Chapter 19. Managing sudo access
System administrators can grant sudo
access to allow non-root users to execute administrative commands that are normally reserved for the root
user. As a result, non-root users can enter such commands without logging in to the root
user account.
19.1. User authorizations in sudoers
The /etc/sudoers
file specifies which users can run which commands using the sudo
command. The rules can apply to individual users and user groups. You can also use aliases to simplify defining rules for groups of hosts, commands, and even users. Default aliases are defined in the first part of the /etc/sudoers
file.
When a user tries to use sudo
privileges to run a command that is not allowed in the /etc/sudoers
file, the system records a message containing username : user NOT in sudoers
to the journal log.
The default /etc/sudoers
file provides information and examples of authorizations. You can activate a specific example rule by removing the #
comment character from the beginning of the line. The authorizations section relevant for user is marked with the following introduction:
## Next comes the main part: which users can run what software on ## which machines (the sudoers file can be shared between multiple ## systems).
You can use the following format to create new sudoers
authorizations and to modify existing authorizations:
username hostname=path/to/command
Where:
-
username is the name of the user or group, for example,
user1
or%group1
. - hostname is the name of the host on which the rule applies.
- path/to/command is the complete absolute path to the command. You can also limit the user to only performing a command with specific options and arguments by adding those options after the command path. If you do not specify any options, the user can use the command with all options.
You can replace any of these variables with ALL
to apply the rule to all users, hosts, or commands.
With overly permissive rules, such as ALL ALL=(ALL) ALL
, all users are able to run all commands as all users on all hosts. This can lead to security risks.
You can specify the arguments negatively using the !
operator. For example, use !root
to specify all users except the root
user. Note that using the allowlists to allow specific users, groups, and commands, is more secure than using the blocklists to disallowing specific users, groups, and commands. By using the allowlists you also block new unauthorized users or groups.
Avoid using negative rules for commands because users can overcome such rules by renaming commands using the alias
command.
The system reads the /etc/sudoers
file from beginning to end. Therefore, if the file contains multiple entries for a user, the entries are applied in order. In case of conflicting values, the system uses the last match, even if it is not the most specific match.
The preferred way of adding new rules to sudoers
is by creating new files in the /etc/sudoers.d/
directory instead of entering rules directly to the /etc/sudoers
file. This is because the contents of this directory are preserved during system updates. In addition, it is easier to fix any errors in the separate files than in the /etc/sudoers
file. The system reads the files in the /etc/sudoers.d
directory when it reaches the following line in the /etc/sudoers
file:
#includedir /etc/sudoers.d
Note that the number sign #
at the beginning of this line is part of the syntax and does not mean the line is a comment. The names of files in that directory must not contain a period .
and must not end with a tilde ~
.
Additional resources
-
sudo(8)
andsudoers(5)
man pages
19.2. Granting sudo access to a user
System administrators can grant sudo
access to allow non-root users to execute administrative commands. The sudo
command provides users with administrative access without using the password of the root
user.
When users need to perform an administrative command, they can precede that command with sudo
. The command is then executed as if they were the root
user.
Be aware of the following limitations:
-
Only users listed in the
/etc/sudoers
configuration file can use thesudo
command. -
The command is executed in the shell of the user, not in the
root
shell.
Prerequisites
-
root
access
Procedure
As root, open the
/etc/sudoers
file.# visudo
The
/etc/sudoers
file defines the policies applied by thesudo
command.In the
/etc/sudoers
file, find the lines that grantsudo
access to users in the administrativewheel
group.## Allows people in group wheel to run all commands %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL
-
Make sure the line that starts with
%wheel
does not have the#
comment character before it. - Save any changes, and exit the editor.
Add users you want to grant
sudo
access to into the administrativewheel
group.# usermod --append -G wheel <username>
Replace <username> with the name of the user.
Verification steps
Verify that the user is added to the administrative
wheel
group:# id <username> uid=5000(<username>) gid=5000(<username>) groups=5000(<username>),10(wheel)
Additional resources
-
sudo(8)
,visudo(8)
, andsudoers(5)
man pages
19.3. Enabling unprivileged users to run certain commands
As an administrator, you can allow unprivileged users to enter certain commands on specific workstations by configuring a policy in the /etc/sudoers.d/
directory.
For example, you can enable the user <example.user> to install programs on the host.example.com
workstation using the dnf
command with sudo
privileges.
Prerequisites
-
You must have
root
access to the system.
Procedure
As
root
, create a newsudoers.d
directory under/etc/
:# mkdir -p /etc/sudoers.d/
Create a new file in the
/etc/sudoers.d
directory:# visudo -f /etc/sudoers.d/<example.user>
The file opens automatically.
Add the following line to the
/etc/sudoers.d/<example.user>
file:<example.user> <host.example.com> = /usr/bin/dnf
To allow two and more commands on the same host on one line, you can list them separated by a
,
comma followed by a space.Optional: To receive email notifications every time the user <example.user> attempts to use
sudo
privileges, add the following lines to the file:Defaults mail_always Defaults mailto="<email@example.com>"
- Save the changes, and exit the editor.
Verification
To verify if the user <example.user> can run the
dnf
command withsudo
privileges, switch the account:# su <example.user> -
Enter the
sudo dnf
command:$ sudo dnf [sudo] password for <example.user>:
Enter the
sudo
password for the user <example.user>.The system displays the list of
dnf
commands and options:... usage: dnf [options] COMMAND ...
If the system returns the
<example.user> is not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported
error message, you have not created the file for <example.user> in/etc/sudoers.d/
.If you receive the
<example.user> is not allowed to run sudo on <host.example.com>
error message, you have not completed the configuration correctly. Ensure that you are logged in asroot
and that you followed the steps thoroughly.
Additional resources
-
sudo(8)
,visudo(8)
, andsudoers(5)
man pages