Re: SET ROLE documentation improvement

Nathan Bossart <nathandbossart@gmail.com>

From: Nathan Bossart <nathandbossart@gmail.com>
To: Yurii Rashkovskii <yrashk@gmail.com>
Cc: pgsql-hackers@lists.postgresql.org
Date: 2023-09-15T20:47:11Z
Lists: pgsql-hackers
On Fri, Sep 15, 2023 at 11:26:16AM -0700, Yurii Rashkovskii wrote:
> I believe SET ROLE documentation makes a slightly incomplete statement
> about what happens when a superuser uses SET ROLE.
> 
> The documentation reading suggests that the superuser would lose all their
> privileges. However, they still retain the ability to use `SET ROLE` again.
> 
> The attached patch adds this bit to the documentation.

IMO this is arguably covered by the following note:

   The specified <replaceable class="parameter">role_name</replaceable>
   must be a role that the current session user is a member of.
   (If the session user is a superuser, any role can be selected.)

But I don't see a big issue with clarifying things further as you propose.

I think another issue is that the aforementioned note doesn't mention the
new SET option added in 3d14e17.

-- 
Nathan Bossart
Amazon Web Services: https://aws.amazon.com



Commits

  1. doc: Note exceptions for SET ROLE's effect on privilege checks.

  2. doc: Clarify requirements for SET ROLE.