Security Concerns on SetUID for non-privileged, malicious process (Linux)

Question

I understand that setUID bit works with the EUID and RUID in Linux to give non-provisioned users temporary root access to executables that require it. However, my main concern is that let's say a process is malicious on a computer. Even if the process has a low-privileged User-ID (like "nobody" on Macs), if all they can do to execute code is work with files that have the setUID bit to get a temporary root EUID, wouldn't that defeat the whole purpose of having privileged processes, as that process now technically has root access to the computer? Or am I missing something? Thanks!

Answer 1

Just because an executable has privileged access doesn't mean the person who executes it can cause it to do arbitrary actions.

Programs that are intended to be run under setuid must be written very carefully to avoid being used in unintended privilege-escalating ways. If they have security flaws, yes, it will create exactly the problem you describe, and you must be very careful before applying the setuid flag to executables.