[Bug 55804] Re: /proc/kcore not openable

[Matthias Kretz]

> in general, this does not need to be available

What defines the need? I had a need for /proc/kcore yesterday and I had
the need before.

> exposes memory that could contain very sensitive data

Yes it does. But it's only exposed to the root user. And the root user
can do anything to the system. Where's the added security in crippling
/proc/kcore (and /dev/mem)?

I'm not convinced disabling /proc/kcore adds security. It might make it
a little harder for an attacker that got root rights to get to sensitive
information but it won't prevent it in any case. On the other hand it
disallows legitimate use of it and therefore cripples the system in an
unnecessary way.

I guess from now on I have to patch and recompile the kernel everytime
Ubuntu releases a new image ;-(

-- 
/proc/kcore not openable
https://launchpad.net/bugs/55804