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Date:      Wed, 16 Jan 2002 11:58:45 -0800
From:      Terry Lambert <tlambert2@mindspring.com>
To:        "Crist J . Clark" <cjc@FreeBSD.ORG>
Cc:        Devon@jovi.net, FreeBSD@jovi.net, freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: kern/33904: secure mode bug
Message-ID:  <3C45DB75.34BEC0DA@mindspring.com>
References:  <200201142344.g0ENimK91227@freefall.freebsd.org> <20020115011230.D28767@blossom.cjclark.org> <200201151526.g0FFQFX02180@grant.org> <20020115133339.A31328@blossom.cjclark.org> <200201152202.g0FM2lE05944@grant.org> <20020115205321.D31328@blossom.cjclark.org>

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"Crist J . Clark" wrote:
> >    (failure to set the time is not usually expected)
> >
> > Programs seem to handle it ok when user is not root.
> 
> If the program checks if it is running under the superuser uid on its
> own, it might not have exceptions to deal with these types of
> problems. It's also fun to have programs tell you you need to be root
> to do something when you are root.

The code is broken, if it is not checking the return value of
the system call.

If the code is checking the return value of the system call and
assuming all errors are because it's non-root, then it's missing
EPERM -- and again, the code is broken.

I think an "EADMIN" would be useful in this case as an error
return, but, of course, the behaviour of the system call is
documented to be different in init(8), and the user had to go
out of their way to get to secure level 2, and one really
expects that they read the manual page in order to figure out
how to do this, and the resulting implications.

-- Terry

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