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[fetchmail] .fetchmailrc must be a regular file?

2003-03-07 15:14:01
If I symlink .fetchmailrc, on startup fetchmail says

File /Users/correia/.fetchmailrc must be a regular file.

Well it is pretty clear what it is complaining about, and the solution. (My config files are under revision control, and live elsewhere, so I'll use the --fetchmailrc option.)

The source code reads:

/* check that a configuration file is secure */

[...]

/* the run control file must have the same uid as the REAL uid of this process, it must have permissions no greater than 600, and it must not
       be a symbolic link.  We check these conditions here. */

Can someone provide an explanation of why allowing a symlink here is insecure, or a pointer to a reference? (I searched the web, and found plenty of references, but nothing that obviously applies directly to this situation and I'd like to understand it, which is why I am asking...)

procmail allows .procmailrc to be symlinked. Is this unwise?

Jim


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