root with a single command: sudo logrotate
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Re: root with a single command: sudo logrotate
#2If you can sudo, you already have root, albeit limited. It's more of an ergonomic feature to discourage users logging in as root and destroying the system, than any kind of reliable security compartmentalization.
Realistically speaking, most applications you would want to allow others to run as sudo were never designed to withstand such attacks and will likely fail in the hands of a competent attacker that is free to use any command line, feed any input etc.
Re: root with a single command: sudo logrotate
#3If you can sudo, you already have root, albeit limited. It's more of an ergonomic feature to discourage users logging in as root and destroying the system, than any kind of reliable security compartmentalization. Realistically speaking, most applications you would want to allow others to run as sudo were never designed to withstand such attacks and will likely fail in the hands of a competent attacker that is free to…
[deleted]
Re: root with a single command: sudo logrotate
#4If you can sudo, you already have root, albeit limited. It's more of an ergonomic feature to discourage users logging in as root and destroying the system, than any kind of reliable security compartmentalization. Realistically speaking, most applications you would want to allow others to run as sudo were never designed to withstand such attacks and will likely fail in the hands of a competent attacker that is free to…
> If you can sudo, you already have root, albeit limited. It's more of an ergonomic feature to discourage users logging in as root and destroying the system, than any kind of reliable security compartmentalization.
I figured it was so you can identify the user who ran the command in an audit, instead of everyone just appear as "root"
Re: root with a single command: sudo logrotate
#5Sigh. It's disappointing to hear that this is the default in Ubuntu Server. As long as I'm understanding it, it doesn't appear to be an immediate concern, but it does demonstrate that the security design is quite a bit half-baked at least in this specific area.
I don't think every Linux distribution needs to aspire to be as proactive about security as OpenBSD, but it would be nice to see better care put into features like this to make sure they're restricting capabilities as expected, with at least more than one mechanism protecting the system from compromise.
Unfortunately my kneejerk reaction is to assume that most of the work on Ubuntu Server is going into development of Snap-based Ubuntu Core, wherein the security model is completely different and none of this applies, perhaps? But a ton of people deploy ordinary Ubuntu Server today, possibly more than Core... so that doesn't bode well.
(OK, maybe I really do just want OpenBSD.)
edit: Wait a minute. This post says "brand new", which made me think this was stock configuration. However, is it? I would feel immediately relieved, and my entire comment would be irrelevant, if that wasn't the case.
Re: root with a single command: sudo logrotate
#6I think PolKit can be used to delegate fine-grained control to users. Which other tools are available on Linux to control users' access to fs and network resources? File permissions, systemd-nspawn?
Re: root with a single command: sudo logrotate
#7 sudo /usr/sbin/$SSH_ORIGINAL_COMMAND
Mean people might send one starting with '$(' or another expansion. Remember this is valid:
ssh host '$(echo id)'Re: root with a single command: sudo logrotate
#8Sigh. It's disappointing to hear that this is the default in Ubuntu Server. As long as I'm understanding it, it doesn't appear to be an immediate concern, but it does demonstrate that the security design is quite a bit half-baked at least in this specific area. I don't think every Linux distribution needs to aspire to be as proactive about security as OpenBSD, but it would be nice to see better care put into features…
The post doesn't do a good job explaining whether this is the stock configuration or purely a hypothetical. My initial reaction was the same as yours, but upon further reflection I get the feeling it's just a thought exercise.
Re: root with a single command: sudo logrotate
#9Sigh. It's disappointing to hear that this is the default in Ubuntu Server. As long as I'm understanding it, it doesn't appear to be an immediate concern, but it does demonstrate that the security design is quite a bit half-baked at least in this specific area. I don't think every Linux distribution needs to aspire to be as proactive about security as OpenBSD, but it would be nice to see better care put into features…
The post doesn't do a good job explaining whether this is the stock configuration or purely a hypothetical. My initial reaction was the same as yours, but upon further reflection I get the feeling it's just a thought exercise.
Not stock in 23.10, as far as I can tell.
Re: root with a single command: sudo logrotate
#10I think PolKit can be used to delegate fine-grained control to users. Which other tools are available on Linux to control users' access to fs and network resources? File permissions, systemd-nspawn?
> Which other tools are available on Linux to control users' access to fs and network resources
selinux is the primary one that comes to mind, it definitely ticks the "fine-grained control" checkbox for sure