openssh unix dev - May 2005 - which PID should be written to utmp/wtmp file

Hi,

For each user connection when privilege separation is enabled, 3 processes 
are of interest for this topic.

1. sshd:[priv]         -  privileged user process.
2. sshd:user at pts/0 -  user process.
3. shell                  -  shell process.

Openssh code writes the #2. sshd:user at pts/0 -  user process to the utmp/wtmp 
file. Is this the correct behaviour.? Or should it write the #3. shell pid 
to the utmp/wtmp file.

Thanks
-logu

Logu wrote:
> For each user connection when privilege separation is enabled, 3 
> processes are of interest for this topic.
> 
> 1. sshd:[priv]         -  privileged user process.
> 2. sshd:user at pts/0 -  user process.
> 3. shell                  -  shell process.
> 
> Openssh code writes the #2. sshd:user at pts/0 -  user process to the 
> utmp/wtmp file. Is this the correct behaviour.? Or should it write the 
> #3. shell pid to the utmp/wtmp file.
I think it should probably write #3 (it's the session leader) however 
none of the doco I could find specifies (usually it just says "pid of 
process" and doesn't specify exactly which process).  On most systems
it
doesn't seem to make any difference (HP-UX being the apparent exception).

-- 
Darren Tucker (dtucker at zip.com.au)
GPG key 8FF4FA69 / D9A3 86E9 7EEE AF4B B2D4  37C9 C982 80C7 8FF4 FA69
     Good judgement comes with experience. Unfortunately, the experience
usually comes from bad judgement.