial    If the initramfs fails part-way in, 
>    				      decode what you can and let the boot
> 				      system see what files could be fully
> 				      decypted
>    failed-initramfs-decode=allow      If the initramfs decryption fails
>    				      part-of-the-way in, continue the
> 				      boot, but do not provide the partial
> 				      initramfs --- i.e., this is the 
> 				      all-or-nothing option

Interesting approach... but wouldn't it make more sense to have that be
global? Or else, eventually every single panic will have such a
tri-state switch, with associated option parsing and overhead, leading
to bloat.

> If this is too complicated, I'd be happy with the "panic on failed
> initramfs".  After all, the user can always simply delete the initrd
> specifier from their grub boot configuration, and simply retry the
> boot....

Exactly!

Regards,

Alain

--
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@...r.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/