Thread: Read only shell for root user

Hi Everyone

I need to give a non-expert user root level access to all files on a bunch of live CentOS servers but only in a read only mode (long story which I won't go into here).

The existing permission scheme on these servers is less than ideal (inherited issues with custom software) so I'm trying to think of a way I can service this request without screwing with the existing permissions too much/at all.

My first thought was to see if there's a read only shell available. A quick Google throws up ROSH on syslinux and not much else.

I think ksh might have a restricted mode I can use as an alternative, but need to look at this in more detail.

I'm just wondering if anyone here has had to effectively create a read only root-level user, and if so how did you achieve that?

Or does anyone have any recommendations for a read only shell, or a shell with an appropriate restricted mode for this which is quick to setup?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Chris

Short answer not possible. Any user with UID zero is root and has full access/power to the system. However, complex SELinux configuration can be deployed which can restrict other users including root users.