Normally, the ability to specify process privileges is restricted to the root role to prevent privilege escalation. By default, root is all powerful, so it can delegate any of its privileges. For example, it can specify application-specific process privileges in Rights Profiles, and then assign them to users. But Oracle Solaris allows non-root users to delegate their process privileges, too.
Although it is possible to assign sufficient rights to users so they can manage their own Rights Profiles, that isn't necessary. Instead a normal user, with no special rights can create application sandboxes with shell script wrappers. That's because subsets of the basic privileges that users get by default, can be be removed or restricted by the users themselves.
Removing or restricting basic privileges from an application can be done using ppriv(1). However, determining which privileges to remove depends on what kind of behavior you are trying to restrict. For example, you may want to prevent an application from transmitting your files over the Internet, or simply from reading or writing files in directories where you have private information. This can't be prevented in traditional OS's because your applications are implicitly allowed such access (but some smartphones allow users to restrict access by their apps).
The following shell script provides an example of how application sandboxes can be created by normal users in Oracle Solaris. Note in the following line:
50 ppriv -s I-$DENY -r $SANDBOX -De $program
that the ppriv(1) command is passed two privilege sets as shell variables, $DENY and $SANDBOX. The first set, $DENY, prevents the process from reading or writing any file, executing any subprocess, observing other user's processes, and (conditionally) accessing the network. This is too much of a heavy hammer, so in the second set, $SANDBOX, we refine the policy by enumerating the directories which are available for reading, writing, and executing.
This shell script also demonstrates how the policy can be adjusted to permit specific applications more or less access. For example, in lines 38-42, firefox is granted write access to several dot files in the user's home directory, where session information is maintained. And firefox is not subject to line 46 where network access is removed. However, firefox is still restricted from reading arbitrary files in the user's home directory, and can only save files in its current directory.
As an extra level of paranoia, the default program, at line 30, is a restricted bash shell which cannot change its current directory or execute the user's dot files. So any commands that are started from this shell are similarly locked into the sandbox.
Also note, in line 50, that the debug option, -D, is specified, so you can customize the policy based on whether you want to allow your applications additional access. Access failures are listed in realtime, and include the named object and the corresponding privilege that would be required for success.
1#!/bin/bash 2 3# Using bash because ksh misinterprets extended policy syntax 4 5PATH=/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/gnu/bin 6 7DENY=file_read,file_write,proc_exec,proc_info 8 9SANDBOX="\ 10 {file_read}:/dev/*,\ 11 {file_read}:/etc/*,\ 12 {file_read}:/lib/*,\ 13 {file_read,file_write}:/usr/*,\ 14 {file_read}:/proc,\ 15 {file_read,file_write}:/proc/*,\ 16 {file_read}:/system/volatile/*,\ 17 {file_read,file_write}:/tmp,\ 18 {file_read,file_write}:/tmp/*,\ 19 {file_read,file_write}:/var/*,\ 20 {file_write}:$HOME,\ 21 {file_read}:$HOME/.*,\ 22 {file_read,file_write}:$PWD,\ 23 {file_read,file_write}:$PWD/*,\ 24 {proc_exec}:/usr/*\ 25" 26 27# Default program is restricted bash shell 28 29if [[ ! -n $1 ]];then 30program="/usr/bin/bash --login --noprofile --restricted" 31else 32program="$@" 33fi 34 35 36# Firefox needs more file and network access 37if [[ "$program"=~ firefox ]];then 38SANDBOX+=",\ 39 {file_read,file_write}:$HOME/.gnome*,\ 40 {file_read,file_write}:$HOME/.mozill*,\ 41 {file_read,file_write}:$HOME/.dbu*,\ 42 {file_read,file_write}:$HOME/.puls*\ 43" 44 45else 46DENY+=",net_access" 47fi 48 49 echo Starting $programin sandbox 50 ppriv -s I-$DENY -r $SANDBOX -De $program