Running suspicious X programs in GNU/Linux

Posted by Vi on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Vi
Published on 2010-03-18T22:28:54Z Indexed on 2010/03/18 22:31 UTC
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x

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security

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linux

What the most harmful thing can malware program started as separate limited user account do if it has access to the X server?

Network and filesystem things are already considered by chroot and netfilter.

It obviously can lock the screen and I will need to switch to other vt and kill it manually.

Can it for example disrupt other GUI programs on the same X server (access to root terminal in nearby window)?

I know that it is safer to run it in separate X server, for example, in Xtightvnc or even some virtual machine, but how dangerous is to just run it like other programs?

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