Dropping Privileges in Go
The article discusses the importance of dropping privileges in software development to enhance security. It emphasizes that programs should only have the necessary privileges to function, thereby minimizing potential vulnerabilities. The author suggests methods like chrooting and user-switching to implement this principle effectively.
- ▪Programs often run with user privileges, which can lead to security risks if not managed properly.
- ▪The principle of least privilege should be enforced to prevent programs from accessing unnecessary resources.
- ▪Self-restricting software can enhance security by ensuring that once privileges are dropped, they cannot be regained.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Dropping Privileges in Go February 1, 2025 Computer programs may do lots of things, both intended and unintended. What they can do is limited by their privileges. Since most operating systems execute programs as a certain user, the program has all the user’s precious privileges. To take a concrete example, if a user has an SSH private key laying around and runs, e.g., a chat program, then this program is able to read the private key even though it has nothing to do with it. Assuming that this chat is exploitable, then an attacker might instruct the chat through a crafted message to exfiltrate the private key. Maybe not the issue’s core, but the damage is rooted in the fact that a program was able to access a resource that it should not be able to access in the first place.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at 0x21.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from 0x21
