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Re:CVE-2016-2384: arbitrary code execution due to a bug in u... by geofft on Monday February 22, 2016 @09:49PM (#11156129)
For a server-ish machine, disabling module autoloading is fairly straightforward: set /proc/sys/kernel/modprobe to /bin/false. (You can also do something fancier like https://scripts.mit.edu/trac/browser/trunk/server/fedora/con... to report what the process is.)

This is also useful to disable modprobing obscure networking protocols just by an unprivileged process calling socket(SOCK_STREAM, AF_FULLOFBUGS, 0), which was a fruitful source of exploits at least a few years back.

However, for most server machines, if an attacker can plug a malicious USB device into your machine, something has already gone very wrong. (And for a good chunk of servers these days, they don't even have USB because they're VMs.) The primary threat model for this sort of thing seems to be laptops that are briefly left unattended and locked, or "Hey, can I charge my phone off your laptop."

For the unattended-and-locked case, perhaps you could block module autoloading until the user has logged back in. It's roughly similar to the approach Apple takes with Thunderbolt, I believe.

Re:CVE-2016-2384: arbitrary code execution due to a bug in u... by contingencies on Monday February 22, 2016 @10:45PM (#11156357)
My point was not just to disable modules, but to disable all kinds of unrequired kernel functionality. Recall recent vulnerabilities such as BPF JIT spraying, etc.
Re:CVE-2016-2384: arbitrary code execution due to a bug in u... by geofft on Monday February 22, 2016 @10:57PM (#11156412)
Yeah, a hardened kernel is great and I'm glad to see distros building kernels just for security-sensitive server applications.

However, setting kernel.modprobe to /bin/false is extremely high-impact in reduction of attack surface compared to how much effort it is (one line in /etc/sysctl.d/); you can keep running a full-featured distribution kernel, even one from Fedora or Ubuntu that's simultaneously intended for desktop use.

Re:CVE-2016-2384: arbitrary code execution due to a bug in u... by chei0aiV on Monday February 22, 2016 @10:34PM (#11156306)
The likes of Amazon can plug virtual USB devices into your VMs.
Re:CVE-2016-2384: arbitrary code execution due to a bug in u... by geofft on Monday February 22, 2016 @10:55PM (#11156401)
If you're worried about the people who run your servers compromising your server, find different people to run your servers.

There are a million easier ways to break into a virtual machine running on a physical machine you control than finding an exploit and writing code to emulate malicious hardware. You can just modify memory directly.

Re:CVE-2016-2384: arbitrary code execution due to a bug in u... by chei0aiV on Wednesday February 24, 2016 @08:02PM (#11171640)
Indeed, the cloud is a huge problem.