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Data Corrupting ext3 Bug In Latest Linux 2.4.20

Posted by Hemos on from the bad-news dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Andrew Morton alerted readers of the Linux Kernel mailing list today that ext3 in the 2.4.20 kernel has a new bug that can easily cause file data corruption at unmount time. The bug will only affect people using ext3 in "data=journal" mode, which fortunately is not the default... Full details can be read on KernelTrap."

3 of 50 comments (clear)

  1. another victory for open source by tps12 · · Score: 2, Flamebait

    Forgive me for gloating, but I'm once again elated at how quickly this bug was squashed. Literally hours after the kernel was released, we have a fix available. Meanwhile, Windorks are still getting hammered by the Klez and ILOVEYOU virii. It's a miracle Linux and less popular open source programs like *BSD haven't wiped out the competition entirely.

    Of course, I'm sure some of the more bleeding-edge types were bitten by this buglet, but I guess that comes with the territory; backup backup backup! I hope no Slashdotters lost any of their porn collections.

    --

    Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
    1. Re:another victory for open source by shaitand · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      The difference between this and every 2cent obscure vulnerability in IE and IIS is that in IE or IIS they would have been discovered 6 months or more after release, in turn microsoft would deny they exist for another 3 months, then another month would go by before microsoft would release a fix. In the meantime developers as talented or moreso than those at microsoft who are unfortunate enough to work in a windows enironment would be forced to sit and wait because they can't look at the code and fix it themselves.

    2. Re:another victory for open source by Tumbleweed · · Score: 2, Flamebait

      You'd seem smarter if you didn't use the non-word 'virii'. The correct plural form is 'viruses'.

      And this is hardly a 'victory' for open source. Fixing a bug (or not, as the case apparently is) is never a victory. If they'd been able to put out a version of the kernel without a serious bug, now *that* could be considered a victory.