Linux-libre explained

Linux-libre
Linux-libre
Logo Caption:Freedo the penguin, mascot of the Linux-libre kernel
Developer:Free Software Foundation Latin America
Released:[1]
Programming Language:C and Assembly
Language:English
Platform:x86-64, i386, IA-32, ARM (Parabola), MIPS (Debian), m68k,[2] RISC-V,[3] IBM POWER8 and above[4]
License:GPL-2.0-only[5]
Author:Linus Torvalds et al.
Genre:Kernel

According to the Free Software Foundation Latin America, Linux-libre is a modified version of the Linux kernel that contains no binary blobs, obfuscated code, or code released under proprietary licenses.[6] In the Linux kernel, those types of code are mostly used for proprietary firmware images. While generally redistributable, they do not give the user the freedom to audit, modify, or, consequently, redistribute their modified versions. The GNU Project keeps Linux-libre in synchronization with the mainline Linux kernel.[7]

History

The Linux kernel started to include binary blobs in 1996.[8] The work to clear out the binary blobs began in 2006 with gNewSense's find-firmware and gen-kernel. This work was taken further by the BLAG Linux distribution in 2007 when deblob and Linux-libre was born.[9] [10]

Linux-libre was first released by the Free Software Foundation Latin America (FSFLA), then endorsed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF)[11] as a valuable component for the totally free Linux distributions. It became a GNU package in March 2012.[12] Alexandre Oliva is the project maintainer.

Proprietary firmware removal

Methods

The removal process is achieved by using a script called deblob-main.[13] This script is inspired by the one used for gNewSense. Jeff Moe made subsequent modifications to meet certain requirements for its use with the BLAG Linux and GNU distribution. There is another script called deblob-check,[14] which is used to check if a kernel source file, a patch or a compressed sources file still contains software which is suspected of being proprietary.

Benefits

Aside from the primary intended effect of running a system with only free software, the practical consequences of removing device firmware that a user is not allowed to study or modify has both positive and negative effects.

Removal of device firmware can be considered an advantage for security and stability.

When the firmware cannot be audited for bugs, security problems, and malicious functions such as backdoors, or when the firmware cannot be fixed by the Linux kernel maintainers themselves, even if they know of problems, it is possible for the entire system to be compromised by a malicious firmware. Without the ability to perform a security audit on manufacturer-provided firmware, even an innocent bug could undermine the safety of the running system.[15]

Hardware support

Removing proprietary firmware from the kernel will cause loss of functionality of certain hardware that does not have a free software replacement available.[7] This affects certain sound, video, TV tuner, and network cards, especially in the case of recent Intel Wi-Fi cards and recent Nvidia graphics cards, as well as some other devices. When possible, free software replacement firmware is provided as a substitute,[7] [16] such as the openfwwf[17] for b43, carl9170[18] and ath9k_htc[19] wireless card drivers. Reviewer Ramces Red summarized the issue with Linux-Libre, writing, "it does not always have the best hardware support."[7]

Microcode

Linux-libre does not suggest the user install CPU microcode update bundles, since the code is proprietary.[20] Microcode update bundles have been used in the mainline Linux kernel version, among other things, to mitigate hardware vulnerabilities.[21]

Availability

The source code and precompiled packages of the deblobbed Linux kernel are available directly from the distributions which use the Linux-libre scripts. Freed-ora is a subproject which prepares and maintains RPM packages based on Fedora.[22] There are also precompiled packages for Debian[23] and derived distributions such as Ubuntu.[24]

Distributions

Distributions in which Linux-libre is the default kernel

Considered small distributions

Historical

Distributions that compile a free Linux kernel

These distros do not use the packaged Linux-libre but instead completely remove binary blobs from the mainline Linux kernel. The source is then compiled and the resulting free Linux kernel is used by default in these systems:

Historical

Linux-libre as an alternative kernel

Distributions in which Linux is the default kernel used and which propose Linux-libre as an alternative kernel:

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: [blag-devel] linux-libre]. blag-announce. February 20, 2008. 2020-05-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20231104194527/https://lists.autistici.org/message/20080221.002845.467ba592.en.html. November 4, 2023.
  2. Web site: Index of /pub/linux-libre/freesh/dists/freesh/main/binary-m68k. linux-libre.fsfla.org. October 5, 2020.
  3. Web site: Index of /pub/linux-libre/freesh/dists/freesh/main/binary-riscv64. linux-libre.fsfla.org. February 7, 2019.
  4. Web site: Index of /pub/linux-libre/freesh/dists/freesh/main/binary-ppc64el. linux-libre.fsfla.org. February 7, 2019.
  5. Web site: Linux-libre - Free Software Directory.
  6. Web site: Linux-libre - Free Software Directory . 2022-09-23 . directory.fsf.org . November 4, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231104204626/https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Linux-libre.
  7. Web site: 5 Best Linux-Libre Distributions for Better Security. 30 April 2022. Red. Ramces. Make Tech Easier. 22 March 2022. https://archive.today/20220430133346/https://www.maketecheasier.com/best-linux-libre-distributions/. April 30, 2022. live.
  8. Web site: Take your freedom back, with Linux-2.6.33-libre . 2022-09-23 . www.fsfla.org . November 4, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231104204033/https://www.fsfla.org/svnwiki/anuncio/2010-03-Linux-2.6.33-libre.en.html.
  9. Web site: Olivia . Alexandre . GNU Linux-libre and the prisoner's dilemma . September 23, 2022 . Free Software Foundation Latin America . November 4, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231104204410/https://www.fsfla.org/~lxoliva/fsfla/Linux-libre.en.pdf.
  10. jebba: BLAG :: View topic - Linux Libre BLAG forums, 2008.
  11. Web site: Linux (BLOB free version). December 6, 2011. Free Software Foundation. Free Software Foundation. Free Software Directory. [...] in the interest of freedom, we are providing a link to a version of the kernel in which this proprietary code has been removed so that it is entirely free software . November 4, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231104204626/https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Linux-libre.
  12. Oliva . Alexandre . Alexandre Oliva . GNU Linux-libre 3.3-gnu is now available . info-gnu . March 19, 2012 . August 7, 2012 . November 4, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231104205133/https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/info-gnu/2012-03/msg00013.html.
  13. Web site: How it is done. December 6, 2011. Free Software Foundation Latin America. Linux-libre, Free as in Freedo. November 4, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231104211926/https://www.fsfla.org/svnwiki/selibre/linux-libre/index.en.html#how.
  14. Web site: fsfla - Revision 8200: /software/linux-libre/scripts. December 6, 2011. Free Software Foundation Latin America. November 4, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231104212221/https://www.fsfla.org/svn/fsfla/software/linux-libre/scripts/.
  15. hack.lu. Reversing the Broacom NetExtreme's Firmware. November 21, 2010. April 18, 2012. Guillaume. Delugré. Sogeti. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120425194643/http://esec-lab.sogeti.com/dotclear/public/publications/10-hack.lu-nicreverse_slides.pdf. April 25, 2012. mdy-all.
  16. Web site: LinuxLibre:Devices that require non-free firmware . LibrePlanet . February 5, 2011 . April 17, 2012.
  17. Web site: OpenFWWF - Open FirmWare for WiFi networks. unibs.it. June 14, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924034934/http://www.ing.unibs.it/~openfwwf/. September 24, 2015. dead.
  18. Web site: en:users:drivers:carl9170 [Linux Wireless]]. kernel.org.
  19. Web site: en:users:drivers:ath9k_htc [Linux Wireless]]. kernel.org.
  20. Web site: GNU Linux-Libre 4.16 Released, Won't Warn You About Spectre/Meltdown Microcode Updates . 2022-09-23 . www.phoronix.com . en . November 4, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231104212923/https://www.phoronix.com/news/GNU-Linux-Libre-4.16-Released.
  21. Web site: Hardware vulnerabilities. kernel.org. November 4, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231104213216/https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/admin-guide/hw-vuln/.
  22. Web site: Linux-libre's Freed-ora project. December 6, 2011. Free Software Foundation Latin America. Free Software Foundation Latin America. Freed-ora is a sub-project that prepares and maintains 100% Free RPMs that track Fedora's non-Free kernels.
  23. Linux-libre for Debian Lenny. April 23, 2009. May 12, 2009. [Debian Mailing Lists] Announcements for developers. Millan. Robert. This is to announce that Debian packages of Linux-libre [...] are now available for Lenny users who want to use them [...].
  24. Web site: Uncle Gnufs' World Famous Home Baked Free Kernel Shoppe. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20161109000123/http://aligunduz.org/gNewSense/. November 9, 2016. Gündüz. Ali. aligunduz.org. June 19, 2017.
  25. Web site: Download – GNU Guix . 2022-09-23 . guix.gnu.org.
  26. Web site: Porting ProteanOS to a New Platform – ProteanOS.
  27. Web site: Explaining Why We Don't Endorse Other Systems . November 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231102171742/https://www.gnu.org/distros/common-distros.html.
  28. Web site: General Resolution: non-free firmware: results . 2023-11-02 . November 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231102171923/https://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2022/10/msg00001.html.
  29. Web site: Documentation | Trisquel GNU/Linux - Run free!.
  30. Web site: 2009-05-22 . How Trisquel is Made . Trisquel GNU/Linux.
  31. http://ututo.org/downloads/ Index of downloads
  32. Web site: Linux-libre project meets rocky reception. Bruce Byfield. Linux.com. SourceForge, Inc.. 2008-08-01.
  33. Web site: /gnewsense/packages-parkes/linux-2.6 : contents of debian/README.gNewSense at revision 16. gnu.org. February 16, 2017.
  34. Web site: Linux-libre: Resumen del proyecto . December 6, 2001 . Fossi . Damián . August 24, 2009 . Forja . es . Linux-libre: Project summary . https://web.archive.org/web/20100224073447/http://forja.softwarelibre.gob.ve/projects/linux-libre . February 24, 2010 . dead.
  35. Web site: AUR (en) linux-libre. November 30, 2015. Arch Linux. Arch Linux. November 16, 2015. AUR.
  36. Web site:

    [FSFLA]

    GNU Linux-libre's Freed-ora project]

    . www.fsfla.org. 2020-05-25.
  37. Web site: Bug 266157. O'Kelly. Tim. April 14, 2009. October 13, 2020. Gentoo's Bugzilla. Gentoo Linux.
  38. Web site: Linux-libre. October 13, 2020. January 8, 2016. Install Gentoo Wiki. Gentoo Linux. mdy-all.
  39. Web site: FreeSlack. freeslack.net. August 9, 2016. October 25, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211025074700/http://freeslack.net/. dead.
  40. Web site: installation [FreeSlack Wiki]]. freeslack.net. August 9, 2016.
  41. Web site: Linux kernel - NixOS Wiki. July 14, 2023. July 14, 2023. Nixos.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Linux-libre".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.