665: Patch Me If You Can

We dig into the Copy Fail vulnerability and test a proof-of-concept against our own box. Plus, Jon Seager, VP of Engineering at Canonical joins us, and we kick off the BSD Challenge! Sponsored By: - Jupiter Party Annual Membership: Put your support on automatic with our annual plan, and get one month of membership for free! - Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. Support LINUX Unplugged Links: - [💥 Gets Sats Quick and Easy with Strike](https://strike.me/ "💥 Gets Sats Quick and Easy with Strike") - [📻 LINUX Unplugged on Fountain.FM](https://www.fountain.fm/show/dWiuBeqpDSM86AwXRXov "📻 LINUX Unplugged on Fountain.FM") - [Copy Fail — CVE-2026-31431](https://copy.fail/#exploit "Copy Fail — CVE-2026-31431") — "An unprivileged local user can write four controlled bytes into the page cache of any readable file on a Linux system, and use that to gain root." — Theori - [Copy Fail: 732 Bytes to Root - Xint](https://xint.io/blog/copy-fail-linux-distributions "Copy Fail: 732 Bytes to Root - Xint") — "A single 732-byte Python script can edit a setuid binary and obtain root on essentially all Linux distributions shipped since 2017." — Xint - [Linux Kernel Bug Explained - Jorijn](https://jorijn.com/en/blog/copy-fail-cve-2026-31431-linux-kernel-bug-explained/ "Linux Kernel Bug Explained - Jorijn") — "CopyFail is more portable. One script, every distro, no offsets. Dirty Pipe needed kernel ≥ 5.8; Copy Fail covers 2017–2026." — Jorijn"Kubernetes Pod Security Standards (Restricted) and default seccomp do NOT block the syscall used." — Jorijn - [Ars: Most Severe Linux Threat in Years](https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/04/as-the-most-severe-linux-threat-in-years-surfaces-the-world-scrambles/ "Ars: Most Severe Linux Threat in Years") — "The most severe Linux threat to surface in years catches the world flat-footed." — Ars Technica - [Sysdig: CVE-2026-31431 Analysis](https://www.sysdig.com/blog/cve-2026-31431-copy-fail-linux-kernel-flaw-lets-local-users-gain-root-in-seconds/ "Sysdig: CVE-2026-31431 Analysis") — "The flaw was introduced in 2017 via commit 72548b093ee3, which switched AEAD operations to in-place processing." — Sysdig - [CERT-EU Advisory](https://cert.europa.eu/publications/security-advisories/2026-005/ "CERT-EU Advisory") - [Ubuntu Security Tracker](https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-31431 "Ubuntu Security Tracker") - [The Register: Crypto Flaw](https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/30/linux_cryptographic_code_flaw/ "The Register: Crypto Flaw") - [Kernel Patch (reverts 2017 optimization)](https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/a664bf3d603dc3bdcf9ae47cc21e0daec706d7a5.diff "Kernel Patch (reverts 2017 optimization)") — "This mostly reverts commit 72548b093ee3 except for the copying of the associated data." — Kernel Commit - [Buggy Commit: 72548b093ee3 (2017)](https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/72548b093ee3 "Buggy Commit: 72548b093ee3 (2017)") - [DeepWiki: AF\_ALG Internals](https://deepwiki.com/theori-io/copy-fail-CVE-2026-31431/3.1-linux-crypto-api-%28af_alg%29-internals "DeepWiki: AF_ALG Internals") - [oss-security Disclosure](https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/04/29/23 "oss-security Disclosure") - [PSA + GRUB Mitigation - Jan Wildeboer](https://jan.wildeboer.net/2026/05/PSA-CopyFail-CVE-2026-31431/ "PSA + GRUB Mitigation - Jan Wildeboer") - [Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (Resolute Raccoon) Released](https://canonical.com/blog/canonical-releases-ubuntu-26-04-lts-resolute-raccoon "Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (Resolute Raccoon) Released") — "Ubuntu 26.04 LTS sets the example for providing best-in-class resilience while simultaneously embracing innovation and the advancement of open source." — Jon Seager, VP Ubuntu Engineering - [The Future of AI in Ubuntu - Jon Seager](https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/the-future-of-ai-in-ubuntu/81130 "The Future of AI in Ubuntu - Jon Seager") — "Throughout 2026 we'll be working on enabling access to frontier AI for Ubuntu users in a way that is deliberate, secure, and aligned with our open source values." — Jon Seager - [Ubuntu 26.04 Release Notes](https://documentation.ubuntu.com/release-notes/26.04/ "Ubuntu 26.04 Release Notes") - [Ubuntu AI Features Throughout 2026 - Phoronix](https://www.phoronix.com/news/Ubuntu-AI-Features-2026 "Ubuntu AI Features Throughout 2026 - Phoronix") — "Canonical's approach to AI is refreshingly thoughtful — Microsoft should take note." — ZDNet - [Canonical DDoS Attack Update](https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/update-concerning-ddos-attack-on-canonical-and-ubuntu/81482 "Canonical DDoS Attack Update") — "Canonical's web infrastructure is under a sustained, cross-border attack and we are working to address it." — arcticp, Canonical - [Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter #942](https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/ubuntu-weekly-newsletter-issue-942/81204 "Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter #942") - [Canonical AI Approach - ZDNet](https://www.zdnet.com/article/canonical-ai-approach-thoughtful-microsoft-should-take-note/ "Canonical AI Approach - ZDNet") - [9to5Linux: Opt-In LLM Tools](https://9to5linux.com/canonical-plans-to-integrate-opt-in-llm-based-tools-in-future-ubuntu-releases/ "9to5Linux: Opt-In LLM Tools") - [uutils/coreutils: Cross-platform Rust rewrite of the GNU coreutils](https://github.com/uutils/coreutils "uutils/coreutils: Cross-platform Rust rewrite of the GNU coreutils") - [LINUX Unplugged 636: Engineering the Future](https://linuxunplugged.com/636 "LINUX Unplugged 636: Engineering the Future") - [LiveCD fails to start X session on QEMU · Issue #354 · ghostbsd/issues](https://github.com/ghostbsd/issues/issues/354 "LiveCD fails to start X session on QEMU · Issue #354 · ghostbsd/issues") - [Monty's “rescue” drive NixOS config](https://github.com/pmontgo33/nix-config "Monty's “rescue” drive NixOS config") - [Magnolia Mayhem's BSD Challenge Report](https://www.ministryofmayhem.space/posts/bsdptdeux/ "Magnolia Mayhem's BSD Challenge Report") - [Pick: NASty](https://github.com/nasty-project/nasty "Pick: NASty") — NASty is a NAS operating system built on NixOS and bcachefs. It turns commodity hardware into a storage appliance serving NFS, SMB, iSCSI, and NVMe-oF — managed from a single web UI, updated atomically, and rolled back when things go sideways. - [Pick: Defuse](https://github.com/shonebinu/Defuse "Pick: Defuse") — Defuse is a GTK4 application for removing image backgrounds locally. - [Defuse on Flathub](https://flathub.org/en/apps/io.github.shonebinu.Defuse "Defuse on Flathub")