Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Thu, 25 Mar 1999 12:56:06 -0800
From:      bmah@CA.Sandia.GOV (Bruce A. Mah)
To:        Matthew Dillon <dillon@apollo.backplane.com>
Cc:        bmah@california.sandia.gov (Bruce A. Mah), freebsd-security@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: sudo (was Re: Kerberos vs SSH) 
Message-ID:  <199903252056.MAA25581@stennis.ca.sandia.gov>
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Thu, 25 Mar 1999 12:44:03 PST." <199903252044.MAA02527@apollo.backplane.com> 

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
--==_Exmh_-1094945312P
Content-Type: text/plain

If memory serves me right, Matthew Dillon wrote:
> :
> :>     We used sudo for a little while 3 years ago, but I decided that it was
> :>     too big a security risk and wiped it.  sudo is one of the stupidest
> :>     programs I've ever seen.
> :
> :I'd be curious to hear what you think sudo's shortcomings are, and why it 
> :merits being labeled as one of the stupidest programs you've ever seen?
> :
> :Bruce.
> 
>     Simple: Because the program is designed to poke holes through
>     root and run specified programs.  It's fairly easy to
>     misconfigure it, and there is no guarentee that the programs
>     it runs are themselves secure.  sudo opens up a whole can of
>     potential security problems.

I prefer sudo to su if for no other reason than it eliminates the need
for me to remember a bunch of root passwords for machines.  I don't
use the features that restrict what commands can be run, so I couldn't
comment on those.  Having command logging is nice also, but for me
it's less to keep tracks of the Bad Guys than as a record of things
I've done as root.

For me it fits the bill nicely, although your points are well taken.

Bruce.


--==_Exmh_-1094945312P
Content-Type: application/pgp-signature

-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----
Version: 2.6.2

iQCVAwUBNvqi5ajOOi0j7CY9AQEIEgP9F6GYXvrhmnqExsS1rvNwO/45K9g8h/W+
ninvwG4U475r3sh4Mt1Gc7ii6aJwedzkul6Yihm5RX7MF9g1k+6wyLGoyFmdkE+u
gu4B3SZMYrcahvRoBQETqy1Bx+E199WN8wyJf3geFHXdi3en9NbQPzf9X4jyrCkm
TYggPu4OI/g=
=V2Ro
-----END PGP MESSAGE-----

--==_Exmh_-1094945312P--


To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org
with "unsubscribe freebsd-security" in the body of the message




Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?199903252056.MAA25581>