MODULEVERSION

MODULEVERSION is a commonly used reference to the version metadata of Linux kernel modules. The canonical mechanism to declare a module version is the MODULE_VERSION macro, not a separate keyword called MODULEVERSION. The two terms are related, but MODULE_VERSION is the exact macro name provided by the kernel headers.

Implementation and purpose: The MODULE_VERSION macro is defined in include/linux/module.h and expands to MODULE_INFO(version, ...). This stores the provided string in the module’s metadata, in the .modinfo section under the key version. This information is intended for identification and management of modules, not for runtime compatibility checks by the kernel.

Usage: To declare a module version, you typically add a line such as MODULE_VERSION("1.0") in the module source, alongside other metadata like MODULE_LICENSE, MODULE_AUTHOR, and MODULE_DESCRIPTION. After compiling the module, tools like modinfo can display the version string when querying the module with modinfo.ko, showing an output line such as version: 1.0.

Relation to broader versioning: Module versioning in the kernel also involves symbol versioning, which is controlled by CONFIG_MODVERSIONS and uses cryptographic hashes to ensure compatibility of exported symbols. The MODULE_VERSION string, by contrast, is an informational tag. It does not by itself enforce compatibility with a particular kernel or other modules; that remains the role of global symbol/version checks and digital signatures where applicable.

Notes: The version string can be any conventional identifier (for example, a release or build number). It helps developers and administrators track module revisions and packaging, but it is not a security feature or a guarantee of compatibility.