> Why isn't this option included by default in the distributed kernel? There
> are no SUID scripts in the NetBSD distribution and if a (super)user wants to
> create such a thing he should know that there are potential security
> problems...

But most people (probably including myself) don't know about all the security
holes that are opened by setuid root scripts.

> In my case, for example, I would keep this file in the directory
> of the user 'sergio' so that nobody else will ever run this 'dangerous' file
> anyway...

Hmm, this will only provide some security if the directory is mode 700.

> I'd like to compile my own kernel but I still haven't understood how to get
> the latest kernel sources (considering that my RiscBSD machine is never
> connected with Internet) without getting *all* the NetBSD stuff for other
> platforms as well (which will make the archive a bit difficult to transfer
> via floppy!).

I'm not sure what the best route would be to take to get current sources
onto a machine that isn't connected to the net.  Since you seem to have
access to a machine on the net, get the kernel sources on that machine, untar
it (if you have the space), remove all the architectures you don't want/need
and tar the remainder up for the transfer.

> > Things like redefining IFS come to mind.
> 
> The kernel should be aware of this problem and fix it (or the various shells
> may check themselves).

THAT'D BE A VERY BAD THING!

You don't want to muck in the kernel around one security hole in one program.
Fixing the shells would be a better route, but I'm pretty sure there are
more security holes in shell scripts than I know about (probably even more
than I want to know about).

Ciao,
Wolfgang
--
ws@TooLs.DE     (Wolfgang Solfrank, TooLs GmbH) 	+49-228-985800