Configuring SUDO for users, a.k.a. sudoers

Micro420 · 04-21-2006, 07:07 PM

Question: When I run the sudo command as a user (micro420), I am still asked for the ROOT password. How do I accept the user password?

I ran the 'visudo' command to add my name to the list of users that can run the sudo command.

Code:

#User privilege specification
root ALL=(ALL) ALL
micro420 ALL=(ALL) ALL

I also tried doing this and it did not work:

Code:

sudo -u micro420 cat /etc/shadow

pljvaldez · 04-21-2006, 07:25 PM

I think when you run sudo that it is asking you for your user password (i.e. sudo nano will prompt you for a password, you should enter your user password).

Micro420 · 04-21-2006, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pljvaldez

I think when you run sudo that it is asking you for your user password (i.e. sudo nano will prompt you for a password, you should enter your user password).

That is my problem to my question. When I use the SUDO command as a USER, it prompts for a password. My user password does NOT work, BUT, if I input my root password, then it works. This defeats the purpose of using sudo.

So my question again: When I run the sudo command as a user (micro420), I am still asked for the ROOT password. How do I accept the user password?

pljvaldez · 04-21-2006, 07:57 PM

From the ubuntu wiki:

Let sudo ask for the root password

You can make sudo ask for the root password instead of the user password, you can do this by adding the keyword rootpw to the line in /etc/sudoers that starts with Defaults.

So I guess use visudo as root and then find the line that starts with Defaults and remove the word rootpw... Hopefully this works on whatever distro you're running...

Micro420 · 04-21-2006, 08:25 PM

Thanks for the reply, but currently my sudo configuration file looks like this:

Code:

#Defaults Specification
Defaults targetpw # ask for the password of the target user i.e. root
%users ALL=(ALL) ALL # WARNING! Only use this together with 'Defaults targetpw'!

#User Privilege specification
root ALL=(ALL) ALL
micro420 ALL=(ALL) ALL

As you can see, there is no 'rootpw'.

I am using SuSE 10.

This is frustrating (damn you Linux!!!!). I'm not asking for anything complicated, but something rather practical. You would figure that something so simple like this would be well known in the Linux community ...

Lets say you're an administrator and you want to give your user certain special privileges. You wouldn't give them the root password, correct? You'd give them special 'sudo' privileges and make the user input his/her password, or some other password other than the root password.

Tinkster · 04-21-2006, 08:47 PM

That means that for some reason only know to you
you must have the rootpw flag in the sudoers file.

The behaviour you're describing isn't sudo default,
and it's not ubuntu default, either.

[edit]
Mental note to self: if you have a thread open for
two hours refresh before you start answering[/edit]

Cheers,
Tink

Micro420 · 04-21-2006, 09:05 PM

Perhaps you are correct, Tinkster.

I am using SuSE 10 and I will go post over there. Perhaps the other SuSE users will know.

If anyone has any other suggestions or ideas, please let me know.

ataraxia · 04-21-2006, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Micro420

Thanks for the reply, but currently my sudo configuration file looks like this:

Code:

#Defaults Specification
Defaults targetpw # ask for the password of the target user i.e. root
%users ALL=(ALL) ALL # WARNING! Only use this together with 'Defaults targetpw'!

#User Privilege specification
root ALL=(ALL) ALL
micro420 ALL=(ALL) ALL

As you can see, there is no 'rootpw'.

I am using SuSE 10.

This is frustrating (damn you Linux!!!!). I'm not asking for anything complicated, but something rather practical. You would figure that something so simple like this would be well known in the Linux community ...

Lets say you're an administrator and you want to give your user certain special privileges. You wouldn't give them the root password, correct? You'd give them special 'sudo' privileges and make the user input his/her password, or some other password other than the root password.

Ah, this makes sense. "Defaults targetpw" is causing this weird behavior. You should remove everything above the blank line.

Micro420 · 04-21-2006, 09:26 PM

It worked! Removing the targetpw worked! Thank you!!!!

Now to figure out who to give special users privileges ...

ataraxia · 04-21-2006, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Micro420

It worked! Removing the targetpw worked! Thank you!!!!

Now to figure out who to give special users privileges ...

Hopefully, you also removed this line:

Code:

%users ALL=(ALL) ALL # WARNING! Only use this together with 'Defaults targetpw'!

Or else everyone can now sudo.

Micro420 · 04-21-2006, 11:12 PM

Yes, I made sure I deleted the %users line.

Thanks for checking up