X-Git-Url: http://git.madism.org/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Fmanual.sgml.head;h=df0ba2e917dc81b9ecb46e5b5894167d4479b4f3;hb=84336b1f31f4acefd0bf8500b8571c33669fd99f;hp=8f975aaf61572fb2d9aa04aa61c5bc5659bbdfe4;hpb=f7a7cee0f8bce7ddc378197a9394c6fceb6988ec;p=apps%2Fmadmutt.git diff --git a/doc/manual.sgml.head b/doc/manual.sgml.head index 8f975aa..df0ba2e 100644 --- a/doc/manual.sgml.head +++ b/doc/manual.sgml.head @@ -2460,6 +2460,15 @@ ifndef feature_slang 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-ncurses' +Obsolete Variables + +

In the process of ensuring and creating more consistency, many +variables have been renamed and some of the old names were already +removed. Please see +for a complete list. + + + Advanced Usage @@ -4289,6 +4298,164 @@ muttrc. +Security Considerations + +

First of all, mutt-ng contains no security holes included by + intention but may contain unknown security holes. As a consequence, + please run mutt-ng only with as few permissions as possible. + +

Please do not run mutt-ng as the super user. + +

When configuring mutt-ng, there're some points to note about secure + setups. + +

In practice, mutt-ng can be easily made as vulnerable as even the + most insecure mail user agents (in their default configuration) just + by changing mutt-ng's configuration files: it then can execute + arbitrary programs and scripts attached to messages, send out private + data on its own, etc. Although this is not believed to the common type + of setup, please read this chapter carefully. + + Passwords + +

Although mutt-ng can be told the various passwords for accounts, + please never store passwords in configuration files. Besides the + fact that the system's operator can always read them, you could + forget to replace the actual password with asterisks when reporting + a bug or asking for help via, for example, a mailing list so that + your mail including your password could be archived by internet + search engines, etc. Please never store passwords on disk. + + + + Temporary Files + +

Mutt-ng uses many temporary files for viewing messages, verifying + digital signatures, etc. The + variable can be used to change the default permissions of these + files. Please only change it if you really know what you are doing. + Also, a different location for these files may be desired which can + be changed via the variable. + + + + Information Leaks + + Message-ID: headers + +

In the default configuration, mutt-ng will leak some information + to the outside world when sending messages: the generation of + variable. Please make sure that + you really know how local parts of these + + mailto:-style links + +

As mutt-ng be can be set up to be the mail client to handle + variable is For example, following a link like + + +mailto:joe@host?Attach=~/.gnupg/secring.gpg + + will send out the user's private gnupg keyring to When variable, mutt-ng will + + + + be less strict when interpreting these links by + prepending a turn on the variable by + force to let the user see all the headers + (because they still may leak information.) + + + + + + + + External applications + +

Mutt-ng in many places has to rely on external applications or + for convenience supports mechanisms involving external + applications. + + mailcap + +

One of these is the + variable for details.) + + These utilities may have a variety of security vulnerabilities, + including overwriting of arbitrary files, information leaks or + other exploitable bugs. These vulnerabilities may go unnoticed by + the user, especially when they are called automatically (and + without interactive prompting) from the mailcap file(s). When + using mutt-ng's autoview mechanism in combination with mailcap + files, please be sure to... + + + + manually select trustworth applications with a reasonable + calling sequence + + periodically check the contents of mailcap files, + especially after software installations or upgrades + + keep the software packages referenced in the mailcap file up to date + + leave the variable in its default + state to restrict mailcap expandos to a safe set of characters + + + + + + Other + +

Besides the mailcap mechanism, mutt-ng uses a number of other + external utilities for operation. + +

The same security considerations apply for these as for tools + involved via mailcap (for example, mutt-ng is vulnerable to Denial + of Service Attacks with compressed folders support if the + uncompressed mailbox is too large for the disk it is saved to.) + +

As already noted, most of these problems are not built in but + caused by wrong configuration, so please check your configuration. + + + + + + + Reference Command line options

The following list contains all variables which, in the process of +providing more consistency, have been renamed and are partially even +removed already. The left column contains the old synonym variables, +the right column the full/new name: + +