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From: dpw@unisec.usi.com (Darryl P. Wagoner)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Putting comments in /etc/passwd; is there a 'better' way?
Message-ID: <1015@unisec.usi.com>
Date: Sat, 4-Jul-87 10:46:29 EDT
Article-I.D.: unisec.1015
Posted: Sat Jul  4 10:46:29 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 4-Jul-87 20:09:39 EDT
References: <1320@ssc-vax.UUCP>
Reply-To: dpw@unisec.USI.COM (Darryl P. Wagoner)
Organization: UniSecure Systems, Inc. Newport, RI
Lines: 27
Keywords: comments, passwd(1), pound signs, strange results

In article <1320@ssc-vax.UUCP> ray3rd@ssc-vax.UUCP (Ray E Saddler III) writes:
 
 
>	Example (after):
 
>#::0:0:::
># Group 500 - Mechanical engineers (widget design)
>#::0:0:::
>jim:MtonSfDT1zPDk:501:500:Jim Fitt:/user/jim:
 
>This in itself causes no problems, but creats an visually ugly file
>which defeats my intentions.

It is a much more than ugly file.  This will let someone login as "#" with
a uid of 0 (root).  Not cool.  This can also happen if you too many or too
few fields in a password entry.   I think the problem is that the 
getpwent(3) routines parses(sp) the password file without reading each line 
into a strings first.

Has anyone came out with a PD version of getpwent(3) ?  If not a some 
future time I will.

-- 
Darryl Wagoner			
UniSecure Systems, Inc.; 		dpw@unisec.usi.com
Newport,  RI; (401)-849-0857 
UUCP:  {gatech|mirror|cbosgd|uiucdcs|ihnp4}!rayssd!unisec!dpw