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Distributions can't switch to libressl until all the software they package also supports it. libressl is incompatible with openssl, so programs that are compile
by Arnavion 3y ago
Distributions can't switch to libressl until all the software they package also supports it. libressl is incompatible with openssl, so programs that are compiled against the one cannot run against the other, and both cannot be loaded into the same address space. That's why the few distributions that did switch to libressl eventually switched back.
- o11c 3y agos/address space/link-map namespace/ See `dlmopen(3)`. Admittedly, multiple link-map namespaces are weird to use.
- snvzz 3y ago>the few distributions that did switch to libressl eventually switched back Note that libressl supposedly improved openssl compatibility dramatically after that. Also note it would have been a very different scenario if Debian or Fedora actually made the switch as they should have, rather than a few smaller distributions. Instead, incompetence was rewarded, with plenty of money thrown openssl's way. This has, in hindsight, proven to not have been a good decision; code quality is still bad, and libressl is still a world better.
- enormousness 3y agoDebian has a humongous package library, the biggest of any distro if I'm not mistaken. They need full drop-in compatibility between libressl and openssl if they hope to replace the latter any time soon for all those packages.
- snvzz 3y agoThe (current) compatibility is closer to drop-in than not. Most of these packages have maintainers and an upstream. It is just a matter of getting it done. There exist distros using libressl and musl, proving feasibility.