[TriLUG] questions about /etc/passwd

[Ed Hill]

On Fri, 2002-09-13 at 12:53, Mike Mueller wrote:
> I think that some of the entries in /etc/passwd are used for authentication 
> but I haven't made the connection yet.  For example, shutdown and halt are in 
> the file but they have no executables associated with them:
> 
> find / -user shutdown -ls
> 
> But /etc/pam.d/shutdown  is evidence that authentication is being done.
> 
> Is the entry point for PAM authentication the /etc/passwd file?


Perhaps I'm missing your point, but the users "shutdown" and "halt" do
(though not in the sense that you meant earlier) have executables
associated with them.  The associated executables are the login shells:

> > shutdown:x:6:0:shutdown:/sbin:/sbin/shutdown
> > halt:x:7:0:halt:/sbin:/sbin/halt

specified by the /etc/passwd file which are "/sbin/shutdown" and
"/sbin/halt".  So if you became the user "shutdown", you would
automatically execute the /sbin/shutdown program as your "login shell".

Or am I missing something?

Ed

-- 
Edward H. Hill III, PhD 
Post-Doctoral Researcher   |  Email:  ed at eh3.com,  ehill at mines.edu
Division of ESE            |  URLs:   http://www.eh3.com
Colorado School of Mines   |    http://cesep.mines.edu/people/edhill.php
Golden, CO  80401          |  Phone:  303-273-3483    Fax: 303-273-3311
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