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# 3.3 Permissions

FreeBSD, being a direct descendant of BSD UNIX®, is based on several key UNIX concepts. The first and most pronounced is that FreeBSD is a multi-user operating system. The system can handle several users all working simultaneously on completely unrelated tasks. The system is responsible for properly sharing and managing requests for hardware devices, peripherals, memory, and CPU time fairly to each user.

Because the system is capable of supporting multiple users, everything the system manages has a set of permissions governing who can read, write, and execute the resource. These permissions are stored as three octets broken into three pieces, one for the owner of the file, one for the group that the file belongs to, and one for everyone else. This numerical representation works like this:

Value | Permission | Directory Listing
--- | --- | ---
0 | No read, no write, no execute | `---`
1 | No read, no write, execute | `--x`
2 | No read, write, no execute | `-w-`
3 | No read, write, execute | `-wx`
4 | Read, no write, no execute | `r--`
5 | Read, no write, execute | `r-x`
6 | Read, write, no execute | `rw-`
7 | Read, write, execute | `rwx`

You can use the `-l` command line argument to ls(1) to view a long directory listing that includes a column with information about a file's permissions for the owner, group, and everyone else. For example, a `ls -l` in an arbitrary directory may show:

    % ls -l
    total 530
    -rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel     512 Sep  5 12:31 myfile
    -rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel     512 Sep  5 12:31 otherfile
    -rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel    7680 Sep  5 12:31 email.txt
    ...

Here is how the first column of `ls -l` is broken up:

    -rw-r--r--

The first (leftmost) character tells if this file is a regular file, a directory, a special character device, a socket, or any other special pseudo-file device. In this case, the `-` indicates a regular file. The next three characters, `rw-` in this example, give the permissions for the owner of the file. The next three characters, `r--`, give the permissions for the group that the file belongs to. The final three characters, `r--`, give the permissions for the rest of the world. A dash means that the permission is turned off. In the case of this file, the permissions are set so the owner can read and write to the file, the group can read the file, and the rest of the world can only read the file. According to the table above, the permissions for this file would be `644`, where each digit represents the three parts of the file's permission.

This is all well and good, but how does the system control permissions on devices? FreeBSD actually treats most hardware devices as a file that programs can open, read, and write data to just like any other file. These special device files are stored on the `/dev` directory.

Directories are also treated as files. They have read, write, and execute permissions. The executable bit for a directory has a slightly different meaning than that of files. When a directory is marked executable, it means it can be traversed into, that is, it is possible to “cd” (change directory) into it. This also means that within the directory it is possible to access files whose names are known (subject, of course, to the permissions on the files themselves).

In particular, in order to perform a directory listing, read permission must be set on the directory, whilst to delete a file that one knows the name of, it is necessary to have write and execute permissions to the directory containing the file.

There are more permission bits, but they are primarily used in special circumstances such as setuid binaries and sticky directories. If you want more information on file permissions and how to set them, be sure to look at the chmod(1) manual page.

## 3.3.1 Symbolic Permissions

Contributed by Tom Rhodes.

Symbolic permissions, sometimes referred to as symbolic expressions, use characters in place of octal values to assign permissions to files or directories. Symbolic expressions use the syntax of (who) (action) (permissions), where the following values are available:

Option | Letter | Represents
--- | --- | ---
(who) | u | User
(who) | g | Group owner
(who) | o | Other
(who) | a | All (“world”)
(action) | + | Adding permissions
(action) | - | Removing permissions
(action) | = | Explicitly set permissions
(permissions) | r | Read
(permissions) | w | Write
(permissions) | x | Execute
(permissions) | t | Sticky bit
(permissions) | s | Set UID or GID

These values are used with the chmod(1) command just like before, but with letters. For an example, you could use the following command to block other users from accessing `FILE`:

    % chmod go= FILE

A comma separated list can be provided when more than one set of changes to a file must be made. For example the following command will remove the group and “world” write permission on `FILE`, then it adds the execute permissions for everyone:

    % chmod go-w,a+x FILE

## 3.3.2 FreeBSD File Flags

Contributed by Tom Rhodes.

In addition to file permissions discussed previously, FreeBSD supports the use of “file flags.” These flags add an additional level of security and control over files, but not directories.

These file flags add an additional level of control over files, helping to ensure that in some cases not even the `root` can remove or alter files.

File flags are altered by using the chflags(1) utility, using a simple interface. For example, to enable the system undeletable flag on the file `file1`, issue the following command:

    # chflags sunlink file1

And to disable the system undeletable flag, simply issue the previous command with “no” in front of the `sunlink`. Observe:

    # chflags nosunlink file1

To view the flags of this file, use the ls(1) command with the `-lo` flags:

    # ls -lo file1

The output should look like the following:

    -rw-r--r--  1 trhodes  trhodes  sunlnk 0 Mar  1 05:54 file1

Several flags may only added or removed to files by the `root` user. In other cases, the file owner may set these flags. It is recommended that administrators read over the chflags(1) and chflags(2) manual pages for more information.

## 3.3.3 The setuid, setgid, and sticky Permissions

Contributed by Tom Rhodes.

Other than the permissions already discussed, there are three other specific settings that all administrators should know about. They are the `setuid`, `setgid` and `sticky` permissions.

These settings are important for some UNIX operations as they provide functionality not normally granted to normal users. To understand them, the difference between the real user ID and effective user ID must also be noted.

The real user ID is the UID who owns or starts the process. The effective UID is the user ID the process runs as. As an example, the passwd(1) utility runs with the real user ID as the user changing their password; however, to manipulate the password database, it runs as the effective ID of the `root` user. This is what allows normal users to change their passwords without seeing a “`Permission Denied`” error.

> Note: The `nosuid` mount(8) option will cause these binaries to silently fail. That is, they will fail to execute without ever alerting the user. That option is also not completely reliable as a `nosuid` wrapper may be able to circumvent it; according to the mount(8) manual page.

The setuid permission may be set by prefixing a permission set with the number four (4) as shown in the following example:

    # chmod 4755 suidexample.sh

The permissions on the ``suidexample.sh`` file should now look like the following:

    -rwsr-xr-x   1 trhodes  trhodes    63 Aug 29 06:36 suidexample.sh

It should be noticeable from this example that an `s` is now part of the permission set designated for the file owner, replacing the executable bit. This allows utilities which need elevated permissions, such as `passwd`.

To view this in real time, open two terminals. On one, start the `passwd` process as a normal user. While it waits for a new password, check the process table and look at the user information of the `passwd` command.

In terminal A:

    Changing local password for trhodes
    Old Password:

In terminal B:

    # ps aux | grep passwd

    trhodes  5232  0.0  0.2  3420  1608   0  R+    2:10AM   0:00.00 grep passwd
    root     5211  0.0  0.2  3620  1724   2  I+    2:09AM   0:00.01 passwd

As stated above, the `passwd` is run by a normal user, but is using the effective UID of `root`.

The `setgid` permission performs the same function as the `setuid` permission; except that it alters the group settings. When an application or utility is ran with this setting, it will be granted the permissions based on the group that owns the file, not the user who started the process.

To set the `setgid` permission on a file, provide the `chmod` command with a leading two (2) as in the following example:

    # chmod 2755 sgidexample.sh

The new setting may be viewed as before, notice the `s` is now in the field designated for the group permission settings:

    -rwxr-sr-x   1 trhodes  trhodes    44 Aug 31 01:49 sgidexample.sh

> Note: In these examples, even though the shell script in question is an executable file, it will not run with a different EUID or effective user ID. This is because shell scripts may not access the setuid(2) system calls.

The first two special permission bits we discussed (the `setuid` and `setgid` permission bits) may lower system security, by allowing for elevated permissions. There is a third special permission bit that can strengthen the security of a system: the `sticky bit`.

The `sticky bit`, when set on a directory, allows file deletion only by the file owner. This permission set is useful to prevent file deletion in public directories, such as `/tmp`, by users who do not own the file. To utilize this permission, prefix the permission with a one (1). For example:

    # chmod 1777 /tmp

Now, it is possible to see the effect by using the `ls` command:

    # ls -al / | grep tmp

    drwxrwxrwt  10 root  wheel         512 Aug 31 01:49 tmp

The `sticky bit` permission is distinguishable from the `t` at the very end of the set.

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