Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!uunet!cbmvax!grr
From: grr@cbmvax.commodore.com (George Robbins)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.ultrix
Subject: Re: DS5000 Won't Accept Any Login Except Root
Message-ID: <22694@cbmvax.commodore.com>
Date: 26 Jun 91 03:34:33 GMT
References: <1991Jun25.175252.2895@serval.net.wsu.edu>
Reply-To: grr@cbmvax.commodore.com (George Robbins)
Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA
Lines: 34

In article <1991Jun25.175252.2895@serval.net.wsu.edu> yeidel@tomar.accs.wsu.edu (Joshua Yeidel) writes:
> We have had similar occurances twice:  a DS5000 running Ultrix 4.1
> suddenly begins refusing logins from any userid except root.
> On investigation, we find that permissions for a high-level
> directory (in one case, /, in another, /usr/users) have been
> changed such that users can't access something vital (in the
> first case, /bin/csh, in the other, their home directories).
> Has any one seen anything like this before?  Any clues as to
> the cause (We DO know how to fix it once it's gone wrong, but
> we'd like to know what might be doing this...)

I mentionted this a while back, but the only way I've seen ultrix
gratuitously change ownerships and permissions is when you do a
partial restore.  In this case, it has been known to modify the
permissions of the directory you're restoring into to match the
permissions of the parent directory of the file/tree you're
trying to restore. 

I've peeked at adduser, while I don't use it, it looks fairly
innocent.

Also, I think I saw something in the 4.2 release notes about a
bug with chroot being fixed.  I don't know the details, but since
anonymous ftp is one of the few things that does a chroot, it
might be worth investigation.  (I'm assuming your were trying
to set up an anonymous ftp account).

Any DECfolk know the actual details of the chroot thing, or am
I off in left field again?

-- 
George Robbins - now working for,     uucp:   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr
but no way officially representing:   domain: grr@cbmvax.commodore.com
Commodore, Engineering Department     phone:  215-431-9349 (only by moonlite)