--- Tim Traver <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I believe that is the reason that the PHP group came up with the
> open_basedir directive.
> 
> The open_basedir prevents you from looking into anything higher
> than a particular directory tree using PHP.
> 
> So, a combination of safe_mode and open_basedir should prevent
> your script from being able to walk the tree.

We know what these directives do. I think you're missing the point. How
can a PHP directive offer any protection against someone writing a CGI
that reads a file somewhere? Think about it. 

> I didn't think there was, and if there is, then we better post
> that to the security guys at php, cause that's not good.

We know that neither safe_mode nor open_basedir offer protection from
this. We also know that it's impossible to solve this problem at the PHP
level, because it is completely independent of PHP.

> I think it should be pretty safe though if implemented correctly.

If you do not offer CGI access or any interpreter besides PHP, then I
suppose it's better than nothing, but I wouldn't characterize this as
safe. I suspect that if I were a user on this host, I could give you a URL
that displays another account's password within a few minutes. But, I'm
just speculating. :-)

Chris

=====
Chris Shiflett - http://shiflett.org/

PHP Security - O'Reilly
     Coming December 2004
HTTP Developer's Handbook - Sams
     http://httphandbook.org/
PHP Community Site
     http://phpcommunity.org/

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