Messages in this thread |  | | Date | Wed, 26 Sep 2001 17:22:52 -0700 | From | Crispin Cowan <> | Subject | Re: Binary only module overview |
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Alan Cox wrote:
>>I'm really trying to be constructive here. There is a real licensing >>problem over whether binary modules are legitimate at all, and the issue >>is not special to LSM. I'm trying to get LSM out of the way so that the >>advocates of either side can fight it out without smushing LSM in the >>middle :-) >> >Yes - I agree. The question is "can you be using the LSM module" not >the headers - since LSM is GPL and your work relies on it > I'm confused as to which question Alan is asking, so I'll answer several :-)
* "What is the licensing on the LSM module?" Crispin's pedantic response: there is no "the" LSM module. LSM is a patch to enrich the existing Linux loadable kernel module interface to allow access control modules. These modules do exist: * There is a dummy module (useful as a template) which just does the superuser check ("UID==0" and access is granted) and it is GPL'd. * There is a module that embodies the guts of POSIX capabilities, and it is GPL'd. * There is a port of SELinux to LSM (produced by the SELinux team) and it is GPL'd. * "Can you use the LSM interface with a non-GPL module, if you eschew GPL'd .h files?" Crispin's opinion: I dunnow, but the answer is the same as the answer for current Linux loadble kernel modules. If loading a module is "linking", then all modules & device drivers must be GPL'd. * "Can a non-GPL LSM module #include a GPL'd .h?" Crispin's opinion: I dunnow, but the answer is the same as the answer for many current Linux applications. I know, this is the question Alan did not ask :-)
Crispin is not a lawyer/judge, so his opinion doesn't matter anyway :-)
Crispin
-- Crispin Cowan, Ph.D. Chief Scientist, WireX Communications, Inc. http://wirex.com Security Hardened Linux Distribution: http://immunix.org Available for purchase: http://wirex.com/Products/Immunix/purchase.html
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