Re: Installing PostgreSQL as "postgress" versus "root" Debate!

Goulet, Dick wrote:
> Peter,
>
>     You may well be on the development team, but you are wrong for
> one very important reason.  If the Postgresql executables are owned by
> root they execute with the priviledges of root.   Thereby any local


What?  They are not setuid?

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> created extensions like database_size also execute with the priviledges
> of root.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if some disgruntled person or a
> hacker wrote & installed a package that did an rm -fr /??  Install
> Postgres in it's own account where it's priviledges to destroy the
> server are restricted.  Anything else is begging for trouble.
>
>
> Dick Goulet
> Senior Oracle DBA
> Oracle Certified 8i DBA
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Peter Eisentraut [mailto:peter_e@gmx.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 7:01 PM
> To: Tomeh, Husam
> Cc: PgSQL ADMIN
> Subject: Re: [ADMIN] Installing PostgreSQL as "postgress" versus "root"
> Debate!
>
> Tomeh, Husam wrote:
> > I've seen book that prefer installing PostgreSQL as root and another
> > one recommends otherwise by first creating a postgres account and
> > then installing it as postgres. In the Oracle world, you don't use
> > root to install the software. What is the best practice as far as
> > PostgreSQL goes?
>
> The current recommendation, which is reflected in the installation
> instructions, is to install the software as root and to use the
> postgres user for the database files.  The advice seen elsewhere in
> this thread to use the postgres user also for the software files is
> wrong.
>
> --
> Peter Eisentraut
> http://developer.postgresql.org/~petere/
>
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