Sudo trick I ran across

[securitybreach]

I just ran across this neat tip that shows password feedback when you are typing your password with sudo. Here is an example of what I am talking about:

 

 

 

All you have to do is add this to your /etc/sudeors

 

Defaults pwfeedback

 

After you hit enter and become root, the dots disappear.

[sunrat]

Doesn't work. I don't see your password. 

 

I have a super secure 4 character password so don't need to see it as it's easy to remember.

[saturnian]

On 2/25/2021 at 10:17 PM, sunrat said:

Doesn't work. I don't see your password. 

 

LOL!

 

I tested it here. Should there be a reminder for people to use visudo to edit the /etc/sudoers file?

Edited March 11, 2021 by saturnian
typo

[securitybreach]

5 hours ago, saturnian said:

 

LOL!

 

I tested it here. Should there be a reminder for people to use visudo to edit the /etc/soudoers file?

 

You know, I have heard many times but can't remember the reason why. I can easily just sudo vim /etc/sudoers.

[securitybreach]

Visudo checks the syntax before overwriting the file. So if you know the syntax, there isnt really a need to do it that way.

 

Quote

visudo checks the file syntax before actually overwriting the sudoers file.

If you use a plain editor, mess up the syntax, and save... sudo will (probably) stop working, and, since /etc/sudoers is only modifiable by root, you're stuck (unless you have another way of gaining root).

Additionally it ensures that the edits will be one atomic operation. This locking is important if you need to ensure nobody else can mess up your carefully considered config changes. For editing other files as root besides /etc/sudoers there is the sudoedit command which also guard against such editing conflicts.

 

https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/27594/why-do-we-need-to-use-visudo-instead-of-directly-modifying-the-sudoers-file#27595

[securitybreach]

That and I can always get back into an installation using a liveusb and chroot

[securitybreach]

7 hours ago, sunrat said:

Doesn't work. I don't see your password. 

 

I have a super secure 4 character password so don't need to see it as it's easy to remember.

 

 

4? I use a minimum of 16 characters for my user accounts. I used to then use a yubikey (in conjunction with PAM) to enable 2FA for my login. I still use the yubikeys, just not for my computer login.  https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/YubiKey

[saturnian]

securitybreach, I'm thinking that the piece you quoted (about visudo) should be enough to let anyone reading this thread know that it's important to be careful when editing that file. Myself, I use visudo anyway. Even though I never make mistakes. Ha-ha. By the way, until this came up, I had forgetten that I'd changed the text editor visudo uses on this system to nano.

[sunrat]

10 hours ago, securitybreach said:

 

 

4? I use a minimum of 16 characters for my user accounts.

 

I use much stronger passwords for banking and stuff like that, and there is no trace of them on my computer.

[securitybreach]

1 hour ago, sunrat said:

 

I use much stronger passwords for banking and stuff like that, and there is no trace of them on my computer.

 

Those are generated using an opensource password manager that I unlock with my yubikey.

[sunrat]

I just remember mine. 

 

[securitybreach]

Diceware

[saturnian]

This also works for password feedback:

 

Change:

 

Defaults                 env_reset

 

To:

 

Defaults                 env_reset,pwfeedback

 

https://www.howtogeek.com/194010/HOW-TO-MAKE-PASSWORD-ASTERISKS-VISIBLE-IN-THE-TERMINAL-WINDOW-IN-LINUX/

[abarbarian]

On 2/27/2021 at 4:52 AM, securitybreach said:

Diceware

 

Ah ha a differ dice life to the one I was thinking of.

 

Your post threw me back in time and brought up memories of this book I read in the 70's.

 

The Dice Man (Paperback) Luke Rhinehart (author)

 

The book itself was nothing really special but the concept of living life on the throw of a dice was cool man. So a group of us tried to live full time by rolling dice for a while.

We were three couples and were living in a communal squat and every day when we woke up we had breakfast/brunch/lunch whatever along with a couple of spliffs. Then each of us wrote what we wanted to do next on a scrap of paper and then we rolled a dice to see who's choice we would follow.We kept to this regime for as far as I can remember for a couple of months. It was certainly a very strange way of living and we ended up having some very strange experiences. Ah those were the days , full of peace and love and pharmaceuticals.

[securitybreach]

Nice idea