Path: utzoo!attcan!telly!lethe!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!udel!mmdf From: archer%segin4.segin.fr@relay.prime.com (Vincent Archer) Newsgroups: comp.os.minix Subject: Re: FS bug? Message-ID: <39808@nigel.ee.udel.edu> Date: 21 Dec 90 18:03:49 GMT Sender: mmdf@ee.udel.edu Lines: 28 In a message of 21 Dec 90 00:30:30 GMT, Mike Mitchell says > After having installed Bruce Evan's patches for 386/Minix, I have noticed > one problem. I think that this may be a generic problem with either fs or > mm, however I have not yet found the offending code. > > [...problem description about programs needing r-- bit to execute...] > > What am I doing incorrectly? Is there a patch to fix this? Thank you very > much for your time and effort. The actual problem resides in BOTH FS & MM. Namely, once MM does something on the behalf of some user process (like an exec() call), it calls FS to set up the same current home (and root - on my system) directory as the caller, then begins working. In addition, the same code also copies the user id, because this function is called when MM dumps core (and core dumps need to have the process user id rather than root). What this means is that MM temporarily drops its root privileges, and, when trying to open the executable file, fails since r-- is not allowed... I don't know if that bug is adressed to in 1.6? If it is not, once 1.6 reach the world, I will try to add a patch that separates home/root & userid/groupid settings, so that exec WILL work as expected... Vincent Archer Email: archer%segin4.segin.fr@relay.prime.com "The term `panic' is, by definition, frightening..."