> So it's all about depending on the CPU to actually do what it's advertising
I know I'm nitpicking but I disagree with that statement.
There's a kernel option called CONFIG_RANDOM_TRUST_CPU which you can set to false. So if for some reason, even if it's a bad one, you don't want your random numbers generated by your cpu then that's that. End of discussion. (In theory, not sure if rdrand if trapable)
I get that you're skeptical about the quality of what's provided in /dev/(u)random because in most cases it's true. Should I ever feel the need to hookup a hw random generator then I hope programs would use that one instead of guessing they can do better by calling rdrand.
I know I'm nitpicking but I disagree with that statement.
There's a kernel option called CONFIG_RANDOM_TRUST_CPU which you can set to false. So if for some reason, even if it's a bad one, you don't want your random numbers generated by your cpu then that's that. End of discussion. (In theory, not sure if rdrand if trapable)
I get that you're skeptical about the quality of what's provided in /dev/(u)random because in most cases it's true. Should I ever feel the need to hookup a hw random generator then I hope programs would use that one instead of guessing they can do better by calling rdrand.