Error message when insmodding

Error message when insmodding

[David Stroupe]

When I load a device driver I get the message:

Warning:  loading driver.o will taint the kernel : no license

This is a driver that I created myself and it seems to load and function 
properly regardless of this message.

What does this mean?

How do I resolve it?
TIA

-- 
Best regards,
David Stroupe
Keyed-Up Software


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Re: Error message when insmodding

[Steven Smith]

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> Warning:  loading driver.o will taint the kernel : no license
> 
> This is a driver that I created myself and it seems to load and function 
> properly regardless of this message.
> 
> What does this mean?
Recent kernels have a ``MODULE_LICENSE'' macro, which allows you to specify
a license for your module. This is so as kernels with binary-only modules
are flagged as such in bug reports, and don't cause people to waste too much
time with unfixable problems. All this warning means is that your module
has no MODULE_LICENSE.

The tainted bit just means that something odd has happened which will make
bug reports less useful/accurate.

> How do I resolve it?
Add a MODULE_LICENSE. This is defined in linux/module.h, and is used as:

MODULE_LICENSE("Name of your license");

somewhere near the bottom of your module. Licenses recognised by insmod
are (without checking):

GPL
Dual MPL/GPL
Dual BSD/GPL
GPL and additional rights

Anything else will probably get rid of your error message, but won't let
you use GPLONLY kernel exports.

Steven Smith,
sos22@cam.ac.uk.

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