On Thu, Aug 05, 2004 at 02:20:43PM -0700, Po Petz wrote: > On Thu, 5 Aug 2004, Bob Miller wrote: > > > Jacob Meuser wrote: > > > > > But then again, using safer functions, W^X, randomized memory allocation > > > and mapping, privilege separation, propolice, etc, minimize the risk > > > of bugs becoming serious security problems. Some of these things are > > > available for linux, but in OpenBSD they are there by default. > > > > What's W^X? > > Shorthand for "Writable or Executable." It's an OpenBSD kernel > enhancement (and loader too, I think) that allows areas of memory to be > marked explicitly with a flag that ensures that parts of memory are not > simultaneously writeable and executable. Good for stopping a class of > attacks on the x86 platform.
It's Writeable xor Executable, the or is exclusive. It's not just for x86. Here's a simplified explanation: http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=openbsd-misc&m=105056000801065&w=2 -- <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> _______________________________________________ EUGLUG mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.euglug.org/mailman/listinfo/euglug
