Re: [Linux] glibc 2.1.x / wu-ftpd <=2.5 / BeroFTPD / lynx / vlock

From: Michael K. Johnson (johnsonmat_private)
Date: Wed Aug 25 1999 - 09:44:41 PDT

  • Next message: Olaf Kirch: "Re: [Linux] glibc 2.1.x / wu-ftpd <=2.5 / BeroFTPD / lynx / vlock"

    Michal Zalewski writes:
    >First of all - doing /lib/ld-linux.so.2 /program/on/noexec/partition is
    >the simpliest way to bypass noexec option, if only you have glibc 2.0.x.
    
    Let's make sure we understand this correctly:
    
    #!/bin/sh
    /lib/ld-linux.so.2 "$@"
    
    is roughly equivalent to:
    
    #!/bin/sh
    file=$1
    shift
    cp $file /tmp
    /tmp/$file "$@"
    rm /tmp/$file
    
    (pardon any typos, I didn't try running it...)
    
    And, of course, no one is capable of using mmap and PROT_EXEC to do
    their own ld-linux.so-like wrapper, especially since no one has the
    glibc source code to start from.  ;-)
    
    >Nothing to say, security by obscurity stinks.
    
    The noexec mount option is not a security feature.  It's a convenience
    feature.  It is unfortunate that people think that it is a security
    feature, and I will say that you have found one of the more interesting
    and subtle ways to show that it is not a security feature, but this is
    NOT a glibc bug.  I do not know of any reason that it would hurt for
    ld-linux.so.2 to not execute things that aren't executable (there might
    be, I just don't know one way or the other) but THAT would be a laughable
    attempt at security by obscurity, which, as you say, stinks.
    
    michaelkjohnson
    
    "Magazines all too frequently lead to books and should be regarded by the
     prudent as the heavy petting of literature."            -- Fran Lebowitz
     Linux Application Development     http://people.redhat.com/johnsonm/lad/
    



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