BOKS: Mind your log files, part 2

2011-12-19 00:00:00

A few months back we discussed how incorrect log settings can mess with your auditing and logging in "Mind your log files!". Today we'll take a look at another way your logging can go horribly wrong.

Case in point: keystroke logs.

BoKS' suexec facility comes with optional keystroke logging, which allow you to capture a user's input and output. This is particularly handy when providing suexec su - user access to an applicative or super user. These keystroke logs are stored locally on the client system, where they are hashed and filed. The master server will then pull these log files from each client for centralized storage, after which the files will be cleaned from the clients. Optionally, these log files will then be pushed to replica servers for backup purposes.

Things go awfully wrong when the master server's kslog storage is underdimensioned. Once the storage location for keystroke logs is filled, the master server will stop pulling and cleaning files from client systems. This means that $BOKS_var/kslog, which is meant for temporary storage, now becomes rather permanent storage. And since many BoKS administrators leave $BOKS_var as part of the /var file system you are now filling up /var. If the BoKS client system is not protected against a 100% filled /var you are now looking at a very, very nasty situation. You might end up crashing client systems, or causing other erratic behaviour.

TLDR:


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