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The choice of /var/tmp/abrt as the base directory for problem report directories makes it quite hard to write correct code to access problem directories because all access needs to obtain a stable reference to the problem directory (using openat) in a way that is race-free with an ownership check on /var/tmp/abrt (it must be owned by root:root).
It is much easier to switch back to /var/spool/abrt, where the directory can be packaged directly in the RPM with appropriate ownership.
/var/spool/abrt is also more or less required for proper path-based SELinux labeling, a subdirectory of a 1777 directory really isn't cut out for that.
In the past, it has been alleged that user-owned files under /var/spool are not FHS-compliant, but existing practice (such as mailboxes and crontabs) flatly contradicts that. In any case, FHS compliance is not a sufficient justification to drive up code complexity and risk having a prolonged streak of security vulnerabilities. But with the move towards problem directory ownership by root:abrt, this objection no longer applies anyway.
This bug should also capture the switch to root:abrt ownership of problem report directories, with permissions 0750. This addresses both race conditions and information leaks.
http://refspecs.linuxfoundation.org/FHS_2.3/fhs-2.3.html#VARSPOOLAPPLICATIONSPOOLDATA
/var/spool states:
/var/spool : Application spool data
Purpose
/var/spool contains data which is awaiting some kind of later processing. Data in /var/spool represents work to be done in the future (by a program, user, or administrator); often data is deleted after it has been processed.
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whoever is asserting user owned files done belong there has not read the spec
(In reply to Mats Wichmann from comment #4)
> Is there a pointer to the claims that user-owner files are not allowed here
> by FHS? Could be worth disambiguating...
No, this was internal communication, and it's now difficult to trace back. I think it was just an incorrect analysis of the overall situation (see comment 0).
R P Herrold, thanks for digging out this reference.
We tried a version with root:abrt ownership, 0770 permissions, and this does not address bug 1212861 completely: abrt can still escalate privileges to root. We're now trying 0750 permissions, as requested in comment 2.
Since the problem described in this bug report should be
resolved in a recent advisory, it has been closed with a
resolution of ERRATA.
For information on the advisory, and where to find the updated
files, follow the link below.
If the solution does not work for you, open a new bug report.
https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2015-2097.html