RE: QUESTION: modifying kernel functions in a running kernel

Jones D (djones2@glam.ac.uk)
Thu, 22 Jul 1999 15:41:24 +0100


> > This is starting to remind me of a function call that existed in
> > AmigaOS called SetFunction(). It allowed runtime patching of
> > operating system functions, which

> It there is a bug fix for Linux, it is much easier to patch the kernel
> tree. SetFunction() was used on the Amiga for fixing bugs in the
> closed source OS and for straping on new functionality. Neither of
> those are really necessary for Linux since the bug or new feature can
> be massaged directly onto the kernel source.

Agreed. It was also abused quite a lot by virus/trojan writers.
I think it would only be a matter of time before we saw such things
on Linux if this was implemented. (Although if you could convince
a root user to run a kernel modifying program, then you could probably
get the same person to insert any arbitrary module/apply source patch.)

Adding a feature like this can only be a bad thing,as we'd get things
features/fixes running as patches that get missed/not added to the
official tree etc, thus forking the kernel.

d.

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