Path: utzoo!yunexus!ists!mike
From: mike@ists (Mike Clarkson)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: Is GNU Cause of Security Problems???
Message-ID: <109@ists>
Date: 16 May 88 16:28:34 GMT
Article-I.D.: ists.109
Posted: Mon May 16 12:28:34 1988
References: <5290@aw.sei.cmu.edu> <4983@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> <193@ists> <5263@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>
Organization: Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science
Lines: 25

In article <5263@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>, wolfgang@mgm.mit.edu (Wolfgang Rupprecht) writes:
> In article <193@ists> mike@ists (Mike Clarkson) writes:
> >Nothing in gnu Emacs is suid root (or anything else), nor is anything
> >default world writable.  Gnu should be no more "dangerous" than any
> >other program.

> Sorry mike.  You are wrong.
> 
> $ grep -n chmod gnuemacs-18.51/build-install
> gnuemacs-18.51/build-install:29:chmod 777 $BIN/{ctags,etags,emacs}

I stand corrected: emacs is world writable. (I assume this has something
to do  with RMS's philosophy - if you can give it away, you should be
able to delete it ?:-) Personally I think this is wrong.

But it is not suid root.  As for trojan horses I consider them to be
unlikely, though I suppose it would be wise only to use vi while su'ed
to root.


-- 
Mike Clarkson					mike@ists.UUCP
Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science	mike@ists.yorku.ca
York University, North York, Ontario,		uunet!mnetor!yunexus!ists!mike
CANADA M3J 1P3					+1 (416) 736-5611