The Linux Kernel Has Ancient Weird Problems
The Linux kernel is a massive code base with decades upon decades of problems that keep showing up from time to time and there's some work going in to better spot these. ==========Support The Channel========== ► Patreon: https://brodierobertson.xyz/patreon ► Paypal: https://brodierobertson.xyz/paypal ► Liberapay: https://brodierobertson.xyz/liberapay ► Amazon USA: https://brodierobertson.xyz/amazonusa ==========Resources========== LKML Post: https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20260410120044.031381086@kernel.org/ Project Glasswing: https://www.anthropic.com/glasswing =========Video Platforms========== 🎥 React: https://www.youtube.com/@BrodieRobertsonReacts 🎥 Podcast: https://techovertea.xyz/youtube 🎮 Gaming: https://brodierobertson.xyz/gaming ==========Social Media========== 🎤 Discord: https://brodierobertson.xyz/discord 🐦 Twitter: https://brodierobertson.xyz/twitter 🌐 Mastodon: https://brodierobertson.xyz/mastodon 🖥️ GitHub: https://brodierobertson.xyz/github ==========Credits========== 🎨 Channel Art: Profile Picture: https://www.instagram.com/supercozman_draws/ #Linux #LinuxKernel #FOSS #OpenSource 🎵 Ending music Track: Debris & Jonth - Game Time [NCS Release] Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDTvvOTie0w Free Download / Stream: http://ncs.io/GameTime DISCLOSURE: Wherever possible I use referral links, which means if you click one of the links in this video or description and make a purchase I may receive a small commission or other compensation.
Video Chapters
- 0:00 Diving into the Linux kernel's 35-year-old codebase
- 1:07 Why obsolete code survives for decades
- 2:40 The mess of flexible clock rates and copy-pasted code
- 4:24 How the TSC invariant made reliable timekeeping possible
- 5:38 Transitioning from get_cycles to get_bogo_cycles
- 6:49 An 8-step process for cleaning up kernel "dependency hell"
- 8:30 Introducing Project Glasswing and the AI security era
- 10:14 AI vulnerability discovery vs. human direction
- 11:35 The massive investment in AI security tools
- 13:29 Why critical software flaws go unnoticed for decades
- 14:45 AI's terrifying ability to find and exploit ancient bugs
- 16:55 Speculating on the weird timing of these kernel patches
Original Output
0:00 Diving into the Linux kernel's 35-year-old codebase 1:07 Why obsolete code survives for decades 2:40 The mess of flexible clock rates and copy-pasted code 4:24 How the TSC invariant made reliable timekeeping possible 5:38 Transitioning from get_cycles to get_bogo_cycles 6:49 An 8-step process for cleaning up kernel "dependency hell" 8:30 Introducing Project Glasswing and the AI security era 10:14 AI vulnerability discovery vs. human direction 11:35 The massive investment in AI security tools 13:29 Why critical software flaws go unnoticed for decades 14:45 AI's terrifying ability to find and exploit ancient bugs 16:55 Speculating on the weird timing of these kernel patches Timestamps by StampBot 🤖 (541-the-linux-kernel-has-ancient-weird-problems)
Unprocessed Timestamp Content
0:00 The Linux kernel: a 35-year-old codebase, some untouched for decades. 0:45 A truly massive CC list for a Linux kernel patch. 1:07 LATCH, a Linux 0.1 definition, survived for very wrong reasons. 1:43 Linux 0.1 code pre-Git, running on x86 not x86-64. 2:10 More than two decades ago, infrastructure rewritten, LATCH became meaningless. 2:40 CLOCK_TICK_RATE made flexible, became meaningless and copied everywhere. 3:18 Get_cycles utilized the brand new TSC (Time Stamp Counter). 3:46 Time Stamp Counter runs into problems with frequency scaling, now variable. 4:24 TSC invariant restored, made usable for reliable timekeeping purposes. 5:04 Some CPUs had cycle counters, others completely unrelated, or returned zero. 5:38 get_cycles became get_bogo_cycles, existing for historical amusement value. 6:19 Cleaning up dependency hell, fixing kernel modules magically "works." 6:49 Eight steps to clean up old, broken, and useless kernel code. 7:18 146 files changed, 622 insertions, 796 deletions, much to review. 7:58 Unconfirmed speculation: are these kernel patches related to Project Glasswing? 8:30 Project Glasswing: securing critical software for the AI era. 9:08 Linux Foundation, Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, Google partners in AI security. 9:30 AI models have reached coding capability for finding software vulnerabilities. 10:14 Humans directing AI to known vulnerabilities versus genuine AI discovery. 10:54 Drive-by contributors randomly using AI vs. project maintainers' tool. 11:35 Anthropic committing $100M in usage credits for Mythos Preview. 12:16 A serious security arms race with malicious AI developers is coming. 12:50 Cybersecurity in the Age of AI, global cost $500B annually. 13:29 Many flaws go unnoticed for years, then discovered years later. 14:00 AI models dramatically reduce expertise required for finding exploits. 14:45 AI models are highly effective at reading and exploiting code. 15:18 Mythos Preview found a 27-year-old vulnerability in OpenBSD. 15:50 Found 16-year-old FFmpeg vulnerability, missed by automated testing tools. 16:00 Model autonomously found kernel vulnerabilities for user to root escalation. 16:25 We're not going to wish AI security tools away. 16:55 Unofficial connection discussed due to weird timing and personal preference. 17:16 Like, subscribe, and support for more amazing content! 17:37 (Hidden: sudo rm -rf / --no-preserve-root / for Linux destruction) Timestamps by StampBot 🤖 (541-the-linux-kernel-has-ancient-weird-problems)