Re: [RFC] Removing sys-kernel/vanilla-kernel

Sam James <[email protected]> Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:04:06 +0100
Newsgroups	gmane.linux.gentoo.devel
Organization	Gentoo
Message-ID	<[email protected]>
"Yuan Liao (Leo)" <[email protected]> writes:

> On Tue, Jun 2, 2026 at 3:36 AM Michał Górny <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>> TL;DR: I'm wondering if anyone is actually using sys-kernel/vanilla-
>> kernel, and what are their reasons for not using sys-kernel/gentoo-
>> kernel instead.
>>
>>
>> Back when I've started the Distribution Kernel project, I mirrored
>> the gentoo-sources/vanilla-sources split and created both sys-
>> kernel/gentoo-kernel and sys-kernel/vanilla-kernel packages.  Part of
>> the reason for that was that gentoo-kernel was patched to the latest
>> upstream release using genpatches rather than upstream patches.
>>
>> Today, I don't think there's a really good reason to keep vanilla-
>> kernels.  sys-kernel/gentoo-kernel is using the upstream point-release
>> patch.  The recent series of CVEs meant that the vanilla-kernels kept
>> being vulnerable.  Furthermore, until the latest batch, they didn't even
>> build with gcc-16.  Overall, maintaining an additional package that's
>> not tested at all feels like a hassle and an unnecessary slowdown to the
>> bumps.  So unless someone has a very good reason to keep vanilla
>> kernels, I'd like to remove them entirely.
>>
>> So, is anyone around here using them, or knows anyone who does?  If so,
>> what are their reasons?
>
> I use vanilla-kernel on my setups.  Recently, I have thought about
> switching to gentoo-kernel due to the unpatched CVEs in
> vanilla-kernel.  The thing that has let me give up the switch is that
> sys-kernel/gentoo-kernel-bin has a blocker on
> sys-kernel/gentoo-kernel.  I would like to be able to install
> gentoo-kernel-bin _alongside_ my daily-driver kernel, and
> sys-kernel/vanilla-kernel allows me to do that.  I tweak my kernels,
> and if anything goes wrong, I can fall back to gentoo-kernel-bin as a
> backup.

The blocker is with the default config. If you use savedconfig and
customise the name, it's fine.

>
> I am definitely aware that unpatched vanilla-kernel has been
> vulnerable in the recent wave of CVEs.  I collect patches fixing them
> myself and apply them to sys-kernel/vanilla-kernel as Portage user
> patches, so my systems can still be secure.

Is there a particular reason? In Gentoo, we've never done extensive
patching of the kernel, which we see as a feature. It's only a small set
of config options, sometimes a few backports, and maybe one or two other
small things.

If you really want to duplicate that work, feel free, but why do you
then need a package for it?

>
> Are there users who daily-drive a non-bin distribution kernel but
> would like to occasionally install gentoo-kernel-bin for e.g.
> troubleshooting, just like me?  If so, would it be possible to allow
> gentoo-kernel-bin and gentoo-kernel to be installed at the same time,
> e.g. by using different LOCALVERSION, like '-gentoo-dist' and
> '-gentoo-dist-bin'?

See above.

>
> Thanks,
> Leo3418
signature.asc (application/pgp-signature, 418 B)