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From: mju@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us (Marc Unangst)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.internals,comp.unix.sysv386
Subject: Re: need URGENT help with SCO UNIX TCP/IP - please
Keywords: SCO UNIX TCP/IP
Message-ID: <DiLoT3w163w@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us>
Date: 5 Dec 90 01:50:12 GMT
References: <257@eliza.edvvie.at>
Followup-To: comp.unix.sysv386
Organization: The Programmers' Pit Stop, +1 313 665 2832
Lines: 57

schweigl@edvvie.at (Johnny Schweigl) writes:
> Error:
> 	After entering userid and passwd (telnet session is ok) SCO UNIX
> 	responds with "Cannot obtain database information on this terminal".
> 	when logging on as root on /dev/console, the system tells me that
> 	"The security databases are corrupt". No new logins are allowed after
> 	this error had occured.
> 	The error seems to have no systematic behaviour. It appears at random
> 	points in time, with 3 telnet sessions or 20, or something like that.

Check /etc/auth/system for files that begin with "ttys".  Like
"ttys-t" or "ttys-o".  These are lock files that SCO Unix uses when it
updates the terminal control database, and SCO Unix will not log you
in if ttys-t exists.  (I dunno why it doesn't just fork off a
background process to update it when the file becomes free, or why it
doesn't just say "Terminal database locked; waiting...".)  Find the
version of the file that looks "rightest" and rename it to ttys,
removing the -t and -o versions.

Another possibility: You don't have lines in the ttys file for all the
pty's.  Make sure they're there.

> Possible sources of error:
> 	Someone modified /etc/passwd manually. System will be reinstalled
> 	completely this weekend. If this was the only problem, shouldn't the
> 	error occur permanently? Quite contrary, it is not reproducible.

This is a possibility, but if this happened, my experience leads me to
believe that it would happen ALL the time.

Here's something SCO-style for fixing problems with manually-modified
/etc/passwd files:

KEYWORDS: security passwd /etc/passwd pw_id_map gr_id_map secureware
	  bug

RELEASE:  All versions of SCO Unix System Vr3.2

PROBLEM:  The system replies "Cannot rewrite terminal control database
	  entry; see Authentication Administrator." when I try to log
	  in.  Also, the /etc/auth/system/pw_id_map file is missing.

SOLUTION: This message probably stems from a manual edit of the
	  /etc/passwd file.  If a blank line was inadvertently left in
	  the file (even at the end), this error will occur.  Delete
	  this blank line, remove /etc/auth/system/{pw,gr}_id_map,
	  and try to log in again.  In this case, the "cannot
	  rewrite..." error message is misleading and should be
	  ignored.

Yes, this is a bug.  Yes, SecureWare knows about it.  No, it's not
fixed in r3.2v2.0.

--
Marc Unangst               |
mju@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us  | "Bus error: passengers dumped"
...!umich!leebai!mudos!mju |