Paul Eggert wrote: >>There could be some kind of -f, --follow option so that mkdir will >>create the directory pointed to. > >There is a potential security problem there, if the symbolic link >is in a directory writable by an attacker.
I don't agree that this is a security problem, since mkdir is doing exactly what you asked it to. But anyway, >>Is this a sensible thing to put in mkdir or is there some >>existing Unix idiom that does what I want? > >Not in POSIX/Unix, but in coreutils 5.3.0 and later: either "mkdir -p >$(readlink -f file)" or "mkdir -p $(readlink -m file)", depending on >the exact semantics that you want. Yes, that would do the trick. >>I note that 'touch foo' when foo is a broken symlink will create the >>link destination if possible (though without making any directories, >>obviously). > >POSIX requires this, but it is arguably a misfeature, due to the >security issues mentioned. I still don't understand how this is a security issue any more than the whole concept of symbolic links is a security issue. I'll wait for a newer coreutils release, and instead of using 'mkdir -p' as the standard way of trying hard to make a directory, use instead 'mkdir -p `readlink -f`'. -- Ed Avis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> _______________________________________________ Bug-coreutils mailing list [email protected] http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/bug-coreutils
