Month: March 2005

Just a heads up, I’m working to bring the Gentoo hardened profile to a ppc64 near you. A big thanks to solar for putting in the time to help me with this. I now return you to your regularly scheduled programing.
Some preliminary PaXtest data (no toolchain or noexec/pageexec yet):

Mode: blackhat
Linux Strife64 2.6.11-hardened-r1 #4 SMP Wed Mar 16 21:08:23 EST 2005 ppc64 PPC970, altivec supported PowerMac7,2 GNU/Linux

Executable anonymous mapping : Killed
Executable bss : Killed
Executable data : Killed
Executable heap : Killed
Executable stack : Killed
Executable anonymous mapping (mprotect) : Killed
Executable bss (mprotect) : Killed
Executable data (mprotect) : Killed
Executable heap (mprotect) : Killed
Executable stack (mprotect) : Killed
Executable shared library bss (mprotect) : Killed
Executable shared library data (mprotect): Killed
Writable text segments : Vulnerable
Anonymous mapping randomisation test : 24 bits (guessed)
Heap randomisation test (ET_EXEC) : 14 bits (guessed)
Heap randomisation test (ET_DYN) : 32 bits (guessed)
Main executable randomisation (ET_EXEC) : 20 bits (guessed)
Main executable randomisation (ET_DYN) : No randomisation
Shared library randomisation test : 24 bits (guessed)
Stack randomisation test (SEGMEXEC) : 32 bits (guessed)
Stack randomisation test (PAGEEXEC) : 32 bits (guessed)
Return to function (strcpy) : paxtest: bad luck, try different compiler options.
Return to function (memcpy) : Killed
Return to function (strcpy, RANDEXEC) : paxtest: bad luck, try different compiler options.
Return to function (memcpy, RANDEXEC) : Killed
Executable shared library bss : Killed
Executable shared library data : Killed

Looks like dual core G5s aren’t that far off, if you take the update to MONster to be any indication. If you all remember last year the 970FX definition showed up all of 3 months before the machines hit the shelves. Apple has a tendency to only do major product releases three times a year, Mac World Expo in San Francisco, WWDC and Mac World Expo Paris. If the past is any indication of future results it looks like they are trying to push for production machines by WWDC in June. With the recent updates to the ppc64 kernel, and new fun stuff like AGP and iMac-G5 patches coming down the pike it looks like ppc64 is going to grow fast from here on out. Now if I could only get multilib working…

10 PRINT Hello_World
20 BEEP
30 GOTO 10
Ah gotta love Apple Basic.

A little story for introduction:

At the edge of the Architecture map the intrepid programmer found the words “Here there be PowerPCs”. Having no fear of these mysterious processors he set his sails to catch the wind and found that indeed the world was not flat. What he found over the horizon was a land where code was no longer bound by the tyranny of x86, a veritable paradise. The programmer set up shop and hung a sign outside his door; “PowerPC to the People” it read. As people slowly realized there was another way they broke free from their shackles and came to the new land. Welcome the programmer said, stay a while.