Decode kernel panic from QR Code photo

(gist.github.com)

29 points | by modinfo 1 day ago

2 comments

  • jolmg 5 hours ago

    For context, kernel panics seem to sometimes be encoded as a URL in the QR code by distros. The panic text is encoded as a numeric parameter. For example:

      https://jexposit.fedorapeople.org/drm-panic/#?a=x86_64&v=6.17.0-rc2+&z=64016708045408584681305161836175901065787789727173061004041671633088591186286363786562987653814347942450168430510852681524688435157911241621365859153819732690406649525043247774110913752991389170560320455163781439079986337356710273501164645667555084821480237326301207073831710176482850121513079951455217310046422632328303510474264780788030301611164774573122018172510304672562667379831349924441560360997679573341401750485619388375493[... many more digits]
    
    That's from the QR code image at:

    https://discussion.fedoraproject.org/t/f45-change-proposal-d...

    This script is to decode such kernel panics without needing to provide it to an external service.

    In the particular URL example, the panic is not necessarily sent to a server, because it's in a URL fragment (`#`), but still.

    • natas 7 hours ago

      I think that's a really good idea! Would love to see this upstream

      • bri3d 6 hours ago

        It is? This is drm-panic qr codes from Linux 6.12. It’s a neat feature but I’m not sure why this random implementation is particularly interesting.

        • theowaway213456 5 hours ago

          Can't a phone decode a QR code natively? I don't even get what it does

          • hamandcheese 4 hours ago

            If you decode it and open the link, you are potentially leaking data to whoever controls the domain of the URL.

            • ErroneousBosh 40 minutes ago

              This sounds like the panicky adverts from 20-odd years ago "YOUR COMPUTER IS LEAKING YOUR IP ADDRESS!!11!!""2!!2!!"

              • catlifeonmars 4 hours ago

                Link previews even! Just paste it into a group chat and everyone’s message clients will happily issue a GET request.

                • charcircuit 1 hour ago

                  That's not how it works. The chat app requests the link preview and caches it.

              • catlifeonmars 4 hours ago

                You can decode a QR code by hand. It’s usually not worth your while but it’s understandable.

                • kzrdude 3 hours ago

                  This is about a second step of decoding.

                  Qr -> URL -> Panic Log