[gentoo-user] Re: Cdrtools installation without suid root

[Nikos Chantziaras]

On 29/04/13 16:09, Joerg Schilling wrote:
> Nikos Chantziaras <realnc@×××××.com> wrote:
>
>>> But please first explain what "option" you are talking about.
>>
>> An option to forcibly enable and disable support.  If enabled, the build
>> system assumes the library is there.  If disabled, it assumes the
>> library is not there (even if it is).  If not given at all, do
>> autodetection.
>
> This may be an option for things that really are optional.
>
> Libcap however is not something optional but needed to support a basic security
> feature.

I thought it is optional, since it was mentioned that cdrtools can be 
built and ran without it?

Unless you mean "recommended" instead of "required."  "Recommended" 
means it's still optional.


>> One thing I've learned in software development is that "the user knows
>> best."  If the user has the library installed, he should still be able
>> to tell you "yes, I have that lib, but I don't want you to use it", and
>> vice versa.
>
> As mentioned above, we are talking about a library to support basic security
> features, so the code from that library would really belong into libc. Since
> Linux now by default supports fcaps in the filesystems, cdrecord would open
> a security hole if the library was not used - without that library, cdrecord
> cannot even see that is has been called with additional privileges that need
> to be removed before the main code is executed.
>
> Do you really like to go into a security risk with your eyes open?

You don't know what my intentions are.  I might be doing testing, 
debugging, who knows what.  It's the "trying to be smarter than the 
user" thing.  The defaults of course would be to built the software in a 
sane, secure way.  Only users who know what they're doing would disable 
that, and they'd have their reasons.