Re: [gentoo-user] Permissions error on starting X.

[Daniel Frey <djqfrey@gmail.com>]

On 11/04/18 10:33, tuxic@posteo.de wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 11/03 11:20, Daniel Frey wrote:
>> On 11/03/18 07:01, Alan Mackenzie wrote:
>>> Hello, Gentoo.
>>>
>>> HEADS UP!!!
>>>
>>> If you start your X server from the command line with, e.g. startx, you
>>> now need to set the new(?) suid USE flag for the xorg-server package.
>>>
>>> This flag causes the binary to be installed with the setuid file flag,
>>> which causes it to run as root.
>>>
>>> The developers, in this instance, failed to raise the ebuild's version
>>> number from 1.20.3 when making this change, and also didn't notify users
>>> by a NEWS item, that I can see.
>>>
>>> The matter was fairly intensively discussed in bug #669648 in Gentoo's
>>> bugzilla.
>>>
>>> So - if you get a permissions error whilst trying to start X, setting
>>> the suid USE flag may well be the solution.
>>>
>>
>> I just got hit by this on my mythtv backend, which I only start X to
>> configure the mythtv backend.
>>
>> Yes, enabling the suid USE-flag fixed it (or restored original behaviour?)
>>
>> Dan
>>
> 
> Hi,
> 
> is this already known?
> https://twitter.com/hackerfantastic/status/1055517801224396800
> 
> Is it safe to run X.org suid set?
> 
> Cheers
> Meino
> 
> 
> 
> 

Even if you run X as a non-root user it's possible to snoop on the
keyboard/mouse input of a different user. So... pick your vulnerability.

I stuck with the way it's been working for years and years. However,
these systems do not have web access or anything like that, they're
mythtv appliances.

Dan