Re: [COMMITTERS] pgsql: Enable pg_ctl to give up admin

Bruce Momjian wrote:

>Tom Lane wrote:
>  
>
>>Stephen Frost <sfrost@snowman.net> writes:
>>    
>>
>>>* Tom Lane (tgl@postgresql.org) wrote:
>>>      
>>>
>>>>Enable pg_ctl to give up admin privileges when starting the server under
>>>>Windows (if newer than NT4, else works same as before).
>>>>        
>>>>
>>>I don't suppose we could consider doing this for Unix-based systems too?
>>>I think it'd certainly be nice.  It's also how quite a few other Unix
>>>daemons operate.
>>>      
>>>
>>Why should we try to duplicate the functionality of "su"?  And we would
>>have to largely duplicate it, not just change process UID.
>>
>>I don't see the need for it anyway.  The only reason this patch went in
>>at all is to compensate for the general level of ignorance of Windows
>>users...
>>    
>>
>
>But other Unix daemons do it, so why not us?
>  
>

Other Unix daemons typically do it when they need to do something at 
startup like open a privileged port to listen on, or if they need to be 
able to become other users. Postgres doesn't have anything that requires 
root privilege in normal operation. How many times have security holes 
been inadvertantly opened because of this sort of privilege escalation?

Windows is different in a number of ways, including the high 
inconvenience factor involved in running as a non-power user, and the 
fact that Windows servers are typically single-purpose.

cheers

andrew