Binary Firmware Inventory for the Debian Linux 2.6.17 kernel

I count 58 more files with firmware that need to be removed if the Linux kernel is to legally stay in Debian main. This report is the basis of bug #383403 against linux-2.6. As each piece of firmware is removed from linux-2.6, it should (license permitting) pop up in firmware-nonfree.

Credits/thanks to:

• Bill Allombert's study of Linux 2.4.25.
• Debian's KernelFirmwareLicensing Wiki.
• Nathanael Nerode for helpful discussions, and his post that piqued my interest.
• Matthieu Castet for tracking down the source to the firmware embedded in av7110_hw.c.

I list a file as "apparently nondistributable" if a binary firmware blob is part of GPL'd driver code, and source for that blob is not available.

I list a file as "apparently ok for non-free" if a binary firmware blob is part of BSD-ish licensed driver code, and source for that blob is not available. Code also falls in this category if it has a license that grants nondiscrimintaing permission for redistribution, but not for modification ("redistr." in the table below). IMHLO, Debian gets into hazy legal territory if such a driver is built into a GPL'd (in aggregate) kernel. Distributing modules built from such code is probably OK for non-free.

In cases where the file itself has no copyright or license notice, I assume it follows the driver file that includes it or links to it. Note that this makes very generous assumptions that the people who put the firmware into the kernel had the rights to do so. There are many cases that look suspiciously like the firmware image was grabbed without permission, but I won't try to categorize and second-guess such cases here. Ownership and permission for these blobs should be researched and documented as they are submitted for firmware-nonfree. The firmware-nonfree maintainers look like they are on the right track so far.

This is not a new problem. Debian bug #242866 (April, 2004) was tagged "sarge-ignore" on the basis of a Debian GR. Unless another GR is passed, Debian must deal with this problem. Goswin summarized the situation nicely, although there is apparently room for disagreement. See also this LWN article (April, 2005) and its discussion.

Possible solutions to each of the 58 bugs, in order of desirability:

1. Get the author to release source code to the firmware under a DFSG-free license
2. Reverse engineer the needed firmware, and create a completely free driver
3. Move the firmware to non-free, patching the driver to use request_firmware() (requires relicensing of erroneously GPL'd firmware to BSD-ish terms)
4. Move the whole driver to non-free, without major patching (does not apply to GPL'd drivers, unless they are relicensed)
5. Delete the driver and firmware entirely

Totals:

• 46 source files that already use request_firmware() or mod_firmware_load()
• 18 already removed from Debian (linux-2.6_2.6.17.orig.tar.gz)
• 46 apparently nondistributable
• 12 apparently ok for non-free
• 15 free

Relative to sarge, 13 new sourceless-firmware-contaminated files have found their way into Debian's Linux source tree. They are:

• drivers/net/bnx2_fw.h
• drivers/net/cassini.h
• drivers/net/e100.c
• drivers/net/starfire_firmware.h
• drivers/net/tg3.c
• drivers/scsi/ql1040_fw.h
• drivers/scsi/qla2xxx/ql2100_fw.c
• drivers/scsi/qla2xxx/ql2200_fw.c
• drivers/scsi/qla2xxx/ql2300_fw.c
• drivers/scsi/qla2xxx/ql2322_fw.c
• drivers/scsi/qla2xxx/ql2400_fw.c
• drivers/usb/serial/ti_fw_3410.h
• drivers/usb/serial/ti_fw_5052.h

Apologies in advance if there are mistakes in this list. It's very easy to believe I missed or misinterpreted a few files. Send me mail if you find any mistakes, and I will correct them. If a Debian linux-2.6.18 package comes out that still has illegal and/or Debian-SC-violating firmware in it, expect me to post an update. (Note: the first cut at 2.6.18 has come out, apparently with major regressions on this topic, causing major flamage on Debian mailing lists. I hope to procrastinate the analysis long enough that an improved linux-2.6.18 source package will be created first.)

Notes:

1. I have been unable to regenerate this file from the claimed source
2. firmware provided as CPP macros implementing an assembler
3. request_firmware() code already in qla_os.c, but blobs take precedence; required file LICENSE.qla2xxx missing from source and binary
4. redistributable as part of a Linux or other Open Source operating system kernel
5. two copies of this file, in sound/oss/ and sound/pci/ymfpci/
6. patch converting this to request_firmware() posted in Debian bug #242866
7. two copies of this blob, in sound/oss/maestro3.h and sound/pci/maestro3.c
8. source temporarily resides at http://castet.matthieu.free.fr/ttpci/Boot.S
9. firmware is dual-licensed, GPL and BSD-ish; inherits GPL from bnx2.c, so in its current form the driver as a whole is nondistributable
10. while e100.c appears in sarge, that version does not have any sourceless firmware; see also #390994

Drivers already using request_firmware:

• drivers/bluetooth/bcm203x.c
• drivers/bluetooth/bfusb.c
• drivers/bluetooth/bt3c_cs.c
• drivers/char/isicom.c
• drivers/firmware/dell_rbu.c
• drivers/media/dvb/b2c2/flexcop-fe-tuner.c
• drivers/media/dvb/bt8xx/dvb-bt8xx.c
• drivers/media/dvb/dvb-usb/dvb-usb-firmware.c
• drivers/media/dvb/frontends/nxt200x.c
• drivers/media/dvb/frontends/or51132.c
• drivers/media/dvb/pluto2/pluto2.c
• drivers/media/dvb/ttpci/av7110.c
• drivers/media/dvb/ttpci/budget-av.c
• drivers/media/dvb/ttpci/budget-ci.c
• drivers/media/dvb/ttusb-budget/dvb-ttusb-budget.c
• drivers/media/dvb/ttusb-dec/ttusb_dec.c
• drivers/media/video/bt8xx/bttv-cards.c
• drivers/media/video/cx25840/cx25840-firmware.c
• drivers/media/video/cx88/cx88-blackbird.c
• drivers/net/irda/irda-usb.c
• drivers/net/spider_net.c
• drivers/net/tokenring/tms380tr.c
• drivers/net/wireless/atmel.c
• drivers/net/wireless/bcm43xx/bcm43xx_main.c
• drivers/net/wireless/ipw2100.c
• drivers/net/wireless/ipw2200.c
• drivers/net/wireless/prism54/islpci_dev.c
• drivers/net/wireless/spectrum_cs.c
• drivers/pcmcia/ds.c
• drivers/scsi/ipr.c
• drivers/scsi/qla2xxx/qla_os.c
• drivers/serial/icom.c
• drivers/usb/atm/cxacru.c
• drivers/usb/atm/speedtch.c
• drivers/usb/atm/ueagle-atm.c
• drivers/usb/net/zd1201.c
• sound/drivers/vx/vx_hwdep.c
• sound/pci/mixart/mixart_hwdep.c
• sound/pci/pcxhr/pcxhr_hwdep.c
• sound/pci/riptide/riptide.c
• sound/pci/rme9652/hdsp.c

• sound/oss/msnd_pinnacle.c
• sound/oss/pss.c
• sound/oss/sb_common.c
• sound/oss/sscape.c
• sound/oss/trix.c