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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word “Linux” in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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This is a great writeup, but I’m not thrilled with the disclosure timeline.
Why did the author notify Google prior to submitting the patch to LKML, but then wait another whole week after that before notifying any other Linux distributors? (The LKML post doesn’t say that the bug it fixed is an exploitable vulnerability, but after the fix was public there was a much higher chance that attackers could realize that it is.)
Also, did any distros ship updates on March 7 when the vulnerability became fully public? Given that they were notified on February 28, it seems like they should have, but none of the ones I’ve checked did. (And while some have now, many still haven’t!)
disclosure timeline