Subject: Re: bin/32903: utmp remains empty
To: None <gnats-admin@netbsd.org, netbsd-bugs@netbsd.org,>
From: Christos Zoulas <christos@zoulas.com>
List: netbsd-bugs
Date: 02/25/2006 17:10:03
The following reply was made to PR bin/32903; it has been noted by GNATS.

From: christos@zoulas.com (Christos Zoulas)
To: gnats-bugs@netbsd.org, gnats-admin@netbsd.org,
	netbsd-bugs@netbsd.org, i18rabbit@cwazy.co.uk
Cc: 
Subject: Re: bin/32903: utmp remains empty
Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2006 12:08:16 -0500

 On Feb 25,  9:05am, i18rabbit@cwazy.co.uk (i18rabbit@cwazy.co.uk) wrote:
 -- Subject: Re: bin/32903: utmp remains empty
 
 | The following reply was made to PR bin/32903; it has been noted by GNATS.
 | 
 | From: i18rabbit@cwazy.co.uk
 | To: gnats-bugs@netbsd.org
 | Cc: 
 | Subject: Re: bin/32903: utmp remains empty
 | Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2006 09:06:00 GMT
 | 
 |  >  >  login(1) is run with root privileges.
 |  >  >  if it wants to write to a file, it can
 |  >  >  do so.  the problem is that it is not
 |  >  >  writing to the utmp file as it should.
 |  >  >  it would seem to me the problem is with
 |  >  >  the login source code - maybe it wasn't
 |  >  >  compiled with a "UTMP" preprocessor
 |  >  >  variable defined or something.  i don't
 |  >  >  see how it has anything to do with groups
 |  >  >  or permissions - this solution seems like
 |  >  >  a wild goose chase. ?
 |  > 
 |  >  login drops its root privileges after you log in. And it seems to me that
 |  >  if utmp entries are created for everyone except you, the problem must not
 |  >  be in the login source code.
 |  
 |  utmp entries are created by ssh logins and reboots/shutdowns,
 |  but not for *any* console or telnet logins.  this is the problem.
 |  
 |  >  You still haven't answered why your system didn't have a "utmp" group,
 |  >  and why your file permissions were incorrect.
 |  
 |  because i maintain several BSD systems, and i have
 |  a stripped custom /etc directory that i use for
 |  all of them; for ease of set-up and maintenance.
 |  
 |  > Seeing that NetBSD has come with a utmp group for over a decade, the fact
 |  > that you didn't have one points to a problem in your install. Maybe the
 |  > incorrect permissions are unrelated, but you should look at your install
 |  > first, not the source code. If not permissions, maybe your pam configuration
 |  > is messed up (pam_lastlog.so not being used).
 |  
 |  reboots+shutdowns and sshd make correct utmp entries.
 |  login and telnetd do not.  i would like to know if
 |  there is a "manual" test i can do to isolate
 |  the problem.
 
 For login and telnet logging is done by the pam_lastlog module. It syslogs
 on error. Pam lastlog cannot fail because /etc/pam.d/system contains:
 
 session         required        pam_lastlog.so          no_fail no_nested
 
 If you take out the no_fail, then you might not be able to login anymore,
 but at least you'll know it is failing. Do you have
 
 /usr/lib/security/pam_lastlog.so.0?
 
 christos