Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Thu, 4 May 2000 18:20:02 -0700 (PDT)
From:      Ben Smithurst <ben@scientia.demon.co.uk>
To:        freebsd-bugs@FreeBSD.org
Subject:   Re: bin/18373: pkg_delete shouldn't insist on root
Message-ID:  <200005050120.SAA58249@freefall.freebsd.org>

next in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
The following reply was made to PR bin/18373; it has been noted by GNATS.

From: Ben Smithurst <ben@scientia.demon.co.uk>
To: Nick Hibma <n_hibma@calcaphon.com>
Cc: FreeBSD-gnats-submit@freebsd.org
Subject: Re: bin/18373: pkg_delete shouldn't insist on root
Date: Fri, 5 May 2000 01:13:29 +0100

 Nick Hibma wrote:
 
 >> It is rather inconvenient that pkg_delete(1) requires the calling user
 >> to be root, as this makes testing a port you have created hard (it
 >> seems you have to be root to allow "make deinstall" do anything).  This
 >> restriction seems unnecessary, and removing it certainly can't be a
 >> security risk.
 > 
 > Example: libmm (used by a webserver) could then be deleted and the
 > webserver being brought down.
 
 It is?  Perhaps I'm being dumb, but what's to stop a user compiling
 their own version of pkg_delete and removing the getuid check?  If libmm
 has files deletable by a normal user, I don't even see what difference
 it makes if they use pkg_delete or rm.  Perhaps you could explain?  Is
 there something special about libmm or were you just picking a random
 port?  (I don't even see a libmm port, so it must be part of another
 port, but anyway...)
 
 > Check the chmod man page for information on setting suid and setguid
 > bits to enable you to start pkg_delete as a normal user. Or write a
 > suid wrapper only executable by you.
 
 Thanks but this is more than I need to do.  I don't want to be able to
 delete ports installed "properly" (for want of a better word), just
 ports I've installed in my home directory while testing a new port.  I
 *don't* need root to do anything pkg_delete does in that case, and it
 shouldn't force me to be root.
 
 -- 
 Ben Smithurst / ben@scientia.demon.co.uk / PGP: 0x99392F7D
 


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




Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?200005050120.SAA58249>