Messages in this thread | | | From | Andy Lutomirski <> | Date | Mon, 20 Oct 2014 13:14:54 -0700 | Subject | Re: [PATCH v5] init: Disable defaults if init= fails |
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On Tue, Oct 14, 2014 at 2:00 PM, Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org> wrote: > On Wed, 1 Oct 2014 11:13:14 -0700 Andy Lutomirski <luto@amacapital.net> wrote: > >> On Wed, Oct 1, 2014 at 11:05 AM, <josh@joshtriplett.org> wrote: >> > On Tue, Sep 30, 2014 at 09:53:56PM -0700, Andy Lutomirski wrote: >> >> I significantly prefer default N. Scripts that play with init= really >> >> don't want the fallback, and I can imagine contexts in which it could >> >> be a security problem. >> > >> > While I certainly would prefer the non-fallback behavior for init as >> > well, standard kernel practice has typically been to use "default y" for >> > previously built-in features that become configurable. And I'd >> > certainly prefer a compile-time configuration option like this (even >> > with default y) over a "strictinit" kernel command-line option. >> > >> >> Fair enough. >> >> So: "default y" for a release or two, then switch the default? Having >> default y will annoy virtme, though it's not the end of the world. >> Virtme is intended to work with more-or-less-normal kernels. >> > > Adding another Kconfig option is tiresome. What was wrong with strictinit=?
Now that this thread has gotten absurdly wrong, any thoughts?
My preference order is:
1. The patch as is. 2. The patch, minus the config option (i.e. making it unconditional). 3. Something else.
I would very much prefer to get *something* merged. The current behavior is problematic for scripted kernel boots that don't use initramfs.
I can be flexible on the something else. One option would be to allow a whole list of commands in init=, but that has compatibility issues. Another would be adding an option like init_fallback=/bin/sh. A third is the original strictinit mechanism. I don't really like any of them, because they're all more complex.
IOW, the no-fallback behavior is easy to implement, easy to understand, and has extremely predictable behavior. The fallback behavior is more user friendly if you consider having a chance of booting to something useful if you typo your init= option (but also a chance of booting to something actively undesirable).
--Andy
-- Andy Lutomirski AMA Capital Management, LLC
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