DDEV Blog: Enhanced Security with DDEV's New `ddev-hostname` Binary

TL;DR: The new binary ddev-hostname shipped with DDEV now takes care of hosts file editing when needed. hosts editing only happens when you use a non-ddev.site URL.

One of the core principles of secure software development is the principle of least privilege: give a program only the minimal permissions it needs to do its job. With DDEV v1.24.7, we've taken a significant step forward in applying this principle to how DDEV manages hostname resolution on your development machine.

If you don't use an alternate top-level-domain (TLD) or custom FQDNs, you won't notice any changes here. Read on, but DDEV will continue to work as it always has for most users.

Why DDEV Sometimes Needs Elevated Privileges

Most of the time, DDEV projects work seamlessly with URLs like https://yourproject.ddev.site without any special setup. That's because DDEV maintains DNS records for ddev.site and all its subdomains that resolve to 127.0.0.1 (your local machine). As long as you have an internet connection, your browser can look up these hostnames automatically.

However, there are situations where DDEV needs to edit your system's hosts file (/etc/hosts on Linux/macOS or C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts on Windows):

• When you don't have an internet connection
• When your DNS is broken or blocks 127.0.0.1 resolution (DNS rebinding protection)
• When you use custom hostnames with additional_fqdns that aren't under ddev.site
• When you've configured a project_tld other than the default ddev.site or disabled DNS with use_dns_when_possible: false

For a deeper dive into how DDEV hostname resolution works, see our detailed guide on DDEV name resolution and wildcards.

The Security Challenge: Minimal Elevated Access

When DDEV does need to edit the hosts file, it requires elevated permissions (root on Linux/macOS, Administrator on Windows). This is the only thing DDEV does with elevated privileges—but from a security perspective, how we handle that elevation matters a lot.

Previously, the main DDEV binary—which handles containers, databases, files, and many other tasks—also had to manage hostname editing with elevated permissions. When you elevate privileges for one specific task (editing hosts files), you want to minimize what else that elevated process can do. The old approach meant a larger binary with more dependencies running with elevated permissions, increasing the potential attack surface.

The Solution: Meet ddev-hostname

DDEV v1.24.7 introduces a new dedicated ddev-hostname (and ddev-hostname.exe for Windows and WSL2) binary that handles hostname management exclusively. This specialized tool follows the security principle of least privilege in several important ways:

Minimal Capabilities

The ddev-hostname binary has been stripped down to do exactly one thing: manage hostname entries in your system's hosts file. It doesn't include Docker utilities, global configuration management, or the dozens of other features that the main DDEV binary provides.

Reduced Attack Surface

By removing unnecessary dependencies, we shrunk the ddev-hostname binary significantly. More important, though, we eliminated dependencies on several libraries that were previously included in the main DDEV binary but aren't needed for hostname management.

Each removed dependency is one less potential entry point for security vulnerabilities in the elevated binary.

Platform-Specific Security

The new implementation provides native elevation techniques for each platform instead of relying on third-party tools like gsudo.exe on Windows. This reduces external dependencies and gives us better control over the security model.

Special Benefits for WSL2 Users

If you're using DDEV with Windows WSL2, you'll especially appreciate another improvement that comes with these changes. The new ddev-wsl2 package provides the Windows-side binaries you need, including ddev-hostname.exe and mkcert.exe, directly within your Linux distro.

This means you no longer need to install DDEV on the Windows side when using WSL2. The ddev-wsl2 package gives you everything you need for proper WSL2 integration with Windows hostname and certificate management.

To install it:

This streamlines the WSL2 setup process significantly and ensures you always have the correct versions of these critical utilities.

What This Means for You

As a DDEV user, these changes are largely transparent—your development workflow remains the same. But under the hood, you're now benefiting from:

1. Better security: Elevated processes now have minimal capabilities and smaller attack surfaces.
2. Simpler WSL2 setup: No need for Windows-side DDEV installation.
3. More reliable hostname management: Native platform elevation instead of third-party tools.

The Bigger Picture

These improvements reflect our ongoing commitment to making DDEV not just powerful and easy to use, but also secure by design. By applying established security principles like least privilege and minimal attack surface, we're building a development tool that you can trust with your local environment.

Getting Started

DDEV v1.24.7 with these security improvements is available now. If you're using WSL2, install the new ddev-wsl2 package.

As always, we'd love to hear your feedback on these changes. Join us on Discord to share your experience or ask questions about the new hostname management approach.

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