kmem

Discussion in 'all things UNIX' started by Searching_ _ _, Aug 21, 2010.

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  1. Searching_ _ _

    Searching_ _ _ Registered Member

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    Are there any LiveCD's with kmem enabled in the kernel?

    Most distros have this disabled by default.
     
    Searching_ _ _, Aug 21, 2010
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  2. lotuseclat79

    lotuseclat79 Registered Member

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    Hi Searching___,

    I run in an Ubuntu Lucid 10.4.1 Live CD environment, and upon reading your post, I simply issued the command: man kmem
    and advise you to do the same for whatever distro you have installed or Live CD.

    -- Tom
     
    lotuseclat79, Aug 22, 2010
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  3. Searching_ _ _

    Searching_ _ _ Registered Member

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    /dev/kmem is not included in the 2.6 kernels as it is an avenue for rootkit installation.

    /dev/mem has also been removed or limited in what it can do.

    Before 2.6 you had to just recompile the kernel with CONFIG_DEVKMEM set to "y". But since it's not included in 2.6 I am at a loss as how to.
     
    Searching_ _ _, Aug 22, 2010
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  4. lotuseclat79

    lotuseclat79 Registered Member

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    Did you look at the man page for kmem? It includes the instructions (for root) on how to create it. Presumably, you could create your own Live CD with those instructions in a chrooted environment on hard disk and then spin your own Live CD, etc...

    -- Tom
     
    lotuseclat79, Aug 22, 2010
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  5. Searching_ _ _

    Searching_ _ _ Registered Member

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    Everything seems to say that /dev/kmem can't be used in modern Linux.
    For Ubuntu, I would have to go back to 7.10 or earlier, but don't know how well my laptop would function.

    Ubuntu Security Features

    Can't dd /dev/kmem in Ubuntu Jaunty

    Ubuntu 8.04 LTS

    Distros without kmem
     
    Searching_ _ _, Aug 22, 2010
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  6. chronomatic

    chronomatic Registered Member

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    Why do you want kmem access?
     
    chronomatic, Aug 23, 2010
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  7. Searching_ _ _

    Searching_ _ _ Registered Member

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    mem's and kmem's purpose is to access memory.
    So I would like to access memory, see.
     
    Searching_ _ _, Aug 23, 2010
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  8. chronomatic

    chronomatic Registered Member

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    So, you're saying you can't access memory in Ubuntu? How exactly do you propose Ubuntu works if it can't access memory? And what specifically do you want access to kmem for?
     
    chronomatic, Aug 23, 2010
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  9. Searching_ _ _

    Searching_ _ _ Registered Member

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    Not in the way that I would like to. kmem can do wondrous things that when not available can not be accomplished, see.
     
    Searching_ _ _, Aug 23, 2010
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  10. quintile

    quintile Registered Member

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    quintile, Aug 23, 2010
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  11. chronomatic

    chronomatic Registered Member

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    Are you a kernel hacker? If not, I don't see any reason you need /dev/kmem.
     
    chronomatic, Aug 24, 2010
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  12. Searching_ _ _

    Searching_ _ _ Registered Member

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    Yes that's it. I'm a kernel hacker. :shifty:
    But I won't be one if I can't use kmem. :'(

    Won't you help me find a way to get kmem working on a distro that will operate on a modern system? :doubt:
     
    Searching_ _ _, Aug 25, 2010
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  13. Searching_ _ _

    Searching_ _ _ Registered Member

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    I found fmem to be the new kmem.
    Apparently kmem had some known bugs that made its legitimate uses questionable.
    Imaging RAM with fmem

    Another option is Solaris which still uses kmem for debugging memory.

    @ quin tile

    Thanks for the links, they were useful.
     
    Searching_ _ _, Aug 25, 2010
    #13
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