hi,
i need certain user (example:jerry) to be able to execute chmod as root.
edit/etc/sudoers by adding the line at end of the file

jerry ALL= NOPASSWD: /bin/chmod a+w /dev/st0

login as jerry , execute sudo /bin/chmod a+w /dev/st0 from command line
successfully executed

created a script tesh.sh in jerry acct
#!/bin/bash
sudo /bin/chmod a+w /dev/st0

run the script ./tesh.sh at command line, it prompted for password
after entering passowrd, error prompted
sorry, user jerry is not allowed to execute '/bin/chmod a+w /dev/st0' as root on server1.

problem:
1.it ask for password
2. when password was entered , it prompted that user cannot execute command as root on server1

pls help.

You may need to use visudo to edit the sudoers file. Beyond that suggestion, I really don't know how you can solve this issue.

I don't think users without passwords on their accounts can use sudo.

Try just doing:

su
Myrootpassword

If root is disabled like in Mint or Ubuntu try:

sudo su
Myuserpassword

In both cases, you'll have a genuine root prompt.

Give that user a strong password!!

tried using visudo. delete the old line and reenter it again.

jerry ALL= NOPASSWD: /bin/chmod a+w /dev/st0

problem still them same.

but if i changed it to jerry ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL
it works.


what do i missed out? is there a problem w/ the stmt jerry ALL= NOPASSWD: /bin/chmod a+w /dev/st0 ?
im using redhat6 es

It would be interesting to know exactly which distro+version this is.
The basic syntax is
http://linux.die.net/man/5/sudoers

It possible your distro has decided to tighten up security by requiring a runas value...
I would definitely have a close read of the man pages on your system.

I believe jerry will have to be a member of whaterver group is designated AND this should be AFAICT...

any else see that?

Have a Great Day!

its redhat linux ent server 6.2 santiago

if i used the code
jerry ALL= NOPASSWD: /bin/chmod

it works.

That does give user "jerry" the ability to run /bin/chmod with any arguments whatsoever and change the permissions on any file or directory in the system, which is probably way more capability than you intended.

this the result of ls -ld /dev/st0
crw-rw-r- 1 root tape 9, 0 Oct 15 12:33 /dev/st0

but if i add a+w /dev/st0 , it doesnt work. how do i go abt it?

I really don't know why that isn't working for you, as that same syntax works fine for me: