All about Security, News and Incidents for Linux OS

If the thread title could be improved, then please add in suggestions. Thanks @jclausius +++




Linux Developers Push Urgent Patches To Fix 'Yet Another Hardware Trainwreck' hothardware.com | Monday, October 11, 2021

Accurate timers are critical to the function of the low-level parts of the underlying code that drives the user-facing software we actually use in our daily lives. Fortunately, x86-64 PCs include numerous timers. Actually selecting which of those timers to use in a given scenario, however, can be a headache due to bugs, design flaws or implementation issues.

In essence, when modern Intel chips hit the PC10 idle state, the HPET stops working, even if the operating system is currently using it. This, obviously, results in all kinds of problems, so the solution is to fall back to older and less precise timers, like PMTIMER.

 

Yes. Timers are extremely important. And the hardware will let you know if you can support a Real Time Operating System (RTOS). I know with Win32's API they do expose different timers based on what you're wanting the timer to do and how accurate it needs to be (think video editing vs. a by-the second alarm clock - each will have different accuracy).

I'll have to dig into the article to see where programmers are becoming confused, but it wouldn't be surprising that people become confused by which hardware clock is used for what. I wonder if AMD chips have the same issues with timers??

 

AMD SME causing boot failures and black screen issues on Ryzen Linux systems neowin.net · 4 hours ago

AMD's Secure Memory Encryption (SME) feature will remain disabled by default in future Ryzen-based Linux PCs. That's because the feature has been found to be very problematic on some of those systems...

For those wondering what SME or Secure Memory Encryption is, the feature allows encryption of system DRAM so as to protect sensitive data inside it from hacking efforts or attacks.

 

Was configuring Thinkpad t and p series with ryzen pro and was shocked to see P series being charged extra 500$ with same Ryzen pro 5850U 4k screen etc.. and worse part is SE/SEV and other virtualization techs are absent from P series workstation class laptops and only present on T series.

 

Vulnerability in the Linux kernel borncity.de November 12, 2021


In the kernel of all major Linux distributions, there is a vulnerability that researchers Sentinel Labs few days ago have been made public. A TIPC module in all common Linux distributions can be exploited by heap overflow attacks, which can lead to a system takeover. Attackers can thereby compromise the entire system. A patch is available for most distributions.

Further technical details on the vulnerability and information on how to fix the problem can be found in the SentinelLabs report .

 

Windows 11 Outperforms Linux With Alder Lake CPUs, Scheduler to Blame tomshardware.com | Today

A scheduling problem
A report from Phoronix has revealed that Intel's Alder Lake CPUs perform much better in a Windows 11 environment than with Linux-based operating systems. The problem is related to issues with Linux's cluster scheduler, which isn't optimized for Alder Lake's hybrid architecture. That means that Alder Lake, which are now the new Best CPUs for gaming, are better suited for Windows 11 than Linux. That's somewhat surprising given that Linux typically outperforms all flavors of Windows.

According to Phoronix, there's no current workaround to this problem (except for disabling the E cores entirely) for Linux. Hopefully, Linux 5.16 will introduce better compatibility with Alder Lake, but there's no guarantee when or if those changes will arrive.

 

Will there be any ecores in Xeons?

 

Nope. But you'll instead get HBM2e memory stacks. The E-cores in mainstream is forced into the LGA chips because it's made for Jokebooks. Isn't it a great idea make tech in the Cpu meant to increase battery run time for desktops?

Intel Xeon Sapphire Rapids feature up to 64GB HBM2e memory

 

Yes I agree. Using baby-girl smartphone cores in a desktop processor is really stupid even if it works fine. I think it's stupid to do in turdbooks as well, but that's something that I'm indifferent about at this point because it doesn't affect me and probably never will... GIGO.

In spite of putting on a good show for everyone attending the circus, functioning correctly doesn't automatically make something a great idea. Just think how much better a 12900K CPU would perform if it had 12 hyperthreaded cores and none of the wuss-baby smartphone chips. This is a compromise in a space where compromise is neither needed nor welcomed. More watts = moar performance. Less watts = castrated garbage. They need to leave the gate open so it can run wild and free.

 

New Linux malware hides in cron jobs with invalid dates bleepingcomputer.com | November 25, 2021

Security researchers have discovered a new remote access trojan (RAT) for Linux that keeps an almost invisible profile by hiding in tasks scheduled for execution on a non-existent day, February 31st.

Dubbed CronRAT, the malware is currently targeting web stores and enables attackers to steal credit card data by deploying online payment skimmers on Linux servers.

Characterized by both ingenuity and sophistication, as far as malware for online stores is concerned, CronRAT is undetected by many antivirus engines.

 

Patch out for Alder Lake Linux bug that reminds of the Windows 11 Ryzen CPPC issue neowin.com · Nov 27, 2021

Last week, an Alder Lake bug on Linux was found in Intel Turbo Boost Max, related to CPPC. This bug is very similar to a recent Ryzen bug on Windows 11. Patch for the issue has been committed.

 

Linux boot times are about to get a whole lot faster on monster AMD EPYC and Intel Xeon rigs neowin.com · 11 Dec 2021

Linux will soon be getting a performance-related patch that will improve the booting time of a large server or workstation system by a factor of 15 or more, by allowing multi-threaded booting....

 

VALVE PROTON AND STEAM: 75 percent of all top games now also run on Linux computerbase.de

Play on Linux thanks to Steam and Proton
As the website ProtonDB announced as part of the latest surveys of its in-house database, 75 percent of the 1,000 most popular games on Steam now also run on Linux. 22 percent of all games even run natively, while only 44 out of 1,000 games (0.44%) refuse to work. ProtonDB uses a six-point rating scale to classify games for their suitability for Linux.

Rating scale for games from ProtonDB

• Platinum: Runs perfectly after installation.
• Gold: Runs perfectly after installation with minor adjustments.
• Silver: Runs with minor restrictions, but is generally playable.
• Bronze: Works, but has issues preventing comfortable play.
• Broken: Cannot be started or is not playable.

The current evaluation of the platform comes to the following results for the 100 and 1,000 most popular games on Steam, after 80 percent of the top 100 are good (gold), very good (platinum) or native and 75 percent of the top 1000 are good, very good or native Running Linux.

 

Linux 5.16 Provides Performance Boost for AMD Ryzen APUs tomshardware.com

A surprising gift just in time for Christmas

Linux 5.16 just dropped a few days ago, and with it arrives some performance gains for laptops equipped with AMD's Ryzen CPUs with Radeon integrated graphics, according to Phoronix. In most of the benchmarks Phoronix tested, Linux 5.16 provides anywhere between 5%-14% more performance compared to previous Linux kernels, including 5.15 and 5.11

Edit:
New Linux Build Allows BIOS Updates Without a Reboot tomshardware.com

Phoronix spotted a new Intel open-source project for Linux version 5.17 that allows the operating system to update system firmware, like a motherboard's UEFI or BIOS, without requiring a system restart. This new "PFRUT," or the Platform Firmware Runtime and Telemetry drivers, feature comes as a part of the widely-used ACPI spec, meaning we could see the same approach come to Windows and desktop PCs in the future.

 

Intel Alder Lake's Thread Director Support Coming to Linux tomshardware.com | Today

Performance uplift on the horizon

Intel has published a new patch series for its Linux drivers that promise to improve the performance of its hybrid Alder Lake processors by optimizing usage of (P)erformance and (E)fficiency cores.

 

@ Papusan

Ooh! Intel + ADL + *nix = faster than Windows!!!!

W/o the patch it still is a beast when it comes to performance. I rebuilt my server shortly after launch and it's quite a bit snappier than the 8700K version I was running before. The only slowness is how long it takes to reboot since ASRock BIOS is a bit sluggish as they iron out the kinks with a new platform. Int he 8700K w/ ASRock I was able to do a full reboot in ~15 seconds or so. The newer chipset / UEFI is a bit slower in comparison for the checks it's performing during reboots. I expect their updates to come shortly as they've been able to gather some data likely from builds in the wild.

ADL doesn't run nearly as hot as it was made out to be from the releases / leaks posted prior to actual release. I idle at under 80F and max while transcoding video files ~130F and that's with an air cooler clamped down on top of a graphite pad. I suppose if you have a mediocre cooler / stock cooler it might be a bit more toasty under certain circumstances but, I haven't see any temp issues yet. It's actually running about 10 degrees cooler than the 8700K was.

The NVME drives on the other hand bumping from Gen 3 to Gen 4 boosted temps 5-10 degrees C just due to the higher power demand even with the metal heat shield on them. That's the price you pay for speed. I clocked the WR speed at 5.1GB/s where the Gen 3 would be about 1/2 that. Gen 5 should be interesting when they hit the street. I dd find the ASRock Velocita has a hidden gem in the specs that no one seems to have noticed....

- 1 x Blazing M.2 Socket (M2_4, Key M), supports type 2260/2280 PCIe Gen5x4 (128 Gb/s) mode*
https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z690 PG Velocita/index.asp#Specification

Every outlet seems to not know about it having a built in Gen 5 M2 slot vs everyone else making adapters to slot into the valuable PCI slots for those sorts of speeds.

 

FAREWELL OLD FRIEND
Here's why Linux is now my primary OS going into 2022 windowscentral.com | Dec 31, 2021

I'm no longer using Windows as the OS on my primary PC. In fact, it's no longer installed on a secondary drive. Here's why you may want to consider making the switch.... Windows 11 became a living nightmare.

Windows XP was the glory days of Microsoft's OS. I wouldn't be able to guess the number of hours spent in IRC apps and games like Unreal Tournament 99/2004 with friends. Then came Windows Vista and it was a hot mess with hardware being nowhere near ready to run such a package. Windows 7 changed the game and was unfortunately followed by Windows 8.

Windows 10 wasn't terrible and remained my go-to OS for gaming. Then Windows 11 as the final nail in the coffin. How could it goes so wrong? Nadella?

 

Re Linux vs Windows / MacOS I will just leave this here

 

Linux 5.17 to release improvements & optimizations to Intel, AMD, & even Apple M1, offers AMD P-State capability wccftech.com | Jan 9, 2022

Source: Phoronix

 

https://theprivacyguide1.github.io/linux_hardening_guide unsure where to put this tweaks or this security thread.

 

The back door Sysjoker affects Windows, Mac OS and Linux
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ts-and-incidents.816109/page-48#post-11137771

Why Linux Saw A Massive Rise In Malware Attacks Last Year
Linux used to be considered fairly safe from malware. Few, if any, threat actors targeted the Unix-based operating system. That’s changing rapidly, though, as reports indicate malware for Linux increased by 35 percent in 2021, compared to the previous year. Linux is commonly used for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. With more people adopting Read more...