su_group

[B.O]

I can't run su_group command on linux clients, but can in Solaris. The command path exists but gives errors: 'permission denied' or 'cannot open perl script'. Thanks.

[Matti_Kurkela · Accepted solution]

This is not a standard command on any Linux distribution I know.

The "cannot open perl script" might suggest that the su_group command is actually implemented as a script. Check the permissions of the command file: for scripts, the "execute" permission alone is not enough. The user running the script needs the "read" permission too.

You can also use the "file" command to identify the file type: if "file /whatever/path/su_group" has a word "text" in its output, you can be sure the su_group is actually a script.

You'll need to check the pathname of the command interpreter the script uses. It's normally specified on the first line of the script, and it should look like this:
#!/some/script/interpreter

If the script does not have this kind of line, it is normally executed using /bin/sh.

When you know the name of the interpreter, check the permissions of the interpreter file. If the interpreter does not exist at the specified path or has incorrect permissions, this may cause the error messages you're seeing.

The name "su_group" seems to suggest that the command might be designed to change the user's identity somehow. To do that, it needs root privileges... and in Linux, the suid bit *will not* take effect on scripts. Scripts with a suid bit are generally considered a bad idea: please avoid them. But if you must, the workaround could be a special perl interpreter named "suidperl". It is an optional component of a perl installation: read the documentation carefully before using it.

[B.O]

Matti, Thanks for your prompt response to this mail, appreciate. I'll check the script/command again and look out for any irregularities etc, thks.