Re: Large security hole in SGI IRIX 5.2

[dcs () proton chem yale edu (Dave Schweisguth)]

Christian A. Ratliff wrote:
> The [IRIX /usr/lib/desktop/permissions] hole comes from the authentication
> being at the _dirview_ (an SGI directory browser) level. You can only pull
> up 'permissions' when the menu item is not grayed out. If you run
> 'permissions' by hand, you eliminate that check and have root access to the
> permissions on an file.

That isn't true here. If I run /usr/lib/desktop/permissions by hand and try
to do something I shouldn't, it asks me for the root password. There may well
be some way to trick it, but it's not that obvious (especially since I don't
use the thing; it's the boring half of chmod). IRIX 5.3, if it matters.

Cheers,

-- 
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