Setuid bit on python script : Linux vs Solaris

Question

I am running this small python script on both linux and Solaris as a not privileged user :

#!/usr/bin/python
import os
print \'uid,euid =\',         


        

Answer 1

Most Unix distributions normally don't allow you to use setuid on a file that uses a #! interpreter. Solaris happens to be one that allows it due to its use of a more secure implementation than most other distributions.

See this FAQ entry for more background about why the mechanism is so dangerous: How can I get setuid shell scripts to work?

See this link for more discussion and how to compile a setuid executable that will run your script: setuid on shell scripts

The pertinent part:

int main()
{
   setuid( 0 );
   system( "/path/to/script.sh" );

   return 0;
}