Re: [PATCH] Update the random(4) documentation towards a more accurate view on /dev/urandom

On Mon, 2016-04-25 at 10:48 +0200, Nikos Mavrogiannopoulos wrote:

This documents the "property" of /dev/urandom of being able to serve
numbers
prior to pool being initialized, and removes any suggested usages of
/dev/random
which are disputable (i.e., one-time pad).
Document the fact /dev/random is only suitable for applications which
can afford
indeterminate delays since very few applications can do so.
Smooth the alarming language about a theoretical attack, and mention
that its
security depends on the cryptographic primitives used by the kernel,
as well
as the total entropy gathered.

This is an updated patch reflecting the recent discussion in linux-
crypto:

http://www.mail-archive.com/linux-crypto-u79uwXL29TY76Z2rM5mHXA@public.gmane.org/msg20400.html

regards,
Nikos