[PATCH] documentation: add git transport security notice

Fraser Tweedale· Jul 5, 2013, 08:41 UTC · lore

The fact that the git transport does not do any authentication is easily overlooked. For example, DNS poisoning may result in fetching from somewhere that was not intended.

Add a brief security notice to the "GIT URLS" section of the documentation stating that the git transport should be used with caution on unsecured networks.

Signed-off-by: Fraser Tweedale <frase@frase.id.au>
---
 Documentation/urls.txt | 3 +++
 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+)

Show changes to Documentation/urls.txt +3 −0

diff --git a/Documentation/urls.txt b/Documentation/urls.txt
index 60ba300..9c8f524 100644
--- a/Documentation/urls.txt
+++ b/Documentation/urls.txt
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ and ftps can be used for fetching and rsync can be used for fetching
 and pushing, but these are inefficient and deprecated; do not use
 them).
 
+The git transport does not do any authentication and should be used
+with caution on unsecured networks.
+
 The following syntaxes may be used with them:
 
 - ssh://{startsb}user@{endsb}host.xz{startsb}:port{endsb}/path/to/repo.git/

-- 
1.8.3.1

Jonathan Nieder· Jul 7, 2013, 00:50 UTC · re: Fraser Tweedale · lore

Re: [PATCH] documentation: add git transport security notice

Hi,

Fraser Tweedale wrote:

Show 8 quoted lines

> --- a/Documentation/urls.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/urls.txt
> @@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ and ftps can be used for fetching and rsync can be used for fetching
>  and pushing, but these are inefficient and deprecated; do not use
>  them).
>  
> +The git transport does not do any authentication and should be used
> +with caution on unsecured networks.

How about the something like the following? I'm starting to think it would make more sense to add a SECURITY section to git-clone(1), though.

-- >8 --
Subject: doc: clarify git:// transport security notice

The recently added warning about the git protocol's lack of authentication does not make it clear that the protocol lacks both client and server authentication. The lack of non IP-based client auth is obvious (when does user enter her credentials?), while the lack of authentication of the server is less so, so emphasize it.

Put the warning in context by making an analogy to HTTP's security properties as compared to HTTPS.

Signed-off-by: Jonathan Nieder <jrnieder@gmail.com>
---
Thanks,
Jonathan

Show changes to Documentation/urls.txt +2 −2

diff --git a/Documentation/urls.txt b/Documentation/urls.txt
index 9ccb246..bd0058f 100644
--- a/Documentation/urls.txt
+++ b/Documentation/urls.txt
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ and ftps can be used for fetching and rsync can be used for fetching
 and pushing, but these are inefficient and deprecated; do not use
 them).
 
-The native transport (i.e. git:// URL) does no authentication and
-should be used with caution on unsecured networks.
+Like HTTP, the native protocol (used for git:// URLs) does no server
+authentication and should be used with caution on unsecured networks.
 
 The following syntaxes may be used with them:

patchdocumentation: add git transport security notice