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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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backdoor in upstream xz/liblzma leading to ssh server compromise (www.openwall.com)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Apparently the backdoor reverts back to regular operation if the payload is malformed or the signature from the attacker's key doesn't verify. Unfortunately, this means that unless a bug is found, we can't write a reliable/reusable over-the-network scanner.

Maybe not. But it does mean that you can write a crawler that slams the door shut for the attacker on any vulnerable systems.

EDIT: Oh, maybe he just means that it reverts for that single invocation.