Re: wordperfect 8 for linux security

[peterw () CLARK NET (Peter W)]

Aleph: minor error in the first test of the script, should have quoted the env var in case it was not set. This should 
be correct, please use this if you have not already approved the previous note.

Sorry, and thanks.

-Peter

Keith Owens wrote:

> On Fri, 18 Dec 1998 11:47:45 -0500,
> Edsel Adap <adap () ADAP ORG> wrote:
> > When wordperfect 8 is installed it creates a /tmp/wpc-<hostname>
> > directory with permissions 777.  And all files inside of it are mode
> > 666.  And when these files are created, symlinks are followed.
>
> Worse that that.  Even if you delete the wpc-<hostname> file, the next
> time you run wpc it creates it again.  So do not run wp8 under any
> powerful userid.

As noted before, WordPerfect respects TMPDIR, so start the app with something like:

#!/bin/sh
# Set $TMPDIR to ~/tmp if the user doesn't already have a TMPDIR variable
if [ "${TMPDIR}" = "" ]; then
        TMPDIR=${HOME}/tmp
fi
if [ ! -d "${TMPDIR}" ]; then
   # Need to make a new directory
   TMPDIR_TEST="error"
   /bin/mkdir "${TMPDIR}" && TMPDIR_TEST="ok"
   if [ ${TMPDIR_TEST} != "ok" ]; then
        /bin/echo "Unable to create safe tmp directory ${TMPDIR}"
        exit 1
    fi
    /bin/chmod o= "${TMPDIR}"
fi
# Set $TMPDIR for the wpc-$HOSTNAME junk
export TMPDIR
# Clear LD_LIBRARY_PATH to prevent reported seg faults
LD_LIBRARY_PATH="" export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
# Set the PATH and exec the app, passing any command-line args
PATH=${PATH}:/path/to/wordperfect/wpbin export PATH
exec xwp "${@-}" &

(thanks to Billy Ball, Bruce Israel, and David Niemi)

-Peter