This tool allows a system administrator to create pre-defined chroot locations and allow regular users to run processes on those environments.
We use it at Bloomberg to allow non-privileged users to run builds on a chroot'd environment on Linux x86_64, Solaris sparc, and AIX powerpc.
There are some devices that so many processes expect to exist, that when provisioning ephemeral chroot locations as a non-privileged user you may need to make available. Those devices are:
- /dev/zero
- /dev/random
- /dev/urandom
- /dev/null
The userchroot command offers a "--install-devices" and "--uninstall-devices" that will allow a non-privileged user to create and destroy those devices.
This allow us to run the entire build infrastructure as a non-privileged user.
There is very little build-time customization, so we provide a simple Makefile that will use the implicit rules in order to build the executable.
make
This variables (defaults to /usr/local) controls the default base path to the CONFIGFILE.
This variable (defaults to $(PREFIX)/etc/userchroot.conf) will set the path for the config file. The tool will verify that the file as well as the entire path leading to the file is root owned, has limited permissions and is not a symbolic link.
This variable (defaults to an ident string created with git describe --tags). This will be stored in a static string in the executable for
identifying the version with ident.
We include a compat implementation of clearenv for architectures where that system call is not available. This is evaluated by the makefile by using the test-clearenv.sh script.
When running inside a Solaris zone, you will not be allowed to use mknod. As an alternative, the tool will allow you to use a lofs mount to the system location for the fundamental devices.
On Linux we also create /dev/shm and mount it as a tmpfs, since the GNU Libc will not only expect that location to exist, but it will also check that it is actually a tmpfs location. Without this, named pipes do not work on Linux.
The executable needs to be setuid root, but it must not be setgid root. In fact, it will validate that you haven't given too much permissions to it.
The config file must have the a path to a pre-approved chroot image and the name of the user that owns that image. In the format:
user:/path/to/userchroot/base
Then any user will be able to run
userchroot /path/to/userchroot/base/myimage some command
As well as:
userchroot /path/to/userchroot/base/myimage --install-devices
or
userchroot /path/to/userchroot/base/myimage --uninstall-devices
As long as:
- The entire path leading to /path/to/userchroot is owned by root and doesn't have open permissions.
- The directory /path/to/userchroot/base is owned by the configured user and doesn't have open permissions.
- The directory /path/to/userchroot/base/myimage is owned by the configured user and doesn't have open permissions.
This will result on some command being invoked after performing
the chroot to the location and dropping the privileges back to the
calling user.
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