Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!pyrdc!gmu90x!dolqci!decuac!felix!zemon
From: jpn@teddy.UUCP (John P. Nelson)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.ultrix
Subject: Bug in 2.0 NFS
Message-ID: <16842@felix.UUCP>
Date: 23 Dec 87 00:40:39 GMT
Sender: zemon@felix.UUCP
Reply-To: jpn@teddy.UUCP (John P. Nelson)
Organization: GenRad, Inc., Concord, Mass.
Lines: 22
Approved: zemon@felix.UUCP
Reply-Path:



We have discovered a bug in the ULTRIX 2.0 implementation of NFS.

The bug is that the "utimes" system call returns an error if applied
over NFS to a read-only file that resides on an ULTRIX 2.0 machine.

"utimes" is the call that changes the access and modify times on a
file.  The manual page describes that all that is required is that
you be the owner of the file (or root).  No mention of a write access
requirement is mentioned, and in fact, if the same operation is done
on the same file, but LOCALLY (i.e. not through NFS), then it succeeds.

This bug affects "mv", "tar", and probably other programs as well.
We have notified DEC of the bug, but we are told that there is no
chance of obtaining a fix before Ultrix 2.2 is released, and maybe
not even then.

---
John P. Nelson
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