Re: getuid() vs. geteuid() in auditctl

On Friday, March 16, 2012 05:50:56 PM Peter Moody wrote: > line 1162 in auditctl.c has this: > > #ifndef DEBUG >   /* Make sure we are root */ >   if (getuid() != 0) { >     fprintf(stderr, "You must be root to run this program.\n"); >     return 4; >   } > #endif > > Is there any particular reason to use getuid() there as opposed to > geteuid()? I suppose it doesn't matter. I never envisioned having a helper application, so that why its the way it is. Since we are optionally linking in libcap-ng, I suppose we could even check the capability rather than the euid.

Also note that for certification purposes the file permissions are restricted.

-Steve > In my particular case, we have a setuid helper that allows > a normal user to run 'auditctl -l' (with a clean environment), and > this prevents the setuid helper from working.