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Article #893GNU su doesn't restrict root access? Why?
From: Jason Merrill
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 05:06
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 05:06
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>From the su man page (shellutils 1.7):
This program does not support a "wheel group" that restricts
who can su to super-user accounts, because that is fascist.
Fascist? My own opinion is that restricting superuser access is a valid
security measure; can you give me a single valid reason that non-wheel (or
group 'root', on our system) users should be allowed to su to root?
On our system, staff members have more cryptic passwords than do most
users, so that would-be intruders have to guess two difficult passwords to
break root. If they could go through a normal user's account, their path
would be somewhat easier.
Assuming that only system managers will be allowed to su to root, why not
code the restriction in su, rather than depending on the security of the
password?
Jason Merrill
jason@jarthur.claremont.edu
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Newsgroups: gnu.utils.bug Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!think.com!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cis.ohio-state.edu!jarthur.claremont.edu!jason From: jason@jarthur.claremont.edu (Jason Merrill) Subject: GNU su doesn't restrict root access? Why? Message-ID: <1992Oct12.050623.21604@muddcs.claremont.edu> Sender: gnulists@ai.mit.edu Organization: Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711 Distribution: gnu Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 05:06:23 GMT Approved: bug-gnu-utils@prep.ai.mit.edu Lines: 23