linux-kernel - Re: [Bug #14474] restorecond going crazy on 2.6.31.4

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Message-Id: <200910281947.31777.rjw@sisk.pl>
Date:	Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:47:31 +0100
From:	"Rafael J. Wysocki" <rjw@...k.pl>
To:	jim owens <jowens@...com>
Cc:	Eric Paris <eparis@...isplace.org>,
	Robert Hancock <hancockrwd@...il.com>,
	Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	Kernel Testers List <kernel-testers@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: [Bug #14474] restorecond going crazy on 2.6.31.4 - inotify regression?

On Wednesday 28 October 2009, jim owens wrote:
> Rafael J. Wysocki wrote:
> > On Tuesday 27 October 2009, Eric Paris wrote:
> >> It's a restorecond bug.  restorecon acted as if watch descriptors
> >> could never be reused.  They weren't on old kernels and it's possible
> >> they are reused now.  Restorecon was fixed.
> >>
> >> http://marc.info/?l=selinux&m=125380417916233&w=2
> >>
> >> a change in the kernel caused a buggy userspace program to break.  I
> >> know how to put the kernel back the way it was, but I don't know if we
> >> call this a regression, you guys tell me.
> > 
> > Yes, we do, AFAICS.  The policy is not to break user space, even if it happens
> > to work by accident.
> 
> But if we make a rule of "never break even bad user programs" then
> we also should never plug security holes because that breaks a
> user program expecting that attack vector :)

Well, that's why this rule is not carved in stone.

Clearly, there are some cases in which we can't afford keeping the buggy user
space happy, not only security-related.

Thanks,
Rafael
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