Issue #4489: Rename the feature marker for the symlink resistant rmtree and store it as a function attribute
diff --git a/Doc/library/shutil.rst b/Doc/library/shutil.rst
index 5521841..7526e5e 100644
--- a/Doc/library/shutil.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/shutil.rst
@@ -190,14 +190,15 @@
handled by calling a handler specified by *onerror* or, if that is omitted,
they raise an exception.
- .. warning::
+ .. note::
- The default :func:`rmtree` function is susceptible to a symlink attack:
- given proper timing and circumstances, attackers can use it to delete
- files they wouldn't be able to access otherwise. Thus -- on platforms
- that support the necessary fd-based functions -- a safe version of
- :func:`rmtree` is used, which isn't vulnerable. In this case
- :data:`rmtree_is_safe` is set to True.
+ On platforms that support the necessary fd-based functions a symlink
+ attack resistant version of :func:`rmtree` is used by default. On other
+ platforms, the :func:`rmtree` implementation is susceptible to a
+ symlink attack: given proper timing and circumstances, attackers can
+ manipulate symlinks on the filesystem to delete files they wouldn't
+ be able to access otherwise. Applications can use the :data:`rmtree.avoids_symlink_attacks` function attribute to
+ determine which case applies.
If *onerror* is provided, it must be a callable that accepts three
parameters: *function*, *path*, and *excinfo*.
@@ -209,16 +210,16 @@
:func:`sys.exc_info`. Exceptions raised by *onerror* will not be caught.
.. versionchanged:: 3.3
- Added a safe version that is used automatically if platform supports
- fd-based functions.
+ Added a symlink attack resistant version that is used automatically
+ if platform supports fd-based functions.
-.. data:: rmtree_is_safe
+ .. data:: rmtree.avoids_symlink_attacks
- Indicates whether the current platform and implementation has a symlink
- attack-proof version of :func:`rmtree`. Currently this is only true for
- platforms supporting fd-based directory access functions.
+ Indicates whether the current platform and implementation provides a
+ symlink attack resistant version of :func:`rmtree`. Currently this is
+ only true for platforms supporting fd-based directory access functions.
- .. versionadded:: 3.3
+ .. versionadded:: 3.3
.. function:: move(src, dst)