The linux.dev mailing-list service launches [LWN.net]

There is a new mailing-list server running under the auspices of kernel.org that is meant, over time, to address the problems that have been plaguing vger.kernel.org in recent times.

The infrastructure behind lists.linux.dev supports multiple domains, so all mailing lists hosted on vger.kernel.org will be carefully migrated to the same platform while preserving current addresses, subscribers, and list ids. The only thing that will noticeably change is the procedure to subscribe and unsubscribe from individual lists.

Among other things, the new server prioritizes delivery to the lore.kernel.org archive, which should minimize the problems seen recently with lost messages.

to post comments

The linux.dev mailing-list service launches

Posted Mar 16, 2021 13:15 UTC (Tue) by arekm (subscriber, #4846) [Link] (2 responses)

What software for mailing lists handling it uses instead of majordomo?

old/new mta and mlm

Posted Mar 16, 2021 14:00 UTC (Tue) by xose (subscriber, #535) [Link]

zmailer → postfix
majordomo → mlmmj

The linux.dev mailing-list service launches

Posted Mar 17, 2021 15:20 UTC (Wed) by mricon (subscriber, #59252) [Link]

There's some info here: https://people.kernel.org/monsieuricon/subspace-mailing-l...

Spam

Posted Mar 16, 2021 16:45 UTC (Tue) by abatters (✭ supporter ✭, #6932) [Link] (5 responses)

On the subject of the kernel mailing list, I just got a spam message that was a reply to a message I sent to linux-kernel a few weeks ago, complete with subject and the body quoted, but with a nice zipfile attachment and generic "Attached is the document you need." spam boilerplate. In the past I have had spammers get my email from the kernel mailing lists, but this is the first time I have seen them reply to my actual message.

Spam

Posted Mar 16, 2021 17:05 UTC (Tue) by Sesse (subscriber, #53779) [Link]

I got a similar one, but from a Debian bug.

Spam

Posted Mar 16, 2021 17:31 UTC (Tue) by jg71 (guest, #67102) [Link]

I also got such a mail. I sent the attachement (a zip containing a single xls) to Virustotal, a trojan was found.

Spam

Posted Mar 16, 2021 19:13 UTC (Tue) by mss (subscriber, #138799) [Link] (1 responses)

Me too, but it looks like a generic e-mail address harvesting bot operation, not a targeted attack.

If the spammers were a little bit more clever they would make that message look like it was coming from one of the patch reviewers (including its content).

Spam

Posted Mar 16, 2021 19:49 UTC (Tue) by elel (guest, #100484) [Link]

This is actually a technique which has been gaining traction in spam over the last couple of years, known as email thread hijacking or reply chain hijacking. I know of more than one organization (privately, can't link to public sources) which has been hacked by phishing replies to an email thread between the organization and another which had been compromised previously. See the following article for more details: https://www.hornetsecurity.com/us/security-information-us...

Spam

Posted Mar 17, 2021 15:05 UTC (Wed) by MarcB (subscriber, #101804) [Link]

It's not even a spammer replying, it is fully automated malware. This is how Emotet and similar malware spreads. The attachment likely contains macro code or exploits some vulnerabilities in viewers and would be able to infect a Windows PC.

Usually the mails that are replied to are found in the mailbox of an infected victim, so such replies are even sent for non-public mails.

The linux.dev mailing-list service launches

Posted Mar 16, 2021 18:05 UTC (Tue) by mfuzzey (subscriber, #57966) [Link] (1 responses)

Is there any hope that, once the existing vger lists are migrated, some of the current non vger lists that require subscription to post will move to linux.dev and drop the subscription requirement?

It's very annoying when you need to send an occasional message to a subscribers only list to have it bounce...

The linux.dev mailing-list service launches

Posted Mar 19, 2021 8:24 UTC (Fri) by error27 (guest, #8346) [Link]

I seem to get fewer of those "your email is being delayed for moderation" replies these days. Hopefully, it's because they added a whitelist feature so they can just approve me as a non subscriber instead of having to approve every single email.