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Date:      Fri, 18 Dec 1998 08:50:26 -0600
From:      Jon Hamilton <hamilton@pobox.com>
To:        "Bond, Jeffery" <Jeff.Bond@nectech.co.uk>
Cc:        "'FreeBSD questions'" <questions@FreeBSD.ORG>, "'cjc@cc942873-a.ewndsr1.nj.home.com'" <cjc@cc942873-a.ewndsr1.nj.home.com>
Subject:   Re: Basic Security Question 
Message-ID:  <199812181453.GAA16474@hub.freebsd.org>
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Fri, 18 Dec 1998 09:54:54 GMT." <084DD226F592D211988800A024AC583B02B783@exchange.nectech.co.uk> 

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In message <084DD226F592D211988800A024AC583B02B783@exchange.nectech.co.uk>, "Bo
nd, Jeffery" wrote:
} >Mark Ovens wrote,
} >
} >> and on all the Sparcs running SunOS4.1.3_U1 here are:
} >> 
} >> gppsun4:/{8}% ls -ldug etc
} >> drwxrwsrwx 10 bin      staff        2048 Dec 17 09:30 etc
} >> 
} >> which is even less secure as it's writable by all!
} >
} >I may be dense. Is that some kind of joke or something? As dense as I
} >am, I know for sure that even I could take any account on a system
} >with permissions like that and have control of root in this many
} >keystrokes:
} >
} >% cd /etc
} >% echo "root::0:0:Evil Root:/:/bin/csh" > passwd.new
} >% mv passwd passwd.old
} >% mv passwd.new passwd
} >% su
} >#
} 
} Just because the directory is writable, this doesnt mean the existing files
} in it are too. You won't be able to do 'mv passwd passwd.old'. 

That's a common misconception.  To move (or remove) a file, all you need 
is write and execute permission for the directory containing the file.  
Try it yourself and see.

-- 
   Jon Hamilton  
   hamilton@pobox.com


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