On 29 June 2017 at 10:02, Roy Marples <r...@marples.name> wrote: > On 29/06/2017 02:06, Taylor R Campbell wrote: >>> we've been able to run ntpd as non-root for a while. this is not the >>> default if you innocently ntpd=yes in rc.conf. it requires >>> /dev/clockctl, and most things have it, even one of the sun2 kernels. >>> >>> can I change this to become the default, for better default security? >> >> There's one complication: if your IP address ever changes, then ntpd >> must be restarted. So it requires a little wiring with, e.g., >> ifwatchd. I do this on all my machines, but it is a bit of trouble. >> >> Ideally we ought to find some way to make it work unprivileged out of >> the box with no trouble, perhaps by always running ifwatchd in tandem, >> or perhaps with an easily audited ntpd-specific supervisor process. > > I could modify /libexec/dhcpcd-hooks/50-ntp.conf to restart ntpd if the > IP address changes if that helps your use-case. > > However it's a waste of resource if ntpd is running as root as it can > use the new address itself without restarting.
How about a commented out version being added to 50-ntp.conf? Or make the default 'ntp as not root' and add the entry to 50-ntp.conf, plus document for people who want to run ntp as root how to adjust rc.conf and 50-ntp.conf. David
