Xserver needs to run as "root" on Linux / was: Re: [Xorg] Server side widgets

[Alan Cox]

On Mer, 2004-07-14 at 17:55, Jakub Piotr Cłapa wrote:
> But there is a problem with a mallicious user killing a logged in session.
> 
> The exclusive keyboard would allow us to configure programs used for 
> logging in (mingetty, xdm) and make sure no other processes can capture 
> passwords. It seems secure to me and definitely more flexible than any 
> builtin kernel login demons.

You also have to know that the "mingetty" you are looking at is the real
thing. Thats one thing SAK solves definitively. With regards to
killing sessions, SAK is assuming console access so the user is also
typically capable of removing the power, putting an axe through the
monitor and a number of other hard to defend techniques for killing
logged in sessions.