[pkg-wpa-devel] Bug#428620: Conflicting advice regarding security

[Loye Young]

Package: wpasupplicant
Version: 0.5.7
/usr/share/doc/wpasupplicant/README.modes.gz advises (waaayyyyy down at the bottom) to set permissions to 0600 for both /etc/network/interfaces and /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf. 

/usr/share/doc/wpasupplicant/examples/README.wpa_supplicant.conf.gz advises that by setting GROUP=wheel, non-root users can use the control interface, but wpa_supplicant can run as root. However, if wpa_supplicant.conf is 0600, only root can read the file and client apps fail because they cannot read configuration file. 

Would it make sense to:
chmod root:wheel wpa_supplicant.conf
chmod 0660 wpa_supplicant.conf 
by default?

Happy Trails,

Loye Young
http://www.iycc.biz
Laredo, Texas