Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!stanford.edu!leland.Stanford.EDU!gsb-yen.stanford.edu!92disanto
From: 92disanto@gsb-yen.stanford.edu
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.nfs
Subject: PCNFS Security Problems - Questions
Message-ID: <1991May28.180655.1@gsb-yen.stanford.edu>
Date: 29 May 91 02:06:55 GMT
Sender: news@leland.Stanford.EDU (Mr News)
Organization: AIR, Stanford University
Lines: 18


I would like to know about security problems using NFS on a PC.
I'm building an application that needs to download and upload user
files on a UNIX host to and from a personal computer.  At first
I thought that I could rely on NFS to do this for me, but I am finding
out that site administrators seem to think that NFS has too many
security problems to allow its use from a PC.  Can someone summarize
what these problems are?  As I (somewhat) understand it, the standard
NFS protocol allows an entire volume to be mounted, and it has no
way to enforce user-level restrictions on access to files on that volume.
Is this correct?  Is there a way to build an application so that it
could use NFS in a secure fashion without exposing an installation
to security risks?

Send response (or copy of) to "simpsons@leland.stanford.edu".  Thanks.

Jim.