[comp.sources.bugs] smail 2.5 bug

pwolfe@kailand.KAI.COM (09/29/88)

I've recently upgraded from smail v2.3 to smail v2.5, and now smail doesn't
log mail being sent.  I've got #define LOG in defs.h, and log messages are
generated correctly for messages received.


Patrick Wolfe
System Manager, Kuck and Associates, Inc.

internet:  Patrick.Wolfe@kailand.kai.com
uucp:      kailand!Patrick.Wolfe

pwolfe@kailand.KAI.COM (10/08/88)

oops.

When I upgraded from smail v2.3 to v2.5, I must have accidentally munged the
permissions on the logfile (/usr/spool/uucp/mail.log).  Apparently, that file
needs to be world writable for outgoing mail to be logged.  Everything works
now.

Patrick Wolfe
Patrick.Wolfe@kailand.kai.com  -or-  kailand!Patrick.Wolfe

woods@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu (Greg Woods) (10/09/88)

In article <2800011@kailand> pwolfe@kailand.KAI.COM writes:
>
>When I upgraded from smail v2.3 to v2.5, I must have accidentally munged the
>permissions on the logfile (/usr/spool/uucp/mail.log).  Apparently, that file
>needs to be world writable for outgoing mail to be logged.  Everything works
>now.

I find it much more secure to make /bin/smail set-group-id-on-execution
to some unique group, and to make /usr/spool/uucp/mail.log writable by
the same group.

If you use the info in mail.log to audit mail on your system, you don't
want the audit file to be world-writable!
-- 
						Greg Woods.

UUCP: utgpu!woods, utgpu!{ontmoh, ontmoh!ixpierre}!woods, tmsoft!ixpierre!woods
VOICE: (416) 443-1734 [h]		LOCATION: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

lenny@icus.islp.ny.us (Lenny Tropiano) (10/09/88)

In article <2800011@kailand> pwolfe@kailand.KAI.COM writes:
|>
|>oops.
|>
|>When I upgraded from smail v2.3 to v2.5, I must have accidentally munged the
|>permissions on the logfile (/usr/spool/uucp/mail.log).  Apparently, that file
|>needs to be world writable for outgoing mail to be logged.  Everything works
|>now.
|>
|>Patrick Wolfe
|>Patrick.Wolfe@kailand.kai.com  -or-  kailand!Patrick.Wolfe

It doesn't have to be world writable.  In fact if it was, anyone could
just clear it out (what good would logging messages do then).  I would
make the file owned by group "mail" (or some equivalent), and make smail/rmail
run as a setgid program to mail.

# chown mail /usr/spool/uucp/mail.log /bin/smail
# chmod 660  /usr/spool/uucp/mail.log
# chmod 2711 /bin/smail

This is much more secure.

-Lenny
-- 
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