SVR3 passwd changes mode of passwd file

[DAVID NEWALL]

In article <4827 at cbmvax.UUCP>, ditto at cbmvax.UUCP (Michael "Ford" Ditto) writes:
> The complaint here is not about security or lack thereof, it's about
> programs undoing the system administrator's actions.
>
> Where should this "enforced security" end?  Should /bin/passwd also
> chmod / to 555 mode as well?  And what about /etc/?  Should "ls"
> remove world write permission from /dev/mem if it happens to discover
> it?

I haven't got the sources, so I don't know for sure...  I imagine passwd
writes a _brand new_ copy of /etc/passwd.  So it's not a case of passwd
"happening to discover" that the mode isn't 444.  On the contrary, it's a
case of passwd not noticing that the mode is other than 444.
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David Newall                                 Phone:  +61 8 343 3160
South Australian Institute of Technology     Fax:    +61 8 349 6939
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