Earlier quoted context omitted.
> where's the difference between downloading a binary and executing it vs. downloading a script and executing The difference is that the attack vector of the shell script is an easier target. If someone was to be malicious; they could manipulate the script and inject some sort of payload in disguise. It's an easier vector to damage than say an compiled package. One that's less prone to being detected in that the scri…
If I were to serve a targeted exploit like this, I would certainly hide it in the binary and have the binary determine whether it's running in the targeted environment and then run the payload. It's much, much easier to hide a malicious payload in a binary than an easily auditable shell-script. And it's much easier to make a decision of whether the payload should be enabled or not if you are already running on the lo…
Even if it's auditable, how many people are actually verifying the shell script before hand?
You've just been given a command to download and execute.
And the potential of having lots of users downloading a shell script has a quicker attack path than users downloading the package. You have custom repos, holding their own distro packages for the software.