News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Xz: Can you spot the single character that disabled Linux landlock?. Parent comment

Re:Xz: Can you spot the single character that disabled Linux... by dathinab on Sunday March 31, 2024 @04:41AM (#39882532)
It's also iffy tbh. that the compilation check functionality:

- doesn't force users to differentiate between syntax errors and other errors (e.g. symbols not found). Partially you can't even make it work properly if you want due to C macros.

- it seems sensible, tbh. if "does compile" checks for compatibility seems sensible then there is so much wrong with the ecosystem in so many ways

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Xz: Can you spot the single character that disabled Linux... by mysidia on Sunday March 31, 2024 @05:50AM (#39882824)
It's standard autoconf stuff, BUT... the right thing to do for a security option should be to throw an error at the configure stage If the Option is requested but can't be supported, And not to silently turn it off.

That is because a human should have to Look at the build and manually make the decision to switch off a security feature from the build.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Xz: Can you spot the single character that disabled Linux... by lazide on Sunday March 31, 2024 @10:15AM (#39884480)
Autocomf output is so incredibly noisy though, still long odds someone would notice anytime soon.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Xz: Can you spot the single character that disabled Linux... by dullcrisp on Sunday March 31, 2024 @01:35PM (#39886202)
If you break the build they’ll notice
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Xz: Can you spot the single character that disabled Linux... by lazide on Sunday March 31, 2024 @02:10PM (#39886550)
Good thing they disabled the check that would have broken the build/tests in this case eh?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Xz: Can you spot the single character that disabled Linux... by BenFrantzDale on Sunday March 31, 2024 @03:39PM (#39887345)
Agreed. I just opened https://gitlab.kitware.com/cmake/cmake/-/issues/25846 although I have no idea how hard it is to address this sort of issue robustly.
[ Parent | on HN ]