Re: 32 versus 64 bit reading list suggestions
On Mon, Sep 07, 2020 at 09:37:47PM +0000, Andy Smith wrote:
> Basically there are already fewer upstream kernel developers that
> care about and understand 32-bit x86, and bug and even security
> fixes specific to 32-bit x86 lag behind those for amd64. KPTI fixes
> to address Meltdown and Spectre took an extra 6 months to reach
> 32-bit x86.
>
> https://lwn.net/Articles/743265/
> https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Linux-32-Bit-KPTI-Bug-Fix
Oh, and:
https://lwn.net/ml/oss-security/CALCETrW1z0gCLFJz-1Jwj_wcT3+axXkP_wOCxY8JkbSLzV80GA@mail.gmail.com/
"To those of you who actually support x86_32: please either
consider stopping supporting it or finding and paying someone to
give it serious upstream attention. We need real CI resources
and we need developers to test things for real, fix what's
broken, and generally keep it up to date. And the developers in
question should have an appropriate degree of nostalgic
adoration of segments, gates, and other delights from the i386
era."
Kind of suggests to me that changes specific to x86_32 aren't being
made, and when they are being made they aren't being tested except
by users in the wild. If you never upgrade your kernel and it's in a
more secure environment (e.g. device with only one user, not exposed
to public Internet, etc.) then it's obviously less of a worry, but…
Cheers,
Andy
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