> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > Peter Eisentraut > Sent: 12 April 2006 11:33 > To: pgsql-hackers@postgresql.org > Cc: Tom Lane; David Fetter; Jim C. Nasby; Joshua D. Drake; > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [HACKERS] plpgsql by default > > Am Dienstag, 11. April 2006 23:20 schrieb Tom Lane: > > In the end it's only one small component of security, but > any security > > expert will tell you that you take all the layers of > security that you > > can get. > > I think what the security experts are saying is that you need > a thorough evaluation of assets, attackers, risks, and > countermeasures, and I don't see that here.
Regardless of any evaluations, or any proven or thoretical risks in any given code it's Basic Security 101 stuff to disable/remove anything that is not required in a system to immediately reduce the number of potential attacks that could be made. Microsoft are the classic example - they enabled pretty much everything by default in Windows leaving it vulnerable to attack through services many people weren't using (NetBios on a single home user machine for example). You install a modern version of Windows now though and you'll see virtually every network service is disabled, or even uninstalled by default, leaving it up the user to install as required. In addition of course, those services are still subject to the normal bug fixes and updates for those users that do require them. Keeping PostgreSQL as secure as possible out of the box pretty much requires us to do the same in my mind - if an major feature such as pl/pgsql is easy for the user to enable should they want it, then it should be disabled by default to minimise the number of attack vectors for all those users that do not want it. Regards, Dave ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 4: Have you searched our list archives? http://archives.postgresql.org