owner account without login

[Kwai Leung]

Hi members,

In HP UX, is it possible to create an user account to own files but no one can login to this account manually? and how to gain access to these files, by a SUID program?

Thanks,

[Simon Hargrave]

Set the users shell in /etc/passwd to /usr/bin/false, they will then not be able to login interactively, but you can chown files to this user.

[Alan Meyer_4]

Yes, create the user and inside the /etc/passwd file, set the character "*" as the password. that deactivated the account but reserves the uid for process and file ownership.

You can also deactivate the account from inside SAM too.

[Devender Khatana]

Hi,

Yes it is possible by defining a /usr/bin/false shell to user in /etc/passwd file.

Use chmod to set the UID bit on the files ( If exececutable)or gain access through other users in the group by setting proper permissions for other users in group.

HTH,
Devender

[DCE]

Using an asterisk in the password file disables the login, but the id has full user rights if it somehow gets enabled.

Using /usr/bin/false as the shell means that you cannot log in, but you can ftp in. If the user ftp's in - he only has access to his home directory and nothing else.

[Kwai Leung]

Thank you for all responses.

If I chose to use /usr/bin/false, can this owner account be used to submit jobs via a job scheduling system such as AUTOSYS to retrieve data owned by this account?

[Simon Hargrave · Accepted solution]

If the user is in /var/cron/cron.allow then yes. Jobs under cron run under /usr/bin/sh (as it says when you run crontab -e), not the default shell of the user.