Sloggi 0.1.2 - A Solaris Uname Jacket

Introduction

Sloggi is a thin loadable kernel module for the Solaris Operating Environment (OE) 8 and 9. It allows the administrator to change the name, the release and the version of the operating system on a running system by intercepting the uname() system call. It is a coarse way of creating a compatible environment for application that check for the information returned by uname() (or the command uname).

Changes

Version	Date	Changes
0.1.2	2003-12-29	Added support for Solaris 10, thanks to Glenn M. Brunette, Jr.
0.1.1	2002-09-04	Initial public release.

Downloads

Source packages
Release	Source Package	Size
Sloggi 0.1.2	sloggi-0.1.2.tar.gz	8kb
Sloggi 0.1.1	sloggi-0.1.1.tar.gz	8kb

Details

Sun tries to keep newer release of the Solaris OE binary compatible to older ones. Therefore you can assume that many applications designed for Solaris 8 will operate on Solaris 9 and vice versa. Unfortunatly, several of these applications explicitly check for the correct release of Solaris. Using Sloggi you are able to find out if a software works on your system on your own and don't need to rely on a developer who added the release check.

Just a Sloggi for your Solaris system, it's all about feeling comfortable, see www.sloggi.com.

No bug in the default install in nearly 5 years! Just kidding. There are probably some bugs around, but I am not an entomologist. Also important to mention, Sloggi is a registered trademark of Triumph International AG. But do they also dress Solaris systems?

Installation

The installation of Sloggi is rather simple. First configure the Makefile in the src/ directory. Just step through the file and (un)comment the definitions according to your setup. Choose to whether use the Sun C Compiler or the GNU C Compiler to compile the module. If you are running a 64 bit kernel, you have to use the Sun C Compiler or the GNU C Compiler version 3.x.

That's it.

# cd src # make # make install

In case you don't like Sloggi.

# make uninstall

Usage

   Usage: slogctl [-hV] [-s sysname] [-r release] [-v version] [-m machine]
   Options:
      -s sysname   Set the name of the operating system.
                   [Default: SunOS]
      -r release   Set the operating system release level.
                   [Usually: 5.8, 5.9, ...]
      -v version   Set the the operating system version.
                   [Default: Generic]
      -m machine   Set the machine hardware name (class).
                   [Usually: sun4m, sun4u, i86pc, ...]   
      -h           Print this help screen.
      -V           Print version information.
   No options restore the original uname() setup

Examples

If you install the Ximian GNOME Desktop on a Solaris 8 system and then upgrade to Solaris 9, you will be surprised because Ximian Red-Carpet will refuse to update your system and complain about the incompatible Solaris 9 system.

You can now temporarly turn your Solaris 9 system into the release 8, update the GNOME components using Red-Carpet and later return to your original release.

# slogctl -r 5.8 SunOS fluffy 5.8 Generic sun4u # red-carpet # slogctl SunOS fluffy 5.9 Generic sun4u

That's it.

If you are really crazy, you can do very, very strange things with Sloggi. You could for example setup a normal Solaris 8 box somewhere on the net and obfuscate your system's users by changing your system's value completely.

# slogctl -s Linux -r 2.4.18 -v "#1 Wed Mar 27 13:57:05 UTC 2002" Linux fluffy 2.4.18 #1 Wed Mar 27 13:57:05 UTC 2002 sun4u

But if you are playing these dirty tricks, expect a lot of applications that will refuse to work. This is for bored geeks only or security experts that are hunting for a good laugh on a honeypot.

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