Application-Specific Access Privileges in File Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing file systems lack fine-grained control over access permissions, allowing malicious applications to access sensitive files based on user-level permissions, posing security risks such as data destruction and exfiltration.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an application-specific access privilege system that intercepts file access requests, determines permissions based on user and application-specific criteria, and manages access through a permission repository, allowing or blocking access to files and directories accordingly, with options for temporary leases and network/location-based permissions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If user-level permissions are used to control file access, then users can access files they are authorized to read, but malicious applications can also access these files exploiting the same permissions
Solution Approach 1:
The access permission is segmented into two independent components: user permission (allowing the user to access files) and application permission (allowing the application to access files). This segmentation resolves the contradiction by ensuring that both components must be true for access to be granted, thereby preventing malicious applications from exploiting user permissions while maintaining ease of operation for authorized users.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary access control mechanism is introduced between the user and the file system. This intermediary checks both user permission and application permission before allowing file access. The intermediary resolves the contradiction by acting as a gatekeeper that verifies both conditions, thus preventing malicious applications from accessing files while ensuring legitimate users can still access their authorized files.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If application-specific access control is implemented, then fine-grained security control is achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The access control system is designed with multi-functionality to handle various access scenarios (user access, application access, both, neither) through a unified framework. This universality resolves the contradiction by providing comprehensive security control for different access types while avoiding the need for separate complex systems for each scenario, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of creating entirely new access control mechanisms, the system reuses and extends existing permission structures. Application permissions are modeled similarly to user permissions, allowing the system to leverage existing infrastructure and simplification patterns. This copying approach resolves the contradiction by achieving fine-grained security control through familiar patterns rather than entirely new complex mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments provide techniques for managing access to files on a computing system. An example method generally includes receiving, from an application, a request by a user to access a specified file on a file system through the application. A permission record is retrieved from a permission repository based on information about the application, the user, and the specified file. A determination is made of whether the user has permission to access a directory in the file system in which the specified file is located, and a determination is made of whether the application is allowed to access the specified file. Based on determining that the user has permission to access the directory in which the specified file is located and determining that the application has permission to access the specified file, the specified file is retrieved from the directory, and the application is granted access to the specified file.