Re: Running as nobody

[mikeh@minivend.com]

Quoting Erik Aase-Remedios (erik@fourfish.com):
> 
> Well here's my take on it.
> 
> If your webserver runs as nobody, than it has full access to any files
> owned by nobody, and can execute any programs, delete and directories, and
> alter any content owned by nobody.  Now, you probably don't have any file
> deletion CGI's, etc... but it's best to limit the potential exposure
> (there are tricks like buffer overflows that might allow the webserver to
> do un-intended things for a cracker's advantage).
> 
> If you segment your system and isolate different tasks and duties to
> different users, than they have less of a possibility to interfere with
> each other.  With minivend there are certain things that you want the
> webserver to NEVER have access to: the secret pgp keyring of the minivend
> user, the order reports, the catalogs directory....
> 
> So install and run minivend as it's own user.  On a shared ISP system
> install and run it as your login account.  The cgi will run as nobody and
> communicate with the minivend daemon which runs as minivend (or you).
> 
> It's not at all about functionality as you could run everything as root,
> which is what some other operating systems effectivly do, but that would
> just be a really bad idea, and you would be very sorry you did it when
> the first big problem comes along.

I think I will add this to the docs if you don't mind. 8-) I tell people
not to run it as "nobody", but they never believe me. This is exactly
why....

-- 
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