Re: [MiNT] Pgetauid/Psetauid

[Guido Flohr <gufl0000@stud.uni-sb.de>]

Hello,

On Wed, Nov 10, 1999 at 03:28:03PM +0100, Konrad M. Kokoszkiewicz wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> > /* tesche: audit user id functions, these id's never change once set to != 0
> >  * and can therefore be used to determine who the initially logged in user was.
> >  */
> 
> Hm, perhaps I am missing something, but in my understanding it is intended
> to work this way:
> 
> - login calls Psetauid() once the userid has been determined

Why should login call Psetauid()?  If the information is intended to be
reliable, then the kernel should do that.  Besides, it is possible to do a
call "Psetauid (-33)" which is definitely a bug.

> - if the user switches to another uid (except root), the auid remains
> intact, so reading

The auid remains intact even if the user becomes the superuser.

> it we can determine (and write to logs) what is the original uid of the
> user (i.e. the uid originally attributed to the user when he logged in for
> the first time to start the current session).

OK, this is a different understanding.  What I understood from Tesche's
comment was that Pgetauid() should report which user was the first to log
in after system startup.

> Of course, this has to be supported by software (login, su at least) and
> of course, the auid should be inherited by child processes.

I don't know any software that supports it and honestly I don't see a
reason why any software should support it because there is no use for that
information.

Anyway, the bug with the negative auid will get fixed.

Ciao

Guido
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