MagicStack / MagicStack/asyncpg

Running process as another user causes permission denied error when setting up database connection.

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Dominant language
Python
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Description

  • asyncpg version: 0.25.0
  • PostgreSQL version: 13
  • Do you use a PostgreSQL SaaS? If so, which? Can you reproduce
    the issue with a local PostgreSQL install?
    : Both RDS and Docker. Not a PG related issue.
  • Python version: 3.8.11 (RedHat)
  • Platform: CentOS 7
  • Do you use pgbouncer?: No
  • Did you install asyncpg with pip?: Yes
  • If you built asyncpg locally, which version of Cython did you use?: n/a
  • Can the issue be reproduced under both asyncio and
    uvloop?
    : Untested, but shouldn't be relevant.

And I ran into this issue when upgrading from 0.23.0 to 0.25.0, but I believe it was introduced in 0.25.0 based on my reading of the git history.

I am using supervisord to run an app as a different user. When it gets to https://github.com/MagicStack/asyncpg/blob/master/asyncpg/connect_utils.py#L542 when setting up a connection. That resolves the path to /root/.postgresql/postgresql.key and results in an a Permission denied error when it calls .exists() on a file within /root/ as a non root user.

I believe this is because http://supervisord.org/subprocess.html#subprocess-environment doesn't change HOME in the path, and pathlib still sees HOME="/root". So I will be tinkering with unsetting that.

Even if changing the environment fixes my issue, it may be worth adding exception handling for when those paths resolve to a directory the user running asyncpg cannot access.

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  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start in asyncpg/connect_utils.py around line 542 and reproduce connection setup as a non-root user with HOME pointing to /root. Check how inaccessible PostgreSQL certificate paths are handled when .exists() is called; done means connection setup no longer raises PermissionError for an inaccessible path, with coverage for the reported environment.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
postgresql, python
Domain
databases
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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