Is sudo considered unsafe?
I am a somewhat experienced linux user. I know what the sudo command does and am aware that I can mess up the system myself or give any application the privilege to do so.
However, there are two scenarios that keep threatening me whenever I type sudo in a terminal:
If I issued a sudo command (e.g. sudo apt update), and run a different script from the same shell within 15 minutes, that script will effectively have root permissions. This is not a huge problem because I can change the timeout to 0, i.e. I'll have to enter my sudo password every time.
The more serious problem is that ~/.bashrc (or .zshrc etc.) is writable by me or, more specifically, every piece of code that is executed by my user. This means that every application I execute can append the following line to my .bashrc:
alias sudo="sudo maliciousscript.sh; sudo "
By default, sudo won't tell me what it is going to execute with root privileges. If I run sudo apt update and the malicious script doesn't write to stdout, I won't even notice that my system was compromised. And there are probably even more vectors an attacker could use.
I know that I can limit the use of sudo to specific applications, but is there a safe way to use sudo in general? If yes, why are popular distributions like ubuntu configured in such an unsafe way? Or am I completely mistaken?
security sudo alias malware
asked 4 mins ago
danzeldanzel
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I am a somewhat experienced linux user. I know what the sudo command does and am aware that I can mess up the system myself or give any application the privilege to do so.
However, there are two scenarios that keep threatening me whenever I type sudo in a terminal:
If I issued a sudo command (e.g. sudo apt update), and run a different script from the same shell within 15 minutes, that script will effectively have root permissions. This is not a huge problem because I can change the timeout to 0, i.e. I'll have to enter my sudo password every time.
The more serious problem is that ~/.bashrc (or .zshrc etc.) is writable by me or, more specifically, every piece of code that is executed by my user. This means that every application I execute can append the following line to my .bashrc:
alias sudo="sudo maliciousscript.sh; sudo "
By default, sudo won't tell me what it is going to execute with root privileges. If I run sudo apt update and the malicious script doesn't write to stdout, I won't even notice that my system was compromised. And there are probably even more vectors an attacker could use.
I know that I can limit the use of sudo to specific applications, but is there a safe way to use sudo in general? If yes, why are popular distributions like ubuntu configured in such an unsafe way? Or am I completely mistaken?
security sudo alias malware
asked 4 mins ago
danzeldanzel
1011
New contributor
danzel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
I am a somewhat experienced linux user. I know what the sudo command does and am aware that I can mess up the system myself or give any application the privilege to do so.
However, there are two scenarios that keep threatening me whenever I type sudo in a terminal:
If I issued a sudo command (e.g. sudo apt update), and run a different script from the same shell within 15 minutes, that script will effectively have root permissions. This is not a huge problem because I can change the timeout to 0, i.e. I'll have to enter my sudo password every time.
The more serious problem is that ~/.bashrc (or .zshrc etc.) is writable by me or, more specifically, every piece of code that is executed by my user. This means that every application I execute can append the following line to my .bashrc:
alias sudo="sudo maliciousscript.sh; sudo "
By default, sudo won't tell me what it is going to execute with root privileges. If I run sudo apt update and the malicious script doesn't write to stdout, I won't even notice that my system was compromised. And there are probably even more vectors an attacker could use.
I know that I can limit the use of sudo to specific applications, but is there a safe way to use sudo in general? If yes, why are popular distributions like ubuntu configured in such an unsafe way? Or am I completely mistaken?
security sudo alias malware
asked 4 mins ago
danzeldanzel
1011
New contributor
danzel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I am a somewhat experienced linux user. I know what the sudo command does and am aware that I can mess up the system myself or give any application the privilege to do so.
However, there are two scenarios that keep threatening me whenever I type sudo in a terminal:
If I issued a sudo command (e.g. sudo apt update), and run a different script from the same shell within 15 minutes, that script will effectively have root permissions. This is not a huge problem because I can change the timeout to 0, i.e. I'll have to enter my sudo password every time.
The more serious problem is that ~/.bashrc (or .zshrc etc.) is writable by me or, more specifically, every piece of code that is executed by my user. This means that every application I execute can append the following line to my .bashrc:
alias sudo="sudo maliciousscript.sh; sudo "
By default, sudo won't tell me what it is going to execute with root privileges. If I run sudo apt update and the malicious script doesn't write to stdout, I won't even notice that my system was compromised. And there are probably even more vectors an attacker could use.
I know that I can limit the use of sudo to specific applications, but is there a safe way to use sudo in general? If yes, why are popular distributions like ubuntu configured in such an unsafe way? Or am I completely mistaken?
security sudo alias malware
security sudo alias malware
asked 4 mins ago
danzeldanzel
1011
New contributor
danzel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 4 mins ago
danzeldanzel
1011
New contributor
danzel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 4 mins ago
danzeldanzel
1011
New contributor
danzel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 4 mins ago
danzeldanzel
1011
asked 4 mins ago
danzeldanzel
1011
1011
New contributor
danzel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
danzel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
danzel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
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