Bug 1089

Summary: StrictModes needs runtime granularity
Product: Portable OpenSSH Reporter: Tad Marko <tad>
Component: sshdAssignee: Assigned to nobody <unassigned-bugs>
Status: NEW ---    
Severity: enhancement CC: cab
Priority: P2    
Version: -current   
Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   

Description Tad Marko 2005-09-23 05:40:41 AEST
The build-time option to allow group writable directories to be OK under
StrictModes would be much more useful if it were a runtime option to sshd.
Comment 1 Damien Miller 2005-09-23 19:34:19 AEST
What build-time option?
Comment 2 Tad Marko 2005-09-24 00:48:22 AEST
In O'Reilly's 'SSH: The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide', is stated:

"Even if StrictModes is enabled, though, it can be defeated... First, sshd can
be compiled with the flag  -- enable-group-writeability [Section 4.1.5.2,
"Installation, files, and directories"], which makes group-writable files
acceptable to StrictModes. This can be useful for shared accounts, permitting
all members of a group to modify SSH-related files in an account."

I was under the impression this was referring to OpenSSH.

In short, though, regardless of the existence or lack thereof of such a flag, I
would like to be able to make group-writable acceptable to StrictModes without
having to turn StrictModes off and (so far) I have found no way to do this,
hence my feature request.
Comment 3 Darren Tucker 2005-09-26 16:27:57 AEST
(In reply to comment #2)
> "Even if StrictModes is enabled, though, it can be defeated... First, sshd can
> be compiled with the flag  -- enable-group-writeability"

There's certainly no such option in the current version:
$ grep group-writeability configure.ac
$

and there's no mention of it in the cvs history either.  It's possible that some
vendors add somthing along those lines, though.

> In short, though, regardless of the existence or lack thereof of such a flag,
> I would like to be able to make group-writable acceptable to StrictModes
> without having to turn StrictModes off and (so far) I have found no way to do
> this, hence my feature request.

Maybe "StrictModes yes|no|group"?  Or make StrictModes accept a umask-like
syntax ("StrictModes 002")?