Please do not open a public issue for a security problem.

Use GitHub's private vulnerability reporting: Security Advisories.

Include:

• affected version/commit and distribution/kernel;
• the smallest reproduction you can share;
• impact (privilege boundary, memory safety, data exposure, denial of service);
• whether the kernel module or only the userspace tool is involved.

You will get an acknowledgement as soon as possible. If the report is valid, a fix and advisory are prepared before public disclosure. Please allow a reasonable disclosure window.

In scope:

• the kernel module (kmod/acer_gaming_probe.c), including validation of userspace input and WMI buffer handling;
• the udev rule, group ownership and device permissions;
• the Rust crates, especially unsafe code and HID/WMI input handling;
• privilege boundaries between the GUI/CLI and /dev/acer_gaming_wmi, /dev/hidraw*, RAPL and nvidia-smi;
• CI and release supply-chain issues.

Out of scope:

• vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel, acer-wmi, systemd, the NVIDIA driver or firmware;
• physical access attacks;
• hardware damage caused by overclocking or fan settings (use docs/RECOVERY.md);
• reports that require disabling the documented safety gates.

• Dedicated group. The installer creates openhelios and grants it access to the vendor HID interface and the WMI device. This is intentionally narrower than the input group: it does not grant read access to every keyboard. Members can still send arbitrary frames to this one keyboard and arbitrary WMI method ids to the EC. Treat group membership as equivalent to hardware-control access.
• Kernel module. /dev/acer_gaming_wmi is a research bridge. It forwards [method_id] + payload to the WMI method; the udev rule restricts the node to the dedicated group. Do not widen the permissions without understanding the EC surface.
• Overclocking. --allow-oc is a deliberate second gate. The tool checks AC power and battery level before EC OC writes and snapshots before hardware writes, but it cannot protect against an unstable overclock. panic and the recovery guide are the mitigation.
• Firmware. The tool never writes EC/SPI firmware, BIOS or NVRAM. A report that claims otherwise should include the exact command and a trace.
• Root. RAPL and nvidia-smi writes require root. Running the whole GUI as root is not recommended; prefer the CLI with sudo for those specific commands.
• No secrets. Please remove serial numbers, MAC addresses, IP addresses and any personal data from logs before posting them.

Hardware safety issues (a light stuck on, fans at a fixed duty, an unstable OC) are handled by docs/RECOVERY.md, not by the security process. If you believe a command can permanently damage hardware, report it privately with the exact sequence and evidence.

We will not pursue legal action or report good-faith security research that follows this policy, avoids privacy violations and data destruction, and gives us a reasonable chance to fix the issue before disclosure.