Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!burl!codas!killer!pollux!ti-csl!tifsie!kent
From: kent@tifsie.UUCP (Russell Kent)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: To find out the names of open files in a process
Message-ID: <287@tifsie.UUCP>
Date: 29 Jan 88 00:32:58 GMT
References: <2120@ttrdc.UUCP>
Organization: TI Process Automation Center, Dallas Texas
Lines: 26
Posted: Thu Jan 28 18:32:58 1988

in article <2120@ttrdc.UUCP>, levy@ttrdc.UUCP (Daniel R. Levy) says:
 [ deleted lines - RAK ]
} #> Alternately you can write a simple character device driver that will
} #> open a file given inode information. You can thus supply this as
} #> an ioctl to the program that can then munge the internals of the
} #> kernel data structures (XXX).
} 
} This if not done carefully would pose a security hole.  Either this form
} of access should only be allowed to the superuser (perhaps by making the
} special device be readable/writeable only by the root, a la /dev/mem
} and block devices for disks) or access should only be permitted for files
} which could also be opened in the desired manner by pathname.
} -- 
} Dan Levy

Wouldn't "access ... permitted for files which could also be opened in the
desired manner by pathname" imply that the kernel would have to search the
file system directory tree for an accessible path?  Do you _really_ want
to put this sort of thing into the kernel (can you see the kernel spending
millions of machine cycles scanning the disk drive??)

-- 
Russell Kent                    Phone: +1 214 995 3501
Texas Instruments               UUCP address:
P.O. Box 655012   MS 3635       ...!convex!smu!tifsie!kent
Dallas, TX 75265                ...!ut-sally!im4u!ti-csl!tifsie!kent