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Operating Systems OS X (Apple) root/admin authorization and PackageMaker Post 48308 by ropers on Wednesday 3rd of March 2004 09:12:35 AM
Old 03-03-2004
root/admin authorization and PackageMaker

I am building an installable package (.pkg) with PackageMaker 1.1.11 (that's the one that comes with Panther).
The package is for installing things both to /Applications and to some folders in /Library (/Library/StartupItems and a new folder that I'm putting in /Library).
I do (obviously) not choose Overwrite (directory) permissions.
I am putting the whole stuff together as recommended, mirroring the actual directory structure in the folder I am building my package from, choosing a Default Location of /, making it non-relocatable.
I am permissioning my "source" folder in the exact way that I want the files to be later -- mostly root:admin with rwxrwxr-x and rw-rw-r--. (Admins should be allowed to muck around with it, but no one else.)
Now I have two choices: I can either select Admin Authorization or Root Authorization as the Authorization Action.
(No Authorization Required obviously wouldn't do what I want.)

I am unsure which one of the two to choose, and what the effective difference is between them (if any).

Now, no jumping to conclusions here, please folks.
I do know the difference between an admin and the root account.
HOWEVER:The Developer documentation states (under "Authorization, File Ownership, and Permissions"):

Quote:
Even if a package specifies root authorization, a user can authenticate by supplying the administrator password and can then install the software.
(Emphasis by me.)

It further says:

Quote:
If authorization is required, the files are owned by the owner specified in the files archive within the package, regardless of the user and password supplied to complete the authentication.
and:

Quote:
Authorization should be set to root if any component needs to be set to root.
(Emphasis by me.)

Now, maybe I am getting this wrong, but it seems to me that this means that there is virtually no effective difference between asking for root or admin authorization in this scenario (the only difference being that according to Table 12-1 in the said documentation, requiring Root Authorization will promt an admin user to enter their password,
whereas requiring just Admin Authorization would not prompt an admin user.

Am I right?
Is that the only difference?
Is it otherwise inconsequential whether I ask for Root or Admin authorization in this scenario?

Help on this is MUCH appreciated.

rop
 

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PAM_KSU(8)						    BSD System Manager's Manual 						PAM_KSU(8)

NAME
pam_ksu -- Kerberos 5 SU PAM module SYNOPSIS
[service-name] module-type control-flag pam_ksu [options] DESCRIPTION
The Kerberos 5 SU authentication service module for PAM provides functionality for only one PAM category: authentication. In terms of the module-type parameter, this is the ``auth'' feature. The module is specifically designed to be used with the su(1) utility. Kerberos 5 SU Authentication Module The Kerberos 5 SU authentication component provides functions to verify the identity of a user (pam_sm_authenticate()), and determine whether or not the user is authorized to obtain the privileges of the target account. If the target account is ``root'', then the Kerberos 5 princi- pal used for authentication and authorization will be the ``root'' instance of the current user, e.g. ``user/root@REAL.M''. Otherwise, the principal will simply be the current user's default principal, e.g. ``user@REAL.M''. The user is prompted for a password if necessary. Authorization is performed by comparing the Kerberos 5 principal with those listed in the .k5login file in the target account's home directory (e.g. /root/.k5login for root). The following options may be passed to the authentication module: debug syslog(3) debugging information at LOG_DEBUG level. use_first_pass If the authentication module is not the first in the stack, and a previous module obtained the user's password, that password is used to authenticate the user. If this fails, the authentication module returns failure without prompting the user for a password. This option has no effect if the authentication module is the first in the stack, or if no previous modules obtained the user's password. try_first_pass This option is similar to the use_first_pass option, except that if the previously obtained password fails, the user is prompted for another password. SEE ALSO
su(1), syslog(3), pam.conf(5), pam(8) BSD
May 15, 2002 BSD
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