bug#6330: Feature request: mktemp creates named pipes

[Sebastien Andre]

On Tue, Jun 8, 2010 at 2:41 AM, Eric Blake <address@hidden> wrote:

> On 06/03/2010 01:09 PM, Sebastien Andre wrote:
> > I see two reasons why the addition of a --fifo option is better than
> using
> > existing tools:
> >
> >     * Creating a temporary directory to finally create a pipe just
> because
> > it is safe this way is kind of a trick. For the clarity of scripts, it
> would
> > be better having mktemp to ensure the uniqueness of a fifo, even if it's
> > created in /
>
> Why do you need to create fifos directly in /?  Unless you can prove
> that it is needed there, then what's wrong with creating it elsewhere?
> Maybe the real feature we should be asking for is a way to ensure that
> 'mv /path1/to/fifo /path2/to/fifo' is atomic, and fails if
> /path2/to/fifo is a dangling symlink rather than accidentally creating
> the fifo at an unintended location?
>
> >
> >     * mktemp is not only a tool to create unique files, it's also a name
> > generator. The example given in the manual works for one or two fifos,
> but
> > if the number of fifos is unknown there is no choice but implementing
> > something to generate names, which is another potential source of bugs.
>
> If you are worried about creating lots of fifos, and want to avoid
> collisions, you can still use the existing semantics of unpatched mktemp
> to get that: merely make a secure directory with mktemp -d, then use
> mkfifo "$(mktemp -u -p "$dir")".  That is, once you have a safe
> directory, then mktemp -u within that directory is no longer a security
> hole, and serves as a great way to create unique names without also
> creating files.
>
>
I don't really need to create temp fifos in /, just wanted it to be as
convenient as
creating temp files. Even if the 'dir=$(mktemp -td)' followed by 'mkfifo
"$(mktemp -u -p "$dir")"'
is not as straightforward as I would expect, it fits my need ~


> of $i to ensure unicity of fifo names. If for any reason $tmpdir must be
> > shared with other processes which use the exact same function it will
> > lead to a mess, that's why I prefer merge_output_mktempfifo().
>
> As long as the multiple processes are closely cooperating, and all use
> the same secure temporary directory, then mktemp -u is an appropriate
> way for each of those processes to name their fifo.
>
> >> Patches speak volumes, although by the time you add the code and the
> >> documentation, your contribution would probably be non-trivial and
> >> require copyright assignment to the FSF.  Let us know if you'd like to
> >> start that process.
> >>
> >>
> > Yes, I'm interested in starting that process.
>
> I'm sending you some details off-list.
>
> Thanks

> --
> Eric Blake   address@hidden    +1-801-349-2682
> Libvirt virtualization library http://libvirt.org
>
>