RE: Postgres Security Patches Question

Thanks Tom. So since security patches is not release separately, they are part of minor releases. Is this correct
statement?

If they are part minor releases, we need to download source code for that release and perform upgrade and while
performingupgrade, we can point install directories to our custom data/config directories RIGHT? 

Regards,
Prashant

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2019 10:58 AM
To: Adrian Klaver <adrian.klaver@aklaver.com>
Cc: Patil, Prashant <Prashant.Patil@crowncastle.com>; pgsql-general@lists.postgresql.org
Subject: Re: Postgres Security Patches Question


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[ removing security list, since this is not a security bug report ]

Adrian Klaver <adrian.klaver@aklaver.com> writes:
> On 4/24/19 7:30 AM, Patil, Prashant wrote:
>> ... If there is any security patch that need to apply on postgres
>> database in future, 1. Would security patch available in form of
>> source code/zip file OR do we have to apply it using rpm? 2. If rpm,
>> would it be possible to install security patch on postgres custom
>> directories through RPM? 3. Any caveat that we need to aware about?

> AFAIK the patches are not released separately. In your case you would
> need to download the new patched complete source and rebuild it.

We do not release security patches separately, and are not interested in doing so.  Two points you might wish to
consider:

* Security patches are not tested standalone, only on top of the complete patch-series-to-date.  There's no certainty
they'deven apply to an earlier snapshot, let alone work as intended. 

* For most database installations, data-loss-risk bugs are at least as important as "security" bugs, maybe more so.
Thevast majority of the things we label security bugs are privilege escalation problems accessible to someone who is
alreadyable to log into the database and execute arbitrary SQL.  But few installations have untrusted users connecting
directlyto the database, so these sorts of bug fixes are really just limiting the possible effects of any security
loopholes(e.g. SQL-injection bugs) you may have in your applications.  Which is a good thing surely, but it pales
comparedto "this bug might corrupt all your data". 

The PG community's recommendation is that you install new minor releases in toto.  Anybody who thinks it's better to
justcherry-pick "security" 
patches doesn't understand the realities of database work.

                        regards, tom lane
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