Re: [PATCH v2 00/11] introduce random32_get_bytes() and random32_get_bytes_state()

Valdis.Kletnieks
2012-11-06T05:16:47Z

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On Sun, 04 Nov 2012 00:43:31 +0900, Akinobu Mita said:
> This patchset introduces new functions into random32 library for
> getting the requested number of pseudo-random bytes.
>
> Before introducing these new functions into random32 library,
> prandom32() and prandom32_seed() with "prandom32" prefix are
> renamed to random32_state() and srandom32_state() respectively.
>
> The purpose of this renaming is to prevent some kernel developers
> from assuming that prandom32() and random32() might imply that only
> prandom32() was the one using a pseudo-random number generator by
> prandom32's "p", and the result may be a very embarassing security
> exposure.

Out of curiosity, why the '32'? I'm just waiting for some kernel developer to
do something stupid with this on a 64-bit arch because they think it's a 32-bit API. ;)

Should we bite the bullet and lose the 32, as long as we're churning the code *anyhow*?

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