Hi,

How, if you can, do you reject a login request if the home directory
entry /etc/passwd is invalid?

In article <435ab01b$0$23286$db0fefd9@news.zen.co.uk>,
Pigpenn <zen25686@zen.co.uk> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> How, if you can, do you reject a login request if the home directory
> entry /etc/passwd is invalid?

Well, login will assign / as the home directory if the one in
/etc/passwd isn't found. I suppose you could put a .login file (or
whatever the shell account uses), but you'll notice that root's default
directory is intentionally set to /. Unless the user's shell is sh,
there shouldn't be a problem with collision, but I'd put code in
..profile to check if the account login in is not root, then logout.

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In article <vilain-1F8D59.08214123102005@comcast.dca.giganews.com>,
Michael Vilain <vilain@spamcop.net> writes:
> In article <435ab01b$0$23286$db0fefd9@news.zen.co.uk>,
> Pigpenn <zen25686@zen.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> How, if you can, do you reject a login request if the home directory
>> entry /etc/passwd is invalid?
>
> Well, login will assign / as the home directory if the one in
> /etc/passwd isn't found. I suppose you could put a .login file (or
> whatever the shell account uses), but you'll notice that root's default
> directory is intentionally set to /. Unless the user's shell is sh,
> there shouldn't be a problem with collision, but I'd put code in
> .profile to check if the account login in is not root, then logout.
>

Just think twice about doing anything like that together with having
CONSOLE= set in /etc/default/login if it could get you into a situation
where it wouldn't let you log in as a normal user (if an NFS server was
down, say) and it wouldn't let you log in as root either.

--
mailto:rlhamil@smart.net http://www.smart.net/~rlhamil

Lasik/PRK theme music:
"In the Hall of the Mountain King", from "Peer Gynt"

In article <11lopqfrk9m2695@corp.supernews.com>,
Richard.L.Hamilton@mindwarp.smart.net (Richard L. Hamilton) wrote:

> In article <vilain-1F8D59.08214123102005@comcast.dca.giganews.com>,
> Michael Vilain <vilain@spamcop.net> writes:
> > In article <435ab01b$0$23286$db0fefd9@news.zen.co.uk>,
> > Pigpenn <zen25686@zen.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> >> Hi,
> >>
> >> How, if you can, do you reject a login request if the home directory
> >> entry /etc/passwd is invalid?
> >
> > Well, login will assign / as the home directory if the one in
> > /etc/passwd isn't found. I suppose you could put a .login file (or
> > whatever the shell account uses), but you'll notice that root's default
> > directory is intentionally set to /. Unless the user's shell is sh,
> > there shouldn't be a problem with collision, but I'd put code in
> > .profile to check if the account login in is not root, then logout.
> >
>
> Just think twice about doing anything like that together with having
> CONSOLE= set in /etc/default/login if it could get you into a situation
> where it wouldn't let you log in as a normal user (if an NFS server was
> down, say) and it wouldn't let you log in as root either.

Yes, but I would guess that anyone asking for a .45 isn't going to point
it at their big toe and pull the trigger without first checking that
it's not loaded and there's no shell in the chamber. I'm all for
allowing newbies to hang or shoot themselves if they try and do
something stupid (like what the OP requested).

[yes, the evil queen is in residence this evening]

--
DeeDee, don't press that button! DeeDee! NO! Dee...