When this option is used by a caller other than root, and the list is different
from the compiled-in list, Exim gives up its root privilege immediately, and
runs with the real and effective uid and gid set to those of the caller.
-However, if a TRUSTED_CONFIG_LIST file is defined in &_Local/Makefile_&, root
-privilege is retained for any configuration file which is listed in that file
-as long as the caller is the Exim user (or the user specified in the
-CONFIGURE_OWNER option, if any).
+However, if a TRUSTED_CONFIG_LIST file is defined in &_Local/Makefile_&, that
+file contains a list of full pathnames, one per line, for configuration files
+which are trusted. Root privilege is retained for any configuration file so
+listed, as long as the caller is the Exim user (or the user specified in the
+CONFIGURE_OWNER option, if any), and as long as the configuration file is
+not writeable by inappropriate users or groups.
Leaving TRUSTED_CONFIG_LIST unset precludes the possibility of testing a
configuration using &%-C%& right through message reception and delivery,
Two new build options mitigate this.
* TRUSTED_CONFIG_LIST defines a file containing a whitelist of config
- files that are trusted to be selected by the Exim user; this is the
- recommended approach going forward.
+ files that are trusted to be selected by the Exim user; one per line.
+ This is the recommended approach going forward.
* WHITELIST_D_MACROS defines a colon-separated list of macro names which
the Exim run-time user may safely pass without dropping privileges.
12. [POSSIBLE CONFIG BREAKAGE] ALT_CONFIG_ROOT_ONLY is no longer optional and
is forced on. This is mitigated by the new build option
TRUSTED_CONFIG_LIST which defines a list of configuration files which
- are trusted; if a config file is owned by root and matches a pathname in
- the list, then it may be invoked by the Exim build-time user without Exim
- relinquishing root privileges.
+ are trusted; one per line. If a config file is owned by root and matches
+ a pathname in the list, then it may be invoked by the Exim build-time
+ user without Exim relinquishing root privileges.
13. [POSSIBLE CONFIG BREAKAGE] The Exim user is no longer automatically
trusted to supply -D<Macro[=Value]> overrides on the command-line. Going