pnutzh4x0rAug 30, 2023

Linux 6.6 To Better Protect Against The Illicit Behavior Of NVIDIA's Proprietary Driver

https://lemmy.ndlug.org/post/135674

Linux 6.6 To Better Protect Against The Illicit Behavior Of NVIDIA's Proprietary Driver - NDLUG

> Luis Chamberlain sent out the modules changes today for the Linux 6.6 merge window. Most notable with the modules update is a change that better builds up the defenses against NVIDIA’s proprietary kernel driver from using GPL-only symbols. Or in other words, bits that only true open-source drivers should be utilizing and not proprietary kernel drivers like NVIDIA’s default Linux driver in respecting the original kernel code author’s intent. > Back in 2020 when the original defense was added, NVIDIA recommended avoiding the Linux 5.9 for the time being. They ended up having a supported driver several weeks later. It will be interesting to see this time how long Linux 6.6+ thwarts their kernel driver.

Show threadArbitraryValueAug 30, 2023
I get why the Linux folks are doing this, but I don’t expect that it will make them popular with anyone who actually uses Nvidia drivers on Linux (which is a lot of people). I’m sure that my employer will choose up-to-date Nvidia drivers over up-to-date versions of the kernel, at least in the short term. In the long term it probably won’t be an issue since Nvidia will figure something out, but if it did become an issue then ultimately Nvidia drivers support is non-negotiable for the company where I work.
Show threadRikudou_SageAug 31, 2023
I use Nvidia drivers on Linux and fully support it. You know what else is non-negotiable? Linux support for Nvidia. Huge chunk of their money comes from people using their GPUs on Linux for machine learning. And while they can use older kernels for now (because they’re still supported), they won’t be able to forever. And corporates will want a supported OS with their Nvidia card.
Show threadLaser

And while they can use older kernels for now (because they’re still supported), they won’t be able to forever.

It might even happen that the change gets back ported upstream; that would mean that every supported kernel has the changes in place, regardless of version.

Aug 31, 2023 at 9:59amWeb
Show threadRikudou_SageAug 31, 2023
It might, though I don’t really see it happening with this change.