Linux-libre

History

The Linux kernel started to include binary blobs in 1996. The work to clear out the binary blobs began in 2006 with gNewSense's find-firmware and gen-kernel. This work was taken further by the BLAG Linux distribution in 2007 when deblob and Linux-libre was born.

Linux-libre was first released by the Free Software Foundation Latin America (FSFLA), then endorsed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) as a valuable component for the totally free Linux distributions. It became a GNU package in March 2012. Alexandre Oliva is the project maintainer.

Proprietary firmware removal

Methods

The removal process is achieved by using a script called deblob-main.{{cite web |access-date = December 6, 2011 |archive-date = November 4, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231104211926/https://www.fsfla.org/svnwiki/selibre/linux-libre/index.en.html#how |access-date = December 6, 2011 |archive-date = November 4, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231104212221/https://www.fsfla.org/svn/fsfla/software/linux-libre/scripts/

Benefits

Aside from the primary intended effect of running a system with only free software, the practical consequences of removing device firmware that a user is not allowed to study or modify has both positive and negative effects.

Removal of device firmware can be considered an advantage for security and stability.

When the firmware cannot be audited for bugs, security problems, and malicious functions such as backdoors, or when the firmware cannot be fixed by the Linux kernel maintainers themselves, even if they know of problems, it is possible for the entire system to be compromised by a malicious firmware. Without the ability to perform a security audit on manufacturer-provided firmware, even an innocent bug could undermine the safety of the running system.

Hardware support

Removing proprietary firmware from the kernel will cause loss of functionality of certain hardware that does not have a free software replacement available. This affects certain sound, video, TV tuner, and network cards, especially in the case of recent Intel Wi-Fi cards and recent Nvidia graphics cards, as well as some other devices. When possible, free software replacement firmware is provided as a substitute, such as the openfwwf for b43, carl9170 and ath9k_htc wireless card drivers. Reviewer Ramces Red summarized the issue with Linux-Libre, writing, "it does not always have the best hardware support."

Microcode

Linux-libre does not suggest the user install CPU microcode update bundles, since the code is proprietary. Microcode update bundles have been used in the mainline Linux kernel version, among other things, to mitigate hardware vulnerabilities.

Availability

The source code and precompiled packages of the deblobbed Linux kernel are available directly from the distributions which use the Linux-libre scripts. Freed-ora is a subproject which prepares and maintains RPM packages based on Fedora.{{cite web |access-date = December 6, 2011 |author-link = Free Software Foundation Latin America |access-date = May 12, 2009 |mailing-list = [Debian Mailing Lists] Announcements for developers |archive-date= November 9, 2016 |access-date= June 19, 2017

Distributions

Distributions in which Linux-libre is the default kernel

• Dragora GNU/Linux-Libre
• dyne:bolic
• GNU Guix System
• Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre
• Parabola GNU/Linux-libre

Considered small distributions

• libreCMC
• ProteanOS (If the underlying hardware is not supported, it must be ported.)

Historical

• Musix GNU+Linux

Distributions that compile a free Linux kernel

These distros do not use the packaged Linux-libre but instead completely remove binary blobs from the mainline Linux kernel. The source is then compiled and the resulting free Linux kernel is used by default in these systems:

• Debian (May install binary blobs with the installer or kernel by default.) :*PureOS
• Trisquel (The Linux-libre deblob script is used during its development). :*Uruk GNU/Linux
• Ututo

Historical

• BLAG
• gNewSense (It was based on Debian.)
• Canaima{{cite web |access-date = December 6, 2001 |trans-title = Linux-libre: Project summary |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100224073447/http://forja.softwarelibre.gob.ve/projects/linux-libre |archive-date = February 24, 2010 |url-status = dead

Linux-libre as an alternative kernel

Distributions in which Linux is the default kernel used and which propose Linux-libre as an alternative kernel:

• Arch Linux
• Fedora
• Gentoo Linux
• Mandriva-derived (PCLinuxOS, Mageia, OpenMandrivaLx, ROSA Fresh)
• openSUSE Tumbleweed (via OpenBuildService)
• Slackware

References

References

1. blag-announce. (February 20, 2008). "[blag-devel] linux-libre".
2. "Index of /pub/linux-libre/freesh/dists/freesh/main/binary-m68k".
3. "Index of /pub/linux-libre/freesh/dists/freesh/main/binary-riscv64".
4. "Index of /pub/linux-libre/freesh/dists/freesh/main/binary-ppc64el".
5. "Linux-libre - Free Software Directory".
6. "Linux-libre - Free Software Directory".
7. Red, Ramces. (22 March 2022). "5 Best Linux-Libre Distributions for Better Security". Make Tech Easier.
8. "Take your freedom back, with Linux-2.6.33-libre".
9. Olivia, Alexandre. "GNU Linux-libre and the prisoner's dilemma".
10. link. (October 11, 2018 BLAG forums, 2008.)
11. Free Software Foundation. "Linux (BLOB free version)". Free Software Directory.
12. Oliva, Alexandre. (March 19, 2012). "GNU Linux-libre 3.3-gnu is now available". info-gnu.
13. Delugré, Guillaume. (November 21, 2010). "Reversing the Broacom NetExtreme's Firmware". Sogeti.
14. (February 5, 2011). "LinuxLibre:Devices that require non-free firmware". LibrePlanet.
15. "OpenFWWF - Open FirmWare for WiFi networks". unibs.it.
16. "en:users:drivers:carl9170 [Linux Wireless]". kernel.org.
17. "en:users:drivers:ath9k_htc [Linux Wireless]". kernel.org.
18. "GNU Linux-Libre 4.16 Released, Won't Warn You About Spectre/Meltdown Microcode Updates".
19. "Hardware vulnerabilities". kernel.org.
20. "Parabola GNU/Linux-libre - linux-libre-tools (x86_64) - Group Details". parabola.nu.
21. "Download – GNU Guix".
22. "Porting ProteanOS to a New Platform – ProteanOS".
23. "General Resolution: non-free firmware: results".
24. "Documentation | Trisquel GNU/Linux - Run free!".
25. (2009-05-22). "How Trisquel is Made".
26. [http://ututo.org/downloads/ Index of downloads], ''ututo.org'', retrieved 16 February 2017
27. Bruce Byfield. (2008-08-01). "Linux-libre project meets rocky reception". [[SourceForge, Inc.]].
28. "/gnewsense/packages-parkes/linux-2.6 : contents of debian/README.gNewSense at revision 16". gnu.org.
29. Arch Linux. (November 16, 2015). "AUR (en) linux-libre". AUR.
30. "::[FSFLA]:: GNU Linux-libre's Freed-ora project".
31. O'Kelly, Tim. (April 14, 2009). "Bug 266157". Gentoo Linux.
32. (January 8, 2016). "Linux-libre". Gentoo Linux.
33. "FreeSlack". freeslack.net.
34. "installation [FreeSlack Wiki]". freeslack.net.