Re: we should enable RFC7217 by default

From: Marek Zarychta <zarychtam_at_plan-b.pwste.edu.pl>
Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2026 11:38:02 UTC
W dniu 28.01.2026 o 11:00, Brooks Davis pisze:
> On Tue, Jan 27, 2026 at 03:35:16AM +0330, Pouria Mousavizadeh Tehrani wrote:
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> With `net.inet6.ip6.use_stableaddr` now available, I believe we should enable
>> it by default in CURRENT at least.
>> As you may already know, we currently use the EUI64 method for generating
>> stable IPv6 addresses, which has serious privacy issues.
>>
>> IMHO, trying to maintain backward compatibility defeats the purpose of a
>> privacy RFC.
>>
>> To be clear, we don't want to change the ip addresses of existing servers.
>> However, it's reasonable for users to expect changes during a major upgrade
>> (15 -> 16), a fresh install of a new major release, or living on CURRENT.
>> So, for obvious reasons, changing the default value would not be MFCed.
>>
>> What do you think?
> I wonder if we should ship an update to 15 (landing in 15.1) explicitly
> adding net.inet6.ip6.use_stableaddr=1 and a suitable comment to
> /etc/sysctl.conf so people who later upgrade to 16 aren't painfully
> surprised when their server disappears.  New installs of 16 would get
> the new default, but upgrades would keep the old default.  The downside
> would be that people who have edited sysctl.conf would have a merge
> conflict to resolve, but that's a fairly normal thing.
>
> -- Brooks
>
Unfortunately, support for stable privacy (RFC 7217) is not implemented 
in stable/15, therefore any discussion about introducing this change 
into 15.1-RELEASE is pointless at the moment. The MFC of stable privacy 
(RFC 7217) support to stable/15 is under review on the Phabricator. If 
you support this initiative, please comment on review D54382.

Cheers

-- 
Marek Zarychta