Subject: bug#32544: [ELPA] core packages need generated files

From: Glenn Morris <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2018 19:31:07 -0400

Stefan Monnier wrote:

> The main issue is to make it possible to build those files on
> elpa.gnu.org without too many security risks.
>
> I planned to do that by running "make" inside an LXC container, but my
> attempts to make a lightweight LXC container on elpa.gnu.org failed
> se far.

Is the concern privilege escalation in build recipes in malicious elpa
packages?

But couldn't the same package run the same bad code at package install
time on the end user's machine, today and for as long as elpa.gnu.org
has existed?

Ie, if we assume malicious code can get into elpa packages with no-one
noticing, the whole system is already broken anyway?

So would it be good enough in practice to avoid accidental damage by
running make as a dedicated elpa-build user with no special privs?

But if you want to make the elpa system more secure one piece at a time,
that's obviously no bad thing.