[kea-dev] Kea - root privileges and security ?

[Chaigneau, Nicolas]

Hello guys,


It has been pointed out to me that Kea being executed with root privileges might cause security vulnerabilities.
I believe this to be a valid concern, but I'm not sure if there is much we can do about this.

I understand that a DHCP server needs root privileges for a number of actions: to open / use raw sockets, bind on privileged ports 67 / 68, and maybe more.

I was wondering if it could be feasible for the process to drop its root privileges (through seteuid ?), and only restore them when it actually needs them.

Maybe this doesn't make sense. Probably it would be complicated.
In any case, I'd like to hear your opinion on the matter. :)


For example, CMU's dhcpd (not ISC's !) seem to implement such a feature (see "running as an unprivileged user"):
https://www.net.princeton.edu/software/dhcpd/dhcpd.8.html
(note that I don't know anything about their product, except what I've read from their documentation)




Any thoughts ?


Regards,
Nicolas.

This message contains information that may be privileged or confidential and is the property of the Capgemini Group. It is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are not authorized to read, print, retain, copy, disseminate, distribute, or use this message or any part thereof. If you receive this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete all copies of this message.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.isc.org/pipermail/kea-dev/attachments/20151001/7caf5386/attachment.html>