This method removes a file system entry path. path shall be a regular file, a directory, or something. If path is a directory, remove it recursively. This method is required to avoid TOCTTOU (time-of-check-to-time-of-use) local security vulnerability of #rm_r. #rm_r causes security hole when:

* Parent directory is world writable (including /tmp).
* Removing directory tree includes world writable directory.
* The system has symbolic link.

To avoid this security hole, this method applies special preprocess. If path is a directory, this method chown(2) and chmod(2) all removing directories. This requires the current process is the owner of the removing whole directory tree, or is the super user (root).

WARNING: You must ensure that ALL parent directories are not world writable. Otherwise this method does not work. Only exception is temporary directory like /tmp and /var/tmp, whose permission is 1777.

WARNING: Only the owner of the removing directory tree, or Unix super user (root) should invoke this method. Otherwise this method does not work.

For details of this security vulnerability, see Perl’s case:

http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2005-0448
http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2004-0452

For fileutils.rb, this vulnerability is reported in [ruby-dev:26100].

Source Code

# File fileutils.rb, line 676
def remove_entry_secure(path, force = false)
  unless fu_have_symlink?
    remove_entry path, force
    return
  end
  fullpath = File.expand_path(path)
  st = File.lstat(fullpath)
  unless st.directory?
    File.unlink fullpath
    return
  end
  # is a directory.
  parent_st = File.stat(File.dirname(fullpath))
  unless fu_world_writable?(parent_st)
    remove_entry path, force
    return
  end
  unless parent_st.sticky?
    raise ArgumentError, "parent directory is world writable, FileUtils#remove_entry_secure does not work; abort: #{path.inspect} (parent directory mode #{'%o' % parent_st.mode})"
  end
  # freeze tree root
  euid = Process.euid
  File.open(fullpath + '/.') {|f|
    unless fu_stat_identical_entry?(st, f.stat)
      # symlink (TOC-to-TOU attack?)
      File.unlink fullpath
      return
    end
    f.chown euid, -1
    f.chmod 0700
  }
  # ---- tree root is frozen ----
  root = Entry_.new(path)
  root.preorder_traverse do |ent|
    if ent.directory?
      ent.chown euid, -1
      ent.chmod 0700
    end
  end
  root.postorder_traverse do |ent|
    begin
      ent.remove
    rescue
      raise unless force
    end
  end
rescue
  raise unless force
end