Re: Assurance, permissiveness, and restriction

From: Casey Schaufler (caseyat_private)
Date: Mon Jun 04 2001 - 11:28:12 PDT

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    Stephen Smalley wrote:
    > 
    > On Mon, 4 Jun 2001, Titus D. Winters wrote:
    > 
    > > 1. Political difficulties should not be considered in the design of
    > > software.  ...
    > 
    > I don't understand this argument.  I don't mind flamewars, but LSM
    > is worthless to us if it is not accepted into the Linux kernel.  So
    > we have to consider how acceptable our solution will be to the Linux
    > kernel developers.
    
    You can't compromise the product to make the sale.
    In software management jargon your approach is called
    "bid to win", the notion being that you only ask for
    what you think you can get. Ever wonder why so many
    software products fall short of the mark?
    
    > Where's the real argument for moving all of the base logic out of
    > the kernel?  Identify exactly what project needs it, and why it
    > can't be supported adequately through separate hooks (including
    > the capable hook for permissive behavior).
    
    Err, it was on the selinux list. Someone wants a policy
    which modifies the DAC policy under certain MAC conditions.
    It was something on the order of "users cleared for TS
    can read UNCLASS data regardless of the file permissions."
    You can't do that if the traditional DAC checks are done
    outside the policy module. 
    
    -- 
    
    Casey Schaufler				Manager, Trust Technology, SGI
    caseyat_private				voice: 650.933.1634
    casey_pat_private			Pager: 888.220.0607
    
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