PAM_ROOTOK(8)

Name
pam_rootok - Gain only root access

Synopsis

pam_rootok.so [debug]

DESCRIPTION

pam_rootok is a PAM module that authenticates the user if their UID is 0. Applications that are created setuid-root generally retain the UID of the user but run with the authority of an enhanced effective-UID. It is the real UID that is checked.

OPTIONS

debug
    Print debug information.

MODULE TYPES PROVIDED

Only the auth type is provided.

RETURN VALUES

PAM_SUCCESS
    The UID is 0.

PAM_AUTH_ERR
    The UID is not 0.

EXAMPLES

In the case of the su(1) application the historical usage is to permit the superuser to adopt the identity of a lesser user without the use of a password. To obtain this behavior with PAM the following pair of lines are needed for the corresponding entry in the /etc/pam.d/su configuration file:

    # su authentication. Root is granted access by default.
    auth  sufficient   pam_rootok.so
    auth  required     pam_unix.so

SEE ALSO

su(1), pam.conf(5), pam.d(5), pam(8)

AUTHOR

pam_rootok was written by Andrew G. Morgan, <morgan@kernel.org>.