10 Years of Linux Security - A Report Card
summary
Analysis of ten years of kernel security shows concrete outcomes not platitudes: the Kernel Self-Protection Project mailing list peaks in 2017 and halves by 2019, KSLR (kernel pointer slide) repeatedly proves security theater with many bypasses, extended LTS 4.4 contains 1,250+ missing security fixes over 4 years, and tools like syzkaller and Autocell are driving discovery while automatic exploit generation (AEG) starts producing dozens of unique exploits per bug; recommendations focus on realistic threat models, backporting, better benchmarks and funded stable-process maintenance.
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chapters (13)
- 0:00Introduction
- 2:45Security timeline
- 5:51Kernel hardening
- 12:28Kernel self protection
- 17:48Upstream security
- 19:49Long-term support kernels
- 24:39Stable patch process
- 27:15Vulnerability patching
- 30:16Syzkaller impact
- 32:37Exploitation trends
- 36:18Interpreter security
- 37:05Security market trends
- 39:58Recommendations and closing
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