Linux – security issue of Linux sudo command

linuxpermissionsSecuritysudo

  1. I am using a Red Hat Enterprise 5 Linux box. I find if a user is in /etc/sudoers file, then if the user run command with sudo, the user will run this command with root privilege (without knowing root password, the user runs sudo only need to input the user's own password in order to run a command with sudo). Is that correct understanding?

    1. If yes, then is it a security hole? Since users other than root could run with root privilege?

thanks in advance,
George

Best Answer

It is not a security hole, at least no more than su is.

sudo is just of way for an administrator for having a quick root access without using a root shell (which can be dangerous).

sudo just requires the user to enter his own password and will indeed give him root access (try $ sudo whoami). However, not everyone should be in the /etc/sudoers file.

If you take a look at sudo manpage, you'll find how to limit sudo to some simple commands.

You can for instance, only allow the user bob to execute $ sudo poweroff without allowing him to do $ sudo cat /etc/shadow.

So no, it's not a security hole if you configure and use it correctly. If you don't want your users to have a root shell, think of forbidding commands like $ sudo su.

Related Topic