It works on Debian 2.6.26 out of the box. It is not an obscure patched
kernel case I am afraid.
If you redir an FD to a file using thus redir-ed FD in /proc allows you
to bypass directory permissions for where the file is located.
Thankfully, file permissions still apply so you need an app which has
silly file perms in a bolted down directory for this.
Symlinking the same file to a link on a normal ext3 or nfs filesystem as
a sanity check shows correct permission behaviour. If you try to write
to that symlink you get permission denied so the permissions on the fs
actually work.
No need to be root, nothing. It is not a case of "forget to drop EID or
something else like that either". It looks like what it says on the tin
- permission bypass.
Not that I would have expected anything different considering who posted
it in the first place.