Re:Alpine Linux 3.15
by dotancohen on Wednesday November 24, 2021 @02:03PM
(#29333779)
> Aside from forcing vim onto innocent users?
> `sudo -e` runs a few file copies / move as root.
> Actually, `sudo -e` forces VIM onto innocent users
No, it does not. It runs whatever EDITOR is set to (technically the first set of SUDO_EDITOR, VISUAL, and EDITOR).
> So presumably that means that it will have my environment, e.g. will run my .vimrc?
That is correct.
> Though that could be an attack vector too.
Only on the specific file, which would usually be a lot more noticeable unless the attack specifically manages to recognise and target sudoedited files while closing the buffer.
Re:Alpine Linux 3.15
by dotancohen on Wednesday November 24, 2021 @02:19PM
(#29333986)
> Only on the specific file, which would usually be a lot more
> noticeable unless the attack specifically manages to recognise
> and target sudoedited files while closing the buffer.
Aside from forcing vim onto innocent users?
> I feel that it's better than `sudo -e`, but would love to see an example where `sudo -e` is better.
It is way worse than `sudo -e`, because it runs the entire editor as root, whereas `sudo -e` runs a few file copies / move as root. So `sudo -e` has a significantly lower amount of stuff in the "secure zone", and thus, much in the same way `doas` is more secure than `sudo`, `sudo -e` is a lot more secure than running the entire editor.
It also works with anything you can set as $EDITOR.
Some editors (like vscode) will outright refuse to run as root by default.