You have been subscribed to a public bug by Marc Deslauriers (mdeslaur):
Binary package hint: gconf-editor
Ubuntu 10.10
gconf-editor: 2.32.0-0ubuntu1
i was in a terminal trying to figure out how to properly use gconftool-2
to hide the desktop's trash icon, when i accidentally stumbled on a
potential security risk.
gconftool-2 --set /apps/nautilus/desktop/trash_icon_visible --type
string "0"
running the above command will spawn "Starting File Manager..." windows
indefinitely. the panel will be flooded with windows, the CPU will
spike 100%, and rebooting/logging out has no effect; the windows will
continue to spawn @ login time, even if in failsafe mode!
only after i was able to open gconf-editor, navigate to
/apps/nautilus/desktop/trash_icon_visible, and unset the key manually
(which i later found "gconftool-2 --unset
/apps/nautilus/desktop/trash_icon_visible" had the same effect) did the
windows start closing one by one, and the session returned to normal.
this is similar in behavior to malware on an unnamed operating system!
think, if someone with malicious intent were to instruct a noob (such as
myself) to run it, it could cause hardware damage from high CPU usage.
i hope this bug report has been thorough, and not overly dramatic :-)
i will supply more info upon request.
** Affects: gconf-editor (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
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malformed gconftool-2 command spawns countless windows
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/717845
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