From owner-freebsd-security Fri Apr 26 13:52:48 2002 Delivered-To: freebsd-security@freebsd.org Received: from axl.seasidesoftware.co.za (axl.seasidesoftware.co.za [196.31.7.201]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 0F50F37B417 for ; Fri, 26 Apr 2002 13:52:43 -0700 (PDT) Received: from sheldonh (helo=axl.seasidesoftware.co.za) by axl.seasidesoftware.co.za with local-esmtp (Exim 3.33 #1) id 171ClW-0006pQ-00; Fri, 26 Apr 2002 22:56:26 +0200 From: Sheldon Hearn To: "Drew Tomlinson" Cc: "Julian Elischer" , security@freebsd.org Subject: Re: RELENG_4_4 In-reply-to: Your message of "Fri, 26 Apr 2002 09:12:42 MST." <002d01c1ed3d$32272a20$6e2a6ba5@lc.ca.gov> Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 22:56:26 +0200 Message-ID: <26251.1019854586@axl.seasidesoftware.co.za> Sender: owner-freebsd-security@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk List-ID: List-Archive: (Web Archive) List-Help: (List Instructions) List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: X-Loop: FreeBSD.org On Fri, 26 Apr 2002 09:12:42 MST, "Drew Tomlinson" wrote: > Instead of calling it an "upgrade", call it a system "patch". It just > so happens that the RELENG_4_5 "patch" will ensure that the OS is up to > date on security issues and more! :) Just so that misinformation isn't spread, please note that the "and more" in your paragraph isn't true. The RELENG_4_5 branch is strictly for security fixes. The reason I'm confident saying this is that I once tried to have what I thought was an important bugfix merged onto RELENG_4_4 and my request was rejected, not on the grounds that the bugfix wasn't important, but rather on the grounds that it did not address a security concern. At the time, I was very annoyed, but I've come to see the wisdom in the RELENG_x_x branches. They allow system architects to address security concerns without accepting any new features or bugfixes, which have the theoretical potential to introduce new problems of their own. If I've designed, tested and deployed a system that works, it's possible that I'd rather lose out on bugfixes because I think it's unlikely that I'll need any of them, and I'd rather just pick up security fixes. For folks in that situation, the RELENG_x_x branches are ideal, and the security team should be commended for maintaining them. Ciao, Sheldon. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-security" in the body of the message