systemd couldn&#x27;t have fixed it, because removing the offending code from systemd wouldn&#x27;t have prevented any other program from, innocently or maliciously, triggering the same bug.<p>The kernel is where the buck stops when it comes to protecting hardware and, therefore, protecting software from misdesigned and&#x2F;or buggy hardware. That&#x27;s been true for longer than most of us have been alive.