- Issued:
- 2011-02-15
- Updated:
- 2011-02-15
RHBA-2011:0221 - system-config-users bug fix update
Synopsis
system-config-users bug fix update
Type/Severity
Bug Fix Advisory
Topic
An updated system-config-users package that fixes a bug that caused new user creation to fail in some circumstances is now available.
Description
system-config-users is a graphical utility for administrating users and groups. It depends on the libuser library.
This update addresses the following issue:
- When creating users, or more specifically their home directories, system-config-users relied on the access() system call to check if a directory was writable (and, consequently, whether a new home directory could be created in the requested location).
The access() system call returns reliable information for POSIX-compliant (or mostly POSIX-compliant) file-systems only. In some cases, therefore, relying on the information returned by access() could result in user creation failing.
If, for example, system-config-users was directed to create a user with a home folder in a directory managed by an auto-mounter (such as /net), access() returned inaccurate information and user creation subsequently failed.
With this update, system-config-users no longer relies on access(), or other operating system functions, in such cases: it now attempts to create the home directory and checks whether it has succeeded in doing so.
As well, if the chosen location is not writable, system-config-users returns an alert to this effect and requests 'a writable location' be chosen rather than simply writing errors to the terminal and failing. (BZ#672822)
Users should upgrade to this updated package, which resolves this issue.
Solution
Before applying this update, make sure all previously-released errata relevant to your system have been applied.
This update is available via the Red Hat Network. Details on how to use the Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at This content is not included.http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/docs/DOC-11259
Affected Products
| Product | Version | Arch |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Scientific Computing | 6 | x86_64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian | 6 | ppc64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems | 6 | s390x |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation | 6 | x86_64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation | 6 | i386 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server | 6 | x86_64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server | 6 | i386 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI | 6 | x86_64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI | 6 | i386 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support | 6 | x86_64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support | 6 | i386 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension | 6 | x86_64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension | 6 | i386 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension (for IBM z Systems) | 6 | s390x |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support (for IBM z Systems) | 6 | s390x |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop | 6 | x86_64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop | 6 | i386 |
Updated Packages
- system-config-users-1.2.104-1.el6_0.3.noarch.rpm
- system-config-users-1.2.104-1.el6_0.3.src.rpm
Fixes
(none)
CVEs
(none)
References
(none)
Additional information
- The Red Hat security contact is This content is not included.secalert@redhat.com. More contact details at https://access.redhat.com/security/team/contact/.
- Offline Security Data data is available for integration with other systems. See Offline Security Data API to get started.