The extended filesystem, otherwise known as ext, has been a fundamental part of Linux since before the 1.0 release in 1994. Currently the filesystem is on its fourth major revision, in use since its release in 2008 thanks to its stability, reliability, and backwards compatibility with the other ext filesystem versions. But with that much history there are bound to be a few issues cropping up here and there. [Will] recently found an exploit with this filesystem that can cause a Linux kernel to immediately panic when a manipulated USB drive is inserted into a computer.

[Will] discovered this quirk when investigating the intricacies of the filesystem for problems and other vulnerabilities. A tool called tune2fs, used for administering and modifying ext filesystems, includes the ability to pass certain commands to the Linux kernel when certain situations arise with the filesystem itself, including that the kernel should panic. One situation is that the ext filesystem itself becomes corrupted, which can then cause the kernel panic. Armed with this knowledge, a USB drive can be purposefully given a corrupted ext filesystem which, when plugged into a Linux machine, can cause the computer to shut down.

The post linked above goes into some discussion about how this exploit could be used maliciously to gain access to a Linux system, including rebooting computers where no access to a power button is otherwise enabled or making other changes to the system before needing a reboot to apply the changes. In general, though, it’s good to assume an attacker could take any route to gain access to a machine. This exploit from a few years ago, for example, allowed another Linux tool to be used to gain root access.

Thanks to [Timothy] for the tip!

It was Supercon this weekend, and Hackaday staffers made their way to Pasadena for what was by all accounts an excellent event. Now they’re all on their way home on red-eye flights and far from their benches, so spare a thought for the lonely editor holding the fort while they’ve been having fun. The supply of cool hacks for your entertainment must continue, so what’s to be done? Fortunately Hackaday writer [Anne Ogborn] has the answer, in the form of an automated Hackaday article generator.

We once had a commenter make a withering insult that one of our contributors’ writing styles looked like the work of an AI driven bot, a sentence that the writer in question treasures enough to have incorporated in their Hackaday email signature. [Anne] is a data scientist and Prolog programmer by trade so knows a bit about AI, and she has no need for such frippery. Instead she’s made a deck of cards each marked with a common theme among the work featured here, and generating new article titles is a simple case of drawing cards from the pack and assembling the resulting sentence.

The result is both amusing and we think, uncannily on the mark. Who wouldn’t want an ESP8266 powered cardboard drone? We think it will make a valuable addition to the Hackaday armoury, to be brought out on days such as the first of April, when there’s always an unexpected shortage of hacks. Video below the break.

PictureThis is an exciting AI-powered plant identification app that can quickly identify flowers, leaves, trees, and herbs by simply taking a photo. With a database of over 12,000 plant species, the app provides instant and accurate results, along with detailed information about each plant. As well as identification, PictureThis also offers personalized gardening tips, plant […]

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Twixify is an AI text humanizer that can transform AI-generated content to reflect your personal writing style, making it undetectable and indistinguishable from human-written text. Ideal for bypassing AI detection tools, Twixify adjusts syntax, tone, and flow to ensure your text reads naturally and feels authentic. Since it’s launch in July 2024, it has become […]

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A recent breakthrough in OpenAI’s artificial intelligence technology has the potential to revolutionize industries across the board. The technology, known as ChatGPT, is now likely the most powerful public human-to-AI text interface in the world. So many industries can benefit from the recent advancements in AI text-generation, the recent growth within the AI field has […]

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ChadView is an AI-powered Chrome extension that helps you ace technical job interviews. It listens in real-time during your Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams video call and instantly provides answers to the interviewer’s questions. During your video call, just click the “Ask” button and it will analyze the last 30 seconds of audio, identify the […]

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HumanizerPro.ai is an advanced AI tool designed to convert AI-generated text into human-like content effortlessly. Whether you’re a writer, marketer, or business professional, HumanizerPro.ai helps you transform robotic AI text into natural, engaging language that resonates with real people. With a focus on bypassing AI detectors, the platform ensures your content remains authentic and undetectable. […]

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The “Humanize AI Text” tool by AISEO is designed to transform AI-generated text into more engaging, human-like content. It aims to enhance the relatability and authenticity of machine-generated text, making it resonate better with audiences. The tool offers several modes like Standard, Shorten, Expand, Simplify, and Improve Writing, allowing users to tailor their content to […]

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AI Text Converter is a free online humanize AI text converter tool that easily converts your ChatGPT content or any other AI content to human-like content in just one click. The tool offers multiple algorithms for conversion, including a “normal” and “advance” mode.

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ChatPhoto is an AI-powered mobile app that lets you chat with your photos and convert your images to text. Simply upload a photo and you can ask ChatPhoto questions about it. It will analyze the visual content and provide relevant, detailed responses. The free version offers limited chatbot interactions per month, single chats, clipboard copy-paste […]

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Transkriptor makes transcribing audio and video recordings fast and easy. Its powerful AI technology can automatically convert speech to text with up to 99% accuracy, making it perfect for transcribing interviews, meetings, lectures, and more. Just upload your audio or video file and Transkriptor’s AI goes to work. Transcriptions are delivered in minutes right to […]

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HappySRT is an AI-powered tool that allows you to automatically generate accurate subtitles by either uploading a video/audio file or from YouTube URLs. Speed up the process of globalizing content with this user-friendly, cutting-edge solution and reach audiences of any language. With HappySRT, content creators can reach viewers faster than ever before with precision accuracy. […]

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AI Phone is an intelligent communication assistant that makes crucial phone calls easier. It provides live call transcription and summarization using AI to ensure you never miss important details in your conversations. The app also gives real-time captions and translations, keyword annotations, and generates automated summaries after each call. Another useful feature is that it […]

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