linux-credentials / linux-credentials/credentialsd

Run credentialsd as a separate user

Open
#88 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

architecture
Dominant language
Rust
Stars
259
Forks
19
Avg merge
1d 2h
Merged PRs (30d)
12

Description

We need to move credentialsd to run as a separate system user in order to store files on behalf of the user without malicious applications running in the user's session being able to read them directly.

This will require moving credentialsd to run on the D-Bus system bus instance and setting up policies only to allow the system user.

This also means that the credentialsd service will have to check the UID of the caller to determine which files to serve.

We didn't do this at first to make initial development easier. Any pointers on how to develop services on the system bus without constantly being prompted for `sudo` access to install are appreciated. (Maybe that's just the solution.)

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

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.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

The issue names no files or tests; start by locating the credentialsd service startup, D-Bus bus configuration, authorization policies, and file-serving entry points. Trace how the caller identity is currently handled. Done means credentialsd runs as a separate system user on the system bus, policies restrict access appropriately, and file serving checks the caller UID.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
linux, rust
Domain
authentication, operating-systems, security
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
30/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.