Re: Updates of SE-PostgreSQL 8.4devel patches (r1268)

Bruce Momjian wrote:
> Tom Lane wrote:
>> KaiGai Kohei <kaigai(at)ak(dot)jp(dot)nec(dot)com> writes:
>>> Bruce Momjian wrote:
>>>> I assume that could just be always enabled.
>>> It is not "always" enabled. When we build it with SE-PostgreSQL feature,
>>> rest of enhanced security features (includes the row-level ACL) are
>>> disabled automatically, as we discussed before.
>> It seems like a pretty awful idea to have enabling sepostgres take away
>> a feature that exists in the default build.
>
> Agreed.

I don't agree. What is the reason why? It has been unclear for me.

The PGACE security framework is designed to allow users to choose
an enhanced security mechanism from some of provided options.
(Currently, we have sepgsql and rowacl.)
It is quite natural that one is disabled when the other is enabled.

If a specific enhanced security mechanism has a privileged position,
it should not be a guest of the security framwork, and be hardcoded
like existing table-level database ACLs.

Again, I don't oppose the Row-level ACLs to be the default selection.
However, it should be a selectable option.

Thanks,

> The problem is that the security column used for SQL-level row
> security is reused to hold the SE-Linux ACL when SE-Linux is enabled. I
> suppose the only way to enable them both in an SE-Linux build would be
> to use a new optional column for SE-Linux and keep the SQL-level row
> security optional column unchanged.
--
KaiGai Kohei <kaigai(at)kaigai(dot)gr(dot)jp>