WebAssembly / WebAssembly/WASI

Sharp edges of the current capability system

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capabilities discussion S-inactive
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Rust
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Description

So far it seems the most advanced practical capability system is Capsicum. I think it would be nice to correlate their API with WASI API just to avoid some potential mistakes (see e.g. fine grained sub-filedescriptor capabilities, rough comparison of cap systems in 2010, and an example of Capsicum in tcpdump).

Also other capability systems shall be compared in detail with WASI for the same reasons.

In the end an overview of currently existing practical capability systems made of some high-level points from the thorough detailed comparison could help WASI in adoption.

Contributor guide

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First steps

  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.
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Research direction

Start by reviewing the linked Capsicum API material and comparing it with the WASI API; the issue names no repository files, tests, or entry points. Done would be a detailed comparison of practical capability systems plus a concise overview of their relevant high-level points for WASI adoption.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
documentation, operating-systems, security
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
20/100

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