Unixster

Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (known by the acronym ALSA) is a Linux kernel component intended to replace the original Open Sound System (OSS) for providing device drivers for sound cards. If you are experiencing sound issues on Ubuntu Jaunty 9.04 or just want the latest version, you may want to upgrade to ALSA 1.0.20 (Ubuntu Jaunty comes with Alsa version 1.0.18rc3 – you can check this by typing this in a terminal: cat /proc/asound/version). Read on!

A Linux kernel bug in network socket initialization could allow an attacker to acquire root privileges to inflict damages. The security hole applies to all kernels of the 2.4 and 2.5 series and has been around possibly since 2001.

Although some X.org drivers have been updated for X server 1.7, development work is running behind schedule. New drivers from AMD, Intel and Nvidia and new Linux versions mean a number of corrections and enhancements in the graphics system. 3D support for newer Radeon GPUs is now adequate for Compiz. DRBD should make it into the main Linux kernel development tree in 2.6.32.

The biggest botnet to date is being virtualized using a network of one million Linux kernels. The virtual machines form an experiment in studying the origins of the malware.

If you’re feeling a little dizzy, maybe it’s because you marched in circles too long on Pi Approximation Day. Or perhaps your head is spinning over the news that Microsoft donated about 20,000 lines of driver code to the Linux kernel. Or it could be that DRM has you shaking your head back and forth in violent frustration. Just don’t go pounding it against the nearest wall.

Linus has spoken. ‘Nuff said–OK, maybe not.

A security researcher has released zero-day code for a flaw in the Linux kernel, saying that it bypasses security protections in the operating system. The source code for the exploit was made available last week by researcher Brad Spengler on the Dailydave mailing list. According to the researcher, the code exploits a vulnerability in Linux version 2.6.30, and 2.6.18, and affects both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The 2.6.18 kernel is used in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.

This morning VIA’s Bruce Chang had submitted the DRM code for the Chrome 9 IGP with a request that it be pushed into the mainline Linux kernel. The DRM alone isn’t usable to an end-user without a Mesa driver or something else to take advantage of this kernel component. VIA previously expressed interest in a Gallium3D-based Chrome 9 driver, but now today we find out they have no intentions on creating an open-source Chrome 9 3D driver. Instead, they just want this DRM into the mainline Linux kernel so that it can be used by their binary blob and to hopefully have some open-source developers come along and create a free software driver from their incomplete documentation.

Construct an on-demand software build service using ooRexx that uses the Linux® Kernel Virtual Machine (KVM) for better performance. KVM acts as the host for the guest operating systems that build the target software for the user. The Apache Web server controls the builds and stores the results for later retrieval by the user. Learn how to set up the build server and create guests, customize build requests, and organize and access build results.

Brad Spengler, the developer behind the Grsecurity project, has published an exploit for a vulnerability in the Tun interface in Linux kernel 2.6.30 and 2.6.18, used in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (RHEL5), which can be exploited by attackers to obtain root privileges. Of particular interest is the fact that the exploit is even able to circumvent security extensions such as SELinux. According to Spengler’s report, the vulnerability is only found in these two versions of the kernel. The core of the problem is a normally non-exploitable null pointer dereference, which becomes exploitable due to the GCC’s optimisation function.