[comp.unix.wizards] RDUMP - socket permission problem

mparker@chip.UUCP (M. D. Parker) (10/27/88)

Greetings...

In my zeal to properly protect files in my UNIX system, I seem to have caused
/etc/rdump to stop working.  Not only does it fail between systems, it fails
to work when it is for the local system.  The error message presented is:

	rcmd:socket: Permission denied

A similar problem happens when I do /etc/ping to another site.  A note here
is that /etc/ping will work correctly when executed as ROOT.

Question, what did I break and how do I fix it?  And unfortunately, NO I do 
not have sources.

Thanks for your help...

Mike Parker
Manager, Systems Administration
chip!mparker@nosc.mil

guy@auspex.UUCP (Guy Harris) (10/28/88)

>In my zeal to properly protect files in my UNIX system, I seem to have caused
>/etc/rdump to stop working.  Not only does it fail between systems, it fails
>to work when it is for the local system.  The error message presented is:
>
>	rcmd:socket: Permission denied

Umm, turning off the set-UID bit on "/etc/rdump" (or any other program
distributed with the system) does not count as "properly protecting
files"; you didn't do that, did you?  Programs that use "rcmd" require
root privileges, since the "rcmd" service uses a "privileged port".

>A similar problem happens when I do /etc/ping to another site.  A note here
>is that /etc/ping will work correctly when executed as ROOT.

Sounds like the same problem....

If a system program has the set-UID or set-GID bit set, leave it set
unless you *absolutely positively* know that it shouldn't be set.

wolfgang@mgm.mit.edu (Wolfgang Rupprecht) (10/28/88)

In article <211@chip.UUCP> mparker@chip.UUCP (M. D. Parker) writes: 
>In my zeal to properly protect files in my UNIX system, I seem to
>have caused /etc/rdump to stop working.  A similar problem happens
>when I do /etc/ping to another site.  A note here is that /etc/ping
>will work correctly when executed as ROOT.  Question, what did I
>break and how do I fix it?

How about a set-UID shell script to let users run these programs? ;-)

-wolfgang

PS. Serious hint: 
  22 -rwsr-xr-x  1 root     staff       22528 Jan  2  1988 /etc/ping
  49 -rwsr-sr-x  1 root     staff       50176 Jan  2  1988 /etc/rdump
---

Wolfgang Rupprecht	ARPA:  wolfgang@mgm.mit.edu (IP 18.82.0.114)
TEL: (617) 267-4365	UUCP:  mit-eddie!mgm.mit.edu!wolfgang

chris@mimsy.UUCP (Chris Torek) (10/28/88)

In article <7694@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> wolfgang@mgm.mit.edu
(Wolfgang Rupprecht) writes:
>PS. Serious hint: 
>-rwsr-sr-x  1 root     staff       50176 Jan  2  1988 /etc/rdump

[I removed the inode number.]  Actually, this is much better:

-rwsr-s---  1 root     operator    51200 Nov 18  1987 /etc/rdump

along with

-rwxr-s---  1 bin      operator    36864 Nov 18  1987 /etc/dump

Others are possible, but be careful not to let anyone read the raw
disk devices, lest your file protections not protect.
-- 
In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Univ of MD Comp Sci Dept (+1 301 454 7163)
Domain:	chris@mimsy.umd.edu	Path:	uunet!mimsy!chris