4 ms·

And yet you install driver on Linux without knowing it, I mean Linux has 0 security for drivers.

• throwaway48476 2y ago
  When was the last time you had to install a Linux driver from out of tree?
  • db48x 2y ago
    Most people do install Nvidia’s out‐of‐tree graphics driver. It is definitely a risk.
    • OtomotO 2y ago
      I am not using Nvidia since 2011. Last nvidia device was bought in 2007. Back then I migrated to Archlinux and in all these years I only had problems with nvidia. Since then they are dead to me :)
    • Phrodo_00 2y ago
      > Most people do install Nvidia’s out‐of‐tree graphics driver Most people that use Nvidia. I specifically don't buy Nvidia graphics cards or laptops that use them in my Linux computers because they're not in-tree.
    • vidarh 2y ago
      It's a risk, but a very minor additional one - if you trust their hardware with direct access to your PCIe bus, you have already given them the metaphorical keys to the vault.
    • kelnos 2y ago
      If you've already put a piece of hardware into your computer made by nvidia, installing a kernel driver also made by nvidia does not increase your risk at all. Installing some random anti-cheat kernel driver is not the same thing, at all.
      • 0x457 2y ago
        But you are not installing a random anti-cheat kernel driver, you're installing anti-cheat kernel driver provided by a game you've already put on your computer. It's very much the same thing.
        • screcth 2y ago
          User space is not the same as kernel space. User space applications can't access hardware or physical memory. They can't bypass permissions enforced by the OS. None of that applies to hardware or kernel drivers.
          • 0x457 2y ago
            Where did I say they are the same? We have a kernel-space thing (anti-cheat or gpu driver) and a user-space thing ((a game actually talks to both) that talks to a kernel-space thing.
            • screcth 2y ago
              I understood that you were making an analogy between installing a piece of hardware and its associated kernel driver with installing a game and its associated kernel anticheat. When you install a hardware device you are trusting the manufacturer with full access to your machine, so installing a driver does not give them any more powers. You have already "unlocked the door". When you install a game that runs on user space you are not trusting the vendor nearly as much as you are trusting a hardware manufacturer. Installing a kernel anti cheat is granting them a level of trust and access to your machine that they didn't have before.
              • 0x457 2y ago
                > When you install a game that runs on user space you are not trusting the vendor nearly as much as you are trusting a hardware manufacturer. I'm not sure where this trust comes from. I absolutely do not trust any hardware vendor. I just have no choice here.
    • II2II 2y ago
      A few things to consider here: - This is an abnormal case. Most hardware will work with in-tree drivers. Indeed, few vendors provide out-of-tree drivers for Linux. - Nvidia is an established and reputable source. We aren't talking about some small hardware developer who doesn't have the resources to create secure drivers. - Most Nvidia cards have in-tree drivers. There is a loss in performance, but the option usually exists.
      • coretx 2y ago
        Those who do, choose to do so and generally take responsibility for their actions. It's not the same as tainting a kernel and just winging it.
    • reissbaker 2y ago
      Approximately no one with a Steam Deck installs Nvidia's out of tree graphics driver (because the Steam Deck is built on AMD).
• burnished 2y ago
  You gotta think about surface area and risk when comparing apples to oranges here.