this post was submitted on 07 May 2026
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Linux

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Linux is actually very vulnerable to exploits and it's showing with high value vulnerabilities that has been dropping in the latest years; FreeBSD is way better in security record (piefed.world)
submitted 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by beep@piefed.world to c/linux@lemmy.world
9 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/uncommon/p/1089778/linux-is-actually-very-vulnerable-to-exploits-and-it-s-showing-with-high-value-vulnerabi

I hate when people keep repeating the myth that Linux is more secure than X OS without any understanding of how much Linux gets exploited.

On the other hand, FreeBSD rarely suffers from wide security issues.

Overall, I don't think anyone should repeat the myth that Linux is secure.

And at least if they gonna recommend Linux, they better recommend a good distro with SeLinux, hardened kernel and hardened OS.

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[–] Auster@thebrainbin.org 11 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Transparent code may make finding issues more easily, but it also makes fixing them more easily.

Also it's the most used system used in the world due to sites most using it. So as more desktop users end up using it, problems server managers wouldn't see or deem important now start appearing.

But also, that is considering the statement that security issues in Linux are more common. Are they though? Is it from some technical research, or gut feeling like thinking all airplanes are dangerous when one falls and there's all the noise from the blood-hungry medias?

[–] Auster@thebrainbin.org 2 points 6 days ago

About the second point, I didn't write it as well, so rephrasing it:

It's the most used system due to sites, so it got quite wide due to scope. But desktop users from my experience are a bit more prone to making mistakes in their daily usage. So as another scope becomes prelevant, new issues arise, and the ones ignored or not seen start appearing. Also, hackers, either good or bad, would see a system becoming popular among mistake-prone users as a fertile ground for finding issues.

But again, that is considering the claim about having more issues is well-grounded.

[–] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 10 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Based on what evidence?

Beep. Do better.

https://www.freebsd.org/security/advisories/

[–] chonkyninja@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

LMAO, any OS is insecure if you don’t lock it down and harden it, including BSD.

[–] arcterus@piefed.blahaj.zone 4 points 6 days ago

Last I checked, FreeBSD frequently includes very outdated versions of stuff like OpenSSL. It also lacks privilege separation for pkg/ports. Of course, there are Linux distributions with these same problems, but there are also ones that don't have them.

Also, a lot of the practical problems with desktop usage stem from most/all of your valuable data being in the home directory and everything running as the same user with no real filesystem restrictions (can be different if you've got something like SELinux configured correctly). AFAIK FreeBSD doesn't do anything to make this less of a problem than Linux.

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Gools old beep, you known troll of posing uninformed information like a fact.

[–] beep@piefed.world -4 points 6 days ago (1 children)
[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 10 points 6 days ago

Ah yes Linux kernel 14,000 over all time.

Meanwhile in Microsoft land
Microsoft server os (2008 through 2025) 17,000 Windows (7 through to 11) 16,000

Using one number on one page to say everyone is wrong is misleading at best or outright lying at worse. And do keep in mind, an open source project is going to have more eyes on it due to the nature of seeing the code.