= Proposed Self Contained Change: Making sudo pip Safe (Again) = https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/Making_sudo_pip_safe Change owner(s): * Michal Cyprian <mcyprian AT redhat DOT com> * Petr Viktorin <pviktori AT redhat DOT com> * Tomas Orsava <torsava AT redhat DOT com> * Miro Hroncok <mhroncok AT redhat DOT com> At the present time, running sudo pip3 in Fedora is not safe. Pip shares its installation directory with dnf, can remove dnf-managed files and generally break the Python 3 interpreter. We propose a series of measures that will make it safe to use. == Detailed Description == The danger of using sudo pip3 stems from the fact that both Python dnf packages and sudo pip3 install modules to the same location, namely /usr/lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages. We aim to move the working directory for sudo pip3 to a more appropriate location: /usr/local/lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages, and modify the Python 3 interpreter in Fedora to scan both above mentioned locations when importing modules. In addition, system-python—a stripped down version of Python 3 for use by system tools—will not read the sudo pip3 install location, making it more secure by being less susceptible to interference by user-downloaded modules. >From the technical standpoint, this will be accomplished by changing the sys.prefix setting in the /usr/bin/python3 executable from /usr/ to /usr/local. pip3 will thereafter use this prefix when determining where to install modules. In addition, the original path /usr/lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages will be added to the sys.path variable (so that modules at that location are still processed when importing), because this path will not be automatically scanned anymore as it no longer lies inside the sys.prefix path. These settings, however, will not be modified for the system-python binary, and the %{__python3} macro will be changed from /usr/bin/python3 to /usr/libexec/system-python. Therefore, Python dnf packages will continue to be built with the correct installation path for system modules. Note that using sudo pip3 is not strictly necessary, as using pip3 install --user would satisfy the vast majority of use cases. Nevertheless, sudo pip is far too prevalent an instruction in various guides and installation notes throughout the Internet that there is little hope of changing users' behaviour in this regard. == Scope == * Proposal owners: Modify the Python 3 executable as described above. Modify the %{__python3} macro so that it points to /usr/libexec/system-python * Other developers: Spec files that use pip3 install without the use of a macro will need to be modified accordingly. Only 3 like packages were identified (python-flit, python-entrypoints, python-setuptools). * Release engineering: A rebuild of all Python packages will be necessary. * List of deliverables: All Fedora deliverables will be affected in a minor way that does not jeopardize their delivery. * Policies and guidelines: The definition of the %{__python3} macro will be updated as mentioned above. * Trademark approval: Not needed for this Change -- Jan Kuřík Platform & Fedora Program Manager Red Hat Czech s.r.o., Purkynova 99/71, 612 45 Brno, Czech Republic _______________________________________________ devel mailing list -- devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe send an email to devel-leave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
