Win32 API utterly and irreprarable broken

[Dr. G]

I'm, talking about if your unning/installing a RPM or what have you with
root privledges or you're actually logged on as root.

As for that POS Palladium...that's a whole different can of worms.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Bushman" <bob@traxel.com>
To: <plug-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us>
Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2002 6:38 AM
Subject: Re: Win32 API utterly and irreprarable broken


> On Thu, 8 Aug 2002, Dr. G wrote:
>
> > Other then that, if your running a program on your PC someone else made
that
> > you don't 100% trust, your gambling, no matter if it's windows or linux.
>
> Not so. Linux doesn't allow user accounts to
> escalate their level. You can trash your own
> data, but not the system.
>
> If I set up a user named "magilla" in Linux, and
> use that account to execute all my untrusted code,
> I am confident that it cannot escalate its level
> without using a currently unknow exploit - that is,
> it cannot modify anything outside of /home/magilla
> and /tmp. Better yet, I can chroot the account and
> it won't be able to even see anything outside of
> /home/magilla.
>
> If I set up "magilla" in 2000, I am confident that
> it can escalate its level - that is, it can do
> anything to anything on the box.
>
> That's the problem - it is currently impossible
> to execute untrusted code on a Windows box safely.
> That's what the author means by "unfixable" - it's
> currently impossible to have a functional Windows
> box on which you can safely execute untrusted code.
>
> This is why Microsoft thinks Palladium is necessary.
> They don't even grasp the fact that you can safely
> execute untrusted code if your operating system's
> security is designed correctly. So they have to
> implement this ridiculous scheme where every piece
> of code is authenticated by an outside authority.
>
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