branch next

Hi all;


Andrew, thx for looking into branch next and fixing remaining failing
packages.

I'm currently in the process to build kernels - the latest kernel
update breaks our configs.

I hesitate to upgrade the 4.9 kernel beyond 4.9.72 because that one
breaks igmpproxy, essential at least for me :)
And I'm afraid kernel 4.14.13 will have the same problem, but we'll
see.

There has been a lot work for the kernel the past days - as you know
there are security flaws.

AFAIK the raspberry pi images aren't affected.
For i486/geode/i686/wrap I think the CPU architectures won't be
affected as well.

The x86_64 toolchain provides fixes for meltdown and soon some
protection for spectre.

For the latest it seems to be necessary to use an updated gcc (8.x or
eventually 7.3) so Andrews work will gain value.

That said, I'm not shure if the security issues meltdown and spectre
are really that important for our project. AFAIK one needs ways to
access the router and run the commands to compromise the router
locally.
A way to run malware is by javascripts from the browser - we do not
support that, or to run malware from a local account. Given that an
attacker is capable to attack CPU bugs from a local account, the router
is already compromised.
A third way are images run in the cloud, so it's not a good idea to run
LEAF in a cloud, but I believe this is a very academic discussion....

Anyway we should try to include the necessary fixes sooner or later,
better be safe than sorry - but not at the cost of breaking working
setups.

Opinions? Thoughts?


kp

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out the vibrant tech community on one of the world's most
engaging tech sites, Slashdot.org! http://sdm.link/slashdot