[tex-live] TeX Live not using ASLR on Windows

[Zdenek Wagner]

2011/9/24 Bernhard Kleine <bernhard.kleine at gmx.net>:
> Am Freitag, den 23.09.2011, 12:25 +0000 schrieb A A:
>> Hello,
>>
>> Is there a reason why any of the tex-live components (texworks,etc.)
>> do not use ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization,
>> https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Address_space_layout_randomization ) ? When I force its use through group policy, everything appears to be working fine. You can use this to test: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2458544
>
> Hi,
>
> could you please rethink your mail: Myself, I have no idea about ASLR.
> If you want to advocate for this, you have to be more convincing, if
> not, so what?
>
As I heard some time ago from IBM developers, the problem with Windows
is that some important memory areas are shared between processes, thus
a program bug (or evil intention) may damage a memory area belonging
to another process. A virus may thus copy itself from a user program
to another process running e.g. with system privileges, if it is able
to predict the memory layout.

> I have expected an answer like norbert's, since you did not care about
> what is going on on this list.
>
> Maybe you try again.
>
> Bernhard
>



-- 
Zdeněk Wagner
http://hroch486.icpf.cas.cz/wagner/
http://icebearsoft.euweb.cz