bootconfig: Only load bootconfig if "bootconfig" is on the kernel cmdline

As the bootconfig is appended to the initrd it is not as easy to modify as
the kernel command line. If there's some issue with the kernel, and the
developer wants to boot a pristine kernel, it should not be needed to modify
the initrd to remove the bootconfig for a single boot.

As bootconfig is silently added (if the admin does not know where to look
they may not know it's being loaded). It should be explicitly added to the
kernel cmdline. The loading of the bootconfig is only done if "bootconfig"
is on the kernel command line. This will let admins know that the kernel
command line is extended.

Note, after adding printk()s for when the size is too great or the checksum
is wrong, exposed that the current method always looked for the boot config,
and if this size and checksum matched, it would parse it (as if either is
wrong a printk has been added to show this). It's better to only check this
if the boot config is asked to be looked for.

Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/CAHk-=wjfjO+h6bQzrTf=YCZA53Y3EDyAs3Z4gEsT7icA3u_Psw@mail.gmail.com

Acked-by: Masami Hiramatsu <mhiramat@kernel.org>
Suggested-by: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>
Signed-off-by: Steven Rostedt (VMware) <rostedt@goodmis.org>

1 files changed, 6 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt
index ade4e6ec23e0..b48c70ba9841 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt
@@ -437,6 +437,12 @@
 			no delay (0).
 			Format: integer
 
+	bootconfig	[KNL]
+			Extended command line options can be added to an initrd
+			and this will cause the kernel to look for it.
+
+			See Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst
+
 	bert_disable	[ACPI]
 			Disable BERT OS support on buggy BIOSes.