From: cummings@hammer.prime.com (Kevin Cummings) Subject: Re: can't login as root on serial line? Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1993 21:44:20 GMT
In article <22lhpaINNj3l@kralizec.zeta.org.au>, dmgray@kralizec.zeta.org.au (Dennis Gray) writes:
> In <1993Jul19.141144.26016@mtu.edu> devmorfo@mtu.edu (Evmorfopoulos Dimitris) writes:
>
> >In article <cam.743065305@ss1>, cam@adied.oz.au (The Master) writes:
> >>
> >> SLS1.01 pl9
> >>
> >> I can't seem to find any information on why I can't login as root
> >> over a modem onto my Linux system. I can log in as normal users
> >> but a login as root gives "Login incorrect" after the password.
> >>
> I login under a user id I set up for myself and use su - root which logs me
> in as a superuser. It prompts me for the password for "root".
I was just pondering this very point myself last night. Here is what I have
determined. I'm running SLS 1.02 + test stuff. That means, I using getty_ps
from SLS, and the login program from SLS. The documentation conflicts
with reality. According to the man page for login, I can login and specify
some environment values on the login line. getty_ps doesn't allow this.
getty_ps claims to set the TERM variable from a value in the invocation line
in inittab. the login program seems to set it after that from the /etc/ttytype
file. (Can you say "oops"?) Neither program seems to use the /etc/securetty
file! Where do we specify where root logins are accepted (I can login as
root on any virtual console, but not from any of my serial lines, or pty
connections.) su after I'm logged in works just fine, but its not what I
want when I need to login as root (beacuse my /home directory isn't there because
NFS is screwed up!, and I'm coming in over a modem from home (or work).
Yeah, yeah, I know about the insecurity of allowing root to login directly
(one password, versus two), but where can I specify which lines are secure
(and which aren't?)
-- Kevin J. Cummings ComputerVision Services cummings@kjc386.framingham.ma.us cummings@primerd.cv.com