pam_rootok - Gain only root access
Contents
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.
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
Module Types Provided
The auth, account and password module types are provided.
Name
pam_rootok - Gain only root access
Options
debug
Print debug information.
Return Values
PAM_SUCCESS
The UID is 0.
PAM_AUTH_ERR
The UID is not0.
See Also
su(1), pam.conf(5), pam.d(5), pam(7)
Synopsis
pam_rootok.so [debug]
