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authorJim Meyering <jim@meyering.net>2003-07-13 08:15:11 +0000
committerJim Meyering <jim@meyering.net>2003-07-13 08:15:11 +0000
commitfad1b46e08d16135bde8bd6f963aa548b92a5fe3 (patch)
treedead0aa0db571168307bd231296a761a741ab666 /doc
parent32a2c6f6d9d6d59b7414c7e9179180d2df79f7f4 (diff)
downloadcoreutils-fad1b46e08d16135bde8bd6f963aa548b92a5fe3.tar.xz
(chown invocation): Warn that chown
now clears set-user-ID and set-group-ID bits on some systems.
Diffstat (limited to 'doc')
-rw-r--r--doc/coreutils.texi12
1 files changed, 12 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/doc/coreutils.texi b/doc/coreutils.texi
index eef61a7d2..407adf3bd 100644
--- a/doc/coreutils.texi
+++ b/doc/coreutils.texi
@@ -7522,6 +7522,18 @@ but you may be able to work around the compatibility problems by setting
New scripts should avoid the use of @samp{.} because @sc{gnu} @command{chown}
may fail if @var{owner} contains @samp{.} characters.
+Warning: The @command{chown} command may clear the set-user-ID or
+set-group-ID bits on some systems. The @command{chown} command is
+dependent upon the policy and functionality of the underlying system
+which may make system-dependent file mode modifications outside the
+control of the @command{chown} command. On some systems (e.g., Linux)
+the @command{chown} command clears the set-UID and set-GID bits because
+the underlying system @function{chown} function clears them. On other
+systems (e.g., HP-UX and Solaris) the @command{chown} command does not
+affect those bits when operated as the superuser. On systems which allow
+non-privileged use of chown those bits are always cleared by the system.
+When in doubt, check the underlying system behavior.
+
The program accepts the following options. Also see @ref{Common options}.
@table @samp