When Not to Use chroot
Hyena writes “Linux guru Alan Cox is quoted as saying ‘chroot is not and never has been a security tool’ in a KernelTrap article summarizing a lengthy thread on the Linux Kernel mailing list. The discussion began with a patch attempting to ‘fix a security hole’ in the Unix chroot command, trying to improve the ability of chroot to contain a process. When it was pointed out that people have been using chroot as a security tool for years, another kernel hacker retorted, ‘incompetent people implementing security solutions are a real problem.’ A quick search on the terms ‘chroot+security’ quickly reveals that many people have long thought (wrongly) that chroot’s purpose was for improving security.”
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