Linus Torvalds Agrees to Kernel Lockdown

Oct 01, 2019

The feature will let developers restrict root access to the kernel.

Linus Torvalds has finally agreed to implement lockdown feature to the Linux kernel. The features was proposed several years ago but was rejected by Torvalds.

The upcoming release of Linux, version 5.4, will include this feature as a Linux Security Module (LSM). It will have two lockdown modes: “integrity” and “confidentiality.”

Torvalds explained that, “If set to integrity, kernel features that allow userland to modify the running kernel are disabled. If set to confidentiality, kernel features that allow userland to extract confidential information from the kernel are also disabled.”

According to ZDNet, the new feature’s primary function will be to strengthen the divide between userland processes and kernel code  – even the root user will have limited acces.

The feature will be disabled by default as it could lead to unexpected behaviors. Many Linux distributions, including Ubuntu and Red Hat have already implemented their own lockdown features using additional modules.

Related content

  • Lockdown Mode

    Lockdown mode makes your Linux system more secure and even prevents root users from modifying the kernel.

    more »
  • News

    In the news: The Art of PostgreSQL; Red Hat Announces CentOS Stream; Linus Torvalds Agrees to Kernel Lockdown; Richard Stallman Resigns from Free Software Foundation; Oracle Announces Autonomous Linux; Attackers Find a New Way to Install Cryptominers; and GitLab 12.3 Brings More Security to DevOps Engineers.

    more »
  • Linux Kernel 5.4 Released

    A number of new changes and improvements have reached the Linux kernel.

    more »
  • Kernel News

    New NDS32 port, landlock versus seccomp, new features from Intel, loading and unloading security modules after bootup, and splitting up security projects.

    more »
  • Linus Torvalds Welcomes 2019 with Linux 5.x

    Better support for GPUs and CPUs.

    more »
comments powered by Disqus

Issue 240/2020

Buy this issue as a PDF

Digital Issue: Price $12.99
(incl. VAT)

News

Tag Cloud

Administration Community Desktop Events Hardware Linux Linux Pro Magazine Mobile Programming Software Ubuntu Web Development Windows free software open source