Security News > 2023 > May > XFS bug in Linux kernel 6.3.3 coincides with SGI code comeback

SGI may be no more but people are still using its code - and some more of that code may be about to enjoy a revival.

In December, we reported that Linux kernel 6.2 would receive some bug fixes to XFS, the filesystem from SGI's IRIX proprietary Unix.

In other SGI-related matters, OSNews reports that a surprising project went public last week: an effort to reverse engineer the 32-bit version of Silicon Graphics' IRIX kernel.

The final 32-bit version of IRIX was version 5.3, and this is what the team hopes to recreate in open source form.

Although IRIX then went 64-bit and made it to release 6.5.30, the team points out that the 32-bit version was approximately one-third of the size and complexity, as well as offering better backwards compatibility, including with IRIX 4.x. Better still, the project already has a commercial sponsorship, to the tune of some $6,500.

The problem with trying to reimplement any part of IRIX that wasn't expressly published as open source is that somebody still owns it.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/05/31/bugs_in_ex_sgi_xfs/