linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH RFC 0/3] drivers/char: remove /dev/kmem for good

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Message-ID: <20210319141018.5ee1a5ac@gandalf.local.home>
Date:   Fri, 19 Mar 2021 14:10:18 -0400
From:   Steven Rostedt <rostedt@...dmis.org>
To:     David Hildenbrand <david@...hat.com>
Cc:     linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, linux-mm@...ck.org,
        "Alexander A. Klimov" <grandmaster@...klimov.de>,
        Alexander Viro <viro@...iv.linux.org.uk>,
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Subject: Re: [PATCH RFC 0/3] drivers/char: remove /dev/kmem for good

On Fri, 19 Mar 2021 15:34:49 +0100
David Hildenbrand <david@...hat.com> wrote:

> Let's start a discussion if /dev/kmem is worth keeping around and
> fixing/maintaining or if we should just remove it now for good.

The last time I used /dev/kmem was in 2003. While in Germany, my home
firewall (in the US) got rooted. I could ssh into the box but had no way to
shut it down because the rootkit took over all those commands (luckily it
still allowed me to become root). I finally killed the box with:

 # ls -lR / > /dev/kmem

 ;-)

But today I have other means of killing the box (or at least crippling it).
Thus, it's obsolete in my book.

-- Steve