How easy is it for a developer to "sandbox" a program?
a year ago
- #operating-systems
- #sandboxing
- #security
- Sandboxing limits system resources to a program from within its source code, e.g., using chroot(2) to restrict file-system access.
- Modern OS tools allow developers to limit resources beyond just the file-system, including memory and network access.
- The article surveys sandboxing tools on Linux, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, and mentions Mac OS X and Java.
- Tools are evaluated based on documentation length and example usage complexity, with simpler tools preferred.
- OpenSSH is used as a case study to compare sandbox implementations and maintenance over time.
- OpenBSD's pledge is noted for its ease of use and adoption, while Linux's seccomp is more complex.
- FreeBSD's Capsicum has good traction within FreeBSD, with straightforward documentation.
- Mac OS X and Java have deprecated their sandboxing tools.
- The article aims to gather data on sandbox usage in open-source systems and encourages contributions.
- Acknowledgments include researchers and contributors for their data and insights.