[pulseaudio-tickets] [PulseAudio] #662: "Failed to create secure directory" when .pulse is a symlink

[PulseAudio]

#662: "Failed to create secure directory" when .pulse is a symlink
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  Reporter:  elitak  |       Owner:  lennart    
      Type:  defect  |      Status:  reopened   
 Milestone:          |   Component:  pavucontrol
Resolution:          |    Keywords:             
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Changes (by prakisk):

  * status:  closed => reopened
  * resolution:  invalid =>


Comment:

 Replying to [comment:3 lennart]:
 > Replying to [comment:2 elitak]:
 > > Whether it's the correct behavior or not, this is a big concern for
 usability.
 >
 > Usability? What does ~/.pulse have to do with usability?
 >
 > > If launched from a gnome desktop shortcut, the app gives no indication
 that there's a problem and doesn't even terminate. There should at least
 be a dialog box that the user must dismiss. Flag this ticket as an
 enchancement or retitle it, perhaps?
 >
 > Uh. PA is a session service, it should be run from the XDG autostart
 dir, not via some desktop shortcut. It should generally be invisible to
 the user. Also, what does that have to do with ~/.pulse not being allowed
 to be a symlink?
 >
 > > Also, I don't understand how disallowing intermediate links to the
 .pulse directory makes anything more secure, but then I certainly don't
 have anything close to the whole picture. I'll just have to take your word
 on it, unless you'd care to explain?
 >
 > If you have a chain of symlinks and only verify the access mode of the
 final destination but some evildoer has write access to the dir one of the
 intermediate symlinks is located in he might redirect replace that symlink
 to some spot that is not safe. If we'd go and verify each step of the
 symlink chain we could detect that, however that would be very ugly and --
 what's worse -- racy, since we cannot atomically check the whole chain.
 So, to fix this we simply make sure .pulse is not a symlink in the first
 place.
 >
 > Also, I cannot see at all why you'd want to make .pulse a symlink in the
 first place.

 Just because you don't see a reason doesn't mean there's no valid reason.
 and just because you don't agree with it, doesn't mean it's invalid.

 Your efforts to secure things are noble, but i think this is misplaced.

 Not allowing symlinks is a bug. Please fix.

 thanks.
 prakisk

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Ticket URL: <http://pulseaudio.org/ticket/662#comment:4>
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