Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!barmar From: barmar@think.com (Barry Margolin) Subject: Re: mkdir has stopped working - SCO Xenix Message-ID: <1991Apr18.195939.2443@Think.COM> Sender: news@Think.COM Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA References: <1991Apr10.090338.4967@nodecg.ncc.telecomwa.oz.au> <15884@smoke.brl.mil> Date: Thu, 18 Apr 91 19:59:39 GMT In article veit@du9ds3.uni-duisburg.de (Holger Veit) writes: >In <15884@smoke.brl.mil> gwyn@smoke.brl.mil (Doug Gwyn) writes: >>On many UNIX implementations, presumably including yours, >>"mkdir" must be installed set-UID 0 in order to work. >But Mark Baker said above, that even root cannot make a directory. So, setuid 0 >for mkdir is obviously not the problem. No, it still could be the problem. Maybe his mkdir is still setuid, but with a non-root owner. When root runs it, his UID is changed to that of the incorrect owner, and then he can't do the privileged system call. Remember, setuid even affects the superuser. -- Barry Margolin, Thinking Machines Corp. barmar@think.com {uunet,harvard}!think!barmar