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From: vda <vda@port.imtp.ilyichevsk.odessa.ua>
To: Alexander Viro <viro@math.psu.edu>
Subject: Re: x bit for dirs: misfeature?
Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 17:03:40 +0000
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On Monday 19 November 2001 14:46, Alexander Viro wrote:
> On Mon, 19 Nov 2001, vda wrote:
> > Everytime I do 'chmod -R a+rX dir' and wonder are there
> > any executables which I don't want to become world executable,
> > I think "Whatta hell with this x bit meaning 'can browse'
> > for dirs?! Who was that clever guy who invented that? Grrrr"
> >
> > Isn't r sufficient? Can we deprecate x for dirs?
> > I.e. make it a mirror of r: you set r, you see x set,
> > you clear r, you see x cleared, set/clear x = nop?
>
> See UNIX FAQ.  Ability to read != ability to lookup.
>
> Trivial example: you have a directory with a bunch of subdirectories.
> You want owners of subdirectories to see them.  You don't want them
> to _know_ about other subdirectories.

Security through obscurity, that is.

Do you have even a single dir on your boxes with r!=x?
--
vda
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