Re: tainted modules
On Thursday 27 December 2001 11:55 pm, martin f krafft wrote:
> what's this business about tainting the kernel with non-GPL modules???
> more importantly, how do i disable/go around it.
>
> i am *only* trying to install pcmcia-modules from unstable (3.1.29)
> with my 2.4.17 kernel, and this is annoying!!!
>
> even though modprobe seemingly only bitches about tainting when ds.o,
> cb_enabler.o, and i82365.o are loaded (they load fine), tulip_cb.o (or
> any other high-level module for that matter) won't load at all. what
> gives??? is this a "feature"? i though it was an -ac patch thing, but
> it made it into the main tree???
>
> please tell me how to solve this... thanks!
yeah.. isn't it cute?!
---- from LWN ----- http://lwn.net/2001/0906/kernel.php3
the loading of a proprietary module will "taint" a running kernel, and
greatly reduce the user's chance of getting help from the core kernel
hackers. this has always been the case; the only change is that it has,
evidently, become necessary for the kernel to track its own taintedness.
this tracking will happen via a sysctl flag like /proc/sys/kernel/tainted;
the loading of a non-GPL module (or one lacking license information) will
cause that flag to be set. once set, the tainted flag can not be reset
without rebooting. the tainted flag will be printed whenever the system
panics, and post-mortem tools (i.e. ksymoops) will recover it as well. so
anybody trying to track down a kernel problem will be able to see quickly if
proprietary modules have ever been loaded.
if users lie about which modules they load, they could conceivably mess with
the tainted setting. but people aren't too worried about that happening; most
users who would be able to do that are probably not the type who actually
would. and, besides, as Alan Cox points out, in the U.S. such an act could be
seen as defeating a digital rights management scheme, and subject the guilty
party to a five-year prison sentence, plus extra for conspiracy...
----
I remember reading that there is a patch to get rid of that message... but ..
when i went to look for it, i was unable to find it (i think i saw it
mentioned on debianplanet, which is currently down as i post this).
supposedly, you wont see that message again unless your have a kernel panic.
so, as the saying goes.. its not a bug, its a feature. : )
- k l u r t
Reply to: