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Decode kernel panic from QR Code photo

30 points by modinfo 2 days ago | 14 comments

userbinator 29 minutes ago

I hope this is Windows-inspired satire. If I get a kernel panic I want something I can actually read.

kouosi 23 minutes ago

It's been there for like 2 years (6.12 iirc) so it is not satire it is real.

jolmg 7 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.

userbinator 27 minutes ago

The panic text is encoded as a numeric parameter.

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

WTF. A solution for an entirely self-inflicted problem.

jolmg 11 minutes ago

> self-inflicted

Distro developers and user are separate people. Also, a person viewing the QR code is not necessarily the owner of the panicked system.

natas 8 hours ago

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

bri3d 8 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 7 hours ago

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

hamandcheese 6 hours ago

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

catlifeonmars 6 hours ago

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

charcircuit 3 hours ago

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

ErroneousBosh 2 hours ago

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

catlifeonmars 6 hours ago

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

kzrdude 4 hours ago

This is about a second step of decoding.

Qr -> URL -> Panic Log