Re: [gentoo-portage-dev] webapp-config and webapps

[Stuart Herbert <stuart@gentoo.org>]

On Friday 29 October 2004 10:55, Paul de Vrieze wrote:
> Let's say how I would do this if I were an administrator for such a server.
> Well I'd take the easy road of doing the following:
> - Make a webpage that users/customers can select the desired webapps for
> their virtual host, including the version. With a big-fat warning that
> autoupdating by the app itself doesn't work.
> - Have that webpage append to a pending-transformation list.
> - Have a root cronjob that parses (strictly) the pending-transformation
> list and runs webapp-config for eacht of those transformations. Then the
> pending list is flushed.
>
> As the administrator I now only need to select the offered apps, the rest
> is left to the users.

/me nods.  I want to make it possible for others to write that kind of app.  
But you don't need webapp-config to be setuid to do that.  All you need to do 
is ensure that all files are owned by the user that apache runs as.

You can achieve that securely by using the experimental perchild MPM (which 
will soon be available through Portage), or by running each site in its own 
chroot environment.

> I still consider it bad design. Even though I understand the reasons.

Sorry - that statement's ambiguious.  What's the "it" that you are refering 
to?

Best regards,
Stu
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Stuart Herbert                                              stuart@gentoo.org
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