Subject: Re: [PATCH 2/2] config: clear the executable bits (if any) on $GIT_DIR/config

From: Junio C Hamano <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 07:33:26 -0800

Michael Haggerty <[email-masked]> writes:

> On 11/16/2014 07:49 PM, Junio C Hamano wrote:
> ...
>> So I would suggest not to spend any cycle or any code complexity to
>> "repair" existing repositories.  Having that bit on does not hurt
>> anybody.  Those who found it curious can flip that bit off and then
>> Git with "preserve existing permissions" fix will keep that bit off
>> from then on.
>
> I disagree. The point of "preserve existing permissions" was to allow
> people to make their config files more readable/writable than the
> default,...

s/more/less/, I think, was the original motivation.  Having to limit
more tightly than usual was what made the "config" unusual among
files under $GIT_DIR.  If it were to loosen, Eric's change should
not have been done in the first place. The sharedRepository setting
to defeat the default umask is there for that kind of thing.

> That being said, I still believe that executable config files are not a
> significant risk ...

It is merely an annoyance, to the same degree of annoyance we find
when we see all files appear executable on a FAT floppy mounted on
Linux ;-)  I do not think it is a risk at all, and I do not see a
point in going into people's repository and actively "fixing" it.
People who notice can fix, and people who do not care do not care
and are not harmed.