The real problem with PIE is that it doesn't protect from malware presence, it only try to make their life harder.
So where PIE would be a saver, well, it would be a real saver when someone is trying to find an hole in your system, which imply someone has access to that system.
And that is what is trouble me then: why PIE on everyone when PIE has specific usage.
When PIE would be of help out of malware: only when user have a weak user password allowing someone to use that account to execute program using that account searching a breach in memory.
This is really not typical use case of a "desktop" computer.
Of course user could have only 1 account, but weak password with it, that might be typical desktop case too, but really, do anyone think if someone has such computer configure to allow access to that user account with weak password, any attacker would had trouble because of PIE? Such bad setup might have way easier "legit" things already setup (lol at weak user password with ssh access and sudo without password because user is in wheel group : free root for everyone!)
So for me, PIE would be of help if you have many accounts and one might be weak and you fail at detecting the weak account, that's something seen on big server computer (because the number of users may bypass your vigilance) ; not really the typical desktop computer anyone use.
So it raise the question: if PIE have a speed impact (and it does, no need to quantify it, we all know it does), and PIE is gold with multi-users, why PIE on everyone per default?
Do you really need PIE on your NAS? on your personal fileserver? on your NFS server? on your desktop? on your DLNA server? ...
If all those case are only aim at YOUR own usage, you don't have internet ssh to them, because you typically don't need any, and they are all normally outside DMZ because they never provide anything to anyone on internet.
Why would my DLNA/NFS/sound streaming whatever personal computer for my own use have PIE enable then?
If i have a computer that do provide internet service (even as little as an ssh access), i might consider making it all PIE enable (well, you better use strong password, ssh-key only login, and a good firewall then PIE in real), but it still might make sense for me. But it's not really typical use case of a computer.
The idea is: if i have a door, even locked, then there is a door and maybe someone might open it. Once he is in, PIE will make his life harder, it's shitty he is in, but at least, i might see his presence while he battle against my programs that are all PIE).
I would also PIE a laptop computer if i move with it, connecting to insecure (anyway random) networks...
But profile 17.0 doesn't make any distinction, everyone must use PIE because, all programs must be secure ; for what? Prevent malware from using your computer as bot? (PIE doesn't prevent malware, it might make malware's life harder, it doesn't prevent you from having one), prevent someone using your computer when you have no internet entry? Oh, to prevent someone that have access to your keyboard to find a way to get root?
So PIE is a good feature in hardened profiles, because you should know if you have need for hardening your computer or not.
But it should remain like it was, a default option that make sense in hardened profiles, a stupid option to make default in non hardened profiles.
What's the next move: make mandatory kernel with selinux?
To cite someone:
Read what he said, because i think he is just pointing what gentoo devs have done with 17.0 profile! Putting on a not useful option on everyone for the sake of security, when this option doesn't add any benefits to most of user of that 17.0 profile!
Worst as it was made available to everyone with a news, and you can see every users just switching to it without thinking about it ; a news told them how, so they do has told without waiting! But the tree is clearly not ready for PIE on per default, and it's a shitty move by our devs, because you can see how many open threads are there with user unable to not fall into some problem.
17.0 profile should default c++14 and make gcc 6.4 mandatory if they wish, but adding PIE as mandatory is really, really, a bad decision, made only to yes: "masturbate with security"
