[sudo-users] sudo & apt-get

[Tim Bradshaw]

On 11 Jul 2015, at 23:29, Todd C. Miller <Todd.Miller at courtesan.com> wrote:

> You are worrying about the wrong thing, IMHO.  If you are installing
> untrusted packages, those packages contain scripts that run as root
> (preinstall, postinstal, etc).  That's the place to put nasty stuff
> if you are going to do it.

This is the answer.  Even if those packages don't run bad scripts, they install potentially arbitrary files, as root.  Installing a package you don't know the provenance of is essentially saying you don't care that much about security (which is a fine choice to make, but it is a choice).

The only even slightly safe solution to this is signed packages and a hairy trust system. I get the impression that a lot of platforms either do this or nearly do it now (although in at least some cases (Apple, I'm looking at you) some of this security is pretty theatrical).