xref: /netbsd-src/lib/libc/sys/setuid.2 (revision 481fca6e59249d8ffcf24fef7cfbe7b131bfb080)
1.\"	$NetBSD: setuid.2,v 1.8 1999/12/28 02:51:17 mjl Exp $
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34.\"     @(#)setuid.2	8.1 (Berkeley) 6/4/93
35.\"
36.Dd June 4, 1993
37.Dt SETUID 2
38.Os
39.Sh NAME
40.Nm setuid ,
41.Nm seteuid ,
42.Nm setgid ,
43.Nm setegid
44.Nd set user and group ID
45.Sh LIBRARY
46.Lb libc
47.Sh SYNOPSIS
48.Fd #include <sys/types.h>
49.Fd #include <unistd.h>
50.Ft int
51.Fn setuid "uid_t uid"
52.Ft int
53.Fn seteuid "uid_t euid"
54.Ft int
55.Fn setgid "gid_t gid"
56.Ft int
57.Fn setegid "gid_t egid"
58.Sh DESCRIPTION
59The
60.Fn setuid
61function
62sets the real and effective
63user IDs and the saved set-user-ID of the current process
64to the specified value.
65The
66.Fn setuid
67function is permitted if the specified ID is equal to the real user ID
68of the process, or if the effective user ID is that of the super user.
69.Pp
70The
71.Fn setgid
72function
73sets the real and effective
74group IDs and the saved set-group-ID of the current process
75to the specified value.
76The
77.Fn setgid
78function is permitted if the specified ID is equal to the real group ID
79of the process, or if the effective user ID is that of the super user.
80.Pp
81The
82.Fn seteuid
83function
84.Pq Fn setegid
85sets the effective user ID (group ID) of the
86current process.
87The effective user ID may be set to the value
88of the real user ID or the saved set-user-ID (see
89.Xr intro 2
90and
91.Xr execve 2 ) ;
92in this way, the effective user ID of a set-user-ID executable
93may be toggled by switching to the real user ID, then re-enabled
94by reverting to the set-user-ID value.
95Similarly, the effective group ID may be set to the value
96of the real group ID or the saved set-group-ID.
97.Pp
98.Sh RETURN VALUES
99Upon success, these functions return 0;
100otherwise \-1 is returned.
101.Pp
102If the user is not the super user, or the uid
103specified is not the real, effective ID, or saved ID,
104these functions return \-1.
105.Sh SEE ALSO
106.Xr getuid 2 ,
107.Xr getgid 2
108.Sh STANDARDS
109The
110.Fn setuid
111and
112.Fn setgid
113functions are compliant with the
114.St -p1003.1-90
115specification with
116.Li _POSIX_SAVED_IDS
117not defined.
118We do not implement the
119.Li _POSIX_SAVED_IDS
120option as specified in the standard
121because this would make it impossible for a set-user-ID executable owned
122by a user other than the super-user to permanently revoke its privileges.
123.Pp
124The
125.Fn seteuid
126and
127.Fn setegid
128functions are extensions based on the
129.Tn POSIX
130concept of
131.Li _POSIX_SAVED_IDS ,
132and have been proposed for a future revision of the standard.
133They provide the same feature of toggling effective IDs as
134.Li _POSIX_SAVED_IDS ,
135but do so independent of the current effective
136ID, rather than requiring the super-user to permanently revoke its
137privileges.
138