
Emacs xwidget-webkit enhancement suite - signa11
https://github.com/BlueFlo0d/xwwp/tree/xwwp-ace-dev
======
stragies
Debian (and probably others) ship emacs with xwidget-webkit support
specifically _disabled_ for "security" reasons.

[https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-
bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=914568](https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-
bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=914568)

The argument there sounds like "libwebkit2gtk was never built to be resilient
against non-trusted content" and "has no sandboxing". I don't have enough
expertise to accurately judge both claims, but the last message in that above
bug tread does not like a change is being considered.

~~~
vngzs
The original bug report for this issue contains the following text [0]:

    
    
        Although there is apparently some sandboxing in the use of webkit in
        emacs (I read that it uses a seperate process, although not anywhere
        authoritative), this still seems to be equivalent to shipping a
        JavaScript enabled browser without any security support.
    

Debian packages in stable need security team support. It seems more like a
procedural argument about support (i.e., "We don't want the security team to
bother with another web browser embedded in Emacs") rather than technical
("It's impossible to have sandboxed Webkit in Emacs").

From a security perspective, this addon seems like the worst of both worlds:
it's WebKit, so it's commonly attacked and prodded at, and it's relatively
unsupported, so 0days are likely to stick around and fester.

As much as I love the idea of this, I would probably run it as a separate
user, or maybe in a chroot or restricted namespace. Unfortunately, it would be
pretty inconvenient to use a text editor that can't read my files!

[0]: [https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-
bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=843462](https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-
bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=843462)

------
nextos
This is very nice. I use Emacs extensively, even for reading email, but I do
not allow Emacs to connect to the Internet directly.

Lots of design decisions in Emacs make a lot of sense for a text editor, or
for a Lisp VM in the 80s, but are quite insecure if you plan to browse a
potentially hostile environment.

~~~
dmortin
Hackers won't target Emacs, they aim for bigger targets, software used by many
people.

Emacs is so obscure that nobody bothers to work on emacs exploits, so your
worry is not really justified.

~~~
bitexploder
It’s not even about being targeted specifically. It’s about the complete loss
of sandbox and safety guarantees. There is a lot of LHF here.

~~~
throwanem
LHF?

~~~
ahendriksen
low-hanging fruit presumably.

------
lbj
Wow - Ive used other Browser integrations but none have been with complete.
Well done, I'll definitely give it a spin!

------
jolux
Why is this fork linked instead of the root repository?

~~~
biotechjones
It seems that the fork has added a fair bit of functionality. Using Ace-Jump,
Sections, and History, at first glance

~~~
jolux
Ah, I see. I should have read the whole of both READMEs!

