Re: Proposal of SE-PostgreSQL patches (for CommitFest:Sep) - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

From Bruce Momjian
Subject Re: Proposal of SE-PostgreSQL patches (for CommitFest:Sep)
Date
Msg-id 200809241514.m8OFEro17783@momjian.us
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: Proposal of SE-PostgreSQL patches (for CommitFest:Sep)  (KaiGai Kohei <kaigai@ak.jp.nec.com>)
List pgsql-hackers
KaiGai Kohei wrote:
> Tom Lane wrote:
> > Josh Berkus <josh@agliodbs.com> writes:
> >> Multilevel frameworks have concepts of data hiding and data substitution 
> >> based on labels.  That is, if a user doesn't have permissions on data, 
> >> he's not merely supposed to be denied access to it, he's not even supposed 
> >> to know that the data exists.  In extreme cases (think military / CIA use) 
> >> data at a lower security level should be substitited for the higher 
> >> security level data which the user isn't allowed.  Silently.
> > 
> > Yeah, that's what I keep hearing that the spooks think they want.
> > I can't imagine how it would play nice with SQL-standard integrity
> > constraints.  Data that apparently violates a foreign-key constraint,
> > for example, would give someone a pretty good clue that there's
> > something there he's not being allowed to see.
> 
> Please note that SE-PostgreSQL does not adopt following technology
> because of its complexity. When user tries to update a PK refered by
> invisible FK, it generate an error. Thus, it is theoretically possible
> to estimate the invisible PKs by attacks with repeating.

I assume if you use only non-natural keys (use sequence numbers, not
codes like PHL or USA), there is no problem in finding the missing keys
by repeated testing.

--  Bruce Momjian  <bruce@momjian.us>        http://momjian.us EnterpriseDB
http://enterprisedb.com
 + If your life is a hard drive, Christ can be your backup. +


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