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<h2><font color=#e00000>Building an OpenBSD port</font></h2>
So you've just compiled your favorite software package on your
OpenBSD machine and you want to share your effort by turning
it into a standard port. What to do?
<p>
First look at the porting information on this page. Then check
out the referenced documents, especially the OpenBSD porting
checklist.
<p>
Test, then re-test, and finally test again!
<p>
Submit the port. Create a gzipped tarball of the port directory.
You can then either place it on a public FTP or HTTP server, sending
its address to <a href=mailto:ports@openbsd.org>ports@openbsd.org</a>
or send the port mime encoded to the same address. Pick whichever
method works best for you.
<p>
<h3><font color=#0000e0>Available Porting Information</font></h3>
<ul>
<li>The file <code>/usr/share/mk/bsd.port.mk</code>. This is the
system ports makefile included at the end of each individual
port makefile. Read the comments at the start of the makefile.
They do a good job of describing the available make options.
<li>The
<a href="http://www.netbsd.org/Documentation/netbsd/Packages.txt">NetBSD
Package System</a> documentation. This document describes NetBSD's
version of the FreeBSD ports system and is quite helpful.
<li>Section 19.2.5 of the
<a href="http://www.freebsd.org/handbook/porting.html">FreeBSD
Handbook</a>. This is the FreeBSD porting bible.
<li>OpenBSD porting <a href="checklist.html">checklist</a>.
<li>The OpenBSD ports mailing list,
<a href="mailto:ports@openbsd.org">ports@OpenBSD.ORG</a>.
</ul>
<h3><font color=#0000e0>OpenBSD Porting Policy</font></h3>
<ul>
<li>OpenBSD does NOT use /usr/local/etc/rc.d.<br>
<code>/usr/local</code> is often shared between several machines
thanks to NFS. For this reason, configuration files that are specific
to a given machine can't be stored under <code>/usr/local</code>,
<code>/etc</code> is the central repository for per machine
configuration files. Moreover, OpenBSD policy is to never update
files under <code>/etc</code> automatically. Ports that need some
specific boot setup should advise the administrator about what to do
instead of blindly installing files.
<li>OpenBSD does NOT compress man pages.
<li>OpenBSD does NOT require <code>-lcrypt</code>.<br>
DES encryption is part of the standard <code>libc</code>.
<li>OpenBSD is strongly security-oriented. You should read and understand
this page's <a href="#security">security section</a>.
<li>Be sure to add the <code>$</code><code>OpenBSD$</code> CVS tag to
the Makefile. If importing a port from another system be sure to
leave their tag in the Makefile, too. However, replace the FreeBSD
<code>$</code><code>Id$</code> tag with the
<code>$</code><code>FreeBSD$</code> tag.
<li>The goal is to get all ported applications to support OpenBSD. To
achieve this goal you <strong>must</strong> feed any OpenBSD patches
back to the application maintainer.
</ul>
<a name=security>
<h3><font color=#0000e0>Security recommendations</font></h3>
There are many security problems to worry about. If
you are not absolutely sure of what you are doing please request
help from the <a href="mailto:ports@openbsd.org">ports</a> mailing
list.
<ul>
<li>Do <emph>not</emph> use alpha or beta code when preparing a port. Use the
latest regular or patch release.
<li>Any software to be installed as a server should be scanned
for buffer overflows, especially unsafe use of
<code>strcat/strcpy/strcmp/sprintf</code>. In general,
<code>sprintf</code> should be replaced with <code>snprintf</code>.
<li>Never use filenames when you need security. There are numerous race
conditions where you don't have proper control. For instance, an attacker
who already has user privileges on your machines may replace files in
<code>/tmp</code> with symbolic links to more strategic files, such as
<code>/etc/passwd</code>. For instance, the bsd linker warns about
<code>mktemp</code> uses. <strong>These must be fixed</strong>.
This is not quite as simple as <code>s/mktemp/mkstemp/g</code>.
<li>Just because you can read it doesn't mean you should. A well-known hole
of this nature was the <code>startx</code> problem. As a setuid program,
you could launch startx with any file as a script. If the file was not
a valid shell script, a syntax error message would follow, along with the
first line of the offending file, without any further permission check.
Pretty handy to grab the first line of a shadow passwd file, considering
these often start with root entry. Do not open your file, and then do
an <code>fstat</code> on the open descriptor to check if you should have
been able to open it (or the attacked will play with /dev/rst0 and rewind
your tape) -- open it with the correct uid/gid/grouplist set.
<li>Don't use anything that forks a shell in setuid programs before dropping
your privileges. This includes <code>popen</code> and <code>system</code>.
Use <code>fork</code>, <code>pipe</code> and <code>execve</code> instead.
<li>Pass open descriptors instead of filenames to other programs to avoid race
conditions. Even if a program does not accept file descriptors, you can
still use <code>/dev/fd/0</code>.
<li>Access rights are attached to file descriptors. If you need setuid rights
to open a file, open that file, then drop your privileges. You can still
access the open descriptor, but you have less to worry about. This is
double-edged: even after dropping privileges, you should still watch out
for those descriptors.
<li>Avoid root setuid as much as you can. Basically, root can do anything,
but root rights are very rarely needed, except maybe to create socket ports with
a number under 1024. It is arguably better to keep that under <code>inetd</code>
control and just add the relevant entries to <code>inetd.conf</code>.
You must know the appropriate magic for writing daemons to achieve that.
It could be argued that you have no business writing setuid programs if you don't
know how to do that.
<li>Use setgid instead of setuid. Apart from those specific files needed by setgid
programs, most files are not group-writable. Hence, a security problem in a setgid
program won't compromise your system as much: with only group rights, the worst
an intruder will be able to do is hack a games score table or some such.
See the <code>xkobo</code> port for an instance of such a change.
<li>Don't trust group-writable files. Even though they are audited, setgid programs
are not perceived as important potential security holes. Hence stuff they can tamper
with shouldn't be considered sensitive information.
<li>Don't trust your environment ! This involves simple things such as your <code>PATH</code>
(never use <code>system</code> with an unqualified name), but also more subtle items
such as your locale, timezone, termcap, and so on. Be aware of transitivity: even though you're
taking full precautions, programs you call directly won't necessarily. <strong>Never</strong>
use <code>system</code> in privileged programs, build your command line, a controlled environment,
and call <code>execvp</code> directly. The <code>perlsec</code> man page is a good tutorial on
such problems.
<li>Never used setuid shell-scripts. These are inherently insecure. Wrap them into some C code
that ensures a proper environment. On the other hand, OpenBSD features secure perl scripts.
<li>Beware the dynamic loader. If you are running setuid, it will only use trusted libraries
that were scanned with ldconfig. Setgid is not enough.
<li>Dynamic libraries are tricky. C++ code sets a similar problem. Basically, libraries may take
some action based upon your environment before your main program even gets to check its setuid
status. OpenBSD <code>issetugid</code> addresses this problem, from the library writer point
of view. Don't try to port libraries unless you understand this issue thoroughly.
</ul>
<h3><font color=#0000e0>Generic porting hints</font></h3>
<ul>
<li><code>__OpenBSD__</code> should be used sparingly, if at all.
Constructs that look like
<pre>
#if defined(__NetBSD__) || defined(__FreeBSD__)
</pre>
are often inappropriate. Don't add blindly <code>__OpenBSD__</code>
to it. Instead, try to figure out what's going on, and what actual
feature is needed. Manual pages are often useful, as they include
historic comments, stating when a particular feature was incorporated
into BSD. Checking the numeric value of <code>BSD</code> against known
releases is often the right way. See
<a href="http://www.netbsd.org/Documentation/netbsd/Packages.txt">the NetBSD package guide</a>
for more information.
<li>Defining <code>BSD</code> is a bad idea. Try to include <code>sys/param.h</code>.
This not only defines <code>BSD</code>, it also gives it a proper value.
The right code fragment should look like:
<pre>
#if (defined(__unix__) || defined(unix)) && !defined(USG)
#include <sys/param.h>
#endif
</pre>
<li>Test for features, not for specific OSes. In the long run, it is much
better to test whether <code>tcgetattr</code> works than whether you're running
under BSD 4.3 or later, or SystemVR4. These kind of tests just confuse the
issue. The way to go about it is, for instance, to test for one particular
system, set up a slew of <code>HAVE_TCGETATTR</code> defines, then proceed to
the next system. This technique separates features tests from specific OSes.
In a hurry, another porter can just add the whole set of <code>-DHAVE_XXX</code>
defines to the Makefile. One may also write or add to a configure script to check for
that feature and add it automatically. As an example not to follow, check nethack 3.2.2
source: it assumes loads of things based on the system type. Most of these assumptions
are obsolete and no longer reflect reality: POSIX functions are more useful than older
BSD versus SystemV differences, to the point that some traditional bsd functions are
now only supported through compatibility libraries.
<li>Avoid include files that include other includes that... First, because
this is inefficient. Your project will end up including a file that includes
everything. Also, because it makes some problems difficult to correct. It
becomes harder to <em>not</em> include one particular file at a given point.
<li>Avoid bizarre macro tricks. Undefining a macro that was defined by a
header file is a bad idea. Defining macros to get some specific behavior
from an include file is also a bad idea: compilation modes should be global.
If you want POSIX behavior, say so, and <code>#define POSIX_C_SOURCE</code>
throughout the whole project, not when you feel like it.
<li>Don't ever write system function prototypes. All modern systems,
OpenBSD included, have a standard location for these prototypes. Likely
places include <code>unistd.h</code>, <code>fcntl.h</code> or <code>termios.h</code>.
The man page frequently states where the prototype lies. You might need
another slew of <code>HAVE_XXX</code> macros to procure the right file.
Don't worry about including the same file twice, include files have guards
that prevent all kinds of nastiness.<br>
If some broken system needs you to write the prototype, don't impose
on all other systems. Roll-your-own prototypes will break because they may
use types that are equivalent on your system, but are not portable to other
systems (<code>unsigned long</code> instead of <code>size_t</code>), or get some
<code>const</code> status wrong. Also, some compilers, such as OpenBSD's own gcc,
are able to do a better job with some very frequent functions such as
<code>strlen</code> if you include the right header file.
<li>Don't use the name of a standard system function for anything else.
If you want to write your own function, give it its own name, and call that
function everywhere. If you wish to revert to the default system function,
you just need to comment your code out, and define your own name to the
system function. Don't do it the other way round. Code should look like this
<pre>
/* prototype part */
#ifdef USE_OWN_GCVT
char *foo_gcvt(double number, size_t ndigit, char *buf);
#else
/* include correct file */
#include <stdlib.h>
/* use system function */
#define foo_gcvt gcvt
#endif
/* definition part */
#ifdef USE_OWN_GCVT
char *foo_gcvt(double number, size_t ndigit, char *buf)
{
/* proper definition */
}
/* typical use */
s = foo_gcvt(n, 15, b);
</pre>
</ul>
<h3><font color=#0000e0>Other Helpful Hints</font></h3>
<ul>
<li>Do not assume <code>/usr/local/bin</code> or
<code>/usr/X11R6/bin</code> is in the installers path. A good
way to verify this is to create and install your port while
running as <code>root</code> with only <code>/bin</code> and
<code>/usr/bin</code> in your path.
<li>Do NOT generate shared libraries for <code>${MACHINE_ARCH} ==
alpha</code>
<li>In OpenBSD <code>curses.h/libcurses/libtermlib</code> are the
``new curses''. Change:<br>
<code>ncurses.h ==> curses.h</code><br>
<code>-lncurses ==> -lcurses</code><br>
``old (BSD) curses'' is available by defining <code>_USE_OLD_CURSES_</code>
before including <code>curses.h</code> (usually in a Makefile) and
linking with <code>-lcurses</code>.
<li>In OpenBSD, terminal discipline has been upgraded from the older BSD
<code>sgtty</code> to the newer POSIX <code>tcgetattr</code> family.
Avoid the older style in new code. Some code may define <code>tcgetattr</code>
to be a synonym for the older <code>sgtty</code>, but this is at best a stopgap
measure on OpenBSD. The <code>xterm</code> source code is a very good example of
what not to do.
Try to get your system functionality right: you want a type that remembers
the state of your terminal (possible typedef), you want a function that
extracts the current state, and a function that sets the new state.
Functions that modify this state are more difficult, as they tend to vary
depending upon the system. Also, don't forget that you will have to handle
cases where you are not connected to the terminal, and that you need to
handle signals: not only termination, but also getting put in the background
you should leave your terminal in a sane state. Do your tests under an
older shell, such as sh, which does not reset the terminal in any way at
program's termination.
<li>The newer termcap/terminfo and curses, as included with OpenBSD, include standard sequences
for controlling color terminals. You should use these if possible, reverting
to standard ANSI color sequences on other systems. However, some terminal descriptions
have not been updated yet, and you may need to be able to specify these sequences manually.
This is the way vim5.1 handles it. This is not strictly necessary. Except for privileged
programs, it is generally possible to override a termcap definition through the
<code>TERMCAP</code> variable and get it to work properly.
<li>Signal semantics are tricky, and vary from one system to another. Use <code>sigaction</code>
to ensure a specific semantics, along with other system calls referenced in its manpage.
</ul>
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