In GNOME Software I sometimes see a warning that an app (usually from Flathub) has stopped receiving updates.
How do you evaluate when, or whether, an app is problematic because it is no longer receiving updates?
In GNOME Software I sometimes see a warning that an app (usually from Flathub) has stopped receiving updates.
How do you evaluate when, or whether, an app is problematic because it is no longer receiving updates?
Flatpak sandbox is a joke. Offline apps get hacked too. You should always update offline apps, regardless of Flatpak or not, if there is a vulnerability. Please don’t tell people not to update, because they think it would be secure to leave any vulnerability open.
Flatpak sandbox is more than enough to protect the average user against an app that is no longer receiving updates.
It’s not. If there is a vulnerability, the Flatpak sandbox is just an illusion. It does only work, if everyone plays with its rules, but if you want exploit it, you can exploit it regardless of a vulnerability. Its not a safe sandbox. And if your application needs a security patch, its even worse.
To be clear here, OP is mentioning that certain apps they are using no longer receive updates. Updating these apps are not an option. I’m not telling people not to update.
But I also think that telling people not to use apps that are no longer receiving updates is unreasonable, especially if those apps don’t touch the network and are confined within the flatpak sandbox.
If the app doesn’t receive updates, doesn’t make it less risky to use. I just ask not to tell people that its secure to use these apps. Anyone can judge themselves if the risk is worth it, but everyone should know its not secure.
Threat models. I’m not going to care about an attacker both exploiting a niche app via a malformed file and also finding a 0day in the flatpak sandbox (which will be receiving continual updates). If someone can whip both of those up, while also predicting that I will open this file, or somehow feeding it to me, they are well resourced enough that it would take way, way more effort than just updating to stop them.
That’s your call if you want to do it or not. As long as you know the risks. Just because you don’t care doesn’t make it less risky.
Less risky than what? Many apps in flatpak are small hobby projects. Do you think most solo devs who do that for a hobby have a security process? Even if they release new versions weekly you have zero idea how they make use of third party libraries and if they keep them updated and you have no idea about their own code that probably no one audits.
That’s a different security issue you talk about, about a specific constructed case with hobby projects who don’t care or know security. What I’m talking about is a general security issue regardless of who or what it is, that is based on outdated and no longer supported applications. Don’t argument with something else, to justify your point, because I’m not arguing that everyone knows what they are doing. My point is only about updating and outdated stuff, that you are willingly use.