[gentoo-user] Re: Allow non root users to edit files owned by root?

[Nikos Chantziaras]

On 12/22/2011 08:53 PM, Tanstaafl wrote:
> On 2011-12-22 1:00 PM, Nikos Chantziaras <realnc@×××××.de> wrote:
>> On 12/22/2011 05:44 PM, Tanstaafl wrote:
>>> On 2011-12-20 12:19 PM, Nikos Chantziaras <realnc@×××××.de> wrote:
>>>> If you allow someone to edit root owned files, you're practically
>>>> giving
>>>> him root access.
>>>
>>> Well, yeah, but only on those defined files...
>>
>> root access is global. You can't limit it. root is root, the all
>> powerful Unix being. Period :-)
>
> Ummm... then what is the purpose of sudo??

sudo is for executing programs as another user.  It is not for giving 
file permissions.


> If I add the following line to sudoers:
>
> %sudoroot ALL=(root)NOPASSWD:/bin/chmod /var/www/localhost/htdocs/*
>
> Are you saying that this does NOT limit anyone in the sudoroot group to
> *only* be able to run the chmod command, and only on files located in
> /var/www/localhost/htdocs?

That doesn't seem to work at all here.  But even if it did work, the 
users still gain full root access.  Look at what users can do:

   cd /var/www/localhost/htdocs
   sudo chmod a+w some_directory
   cd some_directory
   ln /etc/passwd .
   sudo chmod a+w passwd

There.  He now has full write access to /etc/passwd.  And with the same 
methodology, to every file in the system.