Security question: "Text file busy" overwriting executables but not shared libraries?

Rob Landley
2001-10-03T06:55:35Z

Anybody want to venture an opinion why overwriting executable files that are
currently in use gives you a "text file busy" error, but overwriting shared
libraries that are in use apparently works just fine (modulo a core dump if
you aren't subtle about your run-time patching)?

Permissions are still enforced, but it seems to me somebody who cracks root
on a system could potentially modify the behavior of important system daemons
without changing their process ID numbers.

Did I miss something somewhere?

Rob