[plug] Binaries and the missing X flag...

[Christian]

Trevor Phillips wrote:
> 
> Anyone familiar with a "problem" where files which are 755 mysteriously change
> to 655? This is using Debian, but I don't know if is a problem (or security
> "feature"?) particular to the distribution, Linux in general, or just this
> particular machine config...
> Any ideas?

I vaguely remember something like this happening on an old Slackware
system I had -- all of a sudden X stopped working and when I checked,
the permissions seemed odd.  Never had it happen on Debian (yet).

As for the permissions you give, if the files are all owned by root and
you're running them as a normal user then changing the permissions to
remove the execute bit for the owner shouldn't be a problem for you,
just root.  I can't see how this could be a security feature since, if
the files are owned by a user and execute permission is removed, that
user can just add +x back.  'chmod a+X' should fix the problem for you
(although be careful on which files you run this obviously).

Regards,

Christian.

-- 
Perhaps I am flogging a straw herring in mid-stream, but in the light
of what is known about the ubiquity of security vulnerabilities, it
seems vastly too dangerous for university folks to run with their heads
in the sand.
						    - Peter G. Neumann