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Top Forums Programming Running a script as root in the script Post 303007421 by rbatte1 on Thursday 16th of November 2017 10:03:38 AM
Old 11-16-2017
If you use the su command, it will try to Switch User to the name given. If no name is given then it assumes the super-user account is desired. What you have coded as su $pwd will try to become the user in the $pwd variable. If (somehow) it is successful, you will be dropped to a shell prompt and you script will pause until the shell exits, whereupon you script (as an ordinary user) will continue.

It is the same effect as this short script:-
Code:
echo "I am here 1"
sh
echo "I am here 2"

If you run this, it will display I am here 1 and drop to a shell prompt. Exiting the shell in the normal way should then display I am here 2

You cannot feed a password into the su command because that would make it very unsafe, hence why authorisation processes like sudo were developed. This allows someone responsible to grant privileges rather than users just getting whatever they feel like.


As an analogy, if I walked into a bank an identified myself then said, "I'd like to access another account" there would be some pretty stern questions and checks. Gifting privileges comes with risk and as the system owner, you are responsible for making sure that the server is secure. If you are happy to grant access to allow them to run a locked-down script, that's fine.


What is it that your script needs to do as the super-user anyway? There may be a safer way to achieve it.


Kind regards,
Robin
 

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SCRIPT(1)						    BSD General Commands Manual 						 SCRIPT(1)

NAME
script -- make typescript of terminal session SYNOPSIS
script [-a] [-k] [-q] [-t time] [file [command ...]] DESCRIPTION
The script utility makes a typescript of everything printed on your terminal. It is useful for students who need a hardcopy record of an interactive session as proof of an assignment, as the typescript file can be printed out later with lpr(1). If the argument file is given, script saves all dialogue in file. If no file name is given, the typescript is saved in the file typescript. If the argument command ... is given, script will run the specified command with an optional argument vector instead of an interactive shell. Options: -a Append the output to file or typescript, retaining the prior contents. -k Log keys sent to program as well as output. -q Run in quiet mode, omit the start and stop status messages. -t time Specify time interval between flushing script output file. A value of 0 causes script to flush for every character I/O event. The default interval is 30 seconds. The script ends when the forked shell (or command) exits (a control-D to exit the Bourne shell (sh(1)), and exit, logout or control-d (if ignoreeof is not set) for the C-shell, csh(1)). Certain interactive commands, such as vi(1), create garbage in the typescript file. The script utility works best with commands that do not manipulate the screen. The results are meant to emulate a hardcopy terminal, not an addressable one. ENVIRONMENT
The following environment variable is utilized by script: SHELL If the variable SHELL exists, the shell forked by script will be that shell. If SHELL is not set, the Bourne shell is assumed. (Most shells set this variable automatically). SEE ALSO
csh(1) (for the history mechanism). HISTORY
The script command appeared in 3.0BSD. BUGS
The script utility places everything in the log file, including linefeeds and backspaces. This is not what the naive user expects. It is not possible to specify a command without also naming the script file because of argument parsing compatibility issues. When running in -k mode, echo cancelling is far from ideal. The slave terminal mode is checked for ECHO mode to check when to avoid manual echo logging. This does not work when in a raw mode where the program being run is doing manual echo. BSD
June 6, 1993 BSD
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