Bug 172965
| Summary: | pw(8): pw useradd does not allow -g "" | ||||||
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| Product: | Base System | Reporter: | jeff | ||||
| Component: | bin | Assignee: | freebsd-bugs (Nobody) <bugs> | ||||
| Status: | Open --- | ||||||
| Severity: | Affects Only Me | ||||||
| Priority: | Normal | ||||||
| Version: | 9.1-PRERELEASE | ||||||
| Hardware: | Any | ||||||
| OS: | Any | ||||||
| Attachments: |
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You took it out of context.
$ man pw
...
The useradd command also has the ability to set new user and group
defaults by using the -D option. Instead of adding a new user, pw writes
a new set of defaults to its configuration file, /etc/pw.conf. When
using the -D option, you must not use either -n name or -u uid or an
error will result. Use of -D changes the meaning of several command line
switches in the useradd command. These are:
-D Set default values in /etc/pw.conf configuration file, or a
different named configuration file if the -C config option
is used.
...
# pw useradd -D -g ""
# cat /etc/pw.conf
...
# Default group (leave blank for new group per user)
defaultgroup = ""
...
# pw useradd moo3
# grep -i moo3 /etc/passwd
moo3:*:1005:1005:User &:/home/moo3:/bin/sh
# pw useradd -D -g "nobody"
# cat /etc/pw.conf
...
# Default group (leave blank for new group per user)
defaultgroup = "nobody"
...
# pw useradd moo4
# grep -i moo4 /etc/passwd
moo4:*:1006:65534:User &:/home/moo4:/bin/sh
jb
Very well, but it seems that it might be useful for the normal -g (without -D) to also accept "" so that you can perform a one-time override of any possible default group that had been established. And what that one-time override would be ? "" ? Impossible, it has to be a valid group (it goes to /etc/passwd). # pw useradd moo4 # pw useradd moo5 -g nobody # pw useradd moo6 -g moo6 pw: group `moo6' does not exist # pw useradd moo7 -g "" pw: group `' is not defined # grep -i moo /etc/passwd moo4:*:1003:1003:User &:/home/moo4:/bin/sh moo5:*:1004:65534:User &:/home/moo5:/bin/sh Yes, I agree that "" is currently impossible by the current version of "pw". However, attached is a diff to /usr/src/usr.sbin/pw/pw_user.c that implements the change I am proposing to allow such a one-time override. For example: # pw useradd moo4 # pw useradd -D -g "nobody" # pw useradd moo5 # pw useradd moo6 -g "" # grep moo /etc/passwd moo4:*:8005:8005:User &:/home/moo4:/bin/sh moo5:*:8006:65534:User &:/home/moo5:/bin/sh moo6:*:8007:8007:User &:/home/moo6:/bin/sh In effect, -g "" acts as if there is no default set by -D -g. > # pw useradd moo6 -g ""
Make sure that the new group is added to /etc/group"
# grep -i moo /etc/group
moo6:*:8007:
jb
What about 'pw usermod' ? Wow ! I just tested (btw, without your patch): # pw usermod moo4 -g "nobody" # pw usermod moo4 -g "" Segmentation fault: 11 (core dumped) # I opened PR#: http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=173005 With regard to your changes: make sure you test 'pw useradd' and 'pw usermod' entries, both old and new (override with -g "") syntax, with "-N" option. jb I am presenting a summary that would suggest better solution.
pw(8):
...
USER OPTIONS
The following options apply to the useradd and usermod commands:
...
-g group Set the account's primary group to the given group. group
may be defined by either its name or group number.
...
The useradd command also has the ability to set new user and group
defaults by using the -D option. Instead of adding a new user, pw writes
a new set of defaults to its configuration file, /etc/pw.conf. When
using the -D option, you must not use either -n name or -u uid or an
error will result. Use of -D changes the meaning of several command line
switches in the useradd command. These are:
-D Set default values in /etc/pw.conf configuration file, or a
different named configuration file if the -C config option
is used.
...
-g group Set the default group for new users. If a blank group is
specified using -g "", then new users will be allocated
their own private primary group with the same name as their
login name. If a group is supplied, either its name or uid
may be given as an argument.
...
Now, let's review it once again.
# pw useradd moo -g moo
pw: group `moo' does not exist
# pw useradd moo -g boo
pw: group `boo' does not exist
# pw useradd moo -g ""
pw: group `' is not defined
You want to make a one-time override of any default group as established in
/etc/pw.conf by "-D -g" options:
# pw useradd moo -g ""
moo:*:8007:8007:User &:/home/moo:/bin/sh
But, the below does the same but by checking if user name/id is equal to
primary group name/id as entered:
# pw useradd moo -g moo
moo:*:8007:8007:User &:/home/moo:/bin/sh
which clearly reflects user's intentions as entered.
By contrast, your solution is less clear about the user's intentions; also,
it introduces blank group specification -g "" to entry whose context is
an immediate and particular account setup, but which is specific to -D -g ""
type of entry whose context is setting up system defaults for any accounts
setup.
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: J B <jb.1234abcd@gmail.com> Date: 26 October 2012 15:00 Subject: Re: misc/172965: pw useradd does not allow -g "" To: freebsd-bugs@freebsd.org The following reply was made to PR misc/172965; it has been noted by GNATS. From: J B <jb.1234abcd@gmail.com> To: bug-followup@FreeBSD.org, jeff@bovine.net Cc: Subject: Re: misc/172965: pw useradd does not allow -g "" Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2012 20:58:46 +0200 I am presenting a summary that would suggest better solution. pw(8): ... USER OPTIONS The following options apply to the useradd and usermod commands: ... -g group Set the account's primary group to the given group. group may be defined by either its name or group number. ... The useradd command also has the ability to set new user and group defaults by using the -D option. Instead of adding a new user, pw writes a new set of defaults to its configuration file, /etc/pw.conf. When using the -D option, you must not use either -n name or -u uid or an error will result. Use of -D changes the meaning of several command line switches in the useradd command. These are: -D Set default values in /etc/pw.conf configuration file, or a different named configuration file if the -C config option is used. ... -g group Set the default group for new users. If a blank group is specified using -g "", then new users will be allocated their own private primary group with the same name as their login name. If a group is supplied, either its name or uid may be given as an argument. ... Now, let's review it once again. # pw useradd moo -g moo pw: group `moo' does not exist # pw useradd moo -g boo pw: group `boo' does not exist # pw useradd moo -g "" pw: group `' is not defined You want to make a one-time override of any default group as established in /etc/pw.conf by "-D -g" options: # pw useradd moo -g "" moo:*:8007:8007:User &:/home/moo:/bin/sh But, the below does the same but by checking if user name/id is equal to primary group name/id as entered: # pw useradd moo -g moo moo:*:8007:8007:User &:/home/moo:/bin/sh which clearly reflects user's intentions as entered. By contrast, your solution is less clear about the user's intentions; also, it introduces blank group specification -g "" to entry whose context is an immediate and particular account setup, but which is specific to -D -g "" type of entry whose context is setting up system defaults for any accounts setup. _______________________________________________ freebsd-bugs@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-bugs To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-bugs-unsubscribe@freebsd.org" -- Eitan Adler For bugs matching the following criteria: Status: In Progress Changed: (is less than) 2014-06-01 Reset to default assignee and clear in-progress tags. Mail being skipped |
Man page for "pw" indicates that -g "" is an acceptable option: -g group Set the default group for new users. If a blank group is specified using -g "", then new users will be allocated their own private primary group with the same name as their login name. If a group is supplied, either its name or uid may be given as an argument. However, attempting to do that produces an error: # pw useradd moo -g "" pw: group `' is not defined How-To-Repeat: pw useradd moo -g ""