[Buildroot] [Bug 6326] New: Dropbear: Add options to allow better config for different target devices (e.g. routers)

[Buildroot] [Bug 6326] New: Dropbear: Add options to allow better config for different target devices (e.g. routers)

[bugzilla at busybox.net]

https://bugs.busybox.net/show_bug.cgi?id=6326

              Host: any
            Target: any
             Build: buildroot 2013.05
           Summary: Dropbear: Add options to allow better config for
                    different target devices (e.g. routers)
           Product: buildroot
           Version: unspecified
          Platform: PC
        OS/Version: Linux
            Status: NEW
          Keywords: patch
          Severity: enhancement
          Priority: P3
         Component: Other
        AssignedTo: unassigned at buildroot.uclibc.org
        ReportedBy: mail at maddes.net
                CC: buildroot at uclibc.org
   Estimated Hours: 0.0


Created attachment 4952
  --> https://bugs.busybox.net/attachment.cgi?id=4952
Patch (-p1) to add more buildroot options for Dropbear package.

Multiple embedded devices targets do not allow to put files everywhere,
therefore paths and commands must be adopted to the given file system.
Additionally the current make file changes the path of the xauth command in the
background instead of providing an config option.
The attached patch (-p1) adds four buildroot options to the Dropbear package,
so it's config can be adopted to any given situation.
Please apply for a future release.

Kind regards
Maddes

P.S.:
Bugzilla does not know the current stable release of buildroot.

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[Buildroot] [Bug 6326] Dropbear: Add options to allow better config for different target devices (e.g. routers)

[bugzilla at busybox.net]

https://bugs.busybox.net/show_bug.cgi?id=6326

Gustavo Zacarias <gustavo@zacarias.com.ar> changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Status|NEW                         |RESOLVED
         Resolution|                            |WONTFIX

--- Comment #1 from Gustavo Zacarias <gustavo@zacarias.com.ar> 2013-06-23 01:55:54 UTC ---
Which "multiple embedded device targets" are you talking about?
If you can't put files where you want/they belong sounds like you want to use
buildroot to extend some sort of closed firmware or target - hacky targets
aren't the goal of this project.
Option overloading is not something we want and this patch pretty much looks
like it.
You can achive your goal by using something as simple as the global patch dir,
that way you can just modify dropbear's options.h directly.

Closing as WONTFIX unless you can give a really good reason why this patch is
necessary and you can't use the global patch dir.

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[Buildroot] [Bug 6326] Dropbear: Add options to allow better config for different target devices (e.g. routers)

[bugzilla at busybox.net]

https://bugs.busybox.net/show_bug.cgi?id=6326

--- Comment #2 from Maddes <mail@maddes.net> 2013-06-23 10:24:40 UTC ---
#1 not a hacky target
It is not about hacked/closed firmwares: I built Dropbear for an older DD-Wrt
based router from Buffalo, which is an open firmware and allows access to the
Linux console and config, with support from Buffalo.
I *do* want to keep the official firmware with its feature, but the included
Dropbear is years old and SSH is available from WAN. Therefore a newer Dropbear
build is necessary to close security gaps.
The file system layout/design of the firmware consists of a read-only root plus
mount points for the writable flash partition and optional USB devices.
Even if I use `mount -o bind` to overlay the original files, the paths are
still not the same as the default ones in options.h.
I hope this explanation will get the focus back to the feature/patch itself.


#2 patch for new options to adopt paths
The current make file already "fixes" the XAUTH_COMMAND define in options.h,
but that fix must not be correct for all builds/targets.
Providing a config option for this makes the buildroot default change
transparent and flexible for the builder.
So the current make file already shows that adopting paths to the build/target
is indeed needed for normal usage.

But the XAUTH_COMMAND define is not the only path which has to be adopted for a
build/target. Therefore the other new options are required too.


#3 global patch dir
Of course the global patch dir can always be used to change anything.
But patches are intended for custom features and others that incorporate real
code changes.
Flexible configuration settings like these should be generally available and
hold in config files.


I see two ways to go:
a) builder-unfriendly
   Get rid of the "XAUTH_COMMAND" fix, and leave it *all* to the builder to
patch paths in options.h.
   A short sentence (either via Config.in or in dropbear.mk) about using the
global patch dir would avoid support requests.
   Builders will have to deal with multiple patch files via
BR2_GLOBAL_PATCH_DIR, incl. rebasing all for changes in Dropbear and/or
buildroot.
b) builder-friendly
   Apply the patch of this ticket to allow different paths for different builds
via config files.
   Builders can use the normal buildroot way of storing configurations.

Kind Regards
Maddes

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[Buildroot] [Bug 6326] Dropbear: Add options to allow better config for different target devices (e.g. routers)

[bugzilla at busybox.net]

https://bugs.busybox.net/show_bug.cgi?id=6326

--- Comment #3 from Arnout Vandecappelle <arnout@mind.be> 2013-06-23 17:33:39 UTC ---
Buildroot's #1 goal is to be simple yet flexible. Almost every package could
get configuration options like this, and they would hardly ever be used.

In addition, buildroot builds a complete and consistent rootfs (hence its
name). It is not buildroot's goal to cross-compile packages for addition to an
existing rootfs.

The xauth patch is necessary because that is where buildroot itself installs
xauth.

And to top things up, buildroot already makes it possible to achieve your goal
with the user patch directory.

So I second putting this in WONTFIX.

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