[Rpm-maint] [rpm-software-management/rpm] RFE: ensure unwritable buildroot during %check (Issue #3010)

Dmitry Mikhirev notifications at github.com
Wed Apr 17 09:12:38 UTC 2024


This issue shows misunderstanding of how the xz backdoor was intended to work. Although its payload was hidden in the test files, it was extracted [when running the `./configure` script][cox] that happens at the `%build` stage. If you run tests on read only filesystem or even disable them, that wouldn't prevent the backdoor from being injected. So it is incorrect to speak about malicious tests, all tests worked correctly and did what they were expected to do.

Of course, we can imagine a situation when some backdoor is injected when running tests, and proposed changes could prevent such a situation. However this wouldn't help against the particular backdoor and it definitely won't help against hypothetical future backdoors targeted at rpm systems because their developers will take into account protections you are going to implement. I think, it is only makes sense to implement them if it is easy to do and won't cause additional overhead by copying or hashing numerous files that can be very large in some cases.

[cox]: https://research.swtch.com/xz-script

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