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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: Password checking API
From:       Michael Goffioul <goffioul () imec ! be>
Date:       2001-10-03 8:28:13
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> It may just be me, but if CUPS is a centralized toolset, then knowing the
> password of the user is fairly unlikely, just as unlikely as having the
> account on the same machine you are on.  Wouldn't it be more likely that
> you would have the controlling password for the CUPS server then the
> account for the user whose job (not yours) you want to remove?  In reality
> though, if the CUPS server is only checking the username than it already
> has a security problem. There should be a check against the requesting IP
> and the original user.

You're right. Changing the username to root to remove someone else's job
only makes sense if the CUPS server is on localhost, but this is a restriction
that can be introduced on client side. As I understand how CUPS works, it's
the client responsability to insure that the "requesting-user-name" is
the right one. If you set it to root in your request when posting a job,
the root is the owner of the job, even if you're not really root. This is
the same when removing a job: the client has to set the username correctly
to avoid introducing security hole.
That's why I wanted an authentification mechanism: to authenticate the 
requested username before changing it. However this can only be done if
the server runs on localhost.

Michael.

-- 
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Michael Goffioul		IMEC-DESICS-MIRA
e-mail: goffioul@imec.be	(Mixed-Signal and RF Applications)
Tel:    +32/16/28-8510		Kapeldreef, 75
Fax:    +32/16/28-1515		3001 HEVERLEE, BELGIUM
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