Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:34:10 -0700
From:      "Richards, Toby" <toby.richards@slo.courts.ca.gov>
To:        "Polytropon" <freebsd@edvax.de>
Cc:        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   RE: Question RE: Linux Mode
Message-ID:  <2D1FF82777560B40A2FDD2AD17C6FC219BBA@aocex016a.srv.courts-tc.ca.gov>
References:  <2D1FF82777560B40A2FDD2AD17C6FC219BB8@aocex016a.srv.courts-tc.ca.gov> <20100628234113.9146fedf.freebsd@edvax.de>

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
So as far as I can tell, turning Linux Mode on exposes another threat =
vector. Can I turn on Linux Mode ONLY for a single binary (the Flash =
plugin)?

-----Original Message-----
From: Polytropon [mailto:freebsd@edvax.de]
Sent: Mon 28-Jun-10 2:41 PM
To: Richards, Toby
Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject: Re: Question RE: Linux Mode
=20
On Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:57:33 -0700, "Richards, Toby" =
<toby.richards@slo.courts.ca.gov> wrote:
> My question is this: If I turn on Linux mode, don't I sacrifice the
> security, performance, and other benefits of the FreeBSD kernel vice
> Linux?

No. FreeBSD's "Linux mode" is nothing more or less than an ABI - an
alternative binary interface. Linux programs "communicate" through
this interface instead of FreeBSD's default one.

Of course, there *are* security implications, as on Linux. Security
limits are given by the FreeBSD infrastructure (e. g. "Flash" based
malware trying to access system files -> no; defective "Flash"
implementation causing a memory leak -> possible).

I don't use "Flash" anymore so I can't be more specific. Last time
I tried it worked nearly flawlessly with Firefox.

A personal note: Sometimes, I found that Linux programs ran faster
on FreeBSD Linux ABI than on native Linux, but as I'm not a regular
Linux user, my opinion isn't worth more than 2 cent. :-)


--=20
Polytropon
Magdeburg, Germany
Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...




Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?2D1FF82777560B40A2FDD2AD17C6FC219BBA>