3 ms·

X11 has many problems. For example, it has no GUI isolation. Any client connecting to a X server can control other clients.

by eeZi 12y ago

ams6110 12y ago
Years ago I worked in a IT department where all the developers had X-terminals. 20-odd folks running full desktops off of one server. A common prank was to run little programs that would cause all the windows to "melt" and puddle at the bottom of the screen, or flip around to mirror images, etc. by setting the display to someone else's terminal.
- neindanke 12y ago
  > by setting the display to someone else's terminal. Bad sysadmin probably put xhost + in the main xinitrc. Common rookie mistake, but don't blame X for that weakness.
  - vetinari 12y ago
    We did something similar, but it was years before xauth and xhost. It also wasn't anything malicious, just a prank, when you run xeyes on someone else's terminal. They would laugh a little and then continue with their lifes. Nothing serious, requiring sysadmining.
- reacweb 12y ago
  I did the same for sunview in 1992: pushing the windows outside of the screen. Windows were entries in /dev.
panzi 12y ago
Which is a good thing. It lets you do automation on GUI tools that otherwise don't support automation (xdotool). It's something I hope Wayland and MIR will support. Of course there should probably be some kind of permissions system. E.g. you need to start a process in a special way so it can do these things or there is some kind of white list of programs that are allowed to do this. Oh and another application: Mapping a gamepad to keyboard and mouse for games that don't otherwise support gamepads. (See http://qjoypad.sourceforge.net/ http://qjoypad.sourceforge.net/ and my fork with additional features https://github.com/panzi/qjoypad https://github.com/panzi/qjoypad)
- krschultz 12y ago
  You have to admit that it is a big security problem.
  - panzi 12y ago
    How? A program that runs on your computer has access to all your files anyway. How is it anymore of a security problem if it can't just access your files, change configurations, run other programs but can also send X11 events to other programs? If I can't use something like QJoyPad under Wayland/MIR I won't use Wayland/MIR.
    - pmahoney 12y ago
      > A program that runs on your computer has access to all your files anyway. This is also a security problem. If I have the means to run a program (downloaded from the internet; don't fully trust) in a sandbox that restricts its filesystem access, it'd be nice to also not allow it to control my whole GUI session.
      - panzi 12y ago
        Well, yeah. A sandbox should be able to control restrict, but in principle I want to have the ability to control other windows.

X11 has many problems. For example, it has no GUI isolation. Any client connecting to a X server can control other clients.

by eeZi 12y ago

X11 has many problems. For example, it has no GUI isolation. Any client connecting to a X server can control other clients.

ams6110 12y ago

Years ago I worked in a IT department where all the developers had X-terminals. 20-odd folks running full desktops off of one server. A common prank was to run little programs that would cause all the windows to "melt" and puddle at the bottom of the screen, or flip around to mirror images, etc. by setting the display to someone else's terminal.

neindanke 12y ago
> by setting the display to someone else's terminal. Bad sysadmin probably put xhost + in the main xinitrc. Common rookie mistake, but don't blame X for that weakness.
- vetinari 12y ago
  We did something similar, but it was years before xauth and xhost. It also wasn't anything malicious, just a prank, when you run xeyes on someone else's terminal. They would laugh a little and then continue with their lifes. Nothing serious, requiring sysadmining.
reacweb 12y ago
I did the same for sunview in 1992: pushing the windows outside of the screen. Windows were entries in /dev.

panzi 12y ago

Which is a good thing. It lets you do automation on GUI tools that otherwise don't support automation (xdotool). It's something I hope Wayland and MIR will support. Of course there should probably be some kind of permissions system. E.g. you need to start a process in a special way so it can do these things or there is some kind of white list of programs that are allowed to do this. Oh and another application: Mapping a gamepad to keyboard and mouse for games that don't otherwise support gamepads. (See http://qjoypad.sourceforge.net/ http://qjoypad.sourceforge.net/ and my fork with additional features https://github.com/panzi/qjoypad https://github.com/panzi/qjoypad)

krschultz 12y ago
You have to admit that it is a big security problem.
- panzi 12y ago
  How? A program that runs on your computer has access to all your files anyway. How is it anymore of a security problem if it can't just access your files, change configurations, run other programs but can also send X11 events to other programs? If I can't use something like QJoyPad under Wayland/MIR I won't use Wayland/MIR.
  - pmahoney 12y ago
    > A program that runs on your computer has access to all your files anyway. This is also a security problem. If I have the means to run a program (downloaded from the internet; don't fully trust) in a sandbox that restricts its filesystem access, it'd be nice to also not allow it to control my whole GUI session.
    - panzi 12y ago
      Well, yeah. A sandbox should be able to control restrict, but in principle I want to have the ability to control other windows.