[Rdiff-backup-bugs] [bug #29702] feature request: "--unprivileged-user": flag when backing up

[Kurt]

URL:
  <http://savannah.nongnu.org/bugs/?29702>

                 Summary: feature request: "--unprivileged-user": flag when
backing up
                 Project: rdiff-backup
            Submitted by: greenmoss
            Submitted on: Wed 28 Apr 2010 03:12:04 PM GMT
                Category: None
                Severity: 3 - Normal
              Item Group: None
                  Status: None
                 Privacy: Public
             Assigned to: None
             Open/Closed: Open
         Discussion Lock: Any

    _______________________________________________________

Details:

Certain avoidable problems arise when one attempts to use a non-root user to
do backups. 


For instance, see this earlier bug report I submitted:

https://savannah.nongnu.org/bugs/index.php?27729

This arises because non-root users can not read root-read-only symlink
targets on the *local* filesystem. If rdiff-backup is running as non-root, it
should not attempt to read local filesystem symlink targets.



Another case is when I back up files that are mode 000 (non-read/write by
anyone). Root would be able to read and remove these files, but since I am
running as non-root, rdiff-backup is unable to alter these files once they
have been created. When running as non-root, such files should instead be at
least readable by the non-root user.




There may be other applicable cases as well. Thus I propose a new flag when
invoking rdiff-backup to do a backup: --unprivileged-user. This signals to
rdiff-backup that special handling will be required, since it will not be able
to run with complete read-write privileges on the local filesystem.




    _______________________________________________________

Reply to this item at:

  <http://savannah.nongnu.org/bugs/?29702>

_______________________________________________
  Message sent via/by Savannah
  http://savannah.nongnu.org/