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"Month of Kernel Bugs" Project Head Interviewed

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the getting-to-know dept.

An anonymous reader writes "November has been labelled the 'Month of Kernel Bugs' in security circles. The Month of Kernel Bugs began on November 1, with the publication of a vulnerability in Apple's AirPort drivers. SecuriTeam blogs did an interview with LMH, who hosts the project."

4 of 42 comments (clear)

  1. A question I wish was answered by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Who is LMH?

  2. /sigh stupid FUD by falcon5768 · · Score: 1, Insightful
    with the publication of a vulnerability in Apple's AirPort drivers.
    It's a vulnerability in EVERYONES WiFi drivers. Why does it continue to get reported as if only Apple products will be effected when its anyone who uses those drivers, of which there are a lot more than JUST Apple products.

    Worse why does it get reported like its the only vulnerability? We have known the 802.11 standard was very insecure for years at this point.

    --

    "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

  3. Apple vs Broadcom by Kadin2048 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm not sure this is true. I don't think vulnerability was in all wireless drivers; that would just be too weird. There are hundreds of different WL chipsets and driver stacks; not all of them are written that crappily. A good many may be, but not all.

    There was apparently a problem in Apple's drivers, as well as in a lot of other closed-source drivers. In fact, when those two guys did the "Hack a MacBook's Wireless in 30 Seconds" demo (of which I am a bit ashamed to admit I submitted the /. article for), they weren't even using Apple's wireless card or drivers, they were using a third-party one, and then just implicated Apple later.

    If you read a few posts up in the thread you'll see that they have now found a pretty big hole in Broadcom's (assumedly Windows) drivers for wireless cards, where transmitting a specifically crafted SSID can result in kernel-mode code execution.

    I think Apple got hit because it was a big target; since Microsoft doesn't specifically (to my knowledge) make WL drivers, and Apple being bigger than any single third-party WL-card vendor, when people found a vulnerability affecting many drivers and chipsets, they went for the one that would get them the most press coverage. While I can't condone this (since I think it involves fear-mongering and pandering to the knee-jerk Apple-haters), it's not hard to understand.

    --
    "Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
  4. Re:Apple flaw? No. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
    Why is that Apple supporters are in such denial about their favorite products having security flaws?

    umm maybe because it is not just an 'APPLE' flaw. It is the attempt to hide this that is the problem. Look at it this way.

    THE BATTERIES IN APPLE COMPUTERS ARE ALL GOING TO BURN (and all other computers using batteries from the same plant in china will do the same thing.)

    Yes, apple products have their 'issues' - but FUD is FUD. Good you found a bug. Next time do your homework and figure out where the bug is really from.

    Go ahead and mod this as flamebait - it is - but it is also the truth.