Changelog News
Who in the world is Jia Tan?
Apr 1, 2024
Discover the backdoor in LibLZMA affecting OpenSSH, supply chain attack targeting XZ, mysterious GitHub user Gia Tan, struggles of project maintainers finding successors, and unsustainable small OSS libraries.
09:53
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Quick takeaways
- The discovery of a backdoor in LibLZMA exposes vulnerabilities in open-source software supply chain.
- Debate on unpaid maintainers highlights challenges in sustaining interest and community involvement in foundational OSS libraries.
Deep dives
The Uncovered Backdoor in LibLZMA (XZ)
The big story discussed in the podcast revolves around the discovery of a backdoor in LibLZMA, known as XZ, a compression library used by open SSH. The backdoor was identified by a Microsoft researcher on Debian installations, leading to significant CPU usage during SSH logins. The incident highlighted the exploit nature, deployment methods, industry implications, and community responses. The maintainer of XZ, Lassie Colin, found the backdoor in versions 5.6.0 and 5.6.1, indicating a supply chain attack with potentially severe consequences for Glib C based systems.
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