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http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=93447
User cpmonger changed the following:
What |Old value |New value
================================================================================
Target milestone|--- |next build
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------- Additional comments from [email protected] Mon Feb 22 01:19:44
+0000 2010 -------
To continue dialog:
REQUIRED root PRIVILEGES:
Installation by a root process is the default administration role and may be
necessary to, for example, use pkgadd or to create the base directory. However,
I have read that pkgadd or its wild variants may be run as other than root.
Further, pkgadd may not be the future installer for Solaris (see discussions at
www.open.solaris.org). Other installers may not require install-by-root.
More importantly, application installation-by-root is different then
installation-as-root or root:bin, vs something such as office:office
(user:group). Running a root-owned process does not necessarily give root
privileges to a non-root user, but may open vulnerabilities within the
application to buffer overflows -- with root permissions. Others may be better
able to confirm this and other security risk implications.
Note that the Oracle database may normally install as user oracle. The
installation as a specific application user may be preferable for reasons
discussed in the original issue message above but does raise issues re site and
host planning for UIDs:GIDs. LDAP is also relevant for non-local-host files.
Leaving aside suid and sgid as something else to discuss, installation of
finer-grained security via multilevel administration roles and/or Access Control
Lists (ACLs) may be required for OpenOffice.org use in multilevel secure
environments. This entire paragraph bears greater scrutiny if OpenOffice.org is
going to expand its relevance to large-team, corporate or government use.
INSTALLATION TO /usr:
CDE window manager integration vs Gnome seems to be depreciated in OpenSolaris,
the probable basis of future Solaris releases. Nonetheless, assuming CDE
depreciation must lag OS, CDE integration should probably continue for the time
being. This message does not address the details of Gnome integration, although
the principles remain the same. Gnome is obviously the future priority.
For application integration, primarily file types and icons, the CDE window
manager "dt" looks first to:
/usr/dt/appconfig/types/[C|en_US.UTF-8|<locale>]
and then to:
/etc/dt/appconfig/types/[C|<locale>]
Thus application integration never required application modification of /usr.
The same OS configuration directories are already available for local hosts.
See also /usr/dt/config/sys.dtprofile:
### ************** DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE **************
###
### /usr/dt/config/sys.dtprofile is a factory-default file
### and will be unconditionally overwritten upon subsequent installation.
### Before making changes to the file, copy it to the configuration
### directory, /etc/dt/config.
###
Permitting any application (among thousands) to modify /usr for any reason is
not best practice because it risks unqualified interdependency conflict. It also
requires re-installation or update of applications (not all of which are
explicit about modifying /usr and thus all applications) whenever the OS is
patched, updated, or replaced. Additionally, /usr needs backup only once at
install -- if not modified and as properly modified read only.
Application modification of /usr does not seem best practice for large-scale,
high-availability, or higher-security systems. Nor does the current installation
process explicitly identify that installation by root includes the option to not
modify /usr (as I recall). Security issues should probably be opt-out rather
than opt-in as best practice.
RECOMMENDATION
1. Further research and discussion of the larger issues of:
a. installation process and installation user, and
b. multiple configuration file, hierarchical access order.
2. possible change integration files change from /usr/ to /etc/ (or to add
another discussion, /opt/etc/) (This change should not be difficult.).
I hardly present this as the final word, but do hope that further discussion
ensues that strengthens OpenOffice.org (Oracle Office?) for large-scale use.
Thank You.
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