Skip to content

RFC: debian/config: Add debug kernel flavor for amd64 and arm64

Yunseong Kim requested to merge ysk/linux:kernel-debug into debian/latest

Introducing a new 'debug' kernel flavor for the amd64 and arm64 architectures. This flavor is designed to provide robust debugging capabilities and enhance kernel security by enabling various sanitizers and debug options.

The new configuration, 'config.debug', includes:

  • Memory sanitizers: KASAN and related options for detecting memory bugs.

  • Locking debugging: PROVE_LOCKING and DEBUG_SPINLOCK for detecting locking issues.

  • Object/memory checks: DEBUG_OBJECTS and DEBUG_PAGEALLOC for finding memory leaks and incorrect object handling.

  • Coverage & Fuzzing: KCOV options to support automated fuzzing systems like syzbot.

This change aligns Debian with best practices from other major distributions (RHEL, SUSE) and automated fuzzing projects like syzbot, which use official debug kernel packages as a core part of their security strategy. It addresses the current challenges faced by developers and security researchers who manually build debug kernels, which can lead to inconsistencies and inefficient bug reproduction.

The addition of this debug flavor will enable more consistent and reliable bug reporting, improve vulnerability detection, and streamline the process of reproducing and validating kernel bugs.

Signed-off-by: Yunseong Kim ysk@kzalloc.com

Merge request reports