Users able to execute windows .exe though execute bit not set

[Esh, Andrew]

What is Windows is using to determine that it needs to do the
"executability" test? There is no executable bit in Windows. There is the
ACL entry, but nothing at the DOS level. That is, unless they are testing
the file extension.

What Windows would need is a marker that enables a file for execution, and a
network request from the client which notifies the server that the file is
being read for execution. Windows could compare the two, and deny the read
if the file is not enabled. In any case, it has to trust the client not to
read the file for non-execution, and then execute it. Since Windows is also
the client, such a trustworthiness can be relied upon.

I would not be surprised to learn that Samba does not do the "executable"
test on files being read, since there is no reasonable place to store a
Windows execution flag. (Perhaps this can be added as an extended attribute
setting.) If Windows is testing the file extension instead, then Samba
should be extended to do the same thing.

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim McDonough [mailto:jmcd at us.ibm.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2003 12:03 PM
To: John H Terpstra
Cc: samba-technical-bounces+jmcd=samba.org at lists.samba.org;
samba-technical at lists.samba.org; Nick Drouet
Subject: Re: Users able to execute windows .exe though execute bit not
set






>Perhaps you can explain how you would achieve your goals if the server was
>running Windows 2000 Server. If you can demonstrate a pure Windows
>solution maybe we could match that with Samba.
John, I've checked it out and this is a real difference between Samba and
NT or 2k.  NT/2k both check the X permission, and we don't, because we rely
on open(), and you can't request X access on open()...

----------------------------
Jim McDonough
IBM Linux Technology Center
Samba Team
6 Minuteman Drive
Scarborough, ME 04074
USA

jmcd at us.ibm.com
jmcd at samba.org

Phone: (207) 885-5565
IBM tie-line: 776-9984