root-tail and xrootconsole: safe reading?

iceman47 · 12-01-2003, 06:41 PM

After reading this thread I was wondering how those apps could read those file without sacrificing
some security.
So how does one let those apps read let's say /var/log/snort/alert without running them suid root or changing the file permissions on the file in question?

Capt_Caveman · 12-04-2003, 06:24 PM

I've never used them, but I would imagine they have to be executed by root or are suid. If you think about it, it isn't much different from opening up an xterm as root and more'ing out the contents of the log file. The fact that it doesn't accept input probably helps. But in general, anything that runs with root level permissions is a greater risk to your system if exploited.