D397 - An unset kernel release string refuses rather than answers a guess

Status: decided Date: 2026-08-30

The kernel's own release string is a per-machine setting that is empty until configured; while empty, a query for it is refused and reported once rather than answered with an invented value.

Why: A guest branches on this string, so answering something plausible sends it down a path chosen by a number nobody measured, producing a run that looks correct without being one. Refusing is the honest answer to a question this project has no basis to answer, and the reported refusal doubles as the record of which guests actually ask.

Rejected:

• Answering a plausible placeholder version: risks silently routing a guest down the wrong branch with no visible sign anything was guessed.