You would be vulnerable on Windows, if you were running CUPS, which you probably are not. But CUPS is not tied to Linux, and is used commonly on e.g. BSDs, and Apple has their own fork for MacOS (have not heard anything about it being vulnerable though).
Wait, which list of filtered IPs are you even talking about? The list in the article is a list of unique kernel versions, not IPs.
I'm not sure why you say it's "artificially" inflated. Non-linux systems are also affected.
this will affect almost nobody
Is that really true? From https://www.evilsocket.net/2024/09/26/Attacking-UNIX-systems-via-CUPS-Part-I/
Full disclosure, I’ve been scanning the entire public internet IPv4 ranges several times a day for weeks, sending the UDP packet and logging whatever connected back. And I’ve got back connections from hundreds of thousands of devices, with peaks of 200-300K concurrent devices.
The point is, it's not at all clear, because Github has it's own definition of what "fork" means. I'm honestly not sure why it's so hard to grasp.
How about you continue reading a bit further, until you hit the word "and".
take a copy of source code from one software package and start independent development
(emphasis mine).
Github defines "forking" as just copying, while normally it is understood as copying + further development (creating a "fork" in the development history, hence the name).
I edited my reply to include the definition from Wikipedia, but there are of course many other sources.
I got it from the TOS:
By setting your repositories to be viewed publicly, you agree to allow others to view and "fork" your repositories (this means that others may make their own copies of Content from your repositories in repositories they control).
They explicitly define it as making copies. There is no mention of being allowed to modify said copy. Also note the quotes around "fork", since it differs from the usual definition.
E.g. wikpedia (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork_(software_development) defines it thusly:
In software engineering, a project fork happens when developers take a copy of source code from one software package and start independent development on it, creating a distinct and separate piece of software.
(Emphasis mine)
The TOS actually does not say you are granting users permissions to fork in the usually understood sense. The TOS gives you permission to copy, which Github calls "forking" even though it isn't.
Just because you can do something, does not mean you are allowed to.
Why?