GNU bug report logs - #31709
27.0.50; Wishlist: Perhaps Emacs should load a file when getting a particular signal?

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From: Robert Pluim <rpluim <at> gmail.com>
To: Phil Sainty <psainty <at> orcon.net.nz>
Cc: 31709 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>, Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org>
Subject: bug#31709: 27.0.50; Wishlist: Perhaps Emacs should load a file when getting a particular signal?
Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2018 18:24:46 +0200

Phil Sainty <psainty <at> orcon.net.nz> writes:

> On 2018-06-06 03:35, Phil Sainty wrote:
>> On 2018-06-06 02:38, Eli Zaretskii wrote:
>>> Having a fixed file name in Emacs that is loaded by an external signal
>>> would be a terrible security risk, no?
>>
>> Bad Things could surely be done; but if the attacker has access to
>> send signals to the user's emacs process or write files in the user's
>> ~/.emacs.d directory, has a terrible security breach not already
>> occurred?  The notion of an attacker gaining access to a running Emacs
>> session is certainly bad, but I'm unsure whether the proposed idea
>> really worsens the risk in principle?
>
> In fact if you normally run emacs as a server you're opening up the
> same security risk, no?  An attacker who could send a signal to an
> emacs process can also run emacsclient to access an existing server;
> and I don't think we consider the practice of running an emacs server
> to be a terrible security risk.

What if this hypothetical emacs was deliberately started without a
server running, since it contains sensitive information? Starting a
server when receiving a signal has now opened up access to that emacs
where none existed before.

Robert

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