AMD64 NX codes for Linux written by Intel guys

  • Thread starter Thread starter Yousuf Khan
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Yousuf Khan

Red Hat's latest NX patch is written with the assistance of Intel engineers:

http://www.linuxelectrons.com/article.php/20040606105136214

"The patch is based on a prototype NX patch written for 2.4 by Intel -
special thanks go to Suresh Siddha and Jun Nakajima @ Intel. The existing NX
support in the 64-bit x86_64 kernels has been written by Andi Kleen and this
patch is modeled after his code. "

Also it looks like this patch is able to catch kernel code that is being
executed off of the stack:

"Furthermore, the patch also implements 'NX protection' for kernelspace
code: only the kernel code and modules are executable - so even kernel-space
overflows are harder (in some cases, impossible) to exploit. Here is how
kernel code that tries to execute off the stack is stopped ..."

Yousuf Khan
 
Yousuf said:
Red Hat's latest NX patch is written with the assistance of Intel
engineers:

http://www.linuxelectrons.com/article.php/20040606105136214

"The patch is based on a prototype NX patch written for 2.4 by Intel -
special thanks go to Suresh Siddha and Jun Nakajima @ Intel. The existing
NX support in the 64-bit x86_64 kernels has been written by Andi Kleen and
this patch is modeled after his code. "
Click to expand...

Read this paragraph once more.
* The existing NX support in 64-bit x86_64 kernels.
* Andi Kleen, I think he works for SuSE, not Intel.

It is not NX support for AMD64 that Intel has helped with, it is NX like
support for iA32

Anyway that is how I read the original announcement (and thread) at
http://www.ussg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/0406.0/0497.html

/RogerL
 
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