How to Check the Security of $INFORMIXDIR and Chun

Some, maybe even many, of you have heard me say "Make sure that $INFORMIXDIR and all the directories in the path leading to it are secure" and "Make sure that the paths leading to your chunks are secure", but how many people are really sure they know when something is secure and when it is not really secure? OK - there was at least one hand moving out there near the back of the audience - just a little. I've uploaded a program to the IIUG Software Archive (hint, hint - O Keepers of the IIUG Software Archive - and it is the second version, 2.34, that should be made public, please) called linkpath which is my current tool for assessing whether a path leading to a file (or a directory) is really secure. It should compile on just about any version of Unix or Linux you can lay hands on; I've compiled it on HP-UX, Solaris 10, Linux, AIX, and MacOS X. Usage: linkpath [-adhsvV][-u user][-g group] file [...] -a Process absolute names -d Print diagnostic output -g group Treat user as trusted -h Print this help message and exit -s Security check directories -u user Treat user as trusted -v Verbose mode -V Print version and exit The program chases down insecure directories - defined as a directory that is publicly writable, or a directory that is owned by a non-trusted group that is group writable, or a directory that is owned by a non-trusted user. It reports on insecure files too. It follows symlinks, but analyses the path that the symlink traverses to make sure there are no insecure directories on the way. The trusted users are root, bin, sys and informix; the trusted groups are bin, sys, informix, and group 0 (sometimes root, sometimes wheel (MacOS X), sometimes system (AIX)), and the group that owns the root directory (admin, 80, on MacOS X; group 0 on other systems). I am interested to know (a) if you have any problems compiling it (platform - o/s and compiler - would be relevant), and (b) whether any of your INFORMIXDIRs are insecure. One way of checking that is: linkpath -sv `cat /INFORMIXTMP/.infxdirs` Or - Korn Shell or Bash: linkpath -sv $(</INFORMIXTMP/.infxdirs) One reason for asking is to find out how much trouble would be caused if a security check based on this code was added to fix packs of IDS, with ON-Init in particular not starting unless $INFORMIXDIR was secure according to the criteria checked by this code. [And one reason for asking is because I've been saddened to find that most of the R&D and QA machines do not pass this security test. Granted, security isn't a major problem inside IBM's firewalls - but I was a little surprised at the extent of the problems I have to work around. My machine passes muster (funny that!) except for one INFORMIXDIR, which is the result of a build without a formal install. If the 'uninstalled build' was the only reason the R&D and QA machines failed, I'd be happier; sadly, it isn't.] -- Jonathan Leffler #include <disclaimer.h> Email: jleffler@earthlink.net, jleffler@us.ibm.com Guardian of DBD::Informix v2008.0513 -- http://dbi.perl.org/ "Blessed are we who can laugh at ourselves, for we shall never cease to be amused." NB: Please do not use this email for correspondence. I don't necessarily read it every week, even.