On Fri, Oct 11, 2002, Oliver Neukum <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> 
> > However, the kernel only enforces the privileges. It doesn't set them.
> 
> That is not true. Hotplugging changes it. By assigning new devices
> to existing device nodes, the kernel _does_ hand out permissions.

It assigns the permissions that were configured by the user, either
implicitly the default, of explictly via devmode=.

> Therefore the kernel has to ensure that all permissions are revoked
> on the old previously used device node. It cannot depend on a script,
> because scripts lack the reliability.

Previously used device node?

> > > > Failing to set permissions on a device doesn't seem like something that
> > > > would qualify for a panic.
> > >
> > > Failure to set them is not a security problem.
> > > Abstractly speaking setting permissions/ownership is handing out
> > > priviledges. If that operation fails the system will not function
> > > properly, but security is not compromised.
> > >
> > > Failure to reset permissions is quite another thing. It opens up the
> > > possibility  that access to other devices is accidentally granted.

Wait, let me go back to this. This cannot happen. A completely new
device node is created with the defaults assigned previously. This isn't
a traditional static /dev.

> > You're making the assumption that privileges don't change.
> 
> How so? Could you elaborate ?

Unrelated. I forgot to delete that line, sorry.

> > I seem to recall a discussion like this in the past, but why can't we
> > just change the permissions dynamically as the user logs in and logs out
> > of the console?
> 
> That we can do. But it has its own set of problems.
> 
> > The only problem I can think of would be managing multiple users on a
> > console.
> 
> Yes.

Any other suggestions? devmode= is of limited usefulness.

JE



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