GNU bug report logs - #44587
ls prints garbage when listing contents of a directory without exec permissions

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Jan Schaumann <jschauma <at> netmeister.org>
To: bug-coreutils <at> gnu.org
Subject: ls prints garbage when listing contents of a directory without exec
 permissions
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2020 18:24:17 -0500

When running 'ls -l' on a directory that the user does
not have execute permissions on, ls(1) still attempts
to generate the long listing and prints the various
fields with garbage:

$ mkdir dir
$ touch dir/file
$ chmod a-x dir
$ ls -ld dir
drw-r--r-- 2 jschauma users 28 Nov 11 23:15 dir
$ ls -la dir
ls: cannot access dir/.: Permission denied
ls: cannot access dir/..: Permission denied
ls: cannot access dir/file: Permission denied
total 0
d????????? ? ? ? ?            ? .
d????????? ? ? ? ?            ? ..
-????????? ? ? ? ?            ? file
$ 


Expected output:

$ ls -la dir
ls: cannot access dir/.: Permission denied
ls: cannot access dir/..: Permission denied
ls: cannot access dir/file: Permission denied
$ 

This is coreutils-8.32.

Message #8 received at 44587 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Bernhard Voelker <mail <at> bernhard-voelker.de>
To: Jan Schaumann <jschauma <at> netmeister.org>, 44587 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#44587: ls prints garbage when listing contents of a directory
 without exec permissions
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2020 00:53:46 +0100

On 11/12/20 12:24 AM, Jan Schaumann wrote:
> When running 'ls -l' on a directory that the user does
> not have execute permissions on, ls(1) still attempts
> to generate the long listing and prints the various
> fields with garbage:
> 
> $ mkdir dir
> $ touch dir/file
> $ chmod a-x dir
> $ ls -ld dir
> drw-r--r-- 2 jschauma users 28 Nov 11 23:15 dir
> $ ls -la dir
> ls: cannot access dir/.: Permission denied
> ls: cannot access dir/..: Permission denied
> ls: cannot access dir/file: Permission denied
> total 0
> d????????? ? ? ? ?            ? .
> d????????? ? ? ? ?            ? ..
> -????????? ? ? ? ?            ? file
> $ 
> 
> 
> Expected output:
> 
> $ ls -la dir
> ls: cannot access dir/.: Permission denied
> ls: cannot access dir/..: Permission denied
> ls: cannot access dir/file: Permission denied
> $ 
> 
> This is coreutils-8.32.

That feature seems to have been turned on explicitly in version 6.0 (in 2006):

https://git.sv.gnu.org/cgit/coreutils.git/commit/?id=ccb1883fcd2

  [...] Apply the stat-failed parts of Red Hat's
  coreutils-selinux.patch.  From Ulrich Drepper.

  This makes it so files not mentioned on the command line (e.g.,
  names read from a directory that *is* mentioned on the command
  line) for which stat fails are still listed. [...]

Have a nice day,
Berny

Message #13 received at 44587-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Paul Eggert <eggert <at> cs.ucla.edu>
To: Jan Schaumann <jschauma <at> netmeister.org>
Cc: 44587-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#44587: ls prints garbage when listing contents of a directory
 without exec permissions
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2020 19:41:08 -0800

On 11/11/20 3:24 PM, Jan Schaumann wrote:
> $ ls -la dir
> ls: cannot access dir/.: Permission denied
> ls: cannot access dir/..: Permission denied
> ls: cannot access dir/file: Permission denied
> total 0
> d????????? ? ? ? ?            ? .
> d????????? ? ? ? ?            ? ..
> -????????? ? ? ? ?            ? file
> $
> 
> 
> Expected output:
> 
> $ ls -la dir
> ls: cannot access dir/.: Permission denied
> ls: cannot access dir/..: Permission denied
> ls: cannot access dir/file: Permission denied

As Bernhard mentioned, the actual output is intentional. The expected output 
would be less useful, as it would give the user a bit less information (e.g., it 
would not tell the user where 'file' is a regular file or a directory).

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