bug#57269: [rtl8812au-aircrack-ng-linux-module] Missing Source for hal/rtl8812a/hal8812a_fw.c (and probably other files ending in fw.c)
Files such as hal8812a_fw.c [1] have large arrays that seem to be binary firmware encoded in text. My understanding is that source code is not available, so I believe the files are nonfree software, and should, in the short-term at least, be removed from Guix. Long term it would be good to get the source code (via reverse engineering or asking Realtek), but I imagine that would take a significant amount of time and effort (I do have a Realtek USB Wi-Fi card, maybe not with this exact firmware though.). [1] web copy at https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aircrack-ng/rtl8812au/6c1b4a333b067eaddc9b8b34927019b41b99bc36/hal/rtl8812a/hal8812a_fw.c
bug#57269: [rtl8812au-aircrack-ng-linux-module] Missing Source for hal/rtl8812a/hal8812a_fw.c (and probably other files ending in fw.c)
Hi Jacob,
Jacob K via Bug reports for GNU Guix 写道：
Files such as hal8812a_fw.c [1] have large arrays that seem to
be binary
firmware encoded in text. My understanding is that source code
is not
available, so I believe the files are nonfree software,
Even if free source code exists, we should still remove the blobs
and build our own. (Yes, we actually do this for other firmware
:-)
the short-term at least, be removed from Guix. Long term it
would be
good to get the source code (via reverse engineering or asking
Realtek),
but I imagine that would take a significant amount of time and
effort (I
do have a Realtek USB Wi-Fi card, maybe not with this exact
firmware
though.).
Unfortunately all correct. Another blow to wireless networking
with Guix. Attached is a patch removing the
rtl8821ce-linux-module and rtl8812au-aircrack-ng-linux-module
packages.
I didn't apply it yet. Since this case, unlike some others,
appears to be straightforward, I don't intend to wait long.
Kind regards,
T G-R
From a4650f7dbad4458d3bc907a96a45a334d1d2a086 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Tobias Geerinckx-Rice
Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2022 02:00:00 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 01/12] gnu: Remove Realtek WiFi drivers with firmware blobs.
rtl8821ce-linux-module contains, e.g., halhwimg8821c_fw.c and
hal8821c_fw.c. rtl8812au-aircrack-ng-linux-module has, e.g.,
hal8814a_fw.c, hal8812a_fw.c, and hal8821a_fw.c. Each of these
examples contains non-free firmware blobs disguised as C arrays.
* gnu/packages/linux.scm (rtl8821ce-linux-module)
(rtl8812au-aircrack-ng-linux-module): Remove variables.
Reported by Jacob K
---
gnu/packages/linux.scm | 75 -
gnu/system/examples/bare-bones.tmpl | 1 +
2 files changed, 1 insertion(+), 75 deletions(-)
diff --git a/gnu/packages/linux.scm b/gnu/packages/linux.scm
index fb8b4fa5a8..2c1a38b5c4 100644
--- a/gnu/packages/linux.scm
+++ b/gnu/packages/linux.scm
@@ -1373,81 +1373,6 @@ (define-public lkrg
detection of security vulnerability exploits against the kernel.")
(license license:gpl2)))
-(define-public rtl8821ce-linux-module
- (let ((commit "be733dc86781c68571650b395dd0fa6b53c0a039")
-(revision "6"))
-(package
- (name "rtl8821ce-linux-module")
- (version (git-version "0.0.0" revision commit))
- (source
- (origin
- (method git-fetch)
- (uri (git-reference
- (url "https://github.com/tomaspinho/rtl8821ce";)
- (commit commit)))
- (file-name (git-file-name name version))
- (sha256
- (base32
- "00sd7s0582b9jcpfgy0fw6418dwg700mfyizkfr22jf2x140iy70"
- (build-system linux-module-build-system)
- (arguments
- (list #:make-flags
- #~(list (string-append "CC=" #$(cc-for-target))
- (string-append "KSRC="
-(assoc-ref %build-inputs
- "linux-module-builder")
-"/lib/modules/build"))
- #:phases
- #~(modify-phases %standard-phases
- (replace 'build
- (lambda* (#:key (make-flags '()) (parallel-build? #t)
- #:allow-other-keys)
- (apply invoke "make"
-`(,@(if parallel-build?
-`("-j" ,(number->string (parallel-job-count)))
-'())
- ,@make-flags)
- #:tests? #f)) ; no test suite
- (home-page "https://github.com/tomaspinho/rtl8821ce";)
- (synopsis "Linux driver for Realtek RTL8821CE wireless network adapters")
- (description "This is Realtek's RTL8821CE Linux driver for wireless
-network adapters.")
- (license license:gpl2
-
-(define-public rtl8812au-aircrack-ng-linux-module
- (let ((commit "6d0d9fb56d4d918012a5c7a030b9233cad039cdd")
-(revision "8"))
-(package
- (inherit rtl8821ce-linux-module)
- (name "rtl8812au-aircrack-ng-linux-module")
- (version (git-version "5.6.4.2" revision commit))
- (source
- (origin
- (method git-fetch)
- (uri (git-reference
- (url "https://github.com/aircrack-ng/rtl8812au";)
- (commit commit)))
- (file-name (git-file-name name version))
- (sha256
- (base32 "012asiy43ik13kl9p97sscdsqq5jihq73s4ws3g5wqqczqcgrsvc"))
- (modules '((guix build utils)))
- (snippet
- #~(begin
- ;; Remove bundled tarballs, APKs, word lists, speadsheets,
- ;; and other unnecessary unlicenced things.
- (for-each delete-file-recursively (list "android"
- "docs"
- "tools"))
- (supported-systems '("x86_64-linux"
bug#57269: [rtl8812au-aircrack-ng-linux-module] Missing Source for hal/rtl8812a/hal8812a_fw.c (and probably other files ending in fw.c)
Tobias, On Thu, 18 Aug 2022, Tobias Geerinckx-Rice via Bug reports for GNU Guix wrote: Attached is a patch removing the rtl8821ce-linux-module and rtl8812au-aircrack-ng-linux-module packages. diff --git a/gnu/system/examples/bare-bones.tmpl b/gnu/system/examples/bare-bones.tmpl index 387e4b12ba..ecac4bb3d1 100644 --- a/gnu/system/examples/bare-bones.tmpl +++ b/gnu/system/examples/bare-bones.tmpl @@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ (file-systems (cons (file-system (device (file-system-label "my-root")) (mount-point "/") + (options "atime,lol,ro,shared,shared") Looks like you have an extraneous change here. Best, Jack
bug#57269: [rtl8812au-aircrack-ng-linux-module] Missing Source for hal/rtl8812a/hal8812a_fw.c (and probably other files ending in fw.c)
Hi, Tobias Geerinckx-Rice writes: > Hi Jacob, > > Jacob K via Bug reports for GNU Guix 写道： >> Files such as hal8812a_fw.c [1] have large arrays that seem to be >> binary >> firmware encoded in text. My understanding is that source code is >> not >> available, so I believe the files are nonfree software, > > Even if free source code exists, we should still remove the blobs and > build our own. (Yes, we actually do this for other firmware :-) > >> the short-term at least, be removed from Guix. Long term it would be >> good to get the source code (via reverse engineering or asking >> Realtek), >> but I imagine that would take a significant amount of time and >> effort (I >> do have a Realtek USB Wi-Fi card, maybe not with this exact firmware >> though.). > > Unfortunately all correct. Another blow to wireless networking with > Guix. Attached is a patch removing the rtl8821ce-linux-module and > rtl8812au-aircrack-ng-linux-module packages. Ouch. There goes the tiny WiFi dongle I liked on my x200 :-). Can we report this upstream, so that it's at least documented and opens the door for an eventual resolution? > I didn't apply it yet. Since this case, unlike some others, appears > to be straightforward, I don't intend to wait long. Fine by me (without the lol part). Maxim
bug#57269: [rtl8812au-aircrack-ng-linux-module] Missing Source for hal/rtl8812a/hal8812a_fw.c (and probably other files ending in fw.c)
Hello, Maxim Cournoyer writes: > Hi, > > Tobias Geerinckx-Rice writes: > >> Hi Jacob, >> >> Jacob K via Bug reports for GNU Guix 写道： >>> Files such as hal8812a_fw.c [1] have large arrays that seem to be >>> binary >>> firmware encoded in text. My understanding is that source code is >>> not >>> available, so I believe the files are nonfree software, >> >> Even if free source code exists, we should still remove the blobs and >> build our own. (Yes, we actually do this for other firmware :-) >> >>> the short-term at least, be removed from Guix. Long term it would be >>> good to get the source code (via reverse engineering or asking >>> Realtek), >>> but I imagine that would take a significant amount of time and >>> effort (I >>> do have a Realtek USB Wi-Fi card, maybe not with this exact firmware >>> though.). >> >> Unfortunately all correct. Another blow to wireless networking with >> Guix. Attached is a patch removing the rtl8821ce-linux-module and >> rtl8812au-aircrack-ng-linux-module packages. Closing, as the drivers were removed in Tobias's commit b8f2eb286ec52c97048e23d326d94ae5772797e8. Thanks, Maxim
