Mr. Backman is back with another bsdtalk, this one regarding Sunset on BSD.
A brief description of playing around with SunOS 4.1.4, which was the last version of SunOS to be based on BSD.
File Info: 17Min, 8Mb
MP3 Link: https://archive.org/download/bsdtalk265/bsdtalk265.mp3
Original post: https://bsdtalk.blogspot.com/2016/05/bsdtalk265-sunset-on-bsd.html
In this tutorial, the folks at calomel.org show us how to get Chrony set up on FreeBSD. Chrony is an alternative setup of the Network Time Protocol. See the link below for full instructions.
Chrony is an accurate network time daemon and an alternate implementation of the Network Time Protocol (NTP) compared to ntp.org’s NTPd, Ntimed, OpenNTPd and systemd-timesyncd. Chrony can be used to sync with NTP servers, reference clocks (e.g. GPS receiver), and even input by hand for an air-gapped network. The daemon will operate as an NTPv4 (RFC 5905) server and peer providing time service to other computers in the network.
We will build Chrony from source on FreeBSD and the daemon will the configured to be a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server on the local LAN to provide millisecond accuracy to its local clock as well as to the hundreds of clients in the cluster.
Full tutorial: https://calomel.org/chrony_network_time.html
FreeBSD security researcher CTurt, known for his recent work in the PS4 kernel exploit, outlines a recent FreeBSD kernel vulnerability found in iotcl handlers. In addition, check out his article on vulnerabilities in FreeBSD compatibility layers.
Every FreeBSD keyboard driver exposes its own
ioctlinterface to allow it to be configured from userland (through thekbdcontrolutility for example). Typically, theseioctlhandlers will implement any specific commands for the hardware, such as enabling or disabling LEDs, and will delegate the rest of the commands to a common handler, calledgenkbd_commonioctl.I discovered a vulnerability in this common handler, which has been present since the driver’s introduction in 1999.
Due to a poor default
sysctlvariable, this bug can be triggered by an unprivileged user, so long as at least one keyboard driver is running (by default theatkbddriver is used), making its impact critical.I decided to report this bug to the FreeBSD Security Team on April 22, 2016, the day after I had discovered it, and was able to exploit it about a week later. It has been assigned CVE-2016-1886 and Security Advisory 16:18.
In this article I will provide an explanation of the bug, and some of the methods which I considered for exploitation, including the one I had success with: using the corrupted
lenmember of akeytabto trigger a powerful two way heap and stack overflow.
Original post: http://cturt.github.io/SETFKEY.html
Arguably one of FreeBSD’s most renowned features is its compatibility layers. In particular, FreeBSD provides compatibility layers for 32-bit Linux binaries and for legacy 4.3BSD software. These are usually enabled by building a custom kernel with the
COMPAT_LINUX32andCOMPAT_43configuration options, however the Linux compatibility layer is also implemented as a separate kernel module, which can be loaded at runtime instead (kldload linux).
Original post: http://cturt.github.io/compat-info-leaks.html
Related links:
Analysis of CVE-2016-1887, sendmsg FreeBSD kernel heap overflow
FreeBSD Security Advisory FreeBSD-SA-16:18.atkbd
packet storm – FreeBSD Security Advisory – FreeBSD-SA-16:19.sendmsg
In this BSD Now episode, hosts Kris Moore and Allan Jude interview Matthew Macy regarding the state of graphics on FreeBSD. Hit play below to tune in:
For this week’s round up of BSD related content from BSD Now: http://www.bsdnow.tv/episodes/2016_05_26-one_small_step_for_drm_one_giant_leap_for_bsd
Michael W. Lucas, critically acclaimed author of many BSD books, is featured in this edition of Faces of FreeBSD. The FreeBSD Foundation gives a history of how Lucas started and his many contributions to the FreeBSD world. Read his full story in the link below.
Faces of FreeBSD
Back by popular demand, we’re again sharing a story from someone involved in FreeBSD with our Faces of FreeBSD series. It may be a story from someone who’s received funding from us to work on development projects, run conferences, travel to conferences, or advocate for FreeBSD. Or, it may be from someone who gives back to FreeBSD financially or in another way. Regardless, it is always from someone who is making a positive difference in the FreeBSD world.
Here’s a chance to get to know your fellow FreeBSD enthusiasts. Sit back and enjoy the next 2016 Faces of FreeBSD story.
Michael’s Story
My name is Michael W Lucas. I’m originally from Rochester, Michigan, USA, a little farm town outside Detroit, Michigan. As a kid, I’d bike past the grain elevator and see the great big pallets of Purina Monkey Chow next to the train tracks. When I asked my dad about them, he sent me out into the woods and fields to find the monkey farm…
Faces of FreeBSD – Michael W Lucas: https://www.freebsdfoundation.org/blog/faces-of-freebsd-2016-michael-lucas/
This guide from the folks at SCOpenSource shows you how to get started with FreeBSD, from installation all the way to setting up the desktop environment. Follow the link below for the full instructions.
Installing a Desktop Environment (XFCE) on FreeBSD
In this tutorial, I am going to install FreeBSD 10.3 and then I will install a desktop environment, specifically XFCE. However, the following steps would work for any desktop environment supported by FreeBSD, including, but not limited to, MATE, Gnome, and KDE. Also, this is not a complete guide to installing FreeBSD. If more information or if you have questions not addressed in this guide, please see the FreeBSD documentation on the FreeBSD website.
Step 1 – Downloading
Download FreeBSD 10.3. FreeBSD is available from wwww.freebsd.org. Click the link Get FreeBSD then click your architecture under FreeBSD 10.3-RELEASE …
Full tutorial: https://www.scopensource.com/wiki/FreeBSD_10.3_Desktop_Install
In this BSD Now episode, hosts Kris Moore and Allan Jude interview BSD developer Alfred Perlstein. Hit play below to tune in:
For this week’s roundup of BSD related content: http://www.bsdnow.tv/episodes/2016_05_18-diving_for_bsd_pearls
This short tutorial by user randomproblem shows us how to get FreeBSD installed via serial port connection. Follow the link below for the full instructions.
I recently wanted to install FreeBSD on a PC Engines APU device. The APU is a headless device, so it is not possible to connect a monitor. However, it does have a serial port.
For some reason, the current FreeBSD 10.3 documentation appears to be missing the information on headless installation that was present in the 9.3 documentation. (In fact, the entire section on advanced installation topics is missing.)
Fortunately, the procedure that was described for 9.3 still works with 10.2 and 10.3:
Create an installation USB stick as described in the handbook.
Mount the medium on a running FreeBSD system: …
Full tutorial: https://randomproblem.wordpress.com/2016/05/15/installing-freebsd-via-a-serial-port/
In this BSD Now episode, hosts Kris Moore and Allan Jude interview Ike, the man behind OPNsense — an open source firewall based on pfSense. Hit play below to tune in:
For this week’s roundup of BSD related content: http://www.bsdnow.tv/episodes/2016_05_11-bsd_likes_ike
The FreeBSD Foundation is offering travel grants for those interested in attending BSDCan 2016. The annual conference will be held on June 7-11, 2016 in Ottawa, Ontario. Visit the Foundation’s page to submit your application.
Travel grants are available to FreeBSD developers and advocates who need assistance with travel expenses for attending conferences related to FreeBSD development. Read through the policies and apply here.
BSDCan, a BSD conference held in Ottawa, Canada, has quickly established itself as the technical conference for people working on and with 4.4BSD based operating systems and related projects. The organizers have found a fantastic formula that appeals to a wide range of people from extreme novices to advanced developers.
Apply here: https://www.freebsdfoundation.org/blog/bsdcan-2016-travel-grant-deadline-monday-may-16/
BSDCan website: https://www.bsdcan.org/2016/
