Re: Disabling COMPAT_FREEBSD4/5/6/7/9 as a default kernel option

On Mon, May 27, 2019, 6:49 PM Enji Cooper <yaneurabeya_at_gmail.com> wrote:

>
> > On May 27, 2019, at 08:27, rainer_at_ultra-secure.de wrote:
> >
> > Am 2019-05-27 17:05, schrieb Conrad Meyer:
> >> Hi Rainier,
> >> On Mon, May 27, 2019 at 7:47 AM <rainer_at_ultra-secure.de> wrote:
> >>> I have a 32bit FreeBSD 6 binary that I'll need for a bit until the
> >>> department who is technically responsible for the service gets around
> >>> redoing that service.
> >> Even if this proposal is approved, it would only affect 13+.  You
> >> could still run your FreeBSD 6 binary in a 32-bit 12 VM in a 13+
> >> Bhyve.  But do consider lighting a fire under whatever department
> >> thinks it's ok to deploy like that :-).
> >> Take care,
> >> Conrad
> >
> >
> > I thought so, too.
> >
> > I don't really want to run the abandonware of a RADIUS-server any longer
> than necessary (as absurd as that sounds).
> >
> > It's also running a recursive nameserver (previously also authoritative)
> that is still hard-coded in CPE and computers behind firewalls.
> >
> > I first wanted to virtualize it (it's not a big problem) - but this way
> the problem is just dragged out: "But it still works, does it and we have
> no time".
> >
> > Everybody now knows that the clock is ticking, literally.
> >
> > Oh, I also remember George Neville-Neil talking about a - what - FreeBSD
> 4 binary that a certain search-engine had lost the sources for and was
> running on FreeBSD 7 with compat4.
> > (We also have a client who literally begged us to leave a decade-old
> Solaris box running through 2019 and half of 2020 so they could continue to
> do their bookkeeping on a home-grown java-app that I suspect they, too have
> lost the sources to...). It's running jdk15 and getting that thing to run
> under anything semi-decent doesn't seem to have worked-out too well.
> > So, people pray for the best and don't prepare for the worst.
> >
> >
> > Other stuff I can think of:
> > - very old Netbackup-Clients (like 5-series), though I doubt they still
> work on recent releases, because 7.71 (last official version and intended
> for FreeBSD 11) stopped working on FreeBSD12, sadly)
> > - certain pre-compiled VMWare Tools Modules? Pre open-source-tools (I
> can never make up my mind if it's VMWare-open-Tools or Open-VMWare-Tools or
> something different)
> >
> >
> > What ever people do with COMPAT4-9 - it's bordering the pathological.
>
> I’ll counter the OP’s suggestion a bit:
>
> It would be nice if the compat options were modularized and printed out an
> EOS warning when loaded, so the user was aware that the modules are not
> supported by FreeBSD, in terms of security and whatnot.
>

How is that relevant? They just control system calls, not any userland
libraries that might or might not have a security exposure. Plus, if not
done right you either startle the horses for no reason, or you run the risk
of a console DoS if you print something on each system call...

Warner

Thanks!
> -Enji
> _______________________________________________
> freebsd-current_at_freebsd.org mailing list
> https://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-current
> To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-current-unsubscribe_at_freebsd.org"
>