Hi,
If I try to use an alternate configuration file the X server refuses to
start:
$ X -xf86config xorg.conf.test
Fatal server error:
Cannot open log file "/var/log/Xorg.0.log"
xorg.conf.test is in /etc/X11/
This used to work before the 7.3/1.4 upgrade. With those versions,
-config wouldn't work, but -xf86config was ok.
Looking at the X debian wrapper (in x11-common) it seems that if -config
or -xf86config are found in the command line root priviledges are
automatically dropped.
if (!strcmp(argv[i], "-config") || !strcmp(argv[i], "-xf86config")) {
if (setuid(getuid())) {
perror("X unable to drop setuid privileges for
alternate config");
exit(1);
}
}
As a result, the X server won't start at all. Is this behavior really
necessary? The Xorg server will not let non-root users use
configuration files outside /etc/X11 which seems to be a good enough
safeguard.
A google search found that Ubuntu has a patch addressing this issue:
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-patches/2007-August/011669.html
"Stop handling -config specifically in the wrapper, as Xorg now handles
this itself."
Would it be possible to apply something like this to Debian?
Thanks,
Ricardo