Show HN: Autonomous root for Tcl Android TV via CVE-2022-22706

Always good to see progress towards people getting to own their own hardware.

> MIT for all original code. The kernel excerpt (kernel/mem.c) retains its GPL-2.0 license and copyright notices.

One small tweak needed here.

GPL 2.0? Has this bit:

> You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that in whole or in part contains or is derived from the Program or any part thereof, to be licensed as a whole at no charge to all third parties under the terms of this License.

"under the terms of [this License]."

It is viral. Copying the code, and distributing it, as done here, means that GPL 2.0 is meant to apply to everything. The only carveout, is if your code didn't depend on the kernel excerpt at all. But... It does.

> If you wish to incorporate parts of the Program into other free programs whose distribution conditions are different, write to the author to ask for permission.

	▲	pessimizer 27 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		In this particular case it is not viral. All MIT-licensed code can be "licensed as a whole at no charge to all third parties under" GPL 2. The point of the MIT license is that it can be freely relicensed. You actually have more rights with that file than with the others; the GPL doesn't restrict non-GPL'd code distributed with it, it requires that that code be licensed in a way that allows it to be distributed under GPL 2. For example, I myself can take this code and redistribute the entire thing under GPL 2 without an exception for ./kernel/mem.c (as long as I include any acknowledgement required by MIT, such as a copy of the MIT license and a copyright notice.) You're overcomplicating things and (maybe accidentally) spreading FUD. MIT was specifically designed to be compatible with anything from copyleft to proprietary.

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Hydraulix989 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I should just be able to have root on the TV that I bought and paid for and own.

	▲	zug_zug an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Agreed. But in the meantime this type of hacking is entirely legal under DMCA, that's actually quite clear. Though it would be nice if it didn't require such work.
	▲	kyriakos 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Same would apply to mobile phones and tablets and yet a lot of people here defend mega corps for locking them down

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pessimizer 19 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I've been hearing that AI is a security armageddon, it's about time we realized that it's the means for a rebirth of the ancient art of rooting sleazy devices.

I bet AI could help us to keep the updates rooted, too. To lock out the manufacturers and to update some IoT garbage to work locally. And to port some drivers.

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zb3 an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

When I was a kid, hacking meant breaking into others' systems, I'd not believe if you told me that one day we'd use security vulnerabilities to control products we own and paid for..

	▲	basilikum 20 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		You were a kid in a parallel universe then. Hacking always meant creative, unconventional and most importantly curious use of technology. The wider public just did not know or understand that.

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BLKNSLVR 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I have a TCL Android TV, and just adb access, not root, allowed me to change the default launcher, which makes the home screen really quite beautiful - mostly a pretty background and just the apps I want; and no fucking ads.

I don't feel the need for root, but I also don't want to brick our main TV.

Once it becomes the secondary, though, and once the lineageOS equivalents for TVs start coming out, I'll be tinkering.

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realusername 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

If it really is still on "Android 11 / Linux 4.4" as per the document, there's probably tons of root exploits