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From: cpcahil@virtech.uucp (Conor P. Cahill)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386
Subject: Re: SCO UNIX 3.2.2 Can't set login uid from cron
Message-ID: <1991Apr03.170106.22965@virtech.uucp>
Date: 3 Apr 91 17:01:06 GMT
Article-I.D.: virtech.1991Apr03.170106.22965
References: <1991Apr02.123535.11230@pfm.rmt.sub.org>
Organization: Virtual Technologies Inc.
Lines: 19

bernd@pfm.rmt.sub.org (Bernd Hennig) writes:
>I have a great problem with the SCO UNIX 3.2.2 and cron. The following
>is a job in /usr/spool/cron/crontabs/news:

>15,30,40,00 * * * * /bin/su news -c "/usr/lib/news/bin/input/newsrun"

You don't need the su here.  Any jobs in the "news" crontab will be run
with user id set to news.

>And the result is, that cron mails me:
>Cron: can't set login UID

This is because the su command wants a password (since it is not being invoked
by root, but by news) and can't get one since input is mapped to /dev/null and
it doesn't have a controll tty.
-- 
Conor P. Cahill            (703)430-9247        Virtual Technologies, Inc.
uunet!virtech!cpcahil                           46030 Manekin Plaza, Suite 160
                                                Sterling, VA 22170