Ubuntu Manpage: ksu - Kerberized super-user

NAME

       ksu - Kerberized super-user

SYNOPSIS

       ksu [ target_user ] [ -n target_principal_name ] [ -c source_cache_name ] [ -k ] [ -r time
       ] [ -p | -P] [ -f | -F] [ -l lifetime ] [ -z | Z ] [ -q ] [ -e command [ args ...  ]  ]  [
       -a [ args ...  ] ]

REQUIREMENTS

       Must  have  Kerberos  version  5 installed to compile ksu.  Must have a Kerberos version 5
       server running to use ksu.

DESCRIPTION

       ksu is a Kerberized version of the su program that has two missions: one  is  to  securely
       change  the  real  and  effective  user ID to that of the target user, and the other is to
       create a new security context.

       NOTE:
          For the sake of clarity, all references to and attributes  of  the  user  invoking  the
          program will start with "source" (e.g., "source user", "source cache", etc.).

          Likewise,  all  references  to  and  attributes  of  the target account will start with
          "target".

AUTHENTICATION

       To  fulfill  the  first  mission,  ksu  operates  in  two   phases:   authentication   and
       authorization.   Resolving  the target principal name is the first step in authentication.
       The  user  can  either  specify  his  principal  name  with  the  -n  option   (e.g.,   -n
       jqpublic@USC.EDU) or a default principal name will be assigned using a heuristic described
       in the OPTIONS section (see -n option).  The target user name must be the  first  argument
       to ksu; if not specified root is the default.  If . is specified then the target user will
       be the source user (e.g., ksu .).  If the source user is root or the target  user  is  the
       source  user, no authentication or authorization takes place.  Otherwise, ksu looks for an
       appropriate Kerberos ticket in the source cache.

       The ticket can either be for the end-server or a ticket  granting  ticket  (TGT)  for  the
       target  principal's realm.  If the ticket for the end-server is already in the cache, it's
       decrypted and verified.  If it's not in the cache but the TGT  is,  the  TGT  is  used  to
       obtain the ticket for the end-server.  The end-server ticket is then verified.  If neither
       ticket is in the cache, but ksu is compiled with the GET_TGT_VIA_PASSWD define,  the  user
       will  be  prompted  for  a Kerberos password which will then be used to get a TGT.  If the
       user is logged in remotely and does not  have  a  secure  channel,  the  password  may  be
       exposed.   If  neither  ticket  is  in  the  cache  and GET_TGT_VIA_PASSWD is not defined,
       authentication fails.

AUTHORIZATION

This section describes authorization of the source user when ksu is invoked without the -e
option. For a description of the -e option, see the OPTIONS section.

Upon successful authentication, ksu checks whether the target principal is authorized to
access the target account. In the target user's home directory, ksu attempts to access
two authorization files: .k5login(5) and .k5users. In the .k5login file each line
contains the name of a principal that is authorized to access the account.

For example:

jqpublic@USC.EDU
jqpublic/secure@USC.EDU
jqpublic/admin@USC.EDU

The format of .k5users is the same, except the principal name may be followed by a list of
commands that the principal is authorized to execute (see the -e option in the OPTIONS
section for details).

Thus if the target principal name is found in the .k5login file the source user is
authorized to access the target account. Otherwise ksu looks in the .k5users file. If
the target principal name is found without any trailing commands or followed only by *
then the source user is authorized. If either .k5login or .k5users exist but an
appropriate entry for the target principal does not exist then access is denied. If
neither file exists then the principal will be granted access to the account according to
the aname->lname mapping rules. Otherwise, authorization fails.

EXECUTION OF THE TARGET SHELL

       Upon successful authentication and authorization, ksu proceeds in a similar fashion to su.
       The  environment  is  unmodified with the exception of USER, HOME and SHELL variables.  If
       the target user is not root, USER gets set  to  the  target  user  name.   Otherwise  USER
       remains  unchanged.  Both HOME and SHELL are set to the target login's default values.  In
       addition, the environment variable KRB5CCNAME gets set to the name of  the  target  cache.
       The  real and effective user ID are changed to that of the target user.  The target user's
       shell is then  invoked  (the  shell  name  is  specified  in  the  password  file).   Upon
       termination  of the shell, ksu deletes the target cache (unless ksu is invoked with the -k
       option).  This is implemented by first doing a fork and then  an  exec,  instead  of  just
       exec, as done by su.

CREATING A NEW SECURITY CONTEXT

ksu can be used to create a new security context for the target program (either the target
shell, or command specified via the -e option). The target program inherits a set of
credentials from the source user. By default, this set includes all of the credentials in
the source cache plus any additional credentials obtained during authentication. The
source user is able to limit the credentials in this set by using -z or -Z option. -z
restricts the copy of tickets from the source cache to the target cache to only the
tickets where client == the target principal name. The -Z option provides the target user
with a fresh target cache (no creds in the cache). Note that for security reasons, when
the source user is root and target user is non-root, -z option is the default mode of
operation.

While no authentication takes place if the source user is root or is the same as the
target user, additional tickets can still be obtained for the target cache. If -n is
specified and no credentials can be copied to the target cache, the source user is
prompted for a Kerberos password (unless -Z specified or GET_TGT_VIA_PASSWD is undefined).
If successful, a TGT is obtained from the Kerberos server and stored in the target cache.
Otherwise, if a password is not provided (user hit return) ksu continues in a normal mode
of operation (the target cache will not contain the desired TGT). If the wrong password
is typed in, ksu fails.

NOTE:
During authentication, only the tickets that could be obtained without providing a
password are cached in the source cache.

OPTIONS

-n target_principal_name
Specify a Kerberos target principal name. Used in authentication and authorization
phases of ksu.

If ksu is invoked without -n, a default principal name is assigned via the
following heuristic:

• Case 1: source user is non-root.

If the target user is the source user the default principal name is set to the
default principal of the source cache. If the cache does not exist then the
default principal name is set to target_user@local_realm. If the source and
target users are different and neither ~target_user/.k5users nor
~target_user/.k5login exist then the default principal name is
target_user_login_name@local_realm. Otherwise, starting with the first principal
listed below, ksu checks if the principal is authorized to access the target
account and whether there is a legitimate ticket for that principal in the source
cache. If both conditions are met that principal becomes the default target
principal, otherwise go to the next principal.

a. default principal of the source cache

b. target_user@local_realm

c. source_user@local_realm

If a-c fails try any principal for which there is a ticket in the source cache
and that is authorized to access the target account. If that fails select the
first principal that is authorized to access the target account from the above
list. If none are authorized and ksu is configured with PRINC_LOOK_AHEAD turned
on, select the default principal as follows:

For each candidate in the above list, select an authorized principal that has the
same realm name and first part of the principal name equal to the prefix of the
candidate. For example if candidate a) is jqpublic@ISI.EDU and
jqpublic/secure@ISI.EDU is authorized to access the target account then the
default principal is set to jqpublic/secure@ISI.EDU.

• Case 2: source user is root.

If the target user is non-root then the default principal name is
target_user@local_realm. Else, if the source cache exists the default principal
name is set to the default principal of the source cache. If the source cache
does not exist, default principal name is set to root\@local_realm.

-c source_cache_name
Specify source cache name (e.g., -c FILE:/tmp/my_cache). If -c option is not used then
the name is obtained from KRB5CCNAME environment variable. If KRB5CCNAME is not
defined the source cache name is set to krb5cc_<source uid>. The target cache name is
automatically set to krb5cc_<target uid>.(gen_sym()), where gen_sym generates a new
number such that the resulting cache does not already exist. For example:

krb5cc_1984.2

-k Do not delete the target cache upon termination of the target shell or a command
(-e command). Without -k, ksu deletes the target cache.

-z Restrict the copy of tickets from the source cache to the target cache to only the
tickets where client == the target principal name. Use the -n option if you want
the tickets for other then the default principal. Note that the -z option is
mutually exclusive with the -Z option.

-Z Don't copy any tickets from the source cache to the target cache. Just create a
fresh target cache, where the default principal name of the cache is initialized to
the target principal name. Note that the -Z option is mutually exclusive with the
-z option.

-q Suppress the printing of status messages.

Ticket granting ticket options:

-l lifetime -r time -p -P -f -F
The ticket granting ticket options only apply to the case where there are no
appropriate tickets in the cache to authenticate the source user. In this case if
ksu is configured to prompt users for a Kerberos password (GET_TGT_VIA_PASSWD is
defined), the ticket granting ticket options that are specified will be used when
getting a ticket granting ticket from the Kerberos server.

-l lifetime
(duration string.) Specifies the lifetime to be requested for the ticket; if this
option is not specified, the default ticket lifetime (12 hours) is used instead.

-r time
(duration string.) Specifies that the renewable option should be requested for the
ticket, and specifies the desired total lifetime of the ticket.

-p specifies that the proxiable option should be requested for the ticket.

-P specifies that the proxiable option should not be requested for the ticket, even if
the default configuration is to ask for proxiable tickets.

-f option specifies that the forwardable option should be requested for the ticket.

-F option specifies that the forwardable option should not be requested for the
ticket, even if the default configuration is to ask for forwardable tickets.

-e command [args ...]
ksu proceeds exactly the same as if it was invoked without the -e option, except
instead of executing the target shell, ksu executes the specified command. Example
of usage:

ksu bob -e ls -lag

The authorization algorithm for -e is as follows:

If the source user is root or source user == target user, no authorization takes
place and the command is executed. If source user id != 0, and
~target_user/.k5users file does not exist, authorization fails. Otherwise,
~target_user/.k5users file must have an appropriate entry for target principal to
get authorized.

The .k5users file format:

A single principal entry on each line that may be followed by a list of commands
that the principal is authorized to execute. A principal name followed by a *
means that the user is authorized to execute any command. Thus, in the following
example:

jqpublic@USC.EDU ls mail /local/kerberos/klist
jqpublic/secure@USC.EDU *
jqpublic/admin@USC.EDU

jqpublic@USC.EDU is only authorized to execute ls, mail and klist commands.
jqpublic/secure@USC.EDU is authorized to execute any command.
jqpublic/admin@USC.EDU is not authorized to execute any command. Note, that
jqpublic/admin@USC.EDU is authorized to execute the target shell (regular ksu,
without the -e option) but jqpublic@USC.EDU is not.

The commands listed after the principal name must be either a full path names or
just the program name. In the second case, CMD_PATH specifying the location of
authorized programs must be defined at the compilation time of ksu. Which command
gets executed?

If the source user is root or the target user is the source user or the user is
authorized to execute any command (* entry) then command can be either a full or a
relative path leading to the target program. Otherwise, the user must specify
either a full path or just the program name.

-a args
Specify arguments to be passed to the target shell. Note that all flags and
parameters following -a will be passed to the shell, thus all options intended for
ksu must precede -a.

The -a option can be used to simulate the -e option if used as follows:

-a -c [command [arguments]].

-c is interpreted by the c-shell to execute the command.

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

ksu can be compiled with the following four flags:

GET_TGT_VIA_PASSWD
In case no appropriate tickets are found in the source cache, the user will be
prompted for a Kerberos password. The password is then used to get a ticket
granting ticket from the Kerberos server. The danger of configuring ksu with this
macro is if the source user is logged in remotely and does not have a secure
channel, the password may get exposed.

PRINC_LOOK_AHEAD
During the resolution of the default principal name, PRINC_LOOK_AHEAD enables ksu
to find principal names in the .k5users file as described in the OPTIONS section
(see -n option).

CMD_PATH
Specifies a list of directories containing programs that users are authorized to
execute (via .k5users file).

HAVE_GETUSERSHELL
If the source user is non-root, ksu insists that the target user's shell to be
invoked is a "legal shell". getusershell(3) is called to obtain the names of
"legal shells". Note that the target user's shell is obtained from the passwd
file.

Sample configuration:

KSU_OPTS = -DGET_TGT_VIA_PASSWD -DPRINC_LOOK_AHEAD -DCMD_PATH='"/bin /usr/ucb /local/bin"

ksu should be owned by root and have the set user id bit turned on.

ksu attempts to get a ticket for the end server just as Kerberized telnet and rlogin.
Thus, there must be an entry for the server in the Kerberos database (e.g.,
host/nii.isi.edu@ISI.EDU). The keytab file must be in an appropriate location.

SIDE EFFECTS

       ksu deletes all expired tickets from the source cache.

AUTHOR OF KSU

       GENNADY (ARI) MEDVINSKY

ENVIRONMENT

       See kerberos(7) for a description of Kerberos environment variables.

AUTHOR

MIT

COPYRIGHT

       1985-2022, MIT