Please Find the patch based on idea I have suggested attached with this mail.
Let me know your comments regarding the same.


-----Original Message-----
From: pgsql-bugs-ow...@postgresql.org [mailto:pgsql-bugs-ow...@postgresql.org] 
On Behalf Of Alvaro Herrera
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 9:23 PM
To: Amit Kapila
Cc: 'Edmund Horner'; Tom Lane; Pg Bugs; Bruce Momjian
Subject: Re: [BUGS] 9.2 beta2 - pg_ctl crashes on Win32 when neither PGDATA nor 
-D specified


Excerpts from Amit Kapila's message of mié jun 13 00:53:47 -0400 2012:
> > Unfortunately in src/backend/main/main.c it only does a cursory check
> > for --help and --version.  So it would need to become a little more
> > complicated to scan for -C options at that stage.  It's not too much
> > if you can assume -C always appears first like the other special
> > options detected in that file.
> 
> I am doubtful whether we should make such an exception for -C option, as
> this will
> be a change in behavior as compare to previous versions. 
> How to do in code is next step.
> According to me the solution I have proposed is safer and already initdb
> handles in same way.
> 
> I am waiting for other people opinion on this issue.

I agree with you.  The fact that we drop privileges is not only a
security measure; it's a robustness one as well.  With the current
setup, we can confidently say "it's not Postgres' fault" when the system
crashes with some weird kernel error.  A process running with
administrative privs is capable of doing privileged stuff that may
override safe interfaces provided by the operating system; a process
without admin privs is more constrained and should not be able to cause
the system to crash.  Any kernel crash, then, is not our responsibility.
If we allow -C to run with admin privs, we lose that.

-- 
Álvaro Herrera <alvhe...@commandprompt.com>
The PostgreSQL Company - Command Prompt, Inc.
PostgreSQL Replication, Consulting, Custom Development, 24x7 support

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Attachment: pgctldefectfix.patch
Description: Binary data

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