openssh bugs - Jan 2016 - [Bug 2531] New: MaxSessions config parameter name is highly ambigious

https://bugzilla.mindrot.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2531

            Bug ID: 2531
           Summary: MaxSessions config parameter name is highly ambigious
           Product: Portable OpenSSH
           Version: 7.1p1
          Hardware: All
                OS: Linux
            Status: NEW
          Severity: normal
          Priority: P5
         Component: sshd
          Assignee: unassigned-bugs at mindrot.org
          Reporter: DarkTrick at outlook.de

The MaxSessions config parameter for the sshd-conf file let the user
assume, that this parameter will limit the maximal sessions possible
through ssh (this is also what conclusion the explanation of the
parameter would lead to).
However, regarding to the changelog it has a slightly different meaning
(see changelog)

My Suggestions:
Change the name of the entry or change the resulting behaviour.

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--- Comment #1 from Jakub Jelen <jjelen at redhat.com> ---
*** Bug 2532 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

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Jakub Jelen <jjelen at redhat.com> changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 CC|                            |jjelen at redhat.com

--- Comment #2 from Jakub Jelen <jjelen at redhat.com>
---
> MaxSessions
>     Specifies the maximum number of open sessions permitted per network
connection.  The default is 10.
Manual page seems for me enough straightforward. Do you have any
specific proposal what would you like to change?

Changing name of configuration option is not a good idea once it was
released and is widely used. For the record, it was added 8 years ago
in
https://github.com/openssh/openssh-portable/commit/7207f64a23a49a719aad3083c068f50e5034ccb8

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--- Comment #3 from DarkTrick <DarkTrick at outlook.de> ---
ow, I didn't know, that it was added 8 years ago. Never checked the
date. So renaming of cause is not an option.

I would suggest to make it clear, that this is about multiplexing of
*one* connection and not about the number of connections.

My suggestion would be to also add the following part of the changelog:
------------------------
This is useful for disabling login/shell/subsystem access while leaving
port-forwarding working (MaxSessions 0), disabling connection
multiplexing (MaxSessions 1) or simply increasing the number of allows
multiplexed sessions.
------------------------

TBH, I don't know how to make a short sentence, that would sound nice
and express, the difference. But (at least I think) that part of the
changelog makes things more clear. In case someone thought about the
maximum number of connections, he will then understand, that this is
something different to what he's searching.

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Damien Miller <djm at mindrot.org> changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Resolution|---                         |FIXED
                 CC|                            |djm at mindrot.org
             Blocks|                            |2451
             Status|NEW                         |RESOLVED

--- Comment #4 from Damien Miller <djm at mindrot.org> ---

I've changed it to make it more clear what it applies to.

MaxSessions
    Specifies the maximum number of open shell, login or subsystem
    (e.g. sftp) sessions permitted per network connection.  Multiple
    sessions may be established by clients that support connection
    multiplexing.  Setting MaxSessions to 1 will effectively disable
    session multiplexing, whereas setting it to 0 will prevent all
    shell, login and subsystem sessions while still permitting
    forwarding.  The default is 10.


Referenced Bugs:

https://bugzilla.mindrot.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2451
[Bug 2451] Bugs intended to be fixed in 7.2
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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> ---
Close all resolved bugs after 7.3p1 release

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