How to Crash Systemd in One Tweet

ChuangTzu · 09-28-2016, 04:05 PM

Found this link in a Debian Forum thread (systemd is destructive)

https://www.agwa.name/blog/post/how_...d_in_one_tweet

rkelsen · 09-28-2016, 04:43 PM

Good article. Thanks for posting it. :-)

Keith Hedger · 09-28-2016, 04:51 PM

OMG Systemd has bugs in it! I never in my wildest dreams suspected that! I need a hug

That was sarcasm by the way

STDOUBT · 09-28-2016, 05:05 PM

From TFA:

Quote:

..The above systemd-notify command sends a zero-length message to the world-accessible UNIX domain socket located at /run/systemd/notify

So... one can crash systemd.../puts on sunglasses/...with nothing....
YEEEEAAHHH!

Richard Cranium · 09-28-2016, 05:33 PM

Actually, you sometimes have to send it nothing multiple times to trigger the behavior.

Oh well. Not our problem.

Gordie · 09-28-2016, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Cranium

Oh well. Not our problem.

I REALLY like that comment

Richard Cranium · 09-28-2016, 05:42 PM

I'm hoping to nip certain things in the bud.

qweasd · 09-28-2016, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Cranium

Actually, you sometimes have to send it nothing multiple times to trigger the behavior.

Oh well. Not our problem.

I REALLY like that comment

I am pretty sure Richard stole it from the systemd mailing list.

montagdude · 09-28-2016, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith Hedger

OMG Systemd has bugs in it! I never in my wildest dreams suspected that! I need a hug

That was sarcasm by the way

The purpose of the article was not to point out that there are bugs, but to explain that the design makes these (or any) bugs potentially very critical. Good software would be designed such that any failures would be as isolated from the rest of the system and limited in scope as possible, but systemd is designed in exactly the opposite way. You should just read it, because the author explained that much better than I could.

rkelsen · 09-28-2016, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by montagdude

The purpose of the article was not to point out that there are bugs, but to explain that the design makes these (or any) bugs potentially very critical. Good software would be designed such that any failures would be as isolated from the rest of the system and limited in scope as possible, but systemd is designed in exactly the opposite way. You should just read it, because the author explained that much better than I could.

This.

It also touches on the fact that the main author is too arrogant to do anything about these fundamental design flaws.

Richard Cranium · 09-28-2016, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qweasd

I am pretty sure Richard stole it from the systemd mailing list.

I was about to protest that I'm not on that list, but I then got the joke.

Well played, indeed!

kikinovak · 09-28-2016, 11:13 PM

I tried the command on a CentOS 7 installation, multiple times, but nothing happens. System still runs OK.

SCerovec · 09-29-2016, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kikinovak

I tried the command on a CentOS 7 installation, multiple times, but nothing happens. System still runs OK.

wrapped in while true ?

Anyways, the bug was trivial to fix, the problem is that it was there in the first place:

it was released and probably used on public accessible machines ("release early, release often") for "all to see".

Who knows how many 0day exploits still lure there?

IMO it's a textbook case of "backdoor injection" to Linux/GNU biosphere (call me a tin hat..)

55020 · 09-29-2016, 04:07 AM

The best bit: this is right in the middle of:

Quote:

systemd.conf 2016

Sept. 28th - Oct. 1st 2016

betahaus Berlin

Where the systemd project gathers

https://conf.systemd.io/

How does the beer taste today, guys?

Skaendo · 09-29-2016, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 55020

The best bit: this is right in the middle of:

https://conf.systemd.io/

How does the beer taste today, guys?

Looking at that page, it's funny to see how full of themselves they are. I can't wait for that ivory tower to fall.