Thread: CREATEROLE, CREATEDB
Is it correct that a user with CREATEROLE privilege but without CREATEDB privilege can create a user with *CREATEDB* privilege, thus bypassing his original restrictions? This sequence doesn't look right: pei=# create user foo1 createrole; CREATE ROLE pei=# \c - foo1 You are now connected to database "pei" as user "foo1". pei=> create database test; ERROR: permission denied to create database pei=> create user foo2 createdb; CREATE ROLE pei=> \c - foo2 You are now connected to database "pei" as user "foo2". pei=> create database test; CREATE DATABASE -- Peter Eisentraut http://developer.postgresql.org/~petere/
--On Dienstag, Juni 05, 2007 16:04:44 +0200 Peter Eisentraut <peter_e@gmx.net> wrote: > Is it correct that a user with CREATEROLE privilege but without CREATEDB > privilege can create a user with *CREATEDB* privilege, thus bypassing his > original restrictions? This sequence doesn't look right: > > pei=# create user foo1 createrole; > CREATE ROLE > pei=# \c - foo1 > You are now connected to database "pei" as user "foo1". > pei=> create database test; > ERROR: permission denied to create database > pei=> create user foo2 createdb; > CREATE ROLE > pei=> \c - foo2 > You are now connected to database "pei" as user "foo2". > pei=> create database test; > CREATE DATABASE I had this issue once, too. CREATEROLE doesn't imply any inheritance from a role which gots this privilege, thus you are required to treat such roles much the same as superuser. This behavior is documented (well, at least in 8.2, haven't looked in 8.1): <http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.2/interactive/sql-createrole.html> <snip>Be careful with the CREATEROLE privilege. There is no concept of inheritance for the privileges of a CREATEROLE-role. That means that even if a role does not have a certain privilege but is allowed to create other roles, it can easily create another role with different privileges than its own (except for creating roles with superuser privileges). For example, if the role "user" has the CREATEROLE privilege but not the CREATEDB privilege, nonetheless it can create a new role with the CREATEDB privilege. Therefore, regard roles that have the CREATEROLE privilege as almost-superuser-roles. </snip> -- Thanks Bernd
Bernd Helmle <mailings@oopsware.de> writes:
> --On Dienstag, Juni 05, 2007 16:04:44 +0200 Peter Eisentraut
> <peter_e@gmx.net> wrote:
>> Is it correct that a user with CREATEROLE privilege but without CREATEDB
>> privilege can create a user with *CREATEDB* privilege, thus bypassing his
>> original restrictions?
> I had this issue once, too. CREATEROLE doesn't imply any inheritance from a
> role which gots this privilege, thus you are required to treat such roles
> much the same as superuser. This behavior is documented (well, at least in
> 8.2, haven't looked in 8.1):
This is by design --- the point of CREATEROLE is that you can do
anything you want in the line of account management, without having
all the dangers inherent in being a real superuser. It's not something
you'd give out to people you didn't trust.
regards, tom lane
Peter Eisentraut wrote: > Is it correct that a user with CREATEROLE privilege but without CREATEDB > privilege can create a user with *CREATEDB* privilege, thus bypassing his > original restrictions? This sequence doesn't look right: > > pei=# create user foo1 createrole; > CREATE ROLE > pei=# \c - foo1 > You are now connected to database "pei" as user "foo1". > pei=> create database test; > ERROR: permission denied to create database > pei=> create user foo2 createdb; > CREATE ROLE > pei=> \c - foo2 > You are now connected to database "pei" as user "foo2". > pei=> create database test; > CREATE DATABASE > > that's how its documented: http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.2/interactive/sql-createrole.html Be careful with the CREATEROLE privilege. There is no concept of inheritance for the privileges of a CREATEROLE-role. That means that even if a role does not have a certain privilege but is allowed to create other roles, it can easily create another role with different privileges than its own (except for creating roles with superuser privileges). For example, if the role "user" has the CREATEROLE privilege but not the CREATEDB privilege, nonetheless it can create a new role with the CREATEDB privilege. Therefore, regard roles that have the CREATEROLE privilege as almost-superuser-roles. -- Chander Ganesan The Open Technology Group One Copley Parkway, Suite 210 Morrisville, NC 27560 Phone: 877-258-8987/919-463-0999 http://www.otg-nc.com