Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cwjcc!hal!ncoast!allbery From: allbery@ncoast.ORG (Brandon S. Allbery) Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions Subject: Re: at files and permissions Message-ID: <13810@ncoast.ORG> Date: 9 Jul 89 15:42:40 GMT References: <1894@cbnewsh.ATT.COM> <669@lzaz.ATT.COM> <13809@ncoast.ORG> Reply-To: allbery@ncoast.ORG (Brandon S. Allbery) Followup-To: comp.unix.questions Distribution: na Organization: Cleveland Public Access UN*X, Cleveland, Oh Lines: 25 As quoted from <13809@ncoast.ORG> by allbery@ncoast.ORG (Brandon S. Allbery): +--------------- | As quoted from <669@lzaz.ATT.COM> by hutch@lzaz.ATT.COM (R.HUTCHISON): | +--------------- | | About "at" requiring "root" permission, I guess it needs it to write | | into the "atjobs" directory. | +--------------- | | at needs root permissions so it can setuid() itself to the owner of the at | job file, so it can execute the job as the user who submitted it. +--------------- Whoops! Open mouth, insert foot.... ;-) The run-jobs side of "at" needs root for that -- but the run-jobs side is cron. "at" needs root permissions to write to /usr/lib/cron/FIFO and thereby notify cron that something has changed. (FIFO is writable only be root, again for security reasons.) Gotta stop posting news before my first cup of coffee in the morning ;-) ++Brandon -- Brandon S. Allbery, moderator of comp.sources.misc allbery@ncoast.org uunet!hal.cwru.edu!ncoast!allbery ncoast!allbery@hal.cwru.edu Send comp.sources.misc submissions to comp-sources-misc@ NCoast Public Access UN*X - (216) 781-6201, 300/1200/2400 baud, login: makeuser