Re: [rdiff-backup-users] 1.1.2 restore error with readonly backup

[Blair Zajac]

Ben Escoto wrote:
> > > > > > Blair Zajac <address@hidden>
> > > > > > wrote the following on Mon, 07 Nov 2005 21:19:13 -0800
> >
> > Trying to restore from an rdiff-backup created by root as my normal
> > user, I got this stack trace:
>
> ...
>
> > Is there a bug here in the logging code?  Without the -v 9, I didn't
> > get any message that something was wrong.
>
>
> Yes, I think there is a bug in the error code, I will look at it.  But
> Sheldon Hearn is right, there is an issue with the setup you are
> attempting (but I wouldn't call it a "bug" exactly).  The problem is
> that there are probably some files in the repository that you have
> insufficient permissions to read as the non-root user.

Yes, it appears that the problem is that rdiff-backup's data directory is 700, 
which prevents normal users from reading it.

I'm guessing that this is this intended?  I would be nice for it to be 755 by 
default, to allow non-root users restore backups themselves.

However, from a security point of view, what kind of data are they getting 
access to that they should not have?  The actual backup files and directories 
have the same permissions as the original, so there's no gained visibility.  Is 
it just potentially a list of the files that were backed up?  Could the 
incremental data have the file permissions as the original?

Regards,
Blair

--
Blair Zajac, Ph.D.
<address@hidden>
Subversion and Orca training and consulting
http://www.orcaware.com/svn/