[ On Thu, March 16, 1995 at 12:37:01 (-0600), Dave Burgess wrote: ]
> Subject: Re: /var vs. /etc (crontabs, etc): don't let users fill the root
>
> On a related, although admittedly tangential note:
> 
> I am going through my system trying to secure it from net attack.  I
> have a couple of questions that someone here may be able answer better
> than I have:
> 
> 1)  Should the hard drives be group readable?  The MAKEDEV script sets
> them up that way.

I think they need to be group readable if you want any non-root users to
be able to do dumps, read disk labels, etc.

> 2)  The /etc/motd that gets built during bootup is set up mode 666.  My
> book says 644.  I am inclined to 644 myself.  Any other thoughts?

644 or 664.  IMNSHO, there shouldn't be anything on the root partition
that's world writable, and esp. not in /etc.

Ordinary users can use msgs(1) to tell the world their troubles should
you so configure it for them to do so.

> 3) /etc/security is world readable.  Does that cause anyone concern?

Why should it?

> 4)  /kern is group and world readable / executable.  Do userland
> processes need to be able to read the contents of /kern?

I'd say so....  Take for instance /kern/loadavg.  You could probably
take search permission away from the directory, but everything under
there is well documented regardless....

> 5)  /var/spool/uucppublic is world writable.  While this makes sense to
> me, my book says no.  Ideas?

It depends entirely on what you use UUCP for, what concerns you have
about the partition /var/spool/uucppublic resides on, etc., etc.

-- 
							Greg A. Woods

+1 416 443-1734			VE3TCP			robohack!woods
Planix, Inc. <woods@planix.com>; Secrets Of The Weird <woods@weird.com>