{"id":1576167,"date":"2026-05-11T16:17:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T16:17:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/3mXAvKJDrwQ2M48jy5iJCU"},"modified":"2026-05-11T16:17:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T16:17:16","slug":"a-killswitch-has-been-pitched-for-the-linux-kernel-that-could-shut-down-vulnerable-functions-while-users-wait-for-patches-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/a-killswitch-has-been-pitched-for-the-linux-kernel-that-could-shut-down-vulnerable-functions-while-users-wait-for-patches-2\/","title":{"rendered":"A killswitch has been pitched for the Linux kernel that could shut down vulnerable functions while users wait for patches"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If you’ve ever felt anxious about the security of your machine while you wait for a solution to some vulnerability, a proposed change to the Linux kernel may interest you. Pitched<\/a> by Nvidia staff Sasha Levin, it’s effectively a killswitch that could shut down some functions while waiting for a more official solution. <\/p>\n

As spotted by The Information<\/a>, Levin writes, “Killswitch lets a privileged operator make a chosen kernel function return a fixed value without executing its body, as a temporary mitigation for a security bug while a real fix is being prepared”<\/p>\n

Levin notes that when a security issue becomes public, many users of Linux are technically made more vulnerable until the patch is sent out into the world. You would naturally have to stay more vigilant and use the killswitch manually when issues are made known, but it gives some extra agency over your rig. Though the main focus are the commercial users that are most vulnerable, not your everyday Linux user.<\/p>\n

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