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Date:      Thu, 16 Sep 2004 17:40:31 -0700
From:      Julian Elischer <julian@elischer.org>
To:        gerarra@tin.it
Cc:        freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: FreeBSD Kernel buffer overflow
Message-ID:  <414A327F.2070207@elischer.org>
In-Reply-To: <4146316C00007819@ims3a.cp.tin.it>
References:  <4146316C00007819@ims3a.cp.tin.it>

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gerarra@tin.it wrote:

>>This is standard proceedure.
>>
>>"there is no security problem."
>>There is not even a practical problem..
>>
>>No-one is going to be able to break into your machine because of this 
>>unless they
>>have already broken into your machine by some other method.
>>
>>    
>>
>
>We all agree with it, i worte 3 e-mails ago.
>
>  
>
>>There is an implicit understanding in the kernel that it trusts itrself
>>    
>>
>
>  
>
>>to be done right..
>>If you wan to check this  I can show you many more things we trust 
>>ourselves on in the kernel
>>
>>for example do you check the function pointers in vfs method arrays 
>>before calling them?
>>    
>>
>
>This is not the same situation... why an user might change vfs method pointers?
>Instead if I want to code a syscall accepting 9 arguments I can't do it...
>and it could be happen!
>I repeat, a check might be there...
>
>  
>
>>If we checked everything we would never get anything done.. In the end
>>    
>>
>
>  
>
>>we draw the line at
>>"we check values that come from userspace." We trust values that come 
>>    
>>
>>from root indirectly
>  
>
>>e.g. when root mounts a filesystem or a kld module.
>>    
>>
>
>Ok, but a syscall of 9 arguments it's not so strange and nobody knows is
>impossible to realize.
>

If we put your patch in but as a KASSERT then anyone ruinning with 
debugging turned on
(and no-one in their right mind would write a kernel module without 
turning on debugging, right?)
will immediatly find the problem.

>
>  
>
>>As you have raise dth issue we might add a KASSERT checking that  it is
>>    
>>
>
>  
>
>>within bounds but
>>the check would not be turned on  for normal kernels just debug kernels.
>>
>>    
>>
>I'm very sorry for this decision. However i will write my patch (would be
>enough simple) and put it in the web to let other download, but, sincerely,
>I hoped to cooperate with FreeBSD core team.
>
>greetings,
>
>rookie
>
>
>_______________________________________________
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>  
>



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