Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.unix.programmer > #872

Re: Why user can change password?

From John Gordon <gordon@panix.com>
Newsgroups comp.unix.programmer
Subject Re: Why user can change password?
Date 2011-06-29 14:41 +0000
Organization PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC
Message-ID <iufdjn$f79$1@reader1.panix.com> (permalink)
References <8d6a4a86-6fdf-4183-bfba-5ed322a98195@u28g2000yqf.googlegroups.com>

Show all headers | View raw

In <8d6a4a86-6fdf-4183-bfba-5ed322a98195@u28g2000yqf.googlegroups.com> Mateusz_madi <madi.czadi@gmail.com> writes:

> Hi, why usre cna change his pasword using passwd if he don't have
> access to /etc/shadow ?

Because the "passwd" program has special permissions.

Most programs, for example "ls" or "cp", run as you.  That is, when you
run them, they have permission to do anything you could do.

But the "passwd" program is different.  It runs as root, and has permission
to do anything root could do (which is everything.)

-- 
John Gordon                   A is for Amy, who fell down the stairs
gordon@panix.com              B is for Basil, assaulted by bears
                                -- Edward Gorey, "The Gashlycrumb Tinies"

Back to comp.unix.programmer | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

Why user can change password? Mateusz_madi <madi.czadi@gmail.com> - 2011-06-29 02:44 -0700
  Re: Why user can change password? jt@toerring.de (Jens Thoms Toerring) - 2011-06-29 09:55 +0000
  Re: Why user can change password? Ben Finney <ben+unix@benfinney.id.au> - 2011-06-29 22:36 +1000
    Re: Why user can change password? jt@toerring.de (Jens Thoms Toerring) - 2011-06-29 15:03 +0000
  Re: Why user can change password? John Gordon <gordon@panix.com> - 2011-06-29 14:41 +0000
    Re: Why user can change password? Golden California Girls <gldncagrls@aol.com.mil> - 2011-06-29 18:42 -0700
      Re: Why user can change password? Barry Margolin <barmar@alum.mit.edu> - 2011-06-29 22:29 -0400
      Re: Why user can change password? Eric Sosman <esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid> - 2011-06-29 22:29 -0400
      Re: Why user can change password? gordonb.h6afl@burditt.org (Gordon Burditt) - 2011-06-29 22:10 -0500
      Re: Why user can change password? Nobody <nobody@nowhere.com> - 2011-06-30 18:10 +0100

csiph-web