Package: gnome-libs
Version: 1.0.18
Severity: wishlist

GNOME currently tries to write to $HOME even if $HOME is not owned by
the current user, and if it can't write, in some cases it aborts.

It would be nice if when we have a new major version and no longer have
to worry about backwards/forwards binary compabitility, we change
gnome_util_user_home to a function something like this:
char *
gnome_util_user_home (void)
{
        struct stat sb;
        struct passwd *pw;
	char *gnome_user_home_dir;

        gnome_user_home_dir = g_get_home_dir();
	g_assert(gnome_user_home_dir);
        if (stat(gnome_user_home_dir, &sb) || (sb.st_uid != getuid())) {
                pw = getpwuid(getuid());
                if (pw) {
                        gnome_user_home_dir = g_strdup(pw->pw_dir);
                }
        }

        return gnome_user_home_dir;
}

Then gnome_util_home_file would come along for the ride, automatically.

This would be useful for GNOME programs called from setuid applications.
Here at Red Hat, we've got a generic consolehelper wrapper that authenticates
users and then calls a program for them; it's kind of like su except that
the authentication is highly configurable on a per-application basis
via PAM; with su, the configuration, while still done via PAM, is done
once for all uses of su.  With consolehelper, the authentication is done
on a per-wrapped-application basis, and we configure different apps
differently.  While I can set $HOME in consolehelper (although I'm
not convinced that it's the best thing to do), the GNOME libraries ought
to be liberal in what they accept.

michaelkjohnson

"Magazines all too frequently lead to books and should be regarded by the
 prudent as the heavy petting of literature."            -- Fran Lebowitz
 Linux Application Development     http://people.redhat.com/johnsonm/lad/




------- Additional Comments From hp@redhat.com 1999-09-23 02:23:32 ----

Subject: reassigned to glib
From: Havoc Pennington <hp@redhat.com>
To: 2311@bugs.gnome.org
Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.4.10.9909230220220.14037-100000@icon.labs.redhat.com>
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 02:23:32 -0400 (EDT)


Lots of GNOME code uses g_get_home_dir() or whatever instead of
gnome_util_user_home(), because gnome_util_user_home() was deprecated. If
this fix is the Right Thing then it should go in glib so it affects all
GNOME code and even non-GNOME glib code. Otherwise we should special-case
it in gnome-config.c, if that is the decision then we can reassign back to
gnome-libs and retitle the bug.

Havoc




------- Bug moved to this database by debbugs-export@bugzilla.gnome.org 2001-01-27 12:28 -------
This bug was previously known as bug 2311 at http://bugs.gnome.org/
http://bugs.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2311
Originally filed under the glib product and general component.

The original reporter (johnsonm@redhat.com) of this bug does not have an account here.
Reassigning to the exporter, debbugs-export@bugzilla.gnome.org.
Reassigning to the default owner of the component, gtkdev@gtk.org.