topic Re: 2 users with same home dir in Operating System - Linux

2 users with same home dir

Ragni Singh — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:19:46 GMT

Hello, is it possible to have 2 users with the same home directory.

THis is the current user..

crmuser:x:24800:440:CRM ftp id - home/ftp/./crmuser:/bin/false

I need to create another user but with the same home dir.

THe folks are trying to run some ftp jobs but the problem is noone seems to know what the password is fo that user and that person is no longer around. I'm worried if I chnage the password, we could break some scripts if passwords are hard-coded.

We would just like to be able to create another user but with the same home-dirs as the crmuser.

Thanks and points will be assigned.

Re: 2 users with same home dir

Nuwan Alwis — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 05:11:54 GMT

Hi
Sharing a HOME directory can be done.
Only thing you need to do is make new user account attached to the same group of the old user.
eg:
vi /etc/passwd

ftp1:x:1003:1003::/home/ftpuser1 //Old user
ftp2:x:1004:1003::/home/ftpuser1 //new

note i have used same gid for new user as in old users gid which makes both new and old user both same group

may be you have to alter home folder permission if its on 700

Good Luck...!

Re: 2 users with same home dir

Steven E. Protter — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:36:45 GMT

Shalom,

Sure you can stick two users in the same home directory.

To keep permissions from being wildly open, they need to both be in the same group, gropu 440.

Then set the umask to permit group write on new files created.

You may need to modify files in the home directory so that both users can change them.

As to breaking scripts with hard coded passwords. Yes, you will break these scripts. This is not a best practices setup anyway.

You can try something else.

Public key exchange ssh, which would permit these users to log on as each other without a password.

http://www.hpux.ws/?p=10

The second user can gain access to all of crmuser data and essentially be crmuser when needed by script. I don't know if that meets the requirements, you really don't post requirements.

SEP

Re: 2 users with same home dir

dirk dierickx — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 06:02:58 GMT

you can do that, however it's not a very clean/secure implementation.

let this be a lesson also for having documentation and/or a password database for important id's.

also consider cracking the unknown password of the user with 'john the ripper' or the likes;

http://www.openwall.com/john/

Re: 2 users with same home dir

Mike Stroyan — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:26:13 GMT

Rather than adding a different user you could edit /etc/sudoers and add permission for specific users to sudo to the crmuser.
Then
sudo -i -u crmuser
would allow one of those users to get a shell as crmuser.

Re: 2 users with same home dir

Dennis Handly — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:07:54 GMT

You could also create another user name but with the same ID.