graphical root login no longer allowed after update from KDE 4.5.0 to KDE 4.5.1

[jbehre]

Hello everybody,

after updating my KDE 4.5.0 to KDE 4.5.1 (on openSUSE 11.3) the KDM no longer allows to login graphically as root. But to login as user and doing administrative stuff via kdesu/su/sudo + root password is possible. I know that it is a security risk to fully login as root but sometimes it more convient to login once instead of starting every single action with su etc + password. I searched in Yast and also in the KDE systemsettings for an option to switch off this behaviour but I didn`t find any. Via Google I font the hint to set the variable AllowRootLogin=false to AllowRootLogin=true in the file kdmrc. Since I didn't know which kdmrc is the right one, I changed the variable in all versions I found:

/usr/share/kde4/config/kdm/kdmrc
/usr/share/kde4/config/kdm/kdmrc.rpmnew
/var/adm/kdm/kdmrc.sysconfig

Nevertheless these changes are ignored and in /var/adm/kdm/kdmrc.sysconfig AllowRootLogin=true is automatically set back to AllowRootLogin=false.

What do I have to get back the old behaviour?

Thanks in advance
J�rn Behre

[DenverD]

jbehre wrote:
> I know that it is a security risk to fully login as root

it is more than just a security risk, you should never log into
KDE/Gnome/XFCE or any other *nix-like graphical user interface desktop
environment as root..

doing so 1) opens you up to several different security problems, 2)
too many too easy ways to damage your system no matter how careful
your actions (example: just browsing in your home directory while
logged into KDE/Gnome/etc as root can lock you out later as yourself
due to permissions damage), 3) and, anyway logging into KDE/etc as
root is *never* required to do any and all administrative duties..

so, always log in as yourself, and "become root" by using a root
powered application (like YaST, File Manager Superuser Mode) or using
"su -", sudo, kdesu, or gnomesu in a terminal to launch whatever tool
is needed (like Kwrite to edit a config file)...read more on all that
here:

http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Login_as_root
http://docs.kde.org/stable/en/kdebas...uide/root.html
http://tinyurl.com/ydbwssh
http://tinyurl.com/6ry6yd

> but sometimes it more convient to login once instead of starting every
> single action with su etc + password.

yes, there are lots of things in life which are more convenient if
done the wrong, more dangerous and/or less secure way..

like, it is easier to walk across the railroad tracks than to use the
pedestrian bridge over (or tunnel under) them....but !!

my opinion is: you are lucky that since the update you can no longer
easily do it wrong.

--
DenverD
CAVEAT: http://is.gd/bpoMD [posted via NNTP w/openSUSE 10.3]

[hcvv]

I second DenverD, but I will use less words on it (he has his way of telling things and I have mine).

It is unneeded and stupid to log in as root. Triple so in a GUI. The first link in DenverD's post tells you how to do things as root.

[DenverD]

hcvv wrote:
> (he has his way of telling things and I have mine).

heh! i'm afraid to use the word "stupid" as most already think i'm too
gruff....

--
DenverD
CAVEAT: http://is.gd/bpoMD [posted via NNTP w/openSUSE 10.3]

[jbehre]

On all my former linux installations it was working to login as root and i crashed NONE of them by doing so!!
And to switch off this feature does NOT prevent me for killing my system. IF I want to do this, I can still login as user, open shell type in su + root password, and then rm -rf /
and everything would be dead !!
But since I'm a free man, I'm also free to do stupid things (IF I want to).
And therefore I want to have back the possibility to run KDE as root, independent of what security risk that represents.
If you want to remove everthing from this planet that can be misused, nothing would be left.
During the update from KDE 4.5.0 to KDE 4.5.1 somewhere an option was changed.
Is there anybody who wants to tell me, how to change that back?

J�rn Behre

[hcvv]

That is all nice and clear, but as for helping we often have to replay what you did to get any idea about what the problem is. And I refuse to do these things you do, thus I can not be of any help if you do not follow my advice given above. Also, with your habit, it is quite clear that anything can have happened to your system and even when you think the update did it, it could be quite a different thing hidden in the darkness of root misbehaviour.

[DenverD]

jbehre wrote:
> But since I'm a free man, I'm also free to do stupid things (IF I want
> to).

i have no idea why you can no longer do the stupid things you want to
do, but if you really really want to do some more, just keep searching
until you find out how..

btw, sometimes logging in as root slightly changes small system
attributes so that things that used to work, no longer do..

so, maybe by logging in as root *you* caused exactly this 'problem' of
not being able to log in as root...

and the only way i know to correct it is to begin again....enjoy your
freedom to do it as you wish, but don't expect competent help from
folks who also routinely log in as root--because they are as mystified
as you!

--
DenverD
CAVEAT: http://is.gd/bpoMD [posted via NNTP w/openSUSE 10.3]

[siny]

to: jbehre

All you have to do is select another display manager: in /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager, change
DISPLAYMANAGER="kdm"
to
DISPLAYMANAGER="xdm"
or "gdm" or "lxdm" or something else you happen to have installed



to: all the others who did not ANSWER the original question:

It is MY PC and if I want to do something with it, even if somebody else think that's stupid, I will still want to do it.
And since the Linux is all about freedom of choice, I choose to work on MY computer(s) as ROOT, as I have been doing for past 15 years (and never had any problems just because I was root).

Синиша Бандин

[gogalthorp]

You are certainly welcome to mess up your machine any way you want. But Logging into a GUI as root will hasten the problems. No one is stopping you. But when you do mess things up. You should at least understand what you did to mess it up and have a clue about how to repair it.

[Carlos E. R.]

On 2010-09-11 16:06, jbehre wrote:
>
> Hello everybody,
>
> after updating my KDE 4.5.0 to KDE 4.5.1 (on openSUSE 11.3) the KDM no
> longer allows to login graphically as root. But to login as user and
> doing administrative stuff via kdesu/su/sudo + root password is
> possible. I know that it is a security risk to fully login as root but
> sometimes it more convient to login once instead of starting every
> single action with su etc + password.

I simply start an xterm, do "su -", and then I start any root commands from there. The xterm will
not close till I say so, thus I can run as many commands as I need, as root (text or graphical).
Just remember to type an "&" after each graphical command.

> I searched in Yast and also in the
> KDE systemsettings for an option to switch off this behaviour but I
> didn`t find any. Via Google I font the hint to set the variable
> AllowRootLogin=false to AllowRootLogin=true in the file kdmrc. Since
> I didn't know which kdmrc is the right one, I changed the variable in
> all versions I found:
>
> /usr/share/kde4/config/kdm/kdmrc
> /usr/share/kde4/config/kdm/kdmrc.rpmnew

The second one is the new configuration proposed by the update. It is not active. The first one is
the active one.

Hint: Run "rcrpmconfigcheck" after any update, on a terminal (xterm, konsole, whatever). It will
list all those changed/replaced/need attention configuration files after the update, a list you
should review one by one. Manually.

If a config has changed, it should be listed there. If the update has changed some default setting,
then you will not see it.

> /var/adm/kdm/kdmrc.sysconfig

This one do not touch, it is not a config, but a backup of some sort. I can't say exactly as I don't
have kde in this system.


> Nevertheless these changes are ignored and in
> /var/adm/kdm/kdmrc.sysconfig AllowRootLogin=true is automatically set
> back to AllowRootLogin=false.

Have a look in the directory "/etc/sysconfig/", it could be there.


> What do I have to get back the old behaviour?

I suggest you have a look at log files.

--
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 "Emerald" GM (Elessar))