[libdb-develop] Installation: Storing the DB Password, Thoughts

[Morbus I. <mo...@di...>]

Hey all.

LibDB needs to save your database password, in plain text, to a file on 
your server. Currently, it saves this into a file called ".htlibdb", which 
is in the root of your libdb/ directory.

That name was chosen for one reason: under the Apache webserver, any file 
that starts with ".ht" is never served via the web. In other words, no one 
would ever be able to retrieve your database password, unless Apache had 
been grossly misconfigured.

A major problem with this have been brought to my attention:

  * the starting "." causes the file to be hidden in most file
    listings (OS X hides them in the Finder, some FTP clients
    do not show dot files by default, etc.). The problem: if the
    installer can't set the permissions of the file itself, the
    user has to. If the user can't *find* the file because it's
    being hidden by their software, neither will they.

In Movable Type, the solution is to use a publicly accessible
file that is shortcircuited to break. The file, "mt-db-pass.cgi",
merely contains one word: the password. However, because it's named
.cgi, the assumption is that:

  * Apache will try to execute the file if you're in a /cgi-bin/.
  * The file is set executable anyways, and fails with a parse error.

These both "shortcircuit" the file to cause it to "break", never
revealing the password. The downside is that a broken CGI conf
*could* cause the file to be readable. Breaking the CGI conf
is a lot easier than breaking the .ht configuration.

The other downside of .htlibdb is that, as far as I know, other
webservers MAY NOT follow the same procedure: they may have no
problem with serving .ht files to the web, at large.

So. ".htlibdb" or "settings.cgi": which do you prefer, which 
is the least 
of two evils? On one hand (.htlibdb), we've got
more security, but less user-friendliness. On the other
(settings.cfg), the file will be easier to find, but
potentially easier to view.

Thoughts?

-- 
Morbus Iff ( i put the demon back in codemonkey )
Culture: http://www.disobey.com/ and http://www.gamegrene.com/
Spidering Hacks: http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596005776/disobeycom
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