Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!zorba!dtynan From: ron@hardees.rutgers.edu (Ron Natalie) Newsgroups: comp.unix Subject: Re: Passwd file Message-ID: <3457@zorba.Tynan.COM> Date: 10 Sep 89 01:18:09 GMT References: <3474@altos86.Altos.COM> Sender: dtynan@zorba.Tynan.COM Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J. Lines: 10 Approved: dtynan@zorba.Tynan.COM You put ::0:0:: lines in your password file so that anyone on the system can do su "" and get a root shell. Some stupid programs that deal with the password file make blank lines into those entries. They should not be there. Note, that there is a difference between that and the similar line with a "+" in it that sun uses for yellow pages hooking. -Ron