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Highlights from the # changes(¹) merged for # # 5.12:

* Support for bitwise atomics(²)

* Support for directly accessing kernel module variables via module BTF info(³)

* Allow bpf to attach to bare tracepoints(⁴)

* allow variable-offset stack access(⁵)

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#eBPF #Linux #kernel

[bookmark=https://twitter.com/maelver/status/1366308283557023744]KFENCE, a low-overhead sampling-based memory safety error detector for the Linux kernel, was merged for Linux 5.12. @Glider

kfence.rst « dev-tools « Documentation - kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - Linux kernel source tree

kfence.rst « dev-tools « Documentation - kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - Linux kernel source tree
git.kernel.org
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# # 5.12-rc1 is out:

"[…] without electricity for 6 days[…] considering just extending the merge window[…] didn't do that[…] To a large part because[…] everything was nicely lined up[…] partly this is also because 5.12 is a smaller[…]"

lore.kernel.org/lkml/CAHk-=wjU…

Linux 5.12-rc1 - Linus Torvalds

lore.kernel.org
#Linux #kernel

[bookmark=https://twitter.com/Friz_N/status/1366048944703340546]Wrote about a futex+vfs kernel UAF reported by @tehjh one year ago, in particular how huge the patch gap ended up being on "enterprise" distros:

FrizN - Kernel Linux - The curious case of CVE-2020-14381

Blog de FrizN : writeups de ctf, pwnables, reverse engineering, exploits, exploitation native
blog.frizn.fr
[/bookmark]

The merge window for # # 5.12 is not yet closed, but normally will end in a few hours from now.

Seems it'll be one of the smaller ones in recently history.

But I'd say that wasn't due to the power outage that Linus had to deal with; I'd say that's due to…

#Linux #kernel

Highlights from the big # merge(¹) for # # 5.12:

* threaded NAPI polling patches, which can improve the performance(²)

* netfilter allows "ownership" of specific tables(³)

* various improvements for multipath TCP (MPTCP), like priorities for subflows(⁴)

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#network #Linux #kernel

In # # 5.12, the integrity measurement architecture (IMA) thx to a Microsoft employee will be able to measure various bits of data within the kernel (like the SELinux policy) to ensure they have not been tampered with:

git.kernel.org/torvalds/c/d64…

lore.kernel.org/lkml/202101080…

kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - Linux kernel source tree

git.kernel.org
#Linux #kernel

Another new # feature got merged just hours after I sent below tweet:

"[…] This converts the io-wq workers to be forked off the tasks in question instead of being kernel threads that assume […] kills > 400 loc […]"

git.kernel.org/torvalds/c/569…

twitter.com/axboe/status/1…
[bookmark=https://twitter.com/kernellogger/status/1365607165545840644]Highlights from big # merge for # # 5.12:

* LOOKUP_CACHED, allowing VFS pathname lookups without blocking(¹)

* integration with memcg/memory control groups(²)

* "[…] 10-20% of speedups on workloads that mostly are inline […]"

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#io_uring #Linux #Kernel #io uring

Highlights from big # merge for # # 5.12:

* LOOKUP_CACHED, allowing VFS pathname lookups without blocking(¹)

* integration with memcg/memory control groups(²)

* "[…] 10-20% of speedups on workloads that mostly are inline […]"

1/

#io_uring #Linux #Kernel #io uring

Highlights from the big # merge for # 5.12:

* Scalability improvements for the new MMU [added in # 5.10(¹)]

* Support for userspace to emulate Xen hypercalls [allow hosting Xen HVM
guests in KVM(²)]

Changed were submitted by @fagiolinux:
git.kernel.org/torvalds/c/3e1…

kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - Linux kernel source tree

git.kernel.org
#KVM #Linux #Kernel @Paolo Bonzini

Support # v5 debug info and the patches to clamp SUBLEVEL to 255 because stable releases 4.4.x and 4.9.x exceeded the limit were merged for # # 5.12 (together with other # changes):

git.kernel.org/torvalds/c/6fb…

kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - Linux kernel source tree

git.kernel.org
#DWARF #Linux #kernel #kbuild

[bookmark=https://twitter.com/0x00626f52/status/1365121045967958016]Upstream kernel support getting sorted for arm things before they even ship.. this is how it should have been years ago!

[PATCH 00/13] arm64: dts: qcom: Update sc7180-trogdor variants from downstream

[PATCH 00/13] arm64: dts: qcom: Update sc7180-trogdor variants from downstream
lore.kernel.org
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The # article on
development statistics for # # 5.11 is now available for free, too:
lwn.net/Articles/84583…

"[…]# […] home to an increasing number of core-kernel developers […] contributes far more patches to the kernel directory than any other […]"

Development statistics for the 5.11 kernel

The 5.11 kernel was released on February 14 — the most romantic sort of Valentine's day gift one could hope for.
lwn.net
#LWNnet #Linux #kernel #Facebook

[bookmark=https://twitter.com/andreyknvl/status/1365037303421353989]@dvyukov @linuxfoundation Video: https://t.co/7S1fRfa1DL
Slides:

https://linuxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Dynamic-program-analysis_-LF-Mentorship.pdf

linuxfoundation.org
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Highlights from the big graphic driver (aka #) merge merge for # # 5.12:

#: Sienna Cichild overdrive support, GPU reset on navy flounder/vangogh

#: BCM2711 (the one used on the # Model B): DSI1 support, enable 10/12 bpc outputs

(1/2)

#DRM #Linux #Kernel #amdgpu #vc4 #RaspberryPi4 #DRM)

The kcmp syscall in the # # 5.12 is now available independently of checkpoint/restore (aka @__criu__). The LWNnet text about this is now available for non-subscribers: lwn.net/Articles/84544…

git.kernel.org/torvalds/c/4b5…

git.kernel.org/torvalds/c/bfe… (tagged for stable backp.)

kcmp() breaks loose

Given the large set of system calls implemented by the Linux kernel, it would not be surprising for most people to be unfamiliar with a few of them.
lwn.net
#Linux #kernel @CRIU

[bookmark=https://twitter.com/linuxfoundation/status/1364609779000311810]NEWS: @Google funds Linux kernel developers to focus exclusively on security: https://t.co/2KE3hDAYaM # #kernel # # # @nathanchance[/bookmark]
#linux #security #supplychain #oss #linuxkernel @Google @Nathan Chancellor

Sundowner60
Sundowner60 5 days ago
Security is wonderful. Given Google's reputation, what effect will their contribution have on PRIVACY?

Robin
Robin 5 days ago
They want to make Linux proprietary, I think.

With the "platform profile support" that was merged for # # 5.12 it becomes possible to tell certain systems if the user prefers things like "max performance", "max battery life", or "run quietly".

For details see this documentation change:
git.kernel.org/torvalds/c/8e0…

kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - Linux kernel source tree

git.kernel.org
#Linux #kernel

Jure Repinc reshared this.

[bookmark=https://twitter.com/qeole/status/1364535272613027841]Although the main focus is on eBPF news, the latest issue of the eBPF Updates (# has a “Did you know?” section about the size limit for eBPF programs. I hope you'll enjoy it! 🐝

eBPF - eBPF Updates #4: In-Memory Loads Detection, Debugging QUIC, Local CI Runs, MTU Checks, but No Pancakes

In several parts of the globe, February is traditionally about love, and pancakes. eBPF sure received a lot of love over the last wee...
ebpf.io
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# #4)

The idmapped mounts to expose files or directories with a different ownership to a container was now merged for # # 5.12:
git.kernel.org/torvalds/c/7d6…

For details see also this # article:
lwn.net/Articles/83756

Congrats and thx for your work on this, @brau_ner!
[bookmark=https://twitter.com/kernellogger/status/1354689489512390657]The # # might finally get a proper solution to expose files or directories with different ownership to a container: The idmapped mounts patches(¹) from @brau_ner are now in linux-next and he plans to submit them for inclusion in 5.12.

(¹) lore.kernel.org/linux-fsdevel/…

[PATCH v6 00/40] idmapped mounts - Christian Brauner

[PATCH v6 00/40] idmapped mounts - Christian Brauner
lore.kernel.org
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# #Linux #kernel #lwnnet @Christian Brauner

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