Re: [cobalt-security] Security Hardening Update 2.0.1 MAJOR FLAW!!!!!! ACTION REQUIRED!

[Michael Stauber <cobalt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Gerald,

> There are some pkgs that are irrevocable, there are some people
> on this list that also put out some irrevocable patches. "solarspeed" or
> something like that.

Quite true. For the same reason why SHP is uninstallable: 

Once SHP is installed it has replaced daemons like Apache, FTP, Sendmail, 
IMAP, Qpopper, Telnet and therelike. If people did really uninstall the 
package whith an uninstaller, then they'd end up without important daemons 
like Apache, Qpopper, IMAP, Telnet and therelike. The server would instantly 
be unuseable for whatever purpose.

So once daemons are replaced by a PKG, then it's best not to let the package  
be uninstalled. Upgrading is aways possible as RPMs can still be installed 
even if an older version of the same software is already present.

Deinstalling or downgrading should not be left in the hands of an automated 
(and unintelligent)  mechanism like an uninstaller script, but in the hands 
of a capable system administrator who knows what he (or she) is doing.

FWIW: There have been other Cobalt packages in the past which also were 
lacking an uninstaller for the same reasons, so SHP isn't new in that 
regards.

-- 

With best regards,

Michael Stauber
mstauber@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Unix/Linux Support Engineer