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			126 lines
		
	
	
	
		
			5.2 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			Text
		
	
	
	
	
	
/** \page page_access Access Control
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This document explains how access control is designed and implemented.
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PipeWire implements per client permissions on the objects in the graph.
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Permissions include `R` (read), `W` (write), `X` (execute) and `M` (metadata).
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- `R`: An object with permission `R` is visible to the client. The client will receive
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  registry events for the object and can interact with it.
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- `W`: An object with permisson `W` can be modified. This is usually done
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  through a method that modifies the state of the object. The `W` permission
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  usually implies the `X` permission.
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- `X`: An object with permission `X` allows invoking methods on the object.
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  Some of those methods will only query state, others will modify the object.
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  As said above, modifying the object through one of these methods requires
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  the `W` permission.
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- `M`: An object with M permission can be used as the subject in metadata.
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Clients with all permissions set are referred to as "ALL" in the
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documentation.
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# Use cases
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### New clients need their permissions configured
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A new client is not allowed to communicate with the PipeWire daemon until
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it has been configured with permissions.
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### Flatpaks can't modify other stream/device volumes
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An application running as Flatpak should not be able to modify the state of
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certain objects. Permissions of the relevant PipeWire objects should not have
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the `W` permission to avoid this.
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### Flatpaks can't move other streams to different devices
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Streams are moved to another device by setting the "target.node" metadata
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on the node id. By not setting the `M` bit on the other objects, this can be
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avoided.
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### Application should be restricted in what they can see
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In general, applications should only be able to see the objects that they are
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allowed to see. For example, a web browser that was given access to a camera
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should not be able to see (and thus receive input data from) audio devices.
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### "Manager" applications require full access
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Some applications require full access to the PipeWire graph, including
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moving streams between nodes (by setting metadata) and modifying properties
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(e.g. volume). These applications must work even when running as Flatpak.
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# Design
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## The PipeWire daemon
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Immediately after a new client connects to the PipeWire daemon and updates
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its properties, the client will be registered and made visible to other
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clients.
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The PipeWire core will emit a `check_access` event in the \ref pw_context_events
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context for the the new client. The implementer of this event is responsible
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for assigning permissions to the client.
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Clients with permission `R` on the core object can continue communicating
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with the daemon. Clients without permission `R` on the core are suspended
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and are not able to send more messages.
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A suspended client can only resume processing after some other client
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sets the core permissions to `R`. This other client is usually a session
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manager, see e.g. \ref page_session_manager.
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## The PipeWire access module
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The \ref page_module_access hooks into the `check_access` event that is
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emitted when a new client is registered. The module checks the permissions of
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the client and stores those in the \ref PW_KEY_ACCESS
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property on the client object. If this property is already set, the access
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module does nothing.
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If the property is not set, it will go through a set of checks to determine
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the permissions for a client, see the \ref page_module_access documentation
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for details, particularly on the values documented below. Depending on the
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value of the \ref PW_KEY_ACCESS property one the following happens:
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- `"allowed"`, `"unrestricted"`:  ALL permissions are set on the core
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    object and the client will be able to resume.
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- `"restricted"`, `"flatpak"`, `"$access.force"`:  no permissions are set on
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    the core object and the client will be suspended.
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- `"rejected"`: an error is sent to the client and the client is
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    suspended.
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As detailed above, the client may be suspended. In that case the session
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manager or another client is required to configure permissions on the object
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for it to resume.
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## The session manager
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The session manager listens for new clients to appear. It will use the
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\ref PW_KEY_ACCESS property to determine what to do.
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For clients that are suspended with `"restricted"`, `"flatpak"` or
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`"$access.force"` access, the session manager needs to set permissions on the
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client for the various PipeWire objects in the graph that it is allowed to
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interact with.  To resume a client, the session manager needs to set
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permission `R` on the core object for the client.
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Permissions of objects for a client can be changed at any time by the
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session manager. Removing the client core permission `R` will suspend the
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client.
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The session manager needs to do additional checks to determine if the
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manager permissions can be given to the particular client and then
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configure ALL permissions on the client. Possible checks include
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permission store checks or ask the user if the application is allowed
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full access.
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Manager applications (i.e. applications that need to modify the graph) will
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set the \ref PW_KEY_MEDIA_CATEGORY property in the client object to "Manager".
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For details on the pipewire-media-session implementation of access control,
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see \ref page_media_session.
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*/
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