Re: Linux Security *Module* Framework (Was: LSM conversion to static interface)

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

 



On Wed, 24 Oct 2007, Serge E. Hallyn wrote:

The scariest thing to consider is programs which don't appropriately
handle failure.  So I don't know, maybe the system runs a remote logger
to which the multiadm policy gives some extra privs, but now the portac
module prevents it from sending its data.  And maybe, since the authors
never saw this failure as possible, the program happens to dump
sensitive data in a public readable place.  I *could* be more vague but
it'd be tough :)  But you get the idea.

Or, a better example, a privileged program reads some sensitive data -
as allowed by multiadm, writes it to a file, but apparmor prevented it
from chowning the file to the right user before writing, the program
kept writing anyway, and now the calling user hallyn, rather than the
privileged user sensitive_log_t, owns the file.

I ran into examples of this with the stacker module.  For instance
suddenly the capability module had to be changed so that it would allow
selinux xattrs to be written - leaving that arbitration to selinux.
That hadn't been necessary before since selinux simply didn't explicitly
call the secondary->inode_setxattr() hook.

Note I'm not arguing for or against, only arguing for caution :)

this sort of problem is possible with just a single LSM.

remember that unix doesn't try to make it impossible for the system owner to hang himself, becouse there are many other cases where the rope is used productivly. don't let the possibility that things can be done wrong prevent other people from being creative in ways that you never thought of.

David Lang
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to [email protected]
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/

[Index of Archives]     [Kernel Newbies]     [Netfilter]     [Bugtraq]     [Photo]     [Stuff]     [Gimp]     [Yosemite News]     [MIPS Linux]     [ARM Linux]     [Linux Security]     [Linux RAID]     [Video 4 Linux]     [Linux for the blind]     [Linux Resources]
  Powered by Linux