A non-root user running UserManager?

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3 total messages Started by David Gungner Sat, 25 Jul 1992 06:15

#224

Author: David Gungner
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1992 06:15

9 lines
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Does anybody know of a way to reconfigure UserManager so that a few
non-root users (but they are in the group "wheel") can add new users?
I want to grant a few maintenance people the ability to add new users
without giving out the root password.

Thanks for any suggestions,

David Gungner             
UCLA Machine Perception Lab

Re: A non-root user running UserManager?

#229

Author: David Lemson
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1992 15:56

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1762 bytes

gungner@cs.ucla.edu (David Gungner) writes:

>Does anybody know of a way to reconfigure UserManager so that a few
>non-root users (but they are in the group "wheel") can add new users?
>I want to grant a few maintenance people the ability to add new users
>without giving out the root password.

Couple ways to do it:
Theoretically, if you make UserManager mode 4750, and make its group
'wheel', then anyone in wheel can run it and it should think that
you are root (it's setuid).  I haven't tried this, though.  It's
possible that this won't work, though (as a security precaution
inside UserManager).

Another way to do it would be to whip up a little perl script that
takes userid, name, uid, password in from the user and then does a
call to nu -A that creates users from the command line.  The perl
script would have to be setuid.  That ought to work, too.
(I say do a Perl script because it's more secure than a shell
script - or put a C wrapper around a shell script and that would be
OK too)
-- 
David Lemson                                                 (217) 244-1205
University of Illinois NeXT Campus Consultant  / CCSO NeXT Lab System Admin
Internet : lemson@uiuc.edu                 UUCP :...!uiucuxc!uiucux1!lemson 
NeXTMail accepted                                   BITNET : LEMSON@UIUCVMD

Re: A non-root user running UserManager?

#231

Author: David Basiji
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1992 17:56

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1288 bytes

When my friend runs NetManager on his NeXT and he's not logged in as root, it 
prompts him for the root password and lets him in.  When I do the
same on my box, it tells me I need to be root and quits.  We both have the same
groups on our respective accounts (wheel [default], staff and other).
Strangely, when I run UserManager, it will prompt me for the root pass-
word and let me in.  Any idea how I can remedy the situation and run NetMan.
without logging in as root?


Thanks,
Dave
-- 
David Basiji 
"C neophyte, Bioengineering Grad Student, Internet Personality"

email: basiji@u.washington.edu          
NeXTmail: basiji@larry.pathology.washington.edu

		"Whining is just anger coming out of a very small hole."
            --Stuart Smalley

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