openssh bugs - Nov 2007 - [Bug 1388] New: Parts of auth2-pubkey. c are completely devoid of debug logging

https://bugzilla.mindrot.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1388

           Summary: Parts of auth2-pubkey.c are completely devoid of debug
                    logging
    Classification: Unclassified
           Product: Portable OpenSSH
           Version: 4.7p1
          Platform: Other
        OS/Version: All
            Status: NEW
          Severity: enhancement
          Priority: P2
         Component: sshd
        AssignedTo: bitbucket at mindrot.org
        ReportedBy: mvolaski at aecom.yu.edu


Consider this small section of code from the user_key_allowed2 function
in auth2-pubkey.c


/* Fail quietly if file does not exist */
        if (stat(file, &st) < 0) {
                /* Restore the privileged uid. */
                restore_uid();
                return 0;
        }
        /* Open the file containing the authorized keys. */
        f = fopen(file, "r");
        if (!f) {
                /* Restore the privileged uid. */
                restore_uid();
                return 0;
        }

Fail quietly? Why? And what about debugging? Someone trying to figure
out why authentication has failed is merely left with a statement from
later in the code sequence that just says the "key was disallowed".
That's not helpful, for it's not technically true.

(I haven't explored other sections of code, but in general, I think any
return statement in the middle of function is a failure of that
function should probably have an explanatory debug statement at some
level associated with it.)

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https://bugzilla.mindrot.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1388


Damien Miller <djm at mindrot.org> changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Status|NEW                         |RESOLVED
         Resolution|                            |WONTFIX
                 CC|                            |djm at mindrot.org




--- Comment #1 from Damien Miller <djm at mindrot.org>  2008-06-29
00:13:10 ---
think about it: if the file does not exist, then there are no
authorised keys. This is not an error, and doesn't warrant logspam,
even at debug levels.

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mvolaski at aecom.yu.edu changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Status|RESOLVED                    |REOPENED
         Resolution|WONTFIX                     |
           Severity|enhancement                 |normal




--- Comment #2 from mvolaski at aecom.yu.edu  2008-06-29 08:44:14 ---
After all this time we're waiting for a fix and you're just blowing it
off? It doesn't even look like you read my report. Please hand it off
to someone else if you don't feel so inclined.

By your own backward logic, how does a nonexistent key get reported as
being disallowed?

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Damien Miller <djm at mindrot.org> changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Status|REOPENED                    |RESOLVED
         Resolution|                            |WONTFIX




--- Comment #3 from Damien Miller <djm at mindrot.org>  2008-06-29
10:00:58 ---
Sorry, but I don't agree that there is any condition worth reporting
here. You don't need debug output to figure out that a file that is
critical to public key authentication is missing.

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--- Comment #4 from mvolaski at aecom.yu.edu  2008-06-29 10:42:12 ---
Yeah, it took me the better part of a day to figure out that the
message, "key is disallowed" really means the key file is missing.

Perhaps users in the future who get similarly stymied will find this
page on Google. They surely can't depend on your nicely informative
debug logs to help them.

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Damien Miller <djm at mindrot.org> changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Status|RESOLVED                    |CLOSED




--- Comment #5 from Damien Miller <djm at mindrot.org>  2008-07-22
12:20:22 ---
Mass update RESOLVED->CLOSED after release of openssh-5.1

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