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Configuring Telnet/FTP to login as root (Linux)

by Jeff Hunter, Sr. Database Administrator

Contents

1. Red Hat Enterprise Linux: RHEL3 / RHEL4

2. Red Hat (Fedora Core 1 / Core 2)

3. Red Hat (Release 7.x - 8.x)

Red Hat Enterprise Linux: RHEL3 / RHEL4

Enabling Telnet and FTP Services

Linux is configured to run the Telnet and FTP server, but by default, these

services are not enabled. To enable the telnet service, login to the server as

the root user account and run the following commands:

# chkconfig telnet on# service xinetd reloadReloading configuration: [ OK ]

Starting with the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 release (and in CentOS

Enterprise Linux), the FTP server(wu-ftpd) is no longer available withxinetd. It has been replaced withvsftp and can be started from

/etc/init.d/vsftpd as in the following:

# /etc/init.d/vsftpd startStarting vsftpd for vsftpd: [ OK ]

If you want the vsftpd service to start and stop when recycling (rebooting)

the machine, you can create the following symbolic links:

# ln -s /etc/init.d/vsftpd /etc/rc3.d/S56vsftpd# ln -s /etc/init.d/vsftpd /etc/rc4.d/S56vsftpd

# ln -s /etc/init.d/vsftpd /etc/rc5.d/S56vsftpd

Allowing Root Logins to Telnet and FTP Services

Now before getting into the details of how to configure Red Hat Linux for

root logins, keep in mind that this is VERY BAD security. Make sure that

you NEVER configure your production servers for this type of login.

Configure Telnet for root logins

Simply edit the file /etc/securetty and add the following to the end of

the file:

http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Unix/Linux/#Red%20Hat%20(RHEL3%20/%20RHEL4)http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Unix/Linux/#Red%20Hat%20(RHEL3%20/%20RHEL4)http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Unix/Linux/#Red%20Hat%20(Fedora%20Core%201%20/%20Core%202)http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Unix/Linux/#Red%20Hat%20(Fedora%20Core%201%20/%20Core%202)http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Unix/Linux/#Red%20Hat%20(Release%207.x%20-%208.x)http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Unix/Linux/#Red%20Hat%20(Release%207.x%20-%208.x)http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Unix/Linux/#Red%20Hat%20(RHEL3%20/%20RHEL4)http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Unix/Linux/#Red%20Hat%20(Fedora%20Core%201%20/%20Core%202)http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Unix/Linux/#Red%20Hat%20(Release%207.x%20-%208.x)

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pts/0pts/1pts/2pts/3pts/4pts/5

pts/6pts/7pts/8pts/9

This will allow up to 10 telnet sessions to the server as root.

Configure FTP for root logins

Edit the files /etc/vsftpd.ftpusers and /etc/vsftpd.user_listand

remove the 'root' line from each file.

Red Hat (Fedora Core 1 / Core 2)

Enabling Telnet and FTP Services

Linux is configured to run the Telnet and FTP server, but by default, these

services are not enabled. To enable the telnet these service, login to the

server as the root userid and edit the files:

/etc/xinetd.d/telnet

In this file, find the line fordisable and change it from the value "yes" to

"no".

After changing the above value(s), you will need to restart the xinetd

deamon. As the root userid, type the following command:

% /etc/init.d/xinetd reload

Starting with the Fedora Core 1 release, the FTP server(wu-ftpd) is nolonger available with xinetd. It has been replaced withvsftp and can be

started from /etc/init.d/vsftpd as in the following:

# /etc/init.d/vsftpd start

If you want the vsftpd service to start and stop when recycling the

machine, you can create the following symbolic links:

# ln -s /etc/init.d/vsftpd /etc/rc3.d/S56vsftpd# ln -s /etc/init.d/vsftpd /etc/rc4.d/S56vsftpd

# ln -s /etc/init.d/vsftpd /etc/rc5.d/S56vsftpd

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Allowing Root Logins to Telnet and FTP Services

Now before getting into the details of how to configure Red Hat Linux for

root logins, keep in mind that this is VERY BAD security. Make sure that

you NEVER configure your production servers for this type of login.

Configure Telnet for root logins

Simply edit the file /etc/securetty and add the following to the end of

the file:

pts/0pts/1pts/2pts/3pts/4pts/5

pts/6pts/7pts/8pts/9

This will allow up to 10 telnet sessions to the server as root.

Configure FTP for root logins

Edit the files /etc/vsftpd.ftpusers and /etc/vsftpd.user_listand

remove the 'root' line from each file.

Red Hat (Release 7.x - 8.x)

Enabling Telnet and FTP Services

Linux is configured to run the Telnet and FTP server, but by default, these

services are not enabled. To enable these services, login to the server as the

root userid and edit the files:

/etc/xinetd.d/telnet

/etc/xinetd.d/wu-ftpd

In both files, find the line fordisable and change it from the value "yes" to

"no".

After changing the above values, you will need to restart the xinetd

deamon. As the root userid, type the following command:

% /etc/init.d/xinetd reload

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Allowing Root Logins to Telnet and FTP Services

Now before getting into the details of how to configure Red Hat Linux for

root logins, keep in mind that this is VERY BAD security. Make sure that

you NEVER configure your production servers for this type of login.

Configure Telnet for root logins

Simply edit the file /etc/securetty and add the following to the end of

the file:

pts/0pts/1pts/2pts/3pts/4pts/5

pts/6pts/7pts/8pts/9

This will allow up to 10 telnet sessions to the server as root.

Configure FTP for root logins

First edit the file /etc/ftpaccess and comment out the 'deny-uid' and

'deny-gid' lines.

Also, don't forget to remove the 'root' line from /etc/ftpusers