[Secure-testing-team] Re: kernel allows loadkeys to be used by any user, allowing for local root compromise

[Krzysztof Halasa]

Rudolf Polzer <debian-ne at durchnull.de> writes:

> However, pool computers like in this case are neither servers nor terminals.
> If they were terminals, we would need about 30 servers to handle the load of
> 100 active students. So they are workstation installations that do most of
> the
> work locally.

Ok. So they are exposed to known attacks with quite high probability.
This might be acceptable (as they are student machines) but not secure.

>> Hope they don't change the keys in the process.
>
> They HAVE to do that,

Well, I meant physical keys to match them to loaded keymaps :-)

> Many people here need that, but it's ok for them if it works only in X11
> (most
> of these users don't even know that text consoles exist).

I see. X11 is another story, though.

> However, Xorg and XFree86 have about the same problem: you can remap
> Ctrl-Alt-Backspace. So it would be good if the SAK also worked there which
> would require it to set a "sane" video mode.

I assume that one can notice that Ctrl-Alt-Backspace doesn't work,
and stop there. I think SAK/X11 video mode issue is possible to fix,
though.
-- 
Krzysztof Halasa