Atari Mega Archive 1/Atari Mega Archive - Volume 1.iso/lists/mint/l_0399/171

Internet Message Format | 1994-08-27 | 1.6 KB

From: Stephen Usher <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: seduid scripts
Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 13:09:08 BST
In-Reply-To: <[e-mail]>; from "Michael Hohmuth" at Mar 23, 93 1:57 pm

>Steve writes:
>
>> > [about /bin/scripter]
>>
>> This sounds an even more unholy mess than one incidence of / -> \ conversion
>> in the kernel! Anyway, it's just one more security hole, not that there
>> aren't one or two already! :-)
>
>Why is that an security hole?  `/bin/scripter' would be just another shell
>which happens to be setuid-root (just like `su').

It's just one more program which could be compromised.

>
>IMHO, having a script launcher is better than putting inconsistencies
>in the kernel.

Exec should preferably be an atomic action. Also, there is an implicit
assumption that you hold your executables in /bin. What if the script is for
something other than /bin/[c]sh, maybe you want to run /exec/bloggs/gruncher
and don't have a /bin on the current drive? Putting the parsing of the #!
magic number in the kernel would make the kernel self contained, and hence
less able to be totally fouled up by the half-clued or clueless.

You can never under estimate the intelligence of a user! :-)

>
>Michael
>--
>Internet: [e-mail]
>

Steve

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