X running as "root".

isaac_e · 12-05-2004, 12:28 AM

Hello Everybody!

I'm using slack for a bout 2 months, pretty happy with it.
I have a little problem though, when I log it into the system, I use a normal user,
and ofcourse execute "startx", as a normal user.

When I execute "ps -aux", I see the line above:
root 1193 0.2 11.5 91916 14544 ? RL Dec04 1:27 X :0

Is really the X server running as root? If yes why? and should I run it as root or normal user?
Thanks in advance.

jschiwal · 12-05-2004, 12:57 AM

Yes, X runs as root, as many servers do. It is important to secure the X display to deny unauthorized access.

When I type in the same, here is my line:
root 15142 15.0 2.2 286108 22880 ? SL 14:16 0:26 X :0 -auth /home/jims/.Xauthority -nolisten tcp -nolisten tcp

You may have a security risk, because your X server may not be secured.

Here are a couple articles on using Xauth to secure your X display.
http://www.acm.uiuc.edu/workshops/cool_unix/xauth.html
http://www.die.net/doc/linux/man/man7/xsecurity.7.html

Here is a quick reference guide on Linux Security (cheat sheet ) that you may find informative:
http://linuxsecurity.com/docs/

Smokey · 12-05-2004, 02:25 AM

Is there a way to sudo X or something?

isaac_e · 12-05-2004, 07:55 AM

Thank you very much for the answer.
I'm going to take a look at the links you gave me